Tried Plopping With No Success :(

[CrunchyMama]

Well someday last week I read a thread somewhere about "plopping," and thought, hey that sounds fun, I'll give it a try. When my hair was about BSL I had done something similar--I used to shower before bed and then wrap my hair into two buns, one on the top half of my head, the other on the bottom half. In the morning I'd take them out and gently comb with my fingers, then scrunch them with moose, and I got decent looking beachy waves.

Sooo... even though most seemed to agree plopping wasn't for straight-haired chicks, I thought I might enjoy some degree of success because my hair is very suggestible. Sadly, it didn't work.

All I ended up with was a weird-looking hairline :( (my baby hairs were smooshed straight back and thus stuck out all weird and kinked when I took the t-shirt turban off), two giant waves near the front of my head, and some straggly waves near the ends. Oh well, failed experiment, I just threw it up in a nautilus bun for the rest of the day...

My question is, has any straight-haired but suggestible longhairs figured out a way to shower at night, do something to their hair, and then wake up with gorgeous, beachy, natural waves?? Since my hair has reached WL, my two bun method doesn't work as well thanks to the weight of my hair...

[chelshireling]

So weird, I actually tried plopping for the first time last night to:) It worked reasonably well with my curly hair and I found the turban-thing to be the most comfortable way to sleep with wet hair that I've tried yet- only problem when I woke up my hair was still soaked. I would try braid waves- just sleep in two french braids in damp hair and the in morning- waves.

[chelshireling]

Oh and I am also experiencing the weird hair line- for about 1/2 an inch my hair in stuck flat back against my head then it kinks foward and sticks out straight- i must have folded it into the turban somehow.

[Anywhere]

I would say scrunching would be your best bet to enhance your waves.

Plopping only works for me if I blow it 70~80% dry while it is still in the turban thing... but I get better curls with some AVG and scrunching than I ever have with plopping.

It's not for everyone, that's for sure.

Beachy waves, you say?

When my hair was thicker (as in it did not taper dramatically at about APL/BSL) I would divide my hair in half, pull them over my shoulders, and twist both sections as if I wanted to do a cinnamon bun, but I never would put it up. It would be like two ropes. I would keep twisting them every so often until they dried. Then I would finger comb them out.

I have a picture somewhere.. let me find it for you.

ETA: Found it... on my myspace. :rolleyes:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4113&pictureid=120058
and some of it was behind my shoulders as well. Might not be exactly what you were looking for, since it's more of a "loose curly" than a "beachy waves", but I used to do this every day because I loved it so much.

[lapushka]

I'm not sure plopping is the best way to go if your hair's straight, or virtually straight (1b), but I could be mistaken. I recall there was a general thread on this, you know: plopping for all textures.

[CrunchyMama]

Anywhere, I love that look... I'm not sure my hair is thick enough for it, it's pretty wispy at the ends right now. But I think I'm going to try that the next time I wash my hair. :)

[RapunzelKat]

I would also suggest giving braid waves a try :) A French braid or two French braids generally give my straight, fine hair lots of lovely mermaid-y waves, especially if I braid my hair damp. (I haven't done this for a while, this makes me want to try it again!)

Even a regular English braid gives me some decent waves, especially on damp hair, but of course they start further down on my hair.

[mneh]

I'm a wurly and plopping doesn't work for me: I have a double crown so plopping makes the hair on my crown(s) lie flat like two crop circles :confused: The good thing about plopping was it gave me volume and great clumping for my wurls but it also made my hair lie in unpredictable ways :(

When my hair was between chin and shoulder length it was straighter than it is now and I used to do 10+ rope braids on my hair (all the way around my head) when it was damp. When I shook out the braids the next morning I'd have wavy curls. Fewer & larger rope braids gave looser waves. It also helped to have curl cream & gel in my hair before rope braiding.

[cnd0020]

I, too, have "easily suggestible" hair and plopping didn't work for me, either. Drying it with a t-shirt was also a total fail because my hair would still be very damp 2 or 3 hours later.

I have the best luck with gently wrapping my hair in a towel after I shower (no fluffing!), then doing my makeup for 15 or 20 minutes, then gently removing the towel (no fluffing again!) to shake down the waves. Without flipping my head over, I scrunch some Herbal Essence Totally Twisted in. The results are pretty good, and it's SO easy.

Just keep experimenting. You'll find a method that works for you!

[weddy]

It's my understanding the main reason for plopping on top of the head is to avoid flat-head, while the rest of the hair is wavy/curly. Another reason I like it is because in order to get the best spirals, scrunching should be done on fairly wet hair, which causes drips and wet clothes. So plopping with a microfiber towel, chamois, or cotton t-shirt absorbed the excess water while still keeping the curls in scrunch formation. After about an hour, I'd remove the towel and plop to let the curls dry, otherwise I'd still have damp hair the next day (like with one thick braid).

But for hair that's not as prone to curling, perhaps the cocoon curls (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=81868) might be combined with the loose pony on top of the head to avoid the flat-head. I can't do cocoon curls anymore since cutting to shoulder length to grow out my dyed hair, but will save it for when I finally have silver curls.

[CrunchyMama]

Although no one suggested it as a method to get beautiful waves, I gave a sock bun a try last night, and am positively thrilled with the results!!

Here's my first attempt at a sock bun. I must admit, I love the shine the flash fakes for my hair. ;)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120482

And this is the next morning!!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120481
Ahhhhh!!! I'm in LOVE!!!! I think this will be my go to look whenever I want to wear my hair down, at least until my hemline thickens, because my ends don't look wispy or straggly at all!!

I thought I'd keep track of the relaxing throughout the day. Here's in the afternoon:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120480
I still like the waviness...

And then before bed, after a great deal of finger-combing during dinner (sorry for the poor quality):
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120479
Mostly all gone now... BUT I didn't use any product.

Next time I think I'll use just a bit of product to get it to hopefully stay in longer. But what an easy, heatless way to get beautiful, romantic hair!!

[mneh]

Although no one suggested it as a method to get beautiful waves, I gave a sock bun a try last night, and am positively thrilled with the results!!

Here's my first attempt at a sock bun. I must admit, I love the shine the flash fakes for my hair. ;)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120482

And this is the next morning!!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120481
Ahhhhh!!! I'm in LOVE!!!! I think this will be my go to look whenever I want to wear my hair down, at least until my hemline thickens, because my ends don't look wispy or straggly at all!!

I thought I'd keep track of the relaxing throughout the day. Here's in the afternoon:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120480
I still like the waviness...

And then before bed, after a great deal of finger-combing during dinner (sorry for the poor quality):
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9205&pictureid=120479
Mostly all gone now... BUT I didn't use any product.

Next time I think I'll use just a bit of product to get it to hopefully stay in longer. But what an easy, heatless way to get beautiful, romantic hair!!

Those are great photos - what a good idea to keep a record of how the bun waves survived through the day :) I really must have a try at doing a sock bun!

[kmoc123]

I have never tried plopping, but I have put damp hair up in a high pony and made 4 braids. This was at night before bed, so when I got up and took out the braids, they were gorgeous waves that lasted that day and the next. Love this! (My hair is almost 40 inches)