But, how do you STYLE your hair when down??

[eri401]

Hi LHC,

I've relied on everyone's wisdom to get my hair in a healthy enough condition to grow quite long. As it has grown, I've kept my hair up or in braids, oiled and away from heat. So far, so good right? Pretty much no one here ever talks about their routine for letting their hair DOWN and when they do, it seems almost self-evident what to do with it.

But

Today I wanted to let my hair down (it is my birthday!). My hair is naturally quite coarse and slightly wavy, more so due to the nightly braids (sleep at night). Now that it is halfway down my back and I've ditched all products, I don't know what to do with it. I wouldn't even know how to begin blow drying it or curling it. In the past, I always had it straightened via Asian thermal perm so I could just "leave it down" and it would fall sleek and smooth. Now, I can't bring myself to get that terrible treatment.

tl;dr: Health-wise, my hair is fine but style-wise, it is a mess. How do you "style" your hair when you leave it down?

[Firefox7275]

Happy birthday!

[Mirsha]

My hair is straight so I comb it out, add a shine spray or oil lightly, add a nice headband, spray with some sugar water and I'm done.

I recently started using sugar water as a natural hairspray. It keeps everything where I want it. Wet hair if you want it out.

edit: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

[morecowbell]

I haven't really worked out a routine to wear my hair down yet, either, so I will be watching this thread.
I have issues with frizz and too much volume for my short length (not to mention a texture that can't make up it's mind!), and as a result I hardly ever wear it down out of the house.
The few tidbits I have discovered for a better result so far are:
Day 2 hair looks best when I wear it down
For less frizz dry hair in a loose multi-scrunchied ponytail (or pigtails)
Use a leave in conditioner
a few drops of oil

I would be really interested to see members with longer hair describe the routines they go through to wear their hair down.

[vanity_acefake]

Happy birthday.

[bella77]

my hair is shorter than yours, but it is very fine and thin. I usually wear it up all day, but if I do let it down, I use the really small claw clips and make little section of rolled hair- use your 2-3 fingers like a curling iron- wrapping the hair around and then using the clips secure it while it's damp, let dry and then finger comb, you can use a bit of mousse for some extra hold or aloe gel, whichever you prefer. I find my hair is getting frizzy and wavy as it grows longer, so to encourage a little body and curl makes it look soften and "more styled" so tp speak. If I let it air dry naturally and do not style it, it looks like I had a bad perm, kind of wavy but not really forming a curl. It looks horrid, so I have to do damp buns or curls to make it look nice.

[CrisDee]

I am a huuuuge fan of hair wrapping. It leaves my hair looking as though it's been blown straight. I started this last August when my hair was still quite short, somewhere between pixie and skaterboy - so I've kind of grown with my hair in my ability to get it all wrapped around my head. I usually do it at night, so it's dry the next morning. If I do it in the daytime, it takes at least 5 hours to dry, and my hair is still pretty short (see avatar, upper back length). Not sure this will be helpful for today, though - but I wish you a very happy birthday regardless of what you decide to do with your hair!

[jaine]

I dry mine in a bun and then take it down when the front is dry and the bun is still damp, if I want to wear it down and "straightish" (which for me is more like big fat loose waves). Most of my pics in my album are a result of that. It gets rid of frizz around my face if I dry it with a hard-hold gel in it.

My other favorite styling method is the "curly girl method" - scrunch hard hold gel into soaking wet hair, blot with paper towels, leave it to air dry until it's completely dy and hard, then scrunch out the crunch. That gives me soft, clumpy waves or curls depending on the day and what my hair wants to do. It shouldn't be touched while it's drying if at all possible which is why I usually only do it for special occasions...damp-bunning seems logistically easier.

Another thing I do if I want to wear my hair down is to avoid putting it up in an asymmetrical updo like a peacock twist or French twist - that gives me a very wonky shape compared to more symmetrical updos like a sock bun or cinnabun or a braid.

[Yozhik]

Happy birthday!

I'll be watching this thread, too, because I've been trying to figure out how to wear my hair down at a longer length, too. I have wavy hair, so just having it down causes a lot of tangles.

Maybe a half-up would help keep it out of your face, plus look pretty, too.
I find when I do wear it down, I have to brush it a lot more frequently to keep it knot free, so it may also be a good idea to have a comb on hand.

[jaine]

my hair is shorter than yours, but it is very fine and thin. I usually wear it up all day, but if I do let it down, I use the really small claw clips and make little section of rolled hair- use your 2-3 fingers like a curling iron- wrapping the hair around and then using the clips secure it while it's damp, let dry and then finger comb, you can use a bit of mousse for some extra hold or aloe gel, whichever you prefer. I find my hair is getting frizzy and wavy as it grows longer, so to encourage a little body and curl makes it look soften and "more styled" so tp speak. If I let it air dry naturally and do not style it, it looks like I had a bad perm, kind of wavy but not really forming a curl. It looks horrid, so I have to do damp buns or curls to make it look nice.

That's the exact same bun that I dry my hair in!! what a coincidence.