Naturally wavy hair (2a), best lightweight curl enhancers?

[BalladOfBarryAndFreda]

My hair has a natural 2a wave to it when left to its own devices, if I brush it it goes frizzy and loses most of the wave. I’m Caucasian with fine-medium textured, coloured hair, like, the pic but not so much of it! I’m looking for a lightweight, non greasy curl enhancer that I can scrunch in and won’t leave me crunchy. I see a lot of ‘puddings’ and creams on the market but tbh, they look like they’re formulated for hair types that can take more gloop than mine, ingredients like Shea butter give me fear of the greasies. Any recommendations gratefully received.

I use Percy and Reid Wonder Balm.

[quote LightOfAThousandStars]@Mrsfenchurch your curls are beautiful! Can you please share what products you use? How do you get the hair at the top to curl and not go flat?[/quote]
Ah thank you - I spent 30 years thinking my hair was just frizzy! Then tried loosely following the CGM. I find marisascurls on Insta and curlycandace (dream hair!) useful for tips too. Oh & swavycurlycourtney At the mo I have a Shea moisture leave in conditioner spray, Aussie instant strong hold gel and twisted got2be mousse. for me I get best results brushing whilst soaking wet then adding products still dripping wet, so it all feels slimy like seaweed this helps bigger clumps to form - as soon as mine dries out even a little before I style it goes more stringy / 80s perm look! To get curls at the top I just make sure I scrunch right up - loads of trial & error! Not everyday looks like this!

floracurl.co.uk/

Try a mousse or a lightweight gel. If you're not using a hairdryer and it dries crispy then you need to scrunch out the cast to reveal your curls.

2a/b fine colour treated hair here. Curl cream doesn’t seem to work for me. Snot gel however holds my curls really well. And a protein treatment every other week encourages the curl.

Thank you so much @Mrsfenchurch , I've added all the Insta accounts to follow. Your hair really is lovely, thanks for sharing the products as well

I have similar hair to you OP… when it’s rainy the frizz increases. The problem is I don’t want curls I just want waves. I’m holding out for this new product that’s been getting a lot of hype… it’s out of stock until mid October. I guess time will tell.

www.hershesons.com/products/zhoosh#Product

Oh forgot to say… you can use it on dry hair so you can refresh your look… add some oomph.

I have very similar hair to the picture and also find most gels leave a greasy look. I currently use cantu wave whip which is great for helping the waves to form but doesn't leave any residue. It not great for keeping a hold though.

Ohhhhhkay here goes ...! Fine but
lots of it wavy/often curly hair, am in 40s, tried every product/method under the sun over the years.
My curls look best with a very lightweight conditioner, then Trepadora Babassu Quench leave in primer (10p size blob), then into a t-shirt/microfibre towel.
Then while still wet but not soaking, I use mousse on the roots and gel on the mids/ends to form a cast. I love the Umberto Giannini curl jelly.
I leave to air dry, and don't touch it at all, then when it's completely dry, break the cast with a gentle scrunch.
Garnier conditioner in the tub is too heavy for my hair, so is Cantu.
A lot of it is trail and error for me, and some days the curls are fab, other days they're terrible!

@CrystalMaisie which protein treatment do you use?

I have 2a waves, I think, hair bit like first pic here (not nearly as curly as @Mrsfenchurch upthread, beautiful hair btw) and don't use any product to shape. The best thing for me
is a really good cut, pay for the best hairdresser you can afford.

I wash and condition using roughly the CG method, very gentle shampoo and best conditioner I can afford. No brushing after washing then let it dry naturally or give a very light blowdry holding dryer really far away!

I’ve had really, really good success with Merwaves products

This thread has been so helpful. I used mousse yesterday which held alright but was a little frizzy. I thought I'd give gel a try today and I look a frizzy mess

@mysticglobe have you brushed your hair after washing/drying? As mine only does that frizzy thing when I do. To stop tangling I brush thoroughly before washing but don't even comb it after.

@MrsVeryTired I have... I tried not to but it just didn't look right just by scrunching. It looked like very old lady hair

How long is your hair? I think long beachy styles and shorter blunt styles (like OP posted) look up to date with natural tousled waves but I can imaging mid length styles looking more dated (if thats what you mean by "old lady hair").

@MrsVeryTired it's just below shoulder length. The problem I have is that if I follow CG to the letter then the curls go very small and clump close to my head with lots of scalp showing. It looks as if I have very fine and fragile hair (like my grandmother's hair). So I brush it a little to give it some fullness but then it goes frizzy. Maybe the products I'm using are wrong.

@mysticglobe sometimes it takes curly/wavy hair a little while to find it's groove again, especially if it's been straightened a lot or brushed out.
The main thing with curly/wavy hair is to get moisture into it, and to seal in the moisture as much as possible. It's a lot of trial and error I find, much depends on what type of hair you have, the weather, hormones, the products you combine, the type of water you have - seriously it should be a branch of science

@Gherkingreen I think I need to try it on a day I can stay home and not be seen!

@Gatekeeper I use Shea Moisture Manuka Honey and Yogurt hydrate and repair protein power treatment. Once every 4/5 washes. My hair is fine, quite a lot of it, and tinted.

Thank you @CrystalMaisie

Innoluxe elixir as a leave in conditioner is good. I have hair virtually identical to yours and this is the best thing for me. I use a few drops every day on wet hair. Detangle while wet and then dry without brushing. Any brushing brings back the frizzies. My hair has gone wavier and thinner than before and too many products seem to make things look worse. I've also stopped doing bleached highlights and have woven golden bronde tones through as this makes a huge difference to the condition & frizz.

@mysticglobe If you're brushing your hair when dry you're never going to get defined curls or waves I don't think. I stopped brushing my hair in Nov last year and haven't looked back!

@CrystalMaisie A second request for what protein treatment you use! I've been using Matrix Total Results, but I'm not convinced it does anything...

@mysticglobe could you maybe brush lightly at the roots and then finger through the rest? I do brush the roots of my fringe down (as it has a tendency to jump which I don't like)

I think I'll have to avoid the brushing tbf. I bought the Noughty prep spray and scrunching gel. The gel isn't giving me much hold at all so I need to find a stronger one. The prep spray I'm finding good to spray on to my hands and scrunch into dry hair. It tames some of the frizz and creates curls.