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Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 06:33 PM
I have been living a lie. Although I had no idea until just recently. Ok, maybe that's a touch dramatic but, at 31 years old I have just discovered how much of a “hair virgin” I really am.

It all began innocently enough. I decided I wanted to start growing long hair. Not just long hair but long natural hair. My first step in the process? Grow out the roots of my died hair long enough to cut out all the dye. Done! Step two? Try no poo methods for healthier hair. Ok, so my no poo efforts equaled, big fat fail (or so I thought) …Step three? Join long hair community forum to learn more about hair…. Oh? Wait… something’s wrong

As most of you know I’m a new member here. The wonderful and helpful people on the LHC directed me to all sorts of useful and fantastic information…. Hair typing for example… I was confused.

All my life I was told I had straight, full and fine hair. Full it may be, I have a lot of hair. Fine? I’m not so sure anymore. Straight? …..is my hair straight?

Today while at the bookstore with my family I ran across “The curly girl handbook”. I had seen mention of it here on the forum and though, “what the heck, I may not have curly hair but curly girls seem to know all the best hair secrets, so let’s see….”

I opened the book and began scanning threw….

Chapter 3 - Identify Your Curl Type
Page 25 - Different types of curls - Wavy hair….

(brain ticking…tick tick….)

You know you have wavy curls if you have:

-Hair you’ve always believed was straight
-Had straight hair when you where very young and possibly wavy hair after puberty
-Hair that occasionally develops after coming out of the shower and at the beach
-A slight halo of frizz and frizz on the ends of the hair on humid days
-Hair that ends to look untamed and flat on the crown
-Hair that can appear straight in the winter
-Hair that it dry on the ends
-A spring factor of 2 to 4 inches

I closed the book, walked up to my husband, he was talking about a game system he wanted to buy…. Wait, listen, “Sure honey” I said ……(interjection) - “Hey, I know this is going to sound strange but I think I have curly hair”
Husband (without skipping a beat) “Well, Yea.”

OK.. So why am I the last to know?

I have spent my whole life thinking I had straight but “hard to manage” hair. I have invested in paddle brushes, heavy conditioners, you name it, all in the pursuit of sleek straight perfection…. Not because I liked straight hair but because I thought I had straight hair…..

So here's the question? Am I kinky or stright?

My husband seems to think my hair is wavy. The woman at Ulta today I talked to gave me the "aww you poor thing" tone of voice as I explained to her my delima. As if to say "of course you've got wavy hair, how could you not know that?"

Do I treat it like curls? Or do I keep treating it "stright"

......chime in guys...... This is just so eye opening to me....

ladylowtide
June 22nd, 2012, 06:49 PM
ooh how exciting! I am, however, not qualified to help you with this. Good luck though!

I am also pretty jealous because I have always wanted waves, or loose curls :p

jasper
June 22nd, 2012, 06:55 PM
Yeah, I thought I had straight hair as well. What I have is somewhat wavy hair that is easily straightened. Since I used a blowdryer on my hair almost all the time in those years, I didn't really notice the waves coming in after puberty. When I quit using a blowdryer, I still tended to comb through my damp hair and comb most of the wave out. It wasn't until my hair got long enough that I found my way to LHC and started really looking at my hair. The first hair picture I took shows the waves, but I didn't believe it for a while even then.

I haven't looked into the curly girl info. I just try to treat my hair gently. I don't think you will hurt your hair treating it curly. :shrug: Try it for a while.

Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 06:58 PM
ooh how exciting! I am, however, not qualified to help you with this. Good luck though!

I am also pretty jealous because I have always wanted waves, or loose curls :p

Are you sure you dont have wavy hair? the picture in your signature looks kind of wavey.... The longest my hair ever was before now was when I was 12 years old. Later that same year I cut my hair short and it stayed short until I was in my early 20's ....I have been treating my hair all along as if it where stright.... like I said earlier, paddle brush, heavy conditioners... Anything to make it lay flat because I thought when it went wild I was just having a "bad hair day"

It wasnt until I started growing it out and stopped using conventional shampoo that this whole idea started to dawn on me....

Do any of the above from the curly girl handbook sound like you? You might have waves and never know it.....

plus I don't wanna feel "dumb" by myself... lol

Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 07:04 PM
Yeah, I thought I had straight hair as well. What I have is somewhat wavy hair that is easily straightened. Since I used a blowdryer on my hair almost all the time in those years, I didn't really notice the waves coming in after puberty. When I quit using a blowdryer, I still tended to comb through my damp hair and comb most of the wave out. It wasn't until my hair got long enough that I found my way to LHC and started really looking at my hair. The first hair picture I took shows the waves, but I didn't believe it for a while even then.

I haven't looked into the curly girl info. I just try to treat my hair gently. I don't think you will hurt your hair treating it curly. :shrug: Try it for a while.

Oh Thank you God. I am so glad I'm not the only one! LOL

I went ahead and bought the book. I'm definatly going to give it a read. It is geared more towards the "really" curly girls, but I did notice at least one section on "wavy" hair.... I can't wait to see how it looks once it starts to really start growing out....

Here is a picture I took day before yesterday for a hair typing thread I started...

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj558/Marcie_Coleman/hairuncomb.jpg

I had washed and conditioned like "normal", air dried and only finger combed it...

christine1989
June 22nd, 2012, 07:09 PM
Am I the only one who misinterpreted the title of this thread? My initial thought was "both straight and gay people can be kinky!" Lol! Well speaking in terms of hair, I'm straight, wavy AND a few strands that go kinky when it's moist and muggy out. Weird right?

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 07:13 PM
Have you actually typed your hair? Clarified it, let it air dry (no conditioner or product), and then looked at it? You can't really tell without doing the process of seeing what your hair looks like without anything on it.

I'm a wavy curly, more towards the curly side although it's not hard to loosen my curl into waves. I can easily treat my hair as either straighter (loose wavy) or curlier--I'm one of the rarer curlies that can actually brush my hair without much trouble, although I don't do it daily, and I'm trying to treat my hair more as a curly because it needs the moisture.

If you're a wavy, not much towards the curly end of the spectrum, there's not a whole lot of difference between that and straight hair, IMO. You use a wide toothed comb, and brush judiciously. Make sure your hair gets enough moisture, etc. But you may weigh your hair down too much if you try to go full Curly Girl method, so be cautious about overdoing things.

spidermom
June 22nd, 2012, 07:13 PM
I thought I had straight hair that wouldn't behave. I remember when I was a teen my mother told me "you have wavy hair" and being the know-it-all that I was at the time, I informed her that there was no such thing as wavy hair, it was either straight or it was curly, and my hair was straight.

Oh the shame!

Welcome; have fun!

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 07:17 PM
I had washed and conditioned like "normal", air dried and only finger combed it...

In order to type properly, it needs to be clarified, NO conditioner, NO combing, NO brushing. Washed and air dried only. You can rewet it and put on conditioner after you take pictures, if you want. Putting on conditioner and/or combing (even finger combing) can affect how the hair looks.

elbow chic
June 22nd, 2012, 07:19 PM
Do a hairtyping! Clarify it, airdry it w/o combing, and snap a picture. We loooove that kind of thing here.

I had no idea how wavy mine was til fairly recently. It's not that strange-- a lifetime of paddle brushes and blowdrying can convince anyone she has "poofy" straight hair. :laugh:

I think I initially classified myself as a 1c when I came here but now it's clearly a solid 2c. Can be coaxed into looking dang-near 3a with just a little gel, a rather shocking discovery I made in the last couple weeks, actually. o.O

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 07:23 PM
As an example, you can see what my hair looks like in my siggy--that's pre-wash, so it's well-oiled and after several days of being combed regularly. Just looks wavy, right?

Here's my hair after washing for typing:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=5684&pictureid=110366

You can see there's considerably more curl in it! So that's why I type my hair at 2c/3a, even though it sometimes looks like less than that.

ETA: I'm not sure why the color came out like that--maybe the flash. My hair is very dark, as in my siggy.

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 07:26 PM
Do a hairtyping! Clarify it, airdry it w/o combing, and snap a picture. We loooove that kind of thing here.

I had no idea how wavy mine was til fairly recently. It's not that strange-- a lifetime of paddle brushes and blowdrying can convince anyone she has "poofy" straight hair. :laugh:

I think I initially classified myself as a 1c when I came here but now it's clearly a solid 2c. Can be coaxed into looking dang-near 3a with just a little gel, a rather shocking discovery I made in the last couple weeks, actually. o.O
Yep, I know someone with hair like yours (brushed out, that is), and I'll bet you anything she's a 3b, maybe even 3c. She's never treated her hair as curly, but there's no way to have bushy hair like that and not be curly.

battles
June 22nd, 2012, 07:28 PM
Definitely do a hairtyping thread! I thought I was a 1c/2a and with a typing I seem to be around a 2a/2b now. Typing should help you figure out how to treat your hair properly. :)

Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 07:32 PM
Do a hairtyping! Clarify it, airdry it w/o combing, and snap a picture. We loooove that kind of thing here.

I had no idea how wavy mine was til fairly recently. It's not that strange-- a lifetime of paddle brushes and blowdrying can convince anyone she has "poofy" straight hair. :laugh:

I think I initially classified myself as a 1c when I came here but now it's clearly a solid 2c. Can be coaxed into looking dang-near 3a with just a little gel, a rather shocking discovery I made in the last couple weeks, actually. o.O

OMG "Poofy!" ...I used that word just yesterday when I went to my hair dresser to get a trim. She asked if I wanted my hair blow dryed and I said, I guess that would be ok but that I personally try not to because everytime I do it gets "poofy" ...she looked at me funny and said, "what do you mean poofy?" .....I said, "Poofy...you know like big" ....apparently that confused her.... she kind of annoyed me too because she knows how anal I am about my hair and she put this stuff that smelled like icing in my hair when she blow dried it... I still love her but I had to wash my hair when I got home... I didnt like smelling like a cupcake.... but I guess she did that cause I mentioned the "poofy" thing... lol

Do I need to buy a special clarifying shampoo to do this? I am so curious now. I really want to see what it acctually is supose to look like... I conditiond when I did my hair that day because if I dont condition my hair it always feels SO dry and tangely...

Whatever you guys recomend to clarify I'll try that... try to keep my hands off the conditioner and my hair.... it's SO hard not to touch my hair... I have a really bad habbit of constantly running my hands threw it..

Dovetail
June 22nd, 2012, 07:38 PM
How interesting! The things you learn. I don't honestly know my hair type, but I know it has waves. I've never clarified and let it dry with no conditioner, so I don't honestly know. It'll be interesting to see how your hair takes to being treated as wavy, now that you know.

Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 07:42 PM
As an example, you can see what my hair looks like in my siggy--that's pre-wash, so it's well-oiled and after several days of being combed regularly. Just looks wavy, right?

Here's my hair after washing for typing:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=5684&pictureid=110366

You can see there's considerably more curl in it! So that's why I type my hair at 2c/3a, even though it sometimes looks like less than that.

ETA: I'm not sure why the color came out like that--maybe the flash. My hair is very dark, as in my siggy.

Your hair is so pretty! I always wanted curly hair... When I was a little girl I would always try to get my grandma's hairdresser to give me pretty ringlet curls.... too bad for me all she knew how to do where those awful boy looking perms... eww

I'm acctually pretty excited about this whole idea.... I can't wait to see how much volume I acctually have :)

chou
June 22nd, 2012, 07:48 PM
Yay! I'm so happy for you! Wavy hair is so much fun :)
The very same thing happened to me. I cut my hair into a pixie cut in my teens, having had slightly frizzy "straight" hair most of my life, and it continued to change with my hormones, until I discovered really intense ringlet-y waves in my hair when I started to grow it out in my twenties. My hairdresser always called the nascent waves that former near my temples "cowlicks" and thinned the hell out of them when I had my hair short.
About your blow-drying story above: I have found that most hairdressers don't understand wavy hair. Especially if you come to them on a day when your hair is lying flatter--try explaining that your hair really is textured and cannot be cut into a precision cut! Curly hair, they know it exists but they may or may not know how to cut it; wavy hair is just frizzy hair that needs to be straightened. My current stylist is a curly hair expert who understands my hair and it is such a huge relief. The cut I got from her a while ago made all of my waves perfectly separated and turned slightly inward at the ends. It made a huge difference compared to straight hair haircuts I've gotten in the past.

elbow chic
June 22nd, 2012, 07:52 PM
Yep, I know someone with hair like yours (brushed out, that is), and I'll bet you anything she's a 3b, maybe even 3c. She's never treated her hair as curly, but there's no way to have bushy hair like that and not be curly.
ai, yes! I didn't really get into the curly-care stuff till I started messing with my DD's hair, which is definitely, resiliently, around 3b. You can't brush the curl out of that girls' hair. You get kind of an Afro effect for an hour, after which her curls clump back together like they wanted to in the first place.

Even so, laying off the brush and using just the teensiest bit of product makes such a huge difference in how hers looks that you can't help but wonder... !

Now I see "poof" everywhere and think "man, a handful of conditioner, a wide-toothed comb and some gel would make that look AMAZING." :laugh:

... I'm starting to creep myself out, in other words.

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 07:53 PM
Your hair is so pretty! I always wanted curly hair... When I was a little girl I would always try to get my grandma's hairdresser to give me pretty ringlet curls.... too bad for me all she knew how to do where those awful boy looking perms... eww

I'm acctually pretty excited about this whole idea.... I can't wait to see how much volume I acctually have :)
Well...it hardly ever looks that curly. For one thing, it's much longer (almost at BCL now), so the curls aren't so tight, and for another I don't usually clarify it and then dry with no conditioner! I posted it to show you how much of a difference there can be if you prep it for typing vs. how it usually looks. It looks really dry to me in that pic; I'm pretty sure I jumped back in the shower afterward and slathered it with conditioner, because there's no way I could deal with it in that shape.

ETA: Oh, and you know what's really stupid? In the late 80s, early 90s, I'd get my hair permed to make it curly...just like in that pic...because, you know, I was too dumb to realize it already was that curly!

elbow chic
June 22nd, 2012, 07:55 PM
OMG "Poofy!" ...I used that word just yesterday when I went to my hair dresser to get a trim. She asked if I wanted my hair blow dryed and I said, I guess that would be ok but that I personally try not to because everytime I do it gets "poofy" ...she looked at me funny and said, "what do you mean poofy?" .....I said, "Poofy...you know like big" ....apparently that confused her.... she kind of annoyed me too because she knows how anal I am about my hair and she put this stuff that smelled like icing in my hair when she blow dried it... I still love her but I had to wash my hair when I got home... I didnt like smelling like a cupcake.... but I guess she did that cause I mentioned the "poofy" thing... lol

Do I need to buy a special clarifying shampoo to do this? I am so curious now. I really want to see what it acctually is supose to look like... I conditiond when I did my hair that day because if I dont condition my hair it always feels SO dry and tangely...

Whatever you guys recomend to clarify I'll try that... try to keep my hands off the conditioner and my hair.... it's SO hard not to touch my hair... I have a really bad habbit of constantly running my hands threw it..
I use Suave "Daily Clarifying" for that purpose, mostly because it is cheap. lol

yeah, hard to break the habit of getting hands/brush out of there. Something I'm working on, myself... I used to brush mine several times a day-- it made me feel "presentable." But really it's not good for anyone's hair, especially for the wurlys of the world!

Arden
June 22nd, 2012, 08:00 PM
Yay! I'm so happy for you! Wavy hair is so much fun :)
The very same thing happened to me. I cut my hair into a pixie cut in my teens, having had slightly frizzy "straight" hair most of my life, and it continued to change with my hormones, until I discovered really intense ringlet-y waves in my hair when I started to grow it out in my twenties. My hairdresser always called the nascent waves that former near my temples "cowlicks" and thinned the hell out of them when I had my hair short.
About your blow-drying story above: I have found that most hairdressers don't understand wavy hair. Especially if you come to them on a day when your hair is lying flatter--try explaining that your hair really is textured and cannot be cut into a precision cut! Curly hair, they know it exists but they may or may not know how to cut it; wavy hair is just frizzy hair that needs to be straightened. My current stylist is a curly hair expert who understands my hair and it is such a huge relief. The cut I got from her a while ago made all of my waves perfectly separated and turned slightly inward at the ends. It made a huge difference compared to straight hair haircuts I've gotten in the past.

See that explains SO much... I have always been SO picky about hair dressers. I just assumed that most where bad and there where a "few" good ones out there... That useally cost me an arm and a leg...

Most of the time when I go get a haircut they wash it... comb it stright (which isnt hard to do) and then cut.... when they get done it looks good but by the next day it never looks right.... it's almost like my hair just "grew" overnight.... the hemline would almost always look funny the next day... i have had some haircuts that where even more seriously butchered... but we'll just chalk that up to "really" really bad hair dressers.... I'm starting to wonder if my 50 dollar haircuts vs my 15 dollar haircuts didn't come out better because the stylest acctually recognized my hair type... even if i didn't...

and talking about waves in the front? I wore betty bangs for years and I would ALWAYS no matter HOW experienced the stylest have to very specifically explain how to cut my betty bangs beause I have a spot in the front of my hair that pops up... I have always said it was a "cowlick" ...now I'm starting to wonder if my cowlick really was a "cowlick" ......this is just so fasinating....

dwell_in_safety
June 22nd, 2012, 08:08 PM
It sounds like you have secretly wavy hair to me! I'm with everyone who says to clarify your next wash and do a typing thread. I'll bet you do. :D My own hair is 2b but can look 1c after being put up in various different ways for a week between washes.

chou
June 22nd, 2012, 08:12 PM
See that explains SO much... I have always been SO picky about hair dressers. I just assumed that most where bad and there where a "few" good ones out there... That useally cost me an arm and a leg...

Most of the time when I go get a haircut they wash it... comb it stright (which isnt hard to do) and then cut.... when they get done it looks good but by the next day it never looks right.... it's almost like my hair just "grew" overnight.... the hemline would almost always look funny the next day... i have had some haircuts that where even more seriously butchered... but we'll just chalk that up to "really" really bad hair dressers.... I'm starting to wonder if my 50 dollar haircuts vs my 15 dollar haircuts didn't come out better because the stylest acctually recognized my hair type... even if i didn't...

and talking about waves in the front? I wore betty bangs for years and I would ALWAYS no matter HOW experienced the stylest have to very specifically explain how to cut my betty bangs beause I have a spot in the front of my hair that pops up... I have always said it was a "cowlick" ...now I'm starting to wonder if my cowlick really was a "cowlick" ......this is just so fasinating....
OMG, yes! The next day haircut horror! I spent a few years cutting my own hair because I didn't "trust" stylists. My own uneven trimming quite accidentally worked better for my hemline then perfectly straight across cuts even if the haircut as a whole was very dorky looking.
I'm having a lot more fun now embracing my waves than I did before fighting them :)

One thing about haircuts for wavy/curly hair that I was surprised to learn: my stylist told me that she follows my hair's natural pattern when cutting so if I wanted to wear my hair pin straight sometime the ends would look super uneven. Not that I ever have the patience or the will to straighten my hair, but still, if someone tells you they can give you a cut that you can wear both wavy and straight, they are probably bending the truth a little.

-Cookiez-
June 22nd, 2012, 08:15 PM
My hair is wavy/curly

It isn't "wavy" but it has large spiral curls naturally.

I love it with long hair, hate it with short hair

Silverbrumby
June 22nd, 2012, 08:20 PM
I'm so there with you on this. You're a curly like I discovered I am. After years of thinking I had difficult frizzy hair I realized it was not my hair at fault but me for not caring for it the way curly hair likes to be cared for.

Last week I was at the dinner table with my hair air drying and my sister turned to me and said "You have curly hair" She was surprised that after 40+ years of knowing me she had never seen my curls before. My lovely, air dried with leave in conditioner curls. I'm still not comfortable with curly hair but I'm so happy that part of the mystery of my hair has been solved.

ALSO big bonus. I've had thinning with my hair with age and thyroid. With these curls I look thicker than I really am. That I'm digging.

Quixii
June 22nd, 2012, 09:12 PM
Definitely do a hair typing!

I had a similar experience in that I was under no delusions that I had straight hair, but thought it was really misbehaving wavy poofy frizzy hair. It was just always frizzy. When I was a kid I resisted brushing my hair, "because when I don't brush it, it looks curly!" My parents said no, it's not curly, that's just the tangles. So I finally started brushing it religiously, every morning and every night, while damp and dry. Sometimes it looked nice, sometimes it was just frizzy and frustrating. Finally I joined LHC and learned that it really is okay to not brush your hair every day, and welcomed back the curls that were always trying to be there. :)

meishkamooshka
June 22nd, 2012, 09:45 PM
This is really making me consider doing a clarifying wash to see if that's the case with me....I'd be so happy if it was!

CurlyCap
June 22nd, 2012, 09:45 PM
ETA: Oh, and you know what's really stupid? In the late 80s, early 90s, I'd get my hair permed to make it curly...just like in that pic...because, you know, I was too dumb to realize it already was that curly!

Sug, they've permed MY hair to make it curly....because they thought my hair couldn't form proper curls and the only way to get them was to put in a spiral set.

::headdesk::

CurlyCap
June 22nd, 2012, 09:47 PM
In order to type properly, it needs to be clarified, NO conditioner, NO combing, NO brushing. Washed and air dried only. You can rewet it and put on conditioner after you take pictures, if you want. Putting on conditioner and/or combing (even finger combing) can affect how the hair looks.

Just wanted to chime in that the super curlies almost never hair type with no conditioner. It's asking for armageddon to come.

If I clarify and add no conditioner (which I haven't done since elementary school), I literally will shave parts of my head rather than fight with the resulting mess.

For curlies, it's usually wash and conditioner, but no product, no leave-ins, no oiling....don't try to fix the crazy. :D

Allychan
June 22nd, 2012, 09:51 PM
Yep, I found a curl identifier on the web and realised I am wavy (more of a kink though). Since I stopped fighting genetics and gave up the BKT and straightener I actually like my hair au natural with no product or heat intevention :cheese:

jeanniet
June 22nd, 2012, 09:59 PM
Just wanted to chime in that the super curlies almost never hair type with no conditioner. It's asking for armageddon to come.

If I clarify and add no conditioner (which I haven't done since elementary school), I literally will shave parts of my head rather than fight with the resulting mess.

For curlies, it's usually wash and conditioner, but no product, no leave-ins, no oiling....don't try to fix the crazy. :D
Yeah, I can imagine it wouldn't be pretty! I could barely stand to do without myself, and I won't do it again anytime soon if I can help it. I don't even like clarifying unless I really need to.

HappyHair87
June 22nd, 2012, 11:21 PM
Just wanted to chime in that the super curlies almost never hair type with no conditioner. It's asking for armageddon to come.

If I clarify and add no conditioner (which I haven't done since elementary school), I literally will shave parts of my head rather than fight with the resulting mess.

For curlies, it's usually wash and conditioner, but no product, no leave-ins, no oiling....don't try to fix the crazy. :D

so I died when i read the bolded!:laugh: it's the truth tho!

But yeah this is interesting! It almost sounds like us super curly ppl when we stop relaxing our hair and discover our hair is actually curly!

I thought for sure I'd have very tight curls all over my head...uniformed. Nope! I have 3 different curl patterns on my head! It's aggravating sometimes but I still love my hair!

AnqeIicDemise
June 22nd, 2012, 11:24 PM
I AM AS CROOKED AS THEY COME!!

Oh. wait. We're talking hair...

starry
June 22nd, 2012, 11:43 PM
so same here- that little list
You know you have wavy curls if you have:

-Hair you’ve always believed was straight
-Had straight hair when you where very young and possibly wavy hair after puberty
-Hair that occasionally develops after coming out of the shower and at the beach
-A slight halo of frizz and frizz on the ends of the hair on humid days
-Hair that ends to look untamed and flat on the crown
-Hair that can appear straight in the winter
-Hair that it dry on the ends
-A spring factor of 2 to 4 inches


I tick all of them except the last (huh? will have to test that I guess)... I only sort of "got it" fully, after doing some research- I noticed the dryness on the ends- and thought it was damage, looked up info then worked out it was my hair type! I was totally shocked to go- hey that's my hair!!!

I do my hair curly sometimes and straighter other times. My fiancee likes it either way- I think I will do curly ends as it grows as its pretty.. the top tends to lay flat with my hair type.

Finnenna
June 22nd, 2012, 11:52 PM
so same here- that little list
You know you have wavy curls if you have:

-Hair you’ve always believed was straight
-Had straight hair when you where very young and possibly wavy hair after puberty
-Hair that occasionally develops after coming out of the shower and at the beach
-A slight halo of frizz and frizz on the ends of the hair on humid days
-Hair that ends to look untamed and flat on the crown
-Hair that can appear straight in the winter
-Hair that it dry on the ends
-A spring factor of 2 to 4 inches


I tick all of them except the last (huh? will have to test that I guess)... I only sort of "got it" fully, after doing some research- I noticed the dryness on the ends- and thought it was damage, looked up info then worked out it was my hair type! I was totally shocked to go- hey that's my hair!!!

I don't spring back to even 1 inch but there is some spring. Everything else is ticked too!

OP- I'm in the same boat, I thought I had straight hair forever. Then I saw a pic of me with these really pretty waves, and it looked like it had been taken a year or so after puberty. I'm really hot and sweaty, but my hair looks fantastic - obviously I hadn't brushed it.

Welcome to joyous club of MY HAIR IS ACTUALLY AWESOME! :D Straight hair is brilliant too, but as someone who always wanted not straight hair, it's a pleasure to find out I don't :D

Also - how goes the book? I'm thinking about getting it.

Kerrilynn
June 23rd, 2012, 12:44 AM
According to how you all explain how to do a "typing," as well as the list from the Curly Girl book, I'd be considered wavy, but it never stays, even if I didn't touch it after toweling it out and letting it air dry. However, on really muggy days the wispies that don't fit into my bun/ponytail will curl right up! I also noticed that when I was on the Depo-Provera shot my hair was really wavy bordering on curly, I couldn't believe it! Unfortunately, I was unable to tolerate the Depo short for too long due to migraines. Hormones definitely play a role in hair type. My mom, sister, and brother all have really thick, CURLY, hair. My sister, especially. She has to be really careful with her hair or it will tangle horribly. Especially at the back hairline at the nape of the neck. The curls are so tight that you'd think they were pinned that way. Very sproingy, too! I think my dad has really curly hair also. I don't really remember, he wasn't a big part of my life. Anyway, curls run in my family, is the point I'm trying to make. I'm wondering if it's because of my genetic disease (it affects collagen production), my hair is different? *Shrugs* It would be really nice if I can hang on to the waviness to give my hair some good body and volume.

Avital88
June 23rd, 2012, 01:18 AM
ahhh i can relate,i was born wurly/curly and had curls until my mom gave me a bob when i was 6,my hair looked pinstraight in pictures from then on.I always brushed it enough to have it lay straight besides some flippy ends and was always frustrated why my hair didnt behave.
I knew i had curls somehwere but i was in denial(coming from a family with only curlies ) and just kept on trying to brush the frizz away.:D Then i started using a flatiron daily and people actually thought i was a straighthair.
When i was 21 i started to wear it the way it should,wurly
I still wear mine not all the time, but when i do people always ask if i curled my hair
Yeey for finding out your true texture!

AnqeIicDemise
June 23rd, 2012, 01:36 AM
Do a hairtyping! Clarify it, airdry it w/o combing, and snap a picture. We loooove that kind of thing here.

I had no idea how wavy mine was til fairly recently. It's not that strange-- a lifetime of paddle brushes and blowdrying can convince anyone she has "poofy" straight hair. :laugh:

I think I initially classified myself as a 1c when I came here but now it's clearly a solid 2c. Can be coaxed into looking dang-near 3a with just a little gel, a rather shocking discovery I made in the last couple weeks, actually. o.O

You give me hope. XD

red-again
June 23rd, 2012, 02:32 AM
I can't believe how many of us wavies who thought we were straightens there are! I typed myself as a 1b on joining. I then clarified when showering - tip wash freshly detangled hair and wet it when standing to shower don't tip you head over the bath or you will just have a tangled mess like I did!

I did a hair typing thread and was deemed a 2a for now, maybe more wavy as the layers and length grow.

Words
June 23rd, 2012, 03:29 AM
I also thought my hair was straighter than it really is. Now I'm happy that I know the truth! :)

Slug Yoga
June 23rd, 2012, 05:43 AM
Haha, I am in the same boat. I have always thought of myself as having "straight" hair, despite the s-waves that form as it dries, etc. I recently did a hair-typing thread and the consensus seemed to be that I was at least a 2a. I messed up the hair typing though, using conditioner; I'll have to try again. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when I actually treat my hair as something other than straight.

Amanah
June 23rd, 2012, 06:07 AM
I thought I just had horrible, tangly hair, now I realize it's just wavy and dry and if I treat it right, it's not horrible at all :)

Charybdis
June 23rd, 2012, 08:16 AM
Just wanted to chime in that the super curlies almost never hair type with no conditioner. It's asking for armageddon to come.

If I clarify and add no conditioner (which I haven't done since elementary school), I literally will shave parts of my head rather than fight with the resulting mess.

For curlies, it's usually wash and conditioner, but no product, no leave-ins, no oiling....don't try to fix the crazy. :D

I'm not even that curly, and -- yeah. I would never, ever clarify (or even shampoo, period) and then not condition. The tangles, the dry crispy ends! Aiieeee!

Miss Manal
June 23rd, 2012, 08:30 AM
I'd curly hair and I like it :). You can use rullers even yu've straight or curly hair.
Good Luck.

onlyforhim
June 23rd, 2012, 08:34 AM
I too thought I had straight hair. Because when I stopped straightening and started dong all LHC tips including oiling, I used to get this straight nice hair after combing.
but after a lot of reading ..clarifying hair... letting it air dry.. no combing no brusing no nothing I realized my hair is wavy...starting from the end of the neck till the ends. But when I comb it it goes straight...or hardly wavy..so ..good luck :)

Sunshineliz
June 23rd, 2012, 09:15 AM
Ah yes, join the cast of the confused wavies! I too typed myself at 1b when I joined. I knew there was some kind of wave in there, but the whole "body wave" thing confused me and I hadn't done a hairtyping yet. It was only when I started a thread on the #$#@ frizz that I was encouraged to try other things and it became obvious that I wasn't a straight-haired person whose hair sometimes "dried funny":rolleyes: I still find subtype confusing, but it is definitely wavy. I seem to have all subtypes on my head--loose waves, deeper waves, and curls, so I just picked 2b since it was in the middle.:p

Sadly my waves and frizz also convinced me two years ago to chop off my hip-length hair. Although I didn't chop it for months afterward it was a picture I'd seen of my hair airdried with no combing (and so wavy, curly, and frizzy) that convinced me that my hair must be horribly and irrevocably damaged and I'd better just chop it. I'm sure it had some damage but it probably wasn't as bad as I imagined. I know I'm not the only one that has mistaken frizz and waves for damage. I tried to tell someone recently that my frizz was just baby hairs curling up and not broken hairs (I've looked at the ends so I'm pretty sure of that) and they looked at me like "poor confused thing."

I have the curly girl book and I'd say it is a mixed bag when it comes to wavies. Some of the advice I find a bit hard to follow (like the whole hold your waves in your hands or use a hairnet in the shower, plus never combing or brushing--then I wonder when exactly am I supposed to detangle my hair?? And most leave-ins are too heavy I discovered as well so I rarely use them.) YMMV but I'd give it a try. The methods work a little better on DD6 but she's curlier than me--probably 2c or 2c/3a-- and I still fingercomb her hair when we CO wash it.


Just wanted to chime in that the super curlies almost never hair type with no conditioner. It's asking for armageddon to come.

If I clarify and add no conditioner (which I haven't done since elementary school), I literally will shave parts of my head rather than fight with the resulting mess.

For curlies, it's usually wash and conditioner, but no product, no leave-ins, no oiling....don't try to fix the crazy. :D

Actually, that was what I was told when I did a hairtyping as well. Just rinse out ALL the conditioner and don't leave anything in and airdry.:shrug: (Must've been a curly who told me that;))

It actually dries crazier and curlier the few times I've let it get wet or damp without washing at all and airdried. *wonders what clarifying and no conditioner would look like, but doesn't really want to do it*


I don't spring back to even 1 inch but there is some spring. Everything else is ticked too!

OP- I'm in the same boat, I thought I had straight hair forever. Then I saw a pic of me with these really pretty waves, and it looked like it had been taken a year or so after puberty. I'm really hot and sweaty, but my hair looks fantastic - obviously I hadn't brushed it.

You're probably what curly girl calls an S wavy then.

And I remember looking at a picture of me in gymnastics in 8th grade when all I'd been able to do was rinse myself off of sweat and my hair had been dampened but not washed and combed. I remember looking at the picture and annoyed that my hair looked all "bendy" and not straight. Wavy hair was not in my vocabulary.:p

Ambystoma
June 23rd, 2012, 11:28 AM
It took me ages to work out my hairtype as an adult. As a child it was easy - deep waves turning to ringlets at the ends but then a combination of puberty and chemical tomfoolery convinced me that I just had badly behaved 1b hair (and if I DC'd, slathered it in 'cones and combed it lots when wet I could get it to look like a 1a!) . I'm glad to be chemical free and wavy/curly (at the tips it turns to loose spirals just like when I was small) but I don't love the frizz that pops up sometimes due to the lack of 'cones and heat styling. It's especially bad since I started taking a multivitamin since I have a huge crop of baby hairs that obviously started growing at the same time :D. I find bun waves make the most of my natural texture since I'm not trying to make it straight and unpoofy, but I'm giving the curls a more uniform look, if that makes sense. Airdried and uncombed ends up looking pretty messy since I have a straight canopy, wavy mids and wurly ends :rolleyes:.

nobeltonya
June 23rd, 2012, 12:35 PM
I only recently discovered that my hair is relatively coarse.. after so long trying different products and having absolutely no idea how to deal with my hair.. when all along, it just wanted some TLC: nightly oilings, moisturizing conditioner and a good coney leave-in. Tada! :disco: It's definitely not far-fetched to just discover things about your hair.. :rolling:

LaFlor
June 23rd, 2012, 12:46 PM
wow, now I am curious to do a clarifying/hairtyping on myself... hmm. Maybe I will discover some hidden waves too! *crosses fingers*

Alexblue
June 24th, 2012, 06:37 AM
Sadly my waves and frizz also convinced me two years ago to chop off my hip-length hair. Although I didn't chop it for months afterward it was a picture I'd seen of my hair airdried with no combing (and so wavy, curly, and frizzy) that convinced me that my hair must be horribly and irrevocably damaged and I'd better just chop it. I'm sure it had some damage but it probably wasn't as bad as I imagined. I know I'm not the only one that has mistaken frizz and waves for damage.

I'm so glad someone else had the same dilemma. Last month I did a clarify shampoo and air dry (something I never did before LHC), and saw s-waves and one or two small curls for the first time. However, my hair was also frizzy and just generally a mess - particularly my hemline.
My first assessment was DAMAGE! A lot more damage than I originally thought. And yet, I have no split ends and my hair is pretty soft despite years of heat styling and horrid brushes. I was about to go for a big chop (4 inches) to rid myself of my wurly hemline but I'm staring to think the big problem is my own misconception of my hair. I'm 2a, not 1b. Eureka! I thought my hair was straight since it had always been so when I was a kid, and more importantly, before I started damaging my hair with colour, heat, etc. Now I see I have wavy/curly hair (which I love because I love that hair type) but also a little nervous about because I actually do not know a thing about natural hair care for curls.

Open the book to chapter 1.....

Arden
June 24th, 2012, 07:01 PM
Yep, I found a curl identifier on the web and realised I am wavy (more of a kink though). Since I stopped fighting genetics and gave up the BKT and straightener I actually like my hair au natural with no product or heat intevention :cheese:


Do you remember what the website was? I would be very intrested in that...

MrsGuther
June 24th, 2012, 07:03 PM
Am I the only one who misinterpreted the title of this thread? My initial thought was "both straight and gay people can be kinky!" Lol! Well speaking in terms of hair, I'm straight, wavy AND a few strands that go kinky when it's moist and muggy out. Weird right?

Lol I will admit I chuckled when I read the thread title. Mind in gutter!

Arden
June 24th, 2012, 07:14 PM
I'm so glad someone else had the same dilemma. Last month I did a clarify shampoo and air dry (something I never did before LHC), and saw s-waves and one or two small curls for the first time. However, my hair was also frizzy and just generally a mess - particularly my hemline.
My first assessment was DAMAGE! A lot more damage than I originally thought. And yet, I have no split ends and my hair is pretty soft despite years of heat styling and horrid brushes. I was about to go for a big chop (4 inches) to rid myself of my wurly hemline but I'm staring to think the big problem is my own misconception of my hair. I'm 2a, not 1b. Eureka! I thought my hair was straight since it had always been so when I was a kid, and more importantly, before I started damaging my hair with colour, heat, etc. Now I see I have wavy/curly hair (which I love because I love that hair type) but also a little nervous about because I actually do not know a thing about natural hair care for curls.

Open the book to chapter 1.....

Yea, this is so funny to me because I was just talking to my husband about that last night. I dont think I've ever had a split end in my life (as to what a true split end acctually is) but I thought my hair was "damaged" because it would "flip up" everywhere.... I see now that i've been fighting my natural hair type because i've always been told and always belived I was stright....

I'm not really sure if I'm Wavy or S'wavy..... The clarfing will help me judge that I guess.... and getting this awful haircut of mine grown out wont hurt either.


As to my opinuion of the book? So far so good. I think it was very intresting and informative... I will be hounest I did skip the stuff on specific hair types that I KNOW arnt like mine but I plan to go back and re read the book again just for the sake of knowledge... including the other curl types...

After having my eyes opened to the whole wavy means curly thing... I'm head watching constantly everywhere going, "you are fighting your hair, you are fight you hair, you.. you..." lol.... it's crazy

Mischamiu
June 25th, 2012, 08:38 AM
I can relate!! I used to have suuuuuper curly hair, but I mean REALLY curly. My aunt once cut my hair and it turned out completly straight, then (around 12 yo) it started curling again. It was a mess I just couldn't accept it and did all the bad things since all my family has beautiful black straight hair, I'm still figuring out how to manage it and accept my natural texture

palaeoqueen
June 25th, 2012, 04:01 PM
Another here who thought they had badly behaved frizzy straight but it turns out I'm a wavy. This misconception was greatly fuelled by the fact that as a child I really did have pin straight hair but it started to go wavy with the onset of puberty. Unfortunately I soon discovered hair dryers so spent my teens with huge, wildly frizzy "straight" hair. Then in my early twenties I discovered straighteners which superficially sorted out the frizz but just compounded the damage I was doing. Now in my early thirties I'm growing out the damage and embracing my waves :D

Jing
June 26th, 2012, 04:12 AM
I had no idea what my hair was doing while growing to shoulder. Straight at the top, then wavy, then a curly mess at ear level. It straightened out more and more the closer I got to shoulder, which was a bit of a bummer, but now that I'm nearling APL, it's getting more and more wavy all over. I'm planning on doing a proper typing once I'm solidly APL.

A few months ago I started properly realizing that my hair is a lot curlier than I used to think. I'd say I've always been vaguely aware that there was some wave in my hair, but the truth is I wasn't very aware of my hair at all for most of my life, until I started sporting pixie cuts. Last time I had long hair, I brushed while blow drying after every wash, so it was a frizzy, straightened mess. The photo in my signature is not representative at all, except as far as straightness goes.

Anyway, back to the point. I've now realized that my father and my aunts all have curly hair. My maternal grandfather had curly hair. When my hair is wet, it spirals. The hair around my face spirals even when dry sometimes. So I'm currently psyching myself up for the journey ahead. I hate the way my hair looks when air-dried - it's stringy and frizzy and looks either wet or oily even when bone dry. I know that with the proper routine, I'll be able to work through that and let my natural texture shine. It's very exciting, the prospect of finding out what my hair can do, but I also feel apprehensive since I don't know how much time I'll have to invest before I get there.

Arden
June 26th, 2012, 06:20 AM
I had no idea what my hair was doing while growing to shoulder. Straight at the top, then wavy, then a curly mess at ear level. It straightened out more and more the closer I got to shoulder, which was a bit of a bummer, but now that I'm nearling APL, it's getting more and more wavy all over. I'm planning on doing a proper typing once I'm solidly APL.

A few months ago I started properly realizing that my hair is a lot curlier than I used to think. I'd say I've always been vaguely aware that there was some wave in my hair, but the truth is I wasn't very aware of my hair at all for most of my life, until I started sporting pixie cuts. Last time I had long hair, I brushed while blow drying after every wash, so it was a frizzy, straightened mess. The photo in my signature is not representative at all, except as far as straightness goes.

Anyway, back to the point. I've now realized that my father and my aunts all have curly hair. My maternal grandfather had curly hair. When my hair is wet, it spirals. The hair around my face spirals even when dry sometimes. So I'm currently psyching myself up for the journey ahead. I hate the way my hair looks when air-dried - it's stringy and frizzy and looks either wet or oily even when bone dry. I know that with the proper routine, I'll be able to work through that and let my natural texture shine. It's very exciting, the prospect of finding out what my hair can do, but I also feel apprehensive since I don't know how much time I'll have to invest before I get there.

Well from what I have learned over the last few days is that with a wavy hair type you kind of have the best of both worlds... you can wear it stright if you want... or you can wear it wavy / curly.

Technique is the key. Because I had always been taught and treated like I had stright hair I had no idea how to care for wavy / curly hair.

I must say what I have learned in really fantastically intresting and although the process is diffrent it takes no more extra time from what I already spend doing my hair... It also seems to me to be a super healthy way to care for hair as well.. and with our long hair goals the healthier the better right?

rena
June 26th, 2012, 02:37 PM
I've noticed quite a few members who I clearly remember once being in the 1s, but then after some time they went well into the 2s! That's when I say to myself, "Hm, when did that happen?" :p

joyfulchiara
June 26th, 2012, 03:34 PM
Lol I will admit I chuckled when I read the thread title. Mind in gutter!


Ha! Me too! :shrug:

Arden
June 30th, 2012, 11:01 PM
I've noticed quite a few members who I clearly remember once being in the 1s, but then after some time they went well into the 2s! That's when I say to myself, "Hm, when did that happen?" :p

Well I cant really speak for everyone but I have some theories / ideas.

Before learning all I have been about hair I would have probably typed myself into the ones. My hair was behaving "stright" because I treated it stright... Another thing I have learned is that when you have wavy hair, you can acctually incurage it back from the land of "strightness" ....and in some cases going from treating it one way to another can bring out more wave than you even realized you had...

My hair typing thread put me at a 2a.. but I can have 2b days with incuragement...

My hair dresser, who is curly herself and one of the few curl experts in the area informed me that treating your hair a certain way for long periods of time can train it to be a certian way without much effort... same goes stright or curly...

Jing
July 1st, 2012, 03:13 AM
Well from what I have learned over the last few days is that with a wavy hair type you kind of have the best of both worlds... you can wear it stright if you want... or you can wear it wavy / curly.

Technique is the key. Because I had always been taught and treated like I had stright hair I had no idea how to care for wavy / curly hair.

I must say what I have learned in really fantastically intresting and although the process is diffrent it takes no more extra time from what I already spend doing my hair... It also seems to me to be a super healthy way to care for hair as well.. and with our long hair goals the healthier the better right?

I think making my hair as straight as it was on sulphates might take some effort without a lot of heat, but yeah, the possibilities!. It's very exciting to be in transition; my hair keeps surprising me every day right now. I can't wait for my next wash day! :p

MissAlida
July 1st, 2012, 04:22 AM
I actually had straight hair.It was a 1b. Then I cut it into a pixie, and kept it that way for three years. When I decided to grow it out, it grew out curly. I'm wavy/curly. I have the best of both worlds, depends on how I dry it. If I wrap it when wet, I get straight hair. If I comb it when wet, then leave it to air dry, I get wavy hair. If I wash it and scrunch it with a bit of oil, then air dry it, I get curly hair. Depends on my mood. So on being straight or curly...It is not always that easy to define. You just have to play with your options, experiment a little, and enjoy your hair. When I first joined the LHC all I could see, was that my hair is not thick enough, not tidy enough, not long enough. But I can see now, that it has gotten thicker, longer and nicer since I'm here. So enjoy your curls, if you can scrunch them, and if not, enjoy the beauty of straight hair. :D

Proximity
July 1st, 2012, 05:17 AM
Reading this tread has made me decide to let my hair airdry without combing it through first when I wash it today. Usually I comb it through and air dry it and can get quite a lot of wave like that. The last time I let it air dry with no combing it came out REALLY wavy, almost curly. But my hair was a lot shorter then so I will be interested to see what it does now.

My problem is this, and maybe some of you who are more experienced with your waves can help me out here..... I tend not to encourage the waves much because although they look lovely the first day I don't want to wash my hair every day and so the second day after sleeping with my hair in a plait/braid most of my waves have flattened out and my hair just looks messy. I work in a professional office and so have to look fairly presentable. So then I comb my hair through and get poofy hair. Yarg!

So tell me, what do you fellow wavies do to keep your hair looking nice on day 2, and days 3, 4, etc until you wash again?

ravenheather
July 1st, 2012, 07:05 AM
Well I cant really speak for everyone but I have some theories / ideas.

Before learning all I have been about hair I would have probably typed myself into the ones. My hair was behaving "stright" because I treated it stright... Another thing I have learned is that when you have wavy hair, you can acctually incurage it back from the land of "strightness" ....and in some cases going from treating it one way to another can bring out more wave than you even realized you had...

My hair typing thread put me at a 2a.. but I can have 2b days with incuragement...

My hair dresser, who is curly herself and one of the few curl experts in the area informed me that treating your hair a certain way for long periods of time can train it to be a certian way without much effort... same goes stright or curly...

This is my hair. I just began my great curly girl experiment. It's going pretty well. I'm hoping for more consistent and stronger waves. I figure now is a good time to start since my length won't weigh my waves down yet. Hoping for 2a or 2b waves one day.

Altariel
July 1st, 2012, 08:47 AM
I think I fit in here too.

You know you have wavy curls if you have:

-Hair you’ve always believed was straight
-Had straight hair when you where very young and possibly wavy hair after puberty
-Hair that occasionally develops after coming out of the shower and at the beach
-A slight halo of frizz and frizz on the ends of the hair on humid days
-Hair that ends to look untamed and flat on the crown
-Hair that can appear straight in the winter
-Hair that it dry on the ends
-A spring factor of 2 to 4 inches
I always had straight hair but after puberty I got some waves and my hair did't (actually don't) behave.
I'll try to treat them as wavy/curly and see what the future will bring to me.

when they will be longer I'll ask to someone to hai type me :)

Lostsoule77
July 1st, 2012, 10:54 AM
Growing up I had a few waves in my hair, but it was generally straight. (Just counted & in 6th grade at the top of bsl I had like 3 and in 7th at the bottom of bsl I had 5 waves in my entire length.) For 8th grade I really wanted a perm so my mom gave me one that looked like a spiral perm. (I was thrilled because spiral perms were so in then, but I couldn't get one at a salon.) I just thought I was special because my perm didn't grow out like other peoples did! My little sister had the same thing minus the perm and she's at least a 3a.

I knew I was wavy, but not how wavy I was. I typed myself as a 2a when I joined. Did a hair typing and got a concensus of 2b. After being here for awhile and treated my hair better (more moisture) I noticed more curl so I did another one. This time there was no concensus, I got 2c, 2c/3a, & 3a! I figured I'd pick the middle one. :) If I wear my hair in braids or buns my hair ends up fairly straight, but if I put something in my hair and crunch I get curls. If I do nothing I get sometimes get waves and sometimes frizz. :D

Arden
August 3rd, 2012, 11:59 AM
Just an update... I have been keeping with the curly girl mindset... although not being as "strict" anymore...

Lots of conditioner... lots of moisture... plopping / plunking with a microfiber towel instead of using a terry towl....

Yesterday I was looking at my hair in the mirror feeling very down because my hair seems to have "stopped growing"

Then it occured to me... my waves are much more defined now and dont stick up everywhere anymore....

Perhaps it's not that it's not growing but that the spring factor is giving the illusion of no growth?

Alexblue
August 3rd, 2012, 04:00 PM
Sounds that all the moisture is paying off. I'm 2a as well and can loose quite a few inches if I really crank up the curl index :-)

dixid
August 3rd, 2012, 08:49 PM
Until I read this thread this morning, I thought my hair was rather straight. After clarifying, and air drying, this is what I ended up with:

http://www.imagebucket.net/bucket/is.php?i=11021&img=Hair_for_typing.jpg

Now, I think it might be wavy? Anyone want to try helping me type it?

HumanBean
August 3rd, 2012, 10:07 PM
Definitely wavy. 2b I'd say.

Arden
August 3rd, 2012, 11:31 PM
Definatly wavey.... I'm say in the 2's... A possibly B.... I know that when you've lived treating your hair stright for a long time you never know how much wave is really in it until you start encuraging the wave... When I first started the curly method I had to use a little gel to get the waves to stay... Now I just wash and go and the wave stays...

main keys to sucess for me? Sulfate free, low to no cones, ACV... plopping / plunking... using a micro fiber towel instead of a terry towel...

I wouldnt even DREAM of using a regular towl on my head anymore...

AND my hair is now super duper SOFT.. and on most days does not stick up in weird spots anymore

Lostsoule77
August 4th, 2012, 01:38 AM
That's great Arden! Any chance on getting an updated pic? (Sorry, I just love looking at pics on here.)

dixid
August 4th, 2012, 07:50 AM
Thanks for the help! I started No Poo in January. I've been washing with baking soda, rinsing with ACV, and that's really when I started noticing differences in my hair.

I'll be buying a mircofiber towel today.

Arden
August 4th, 2012, 09:49 AM
Thanks for the help! I started No Poo in January. I've been washing with baking soda, rinsing with ACV, and that's really when I started noticing differences in my hair.

I'll be buying a mircofiber towel today.

Earth theraputics makes a reasonably priced towl. I have one of those and two smaller ones... one I got from my hair dresser, the over a deva curl one. But I must say the Earth theraputics one is my favorite.

Yea, same with me. When I started experimenting with "no poo" my hair got "wild" ...one thing lead to the other and that's kind of how I made the discovery. You'll get better responce from your hair though with mositure.

Baking soda / soap and ACV alone I have found is a little too drying for wavey / curly hair.... The moisture addition of a nice low to no cone conditioner has really made a diffrence for me as far as how my hair "lays"

Arden
August 4th, 2012, 09:54 AM
That's great Arden! Any chance on getting an updated pic? (Sorry, I just love looking at pics on here.)

I was acctually looking threw the thread and realized I didn't do "before" pictures here either... and by before I mean from when I was wearing it "stright". There's one where it's sticking up everywhere from my "first" but failed hair typing... the picture for my avitar is my second and "correct" hair typing event. The profile and sig pictures are from doing the CG method with gel for hold.

I was unable to find a gel that didnt react to my allergies so I stopped using gel but I feel like the natural wave is comming out pretty nicely on it's own as I go...

When I get the chance I'll take a picture and post it of how my hair is lookig these days. Need to do it anyway to compair length....

MandyBeth
August 4th, 2012, 11:05 AM
Creepy statement - both.

Oh wait, talking about hair. I'm a wavy with hair that likes to range from more straight to pretty close to curly.

Boucles d'or
August 4th, 2012, 12:04 PM
I thought I had straight hair that wouldn't behave too until the hairdresser told me I have wavey hair and I had to try curl mouse and not brush and airfry my hair. From straight with a slight wave I suddenly had wavey/curly untamed hair! I never knew I had!

vanillabones
August 4th, 2012, 12:29 PM
My hair is so straight and I'm afraid it will become even straighter with length!

dixid
August 4th, 2012, 03:42 PM
Yea, same with me. When I started experimenting with "no poo" my hair got "wild" ...one thing lead to the other and that's kind of how I made the discovery. You'll get better responce from your hair though with mositure.

Baking soda / soap and ACV alone I have found is a little too drying for wavey / curly hair.... The moisture addition of a nice low to no cone conditioner has really made a diffrence for me as far as how my hair "lays"

I picked up some no cone conditioner at the store today. I resisted applying it to my scalp, since I'm allergic to everything under the sun, but it did apply it to the rest of my hair. I also picked up more benedryl, just in case I do have an allergic reaction. :D I didn't find a microfiber towel, but I did get a pva towel.

patienceneeded
August 4th, 2012, 04:37 PM
My first thought when I read this thread title was, "Well, that depends on why you want to know." my brain took straight or kinky in a completely different direction than I think the OP intended...

I wondered if I had accidentally stumbled onto some kind of creepy creeper site. Kinky creepers.

torrilin
August 5th, 2012, 08:13 AM
I picked up some no cone conditioner at the store today. I resisted applying it to my scalp, since I'm allergic to everything under the sun, but it did apply it to the rest of my hair. I also picked up more benedryl, just in case I do have an allergic reaction. :D I didn't find a microfiber towel, but I did get a pva towel.

What's your allergy list? It's actually easier to find fragrance free conditioners that are also cone-free than to find 'em with silicones. So depending on what all you know you're allergic to, you can maybe just swap to something fragrance free and be set.

Lostsoule77
August 5th, 2012, 11:32 AM
...I didn't find a microfiber towel, but I did get a pva towel.
I haven't used either, but from what others here have said a pva towel is actually better than a microfiber one. ;)

Helix
August 5th, 2012, 06:19 PM
Heheh, I'm just straight up kinky :D

Arden
August 7th, 2012, 09:39 PM
I picked up some no cone conditioner at the store today. I resisted applying it to my scalp, since I'm allergic to everything under the sun, but it did apply it to the rest of my hair. I also picked up more benedryl, just in case I do have an allergic reaction. :D I didn't find a microfiber towel, but I did get a pva towel.

I feel your pain. i'm allergic to alot of stuff too. The only thing in the "no poo" vein of products that really messed me up was Deva Curl. And I hated it because my hair LOVED it... it was so beautifull and soft... but my scalp HATED it... like seriously it felt like I had a yeast infection on my head... I have no idea what it was in it that did that to me but there was definatly somthing my skin doesnt like...

I even double checked by doing patch tests on my wrists just to be certian that's what it was... sure enough.. the stuff haddent been on my wrists 10 mins and started itching... i didnt wait for the burning and redness to happen... I just washed it stright off

Arden
August 7th, 2012, 09:41 PM
Oh... PS- sorry i havent done pics yet... Have been busy working on my fall garden plans and I'm kind of obsessed with that at the moment... lol

I'll try to remember to do it tommorow, hopefully

ArienEllariel
August 7th, 2012, 09:50 PM
lol just read the thread title and thought something completely different. pretty confused there for a moment as to why this was in the Mane forum. xD

sunnydee92
August 7th, 2012, 09:58 PM
I think my hair was straight as a child, but wavy after puberty! Your hair type sounds a bit like mine...I've always thought of mine as straight-ish but hard to manage, too :P

CurlyCurves
August 8th, 2012, 04:05 PM
I say treat it like waves. The care is a little different to curls, I believe.

But congrats :D

Arden
August 11th, 2012, 08:58 PM
Ok, so you guys asked for an update picture... I took this one tonight... I cant say it's the best example because I typically dont comb my hair but I wanted to wear an aphroditie knot today when I went out so I did comb it out this morning so I could seperate it to wear it up...

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj558/Marcie_Coleman/8-11-12%20Hair/Hair81112.jpg