The Wavy and Wurly thread!

**AmaryllisRed** · January 29th, 2023, 04:40 PM

Can I get some help please from people who use products? I haven't used anything in my hair in a long time (besides shampoo and conditioner). And now that it's shorter, I wear it down a fair bit. I would like to put something in it to hold the waves and keep away frizz. Also, no blowdryer, so something that will work with air drying. Ideas?
Here's a picture of it partly dry... if I remember how to post pictures...

**lapushka** · January 29th, 2023, 05:04 PM

I would get the JBCO leave-in from Shea Moisture. Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO). Some do say it doesn't smell like vanilla but play doh though so... there's that, but it is such a good leave-in! And then gel on top, if you so choose.

**AmaryllisRed** · January 29th, 2023, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by lapushka

I would get the JBCO leave-in from Shea Moisture. Jamaican black castor oil (JBCO). Some do say it doesn't smell like vanilla but play doh though so... there's that, but it is such a good leave-in! And then gel on top, if you so choose.

Thanks, lapushka. I'll check it out. Any particular gel you recommend? I have used a few different kinds, but it's been years.

**Liria** · January 29th, 2023, 07:03 PM

I have the LA looks extreme sport gel, which is cheap and works pretty well for me. It does dry crunchy, but I enjoy scrunching it out, so . . .

**AmaryllisRed** · January 29th, 2023, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by Liria

I have the LA looks extreme sport gel, which is cheap and works pretty well for me. It does dry crunchy, but I enjoy scrunching it out, so . . .

Thank you. When I used gel years ago, I had never heard about "scrunching out the crunch." So if I used gel, I was rocking the wet look.

I'm interested in trying it and scrunching it out.

**AmaryllisRed** · February 7th, 2023, 01:28 PM

Okay, so I put more info on my blog, but...
I tried the Cantu coconut shea butter something or another cream. And I like the definition that it added. But the fact remains that my top layer is almost stick straight and the rest of my hair is now beautifully defined waves.
What I'm considering is taking the top layer of my hair, the straight part, and braiding it long enough for braid waves to take shape. A braided half-up is a nice and comfortable style anyway, so I could wear it out or to sleep.
I think the straighter top layer is a common thing among wavies. Have any of you tried this and did it work?

**stardust lady** · February 26th, 2023, 10:29 PM

Kinda interested in how people with mixed hair type (straighter in parts and wavier in parts) prefer to style their hair.

Mine is wavier underneath and straighter on top. Usually I use dimethicone heavy products as both rinse out and leave in conditioner, since it straightens my waves a bit and results in less frizz. I like combing my hair, so I comb after towel dry + lots of dimethicone leave in brushed through, with Olaplex oil on top. No scrunching. My underlayer still gets almost curly https://imgur.com/a/kHU4KA7. After I brush this out it will be very voluminous looking - not really in a good way, but I'm hoping more length will straighten it out and make it smoother.

Just curious if anyone else treats their waves like straight hair too? I've come to embrace the fluff, but it doesn't seem to be popular.

Edit to add: I just read the posts above me and it seems I am not alone! Lol

**cookies** · February 27th, 2023, 01:42 AM

stardust lady my hair is very much like yours - I have tight waves/loose spirals in the underlayer and two bonus thin ones on the sides of my face, the rest is straight-ish with the ends curling in/out.

I style it for curls (microfibre towel, no rubbing, scrunching in leave-in, oil and aloe gel on wet hair, then airdrying with no touching) because that gives me the least frizz. I thin-comb in the shower when I'm rinsing conditioner out and I wide-comb the ends after lightly oiling my lengths every day.
My hair is full on wavy on wash day and I wish it'd stay that way

but as soon as I sleep on it, the top layer straightens out. The face-framing spirals stick around for another day or two but the underlayer is very stubbornly waving/spiraling.
Regardless of texture though, what this routine contributes to the most for me is the frizz-taming.

I did treat it as straight hair until recently, but that's because I didn't know there were other ways. I don't do that anymore because I don't seem to miss the fluff much

ETA: There's some photos in my hair logs album of my hair over the past few months, you can probably guess which ones are from wash day and which aren't

**lapushka** · February 27th, 2023, 04:30 PM

I just noticed a *huge* difference in my hair based on the products I use; if I use the JBCO leave-in with gel it is long drown out waves. If I use the curl enhancing smoothie + gel, it almost gets curly. It is truly a miracle product.

**stardust lady** · February 27th, 2023, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by cookies

stardust lady my hair is very much like yours - I have tight waves/loose spirals in the underlayer and two bonus thin ones on the sides of my face, the rest is straight-ish with the ends curling in/out.

I style it for curls (microfibre towel, no rubbing, scrunching in leave-in, oil and aloe gel on wet hair, then airdrying with no touching) because that gives me the least frizz. I thin-comb in the shower when I'm rinsing conditioner out and I wide-comb the ends after lightly oiling my lengths every day.
My hair is full on wavy on wash day and I wish it'd stay that way

but as soon as I sleep on it, the top layer straightens out. The face-framing spirals stick around for another day or two but the underlayer is very stubbornly waving/spiraling.
Regardless of texture though, what this routine contributes to the most for me is the frizz-taming.

I did treat it as straight hair until recently, but that's because I didn't know there were other ways. I don't do that anymore because I don't seem to miss the fluff much

ETA: There's some photos in my hair logs album of my hair over the past few months, you can probably guess which ones are from wash day and which aren't

Yes our texture is very similar! I gave up on styling wavy because of the top layer falling flat. I can get it to look wavy, but barely, and the bottom will spiral like a maniac if I encourage it at all. I smooth it out as its drying and it still spirals, but thankfully with all the dimethicone and smoothing products I use, it flattens out after sleeping in a bun. Plus the dimethicone + brushing makes it dry very fast! If I style wavy it will take 3-4 hours to dry, and this way it's only like an hour or two.

I'm dying to know how you used to get it to look so straight in older pics? Or perhaps you grew up with mostly straight hair like me?

Originally Posted by lapushka

I just noticed a *huge* difference in my hair based on the products I use; if I use the JBCO leave-in with gel it is long drown out waves. If I use the curl enhancing smoothie + gel, it almost gets curly. It is truly a miracle product.

I LOVE the JBCO leave-in. Makes my hair feel so soft. It causes too much shrinkage for me compared to my silicone leave-ins, so I don't use it every wash, but it's just fantastic. I'll have to consider trying the curl enhancing smoothie if I ever decide to wear my hair more wavy. Do you just scrunch it all in?