I'm finally embracing my natural waves!

[makeupNdesign]

Help!

After years of abusing my hair with flat irons trying to get that stick-straight look, I've decided to finally go natural. The only problem with my hair is that it doesn't have a definite wave to it and it poofs like crazy! my goal is to acheive very little volume, specifically on the sides of my head--impossible?? I hope not. I've also tried rag curls to avoid heat styling but sometimes the curl is just too tight for me and creates serious poodle hair.

Any product suggestions/techniques that you curly-headed girls use/do? I also want to avoid anything super heavy that will weigh down my hair or make it feel greasy...

Note: I've got all kinds of textures going on in my crazy mass of hair: very little wave in the front, tighter waves in the back and underneath and slightly looser waves on the sides that like to poof out. Right now, I have it cut in long layers, length is to the middle of back, and I'm growing out bangs--they're a little past my nose.

I welcome any and all of your suggestions

[GlossyAbby]

I have natural curls and when I dont straighten it I love Pureology curl cream I put some in after I wash my hair and go to be and wake up with pretty curls...

[n_c]

My new found love product is TIGI - Catwalk curls rock amplifier. Basically you work the product in on damp hair, I let my hair air dry or u can use a diffuser. I like that if defines my natural wavy hair and i get no frizz! i love it

[pumpkincat210]

I have stick straight hair but nearly all of my friends have curly/wavy hair. They use tiniest bit of frizz serum. It should do the trick without weighing your hair down. Then they apply a curl enhancer and use a blow dryer that just heats and not really blows so the waves stay in place. I also seriously find that the more expensive brands work better.

[makeupNdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumpkincat210

I have stick straight hair but nearly all of my friends have curly/wavy hair. They use tiniest bit of frizz serum. It should do the trick without weighing your hair down. Then they apply a curl enhancer and use a blow dryer that just heats and not really blows so the waves stay in place. I also seriously find that the more expensive brands work better.

I agree when it comes to the more expensive brands--not knocking the drugstore brands or anything, lol. But yea, they definitely work better for me from what I've noticed.

[kimmy]

sexysilkyhair is the ultimate defrizzing serum. i have frizzy wavy hair and it does wonders for me.

[MissLorsie]

What i use at the moment is Keune sculpting lotion. It does not make your hair crunchy at all but defines my curls really nicely.

I put in a leave in moisture treatment, put the sculpting lotion in the lengths of my hair as the hair near my scalp is basically straight and doesnt need anything on it.

What i do to get pretty defined curls with no frizz is wash hair, apply leave in treatments twist my hair all the way down to the ends and then twist it into a bun. I leave that all day until it dries. I might take it out a few times to retwist it into a bun. I find the less i touch it the better it looks. Once its about 90% dry i take it out to air dry.

It feels super soft this way and i always get compliments bout my curls when i leave it this way in comparison to just air drying with the lotion let out or in a pony tail..

[Dreamergirl3]

I have thick wavy hair and the length is similar to yours. Also, my waves were very unpredictable and inconsistent! Sometimes they'd turn out frizzy, with random straight strands and uneven waves, and on rare occasions it'd turn out nicely. Then I discovered "plopping" or "plunking" and now I love my waves and wear it natural most of the time now.

I learned how to do so from these two sites:
Naturallycurly.com: Where curls come to life!
Demo Videos-Curl-Enhancing Styling Products-Moisturizing Conditioners (the Plunking video)

It works great for me! After I plop I dry my hair using a blowdryer with a diffuser attachment. The whole process gave my waves a boost so they're tighter and more uniform and I love it!

Some of my own tips from experience:
-Instead of adding product when your hair is sopping wet, towel dry very briefly. I'm talking one to three gentle squeezes. You want your hair to still be wet, just not sopping.
-When you're bent over gathering your hair into the cloth, try and make sure you're piling the hair so when you wrap it up, it's all lying on the top of your head (I hope that's not too confusing). I find that doing so gives me extra volume at my roots as well as making sure ALL of my hair gets a bit of a wave.
-For wavy hair, don't plop for more than 15, 20 minutes. Any more and too much moisture gets soaked up in the cloth and your hair can end up a frizz ball, the opposite of what you're trying to achieve here.

hth and if you try it let me know how it works out for you!

[mizzbeba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamergirl3

Some of my own tips from experience:
-Instead of adding product when your hair is sopping wet, towel dry very briefly. I'm talking one to three gentle squeezes. You want your hair to still be wet, just not sopping.

What product do you use??

[Dreamergirl3]

I use Biosilk and Umberto Curl Enhancing Lotion ( I got mine at Target). Unless your hair is very very dry you may not need Biosilk but my ends are scorched so use it. As for the Umberto Curl Enhancing Lotion, I'm pretty happy with it. My only gripe is the smell but thankfully once my hair is dry the scent is long gone

[makeupNdesign]

Ladies (and gents??) you are all fabulous!! Thank you so much for your input and advice, I will definitely give each a whirl to see what works best for me I appreciate all the detail, wow!

xoxox

[makeupNdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissShiva

What i use at the moment is Keune sculpting lotion. It does not make your hair crunchy at all but defines my curls really nicely.

I put in a leave in moisture treatment, put the sculpting lotion in the lengths of my hair as the hair near my scalp is basically straight and doesnt need anything on it.

What i do to get pretty defined curls with no frizz is wash hair, apply leave in treatments twist my hair all the way down to the ends and then twist it into a bun. I leave that all day until it dries. I might take it out a few times to retwist it into a bun. I find the less i touch it the better it looks. Once its about 90% dry i take it out to air dry.

It feels super soft this way and i always get compliments bout my curls when i leave it this way in comparison to just air drying with the lotion let out or in a pony tail..

I actually tried the twisting method this Sunday and it worked out great--my co-worker had recommended it to me as well. It gave me beautiful soft waves Oh, and I used a nickel-sized amt of Moroccan Hair Oil which I bought from my hairstylist (surprisingly non-greasy and weightless considering it's an oil) and the same amt. of Aquage Defining Gel, also weightless stuff.

[k.a.t]

I have the exact same problem! it's like you were describing my hair! lol
I have done the bun trick myself, and like the result but it takes too long for my hair to dry like that - maybe im doing the bun too tight? :S
Now i just let it air dry naturally and then when it's dry i take a lil mousse and srunch any poofy areas to define them better... it works ok i guess - great if you're lazy like me :P

[MAC_Enthusiast]

Hi, I decided a few months ago to let my naturally wavy hair do it's thing instead of fighting with it every day trying to get it straight. I like the products from curlyhairsolutions.com - Curl Keeper in particular. they have a good video to show you how to use the products. The cut is important to get the most from your curly hair. They describe how the cut should be done. I also like ouidad.com products. They have an interactive site that helps you choose the products for your hair type. Naturallycurly.com has good information too!

[makeupNdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by k.a.t

I have the exact same problem! it's like you were describing my hair! lol
I have done the bun trick myself, and like the result but it takes too long for my hair to dry like that - maybe im doing the bun too tight? :S
Now i just let it air dry naturally and then when it's dry i take a lil mousse and srunch any poofy areas to define them better... it works ok i guess - great if you're lazy like me :P

I know!! My hair takes forever to dry because it's as thick as Captain Caveman's hair---ugh. I'm lazy and impatient too so I yesterday I tried blow-drying it 50% and then twisting it. It worked better when i just let it air-dry...sigh. Thanks for the tip

[makeupNdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Enthusiast

Hi, I decided a few months ago to let my naturally wavy hair do it's thing instead of fighting with it every day trying to get it straight. I like the products from curlyhairsolutions.com - Curl Keeper in particular. they have a good video to show you how to use the products. The cut is important to get the most from your curly hair. They describe how the cut should be done. I also like ouidad.com products. They have an interactive site that helps you choose the products for your hair type. Naturallycurly.com has good information too!

Yea, I have to agree about the cut...I think I had way too many layers for my hair texture. Nw that it's grown out some, I will definitely re-think my next cut. Thanks for the link

[MissChievous]

I really love Sebastian Molding Mud for shaping and defining my waves. It's like a pomade so you don't need a lot, but it really adds definition. I usually use my blowdrier and scrunch softly with my hands, or flip my head upside down and blow it every which way in direction to get some movement going. Then I use a big round brush to blowdry my bangs and ver front pieces straight and pull them to one side. Then I use the Sebastian stuff for defining the waves. Sometimes I use a bit of prouduct in them before drying to get more curls.

[makeupNdesign]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissChievous

I really love Sebastian Molding Mud for shaping and defining my waves. It's like a pomade so you don't need a lot, but it really adds definition. I usually use my blowdrier and scrunch softly with my hands, or flip my head upside down and blow it every which way in direction to get some movement going. Then I use a big round brush to blowdry my bangs and ver front pieces straight and pull them to one side. Then I use the Sebastian stuff for defining the waves. Sometimes I use a bit of prouduct in them before drying to get more curls.

I love Sebastian products although I haven't tried the Molding Mud yet--thanks bunches for the tip!