Oh where, oh where has my wavy hair gone?

**Hala** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:19 AM

I hope it's all right for a newbie to start a thread. I've done some searches on this, but can't seem to find what I need.

Basically, I want my wavy-mojo back. For years, whether chemically-dyed or natural, virgin or damaged, my hair hovered somewhere between 2b and 2c on the wavy-curly scale. Big loose waves if combed straight and air-dried, and any sort of help (IE being pulled up loosely, "scrunched" while drying, etc.) could get a few actual curls going. Also, very wild and full of body.

Now, my hair is nearly stick-straight. I'm being generous calling it 1b.

Hair story and routine: I have medium-fine, medium-thick hair that's currently hovering between waist and hip length, with a goal of classic. It's been as long as TBL. I henna, and this is obviously where a lot of the wave-loss is coming in. I pretty much always use mehandi.com henna, alternating between a really dark staining henna (like Celebration, or the old Yemeni) to cover my numerous grays, and a lighter henna because I like a warm, orangey red. I wash every 2 or 3 days with Chagrin Valley bars (currently Ayurvedic Herb), the occasional soapnut wash, and the occasional baking soda scrub. I use a mild cone conditioner or no conditioner, and an ACV rinse. I oil my hair almost daily--my hair LOVES oil--using either olive oil (basic store brand) or a vanilla/teatree "body oil" I bought at a farmer's market that seems to do great things for my hair. Periodically, all this oil and the bit of cones I use get build-up-y and that's when I do plain baking soda and ACV rinses, which seem to work fine. Every so often, less often than I'd like because I'm lazy, I make up some concoction to put on my head (eggs and oil! Avocado and oil! Honey and aloe and oil and and!) and they always seem to do something nice. Despite all this, I'm kind of a benign neglecter.

So the hair-straightening thing has been gradual, over the past year that I've had this routine. And I do not like it. OTHER people like it--apparently it looks like I'm having professional blow-outs (really not my thing) and I keep getting told how much "better" it looks--but I just don't. I miss my big hair.

I don't think this is ONLY the henna (although it might be primarily). I think the oil has something to do with it as well. Something about my routine is making the hair gradually straighter and straighter. I've been henna-ing for four years and this only started a year ago. Is it the emergence of more gray?

Can I do anything about this? Thus far, I've gotten some amla powder and am looking up how to use it, and I've found that avocado/oil treatments, for whatever reason, do bring the wave back a bit. Does anyone have other suggestions? Is there a link to a good drying technique to bring back waves? My hair WILL not dry in a braid or bun, even if only vaguely damp, and then dries stick-straight the second I take it out, so that's not really going to work.

Bummed over the loss of my wild, brambly, tangled, wood-nymph hair. This silky malibu-barbie thing is what everyone I know wants, but it's not me!

**colette** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:24 AM

Ive been only seriously looking after my hair for the past couple of weeks, banned all heat, deep conditioning, vitamins etc and ive noticed my natural waves are dropping. (take no notice of the profile pic, that was last year, and id just been to the hairdressers and had it straightened) im guessing maybe its something to do with my hair being in better conditon, theres more moisture in the ends, weighing it down, pulling the waves out. i could be wrong, but thats my theory

x

**pepperminttea** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:25 AM

I've no idea on the henna, but the texture change might just be something happening with age. Alternatively, have you had children? Someone mentioned in another thread that their hair went from in the 1s to 3s after two pregnancies. Just theorising, but things to keep in mind.

**Hala** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:30 AM

I do... and I had a major hair shed after my youngest (who is now three). I wonder if this, and the fact that I've noticed over the past year, might not be the new post-baby growth just coming in differently.

Oh, that would be too bad. Well, there's always rag curls!

**milagro** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:42 AM

Welcome

Did you lose the wave while getting length? Because it's a very common thing. If curl pattern is not very strong like something in upper 3s it tends to be weighed down when reaching certain lengths. I experience it, my curliest length is about shoulders +/- a couple inches. The longer it gets the less curly it looks, though the texture is apparently the same. Maybe it's the case with you as well. Silicones also may contribute to weighing down.
I advise you trying CO washing, it's good for many curlies and wavies and sometimes it helps bring out lost or unrecognized curls

Not long ago LisaMonster showed her lovely curls she discovered after she'd started COing. HTH

**Hala** · February 23rd, 2011, 09:50 AM

It's not the length, alas. I've been a longhair for about 15 years. I've had gorgeous wild waviness with hair just below hip-length, and am now stick-straights at waist. I know I shouldn't complain. It's pretty. It's easy to care for. But it's not ME. My avatar and profile pictures are literally as wavy as I can get it these days--and if you look at them, that's not very (my hair also looks AWFUL in my profile pic--it had just been clarified and was un-oiled and un-conditioned so that I could really see how straight it had gotten).

I am thinking that the cones might be the culprit. I was a die-hard cone-free natural-hair-care chick for most of my twenties and thirties, and then I gave in on the cones a bit when I had a toddler running around and the tangles got to be too much.

Reading the 2a/F support thread has made me think the solution to the mystery lies in the alliance of henna and cones. I plan to switch to a cone-free conditioner, and start using amla weekly to counteract the henna. I'll post about what happens, and as before, any other advice is welcome!

**xoxophelia** · February 23rd, 2011, 10:04 AM

One thing to take into consideration is that the weather is also really dry out. Some of your wave may come back at least a little better in the summer. And, if you really want it back you could always switch to chemical dyes or let your natural grow back out.

**Hala** · February 23rd, 2011, 01:21 PM

I just ordered some Aubrey's Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner, to use instead of my lovely slippy coney condish. Too bad, really... after five years turning up my nose at cones, I'd finally decided they weren't evil if used judiciously, and it WAS nice to have all that detangling action. That said, resuming the use of cones and doing more regular henna applications seem to be the two precipitating factors for the stick-straightness.

I'm going to keep this thread to post some before-and-after pictures of a few weeks without cones, and with a couple of amla treatments interspersed with the avocado moisture treatment that seems to give me my waves back.

The two things I won't give up are the henna (I love the color, and am a confirmed henna-head and not ready to be salt-and-pepper yet) and the CV shampoo bars. They're one of those absolute pleasures; I just love the way they smell and feel. So if eliminating the cones and using the amla won't do it, maybe I'll just have to grow more comfortable with now being a 1b. Age and motherhood and all of that!

**Roscata** · February 23rd, 2011, 02:41 PM

This is a method of drying that can help bring out waves (I actually have a photo of my results from this in my hair pics album): How To Plop.
I'd like to take the chance to say microfiber towels rule! Lower drying time and less frizz.
Also you can consider rag curls, pin curls and the like. Just google or do a search on here for it I'm sure something will pop up.
ETA: I forgot to mention that scrunching shampoo/conditioner in and water out of your hair also helps bring out the waves (as opposed to other methods of applying shampoo/conditioner or getting water out of your hair). I'm a big fan of finger-combing too.
Good luck getting your waves back!