Question about Wavy Hair with the Frizzies...

[LongForLife]

Hi everyone!

I have a question. My hair has lots of natural wave and an occasional spiral. I have issues with poofiness/frizz. It's not like the curly people when they brush it, but it still does get almost abnormally thick and frizzy. I do not like to comb it when wet, as it takes most of my waves out. :( So I normally sleep on my wet hair or let it air dry. Both ways it turns out nice and wavy with only a slight frizz.... but then as soon as I go to brush it, here comes the thick feeling with the frizz. My hair is sooo thick and does have its share of small tangles, that I really cannot just finger comb it, so I am kind of at a loss as to what would be the best to help with the frizzies. Is there a product that truly works good? As I have tried many that don't. Or is there a better way of "brushing/combing" that you would recommend? I have combed it when dry, but it seems to do the same thing as the brush, just maybe slightly not as bad... but then it takes way longer, and hurts me more. So, probably is damaging the hair more as well.
Obviously sometimes it is so humid outside there probably is nothing to be done, but this happens no matter what the weather. Thanks!

[Riot Crrl]

I think it sounds like possibly you are getting a version of what the curlies get, just to a lesser degree.

If the only reason you can't wet comb is that it disrupts the waves, then here is what I would recommend. Detangle wet in shower with a big old plastic wide tooth comb, with conditioner in your hair. (If you can get away with nixing the comb and just using your fingers, that works too, but it sounds thick enough that the comb may ease the process.) Obviously, this would be done before your final rinse. By doing it before the final rinse, the final rinse should not retangle the hair, but it will restore your wave pattern to what it was before detangling.

[LongForLife]

Thank you so much!!! That sounds like the perfect solution. I'll try it for sure. I think you are right, maybe because I do have a few of those spirals here and there, I have partial curly frizz. :D
I think that should work, because as long as my hair is wet, the airdrying is what appears to enhance my natural waves.
I noticed some mention of not using brushes... is this recommended for all hair types? Or just curly and frizzy?

[AprilElf]

Are you combing with a wide-tooth comb?
I very rarely brush anymore, and it's really helped with the poofy hair problem.
I'm still on a steep learning curve myself, but would recommend researching ways to give your hair extra moisture, and also oiling.

[LongForLife]

Well, it is not one of those flimsy tiny gapped combs, but it not the really wide ones they make either. Kind of in between I guess. It has sturdy somewhat wide teeth, but they are not spaced very far apart.
Yes, my hair is always very dry, so moisture would be a good thing. But I have to be careful with oily or too much "lotiony" product in my hair as it gives it a horrible greasy appearance as if its really dirty. :eek:
How about later when you want to style your hair in an up-do. Do you use a comb instead of a brush as you work with it? Maybe I need to just outlaw my brush for awhile and try that. lol

[Riot Crrl]

Thank you so much!!! That sounds like the perfect solution. I'll try it for sure. I think you are right, maybe because I do have a few of those spirals here and there, I have partial curly frizz. :D
I think that should work, because as long as my hair is wet, the airdrying is what appears to enhance my natural waves.
I noticed some mention of not using brushes... is this recommended for all hair types? Or just curly and frizzy?

Everyone is different, but it seems like the wurlier we are, the less we can get away with brushing.

I did add back very occasional, modified and careful brushing to my routine. I didn't do it for my hair, which would be perfectly happy to never be brushed again. I did it for my scalp, which hated never seeing a brush. I do it only very occasionally, only in the shower with conditioner as previously described, only after going through with the wide tooth comb first, and verrrry carefully. The way I do it it does not cause much pulling out of hairs, only about the same amount as the comb gets. I have very little loss overall now, so I am not too worried.

If my hair was straight I think I would just brush it all the time, lol.

[LongForLife]

lol Yeah, I know what you mean... I think I would miss brushing. But if I try your comb in the shower method, even if I do brush it later, I wouldn't need to brush through my hair nearly as many times, if I already had the knots out of it. :) So I may try that too. That way I can keep my brushing to a minimum, but not lose it entirely. I'll have to play around with that.

[LongForLife]

I was just looking at your Arwen pics AprilElf... and your hair is gorgeous!!!! Now see how yours looks really full? That is more what I mean by my poofiness. Like it expands. I was thinking that there was something wrong with that, but it looks beautiful on you! Is that an ok thing to have? If so, then I guess my poofiness isn't that big of a deal. I do still get frizzies though, so I will try the other methods to control that at least. :)

[LongForLife]

Just to add... your hair actually looks very similar to mine.

[ZaBasDa]

If a brush causes frizz, and you don't like the frizz, don't use it.
But when I do up-dos I don't care about how my curls will look because you won't be able to see them. So yes, I will use brushes or combs for the up-do, whichever I feel will work best. You should try to do some up-dos with brushes and compare how fuzzy it makes your hair versus just a comb. Because the hair is up and contained it might not make much of a difference. If it does, you can always stop using the brushes.

[Curlsgirl]

I find that I never need to use a brush anymore. It ALWAYS makes my hair frizzy and even when I do updos I really don't even need to really. Just smooth it with your hands or if necessary with the wide tooth comb very gently detangling first from the ends if necessary. You really need a good seamless comb. That is a necessity for our type of hair! I promise you'll get used to it, you'll have much less breakage and your hair will LOVE it! You may want to read The Curly Girl Book. Even if you don't follow it all, it has some GREAT tips for wavies and curlies too that REALLY helped me make the most of my curls. Come check out the Curly/Wurly thread too. We'll try to help you over there and you are more than welcome!!! Also try www.naturallycurly.com (http://www.naturallycurly.com) GREAT curly site, all types of curls loose and tight.

[Curlsgirl]

Oh yeah and most curlies need some type of leave-in product (s) though it varies greatly from person to person. :)

[AprilElf]

LongForLife said:

I was just looking at your Arwen pics AprilElf... and your hair is gorgeous!!!! Now see how yours looks really full? That is more what I mean by my poofiness. Like it expands. I was thinking that there was something wrong with that, but it looks beautiful on you! Is that an ok thing to have? If so, then I guess my poofiness isn't that big of a deal. I do still get frizzies though, so I will try the other methods to control that at least.Awww, thank you for the compliment. :)
Those are old photos, pre-LHC. That's what I get when I brush. But yeah, it can look alright too. I just still haven't quite figured out why my hair seems to poof out at the bottom so much, when I actually have quite a pronounced taper when it's braided. Could be a bunch of split ends, maybe - I still have quite a bit of damage.

As for not using a brush for updos, that hasn't been a problem. I've got used to combing and have found that sufficient. Along with using my hands to smooth down.

[Curlsgirl]

LongForLife said:
Awww, thank you for the compliment. :)
Those are old photos, pre-LHC. That's what I get when I brush. But yeah, it can look alright too. I just still haven't quite figured out why my hair seems to poof out at the bottom so much, when I actually have quite a pronounced taper when it's braided. Could be a bunch of split ends, maybe - I still have quite a bit of damage.



Mine sometimes does this if I comb it too where the ends are split a bit and more damaged. I think that is it. Another possibility is that it is cut in the middle of a wave and it's where the hair starts to curve OUT instead of in. Don't know why that came to me but it did. For me it is definitely the damaged thingie though. I baby it a LOT and it helps tremendously to keep that part very moisturized and oiled.

[noelgirl]

What you're describing sounds a lot like my hair - sometimes. My hair only really does that when it's humid - of course, right now we're in the thick of that season! My best strategy during this time of year is switching to CO washing and basically treating my hair as curly even though usually those products are too heavy for the rest of the year (in the winter for some reason I'm only somewhat wavy). And no brushing at all - usually, I just detangle with my fingers (although I don't know if that would work so well for you, since your hair is so much longer than mine).

[LongForLife]

Thanks Curlsgirl! I'll get a better comb and check out some of the info. I probably do need some sort of leave in product. At this time, I can't even imagine trying to smooth my hair down to style it in an up-do. Maybe I just have really hard to handle hair! It is so thick and heavy, that I can't even put it up into a "normal" ponytail. :( For example: Look at AprilElf's avatar with the perfect silky smooth hair on the top above the braided area... I can't even get mine that smooth with a brush and certainly not without. Not as my hair currently stands, I mean. I always end up with a part down the middle, because the hair moves. :( So maybe a leave in product would fix that. I have my hair layered, as it has lightened the weight quite a bit. But now I am almost regretting that, as I can no longer braid it, without major pieces escaping the braid. But the lighter weight has taken loads off of my neck, which was hurting a lot.

My poofing is everywhere, not just the bottom. I actually had the stylist cut off 4 inches not that long ago, to try and get rid of dead ends. The ends are much better, but the poofiness remains. lol

It seems the general concensus is no brush though, so I will at least try that as a start, along with looking for a good leave-in for my hair. I definetely not use my fingers to detangle, but the comb in the shower sounds like it would work. I do know that my hair is currently pretty dry, and that is making the poofy worse. Sorry for the 50 million issues with my hair! LOL

Thank you all for helping me with this. :) I'll post a good picture of my hair later.

[LongForLife]

Ok. Here is a current picture of my hair. This is actually a low amount of wave for me... usually there is more wave and a few spirals.

http://www.countryartistantiques.com/June 21 2008 Hair Length1a.jpg

[LongForLife]

After looking at some of the examples, I'm not actually sure if I am 2c... most of those seem to have more spirals than I do. Mine might be closer to 2b...

[Riot Crrl]

Are you kidding me? Holy crap it is beautiful.

I stand by my original thing though, if you are getting frizz from dry combing, try the wet detangling before the final rinse.

[LongForLife]

LOL Thank you. I get compliments all the time, but to tell you the truth, I think I am so used to seeing it everyday, that I almost just get used to it, and don't appreciate it like I should.

In this picture it is actually nice without the frizz. The frizz tends to be the worst the day of washing or the next morning, if I wash it at night. I will try your idea with the comb before the final rinse for sure!!

[AprilElf]

That's a lovely length picture, LongForLife. You have really beautiful hair and a very cool hemline. :)


Look at AprilElf's avatar with the perfect silky smooth hair on the top above the braided area... I can't even get mine that smooth with a brush and certainly not without. Not as my hair currently stands, I mean. I always end up with a part down the middle, because the hair moves.Before joining LHC I always wore a part and would have struggled to pull my hair back like this and have it look smooth. But now that I've been treating my hair nicely, it is much easier.
My hair falls naturally in a middle part. To pull it back for an updo I comb back from the hairline with my wide-tooth comb - just enough so that there's no part. Then I work it into a pony, smoothing with my hands and 'combing' any stray locks flat with my fingers.


Curlsgirl, I'm amazed we are the same hair type! - looking at your curly avatar ...
My waves/curls tend to fall out fairly quickly. I have them for a day at most and then once I braid or put my hair up, they're almost gone till next wash day.