Idiot guide to creating wavy hair please

[MustDust]

All I've ever done with my hair is straighten it as I'm useless at doing it. I cannot for the life of me manage to coordinate curling with my straighteners or a curling tong so was wondering if those 3 barrel waver type things would work for a beachy type wave? Despite having bra band length hair I'm not good at girly so please can anyone help with the very basic guide to making it look less boring? Thank you.

I'm very clumsy and have one disabled hand but even I can wave my hair with straighteners now - after watching videos, practicing and getting some really good straighteners (Cloud 9, they glide through the hair) which makes all the difference. I've tried lots of tongs, cheap straighteners and automatic curling tools but none are easier than straightener curling imo.

Dressing gown curls! DD does them every night and wakes up looking like she’s just been for a lovely wavy blow dry at the hairdresser. So simple and they only take 2 mins, comfy to sleep in, no heat damage and they last far longer than waves from her straighteners do too.

Have you tried plaiting it whilst it's damp?
If you wash it at night, put it in 4 or 5 plaits and sleep on it it should be wavy in the morning when you undo them and it's far kinder to hair than straighteners

How? I want to do dressing gown curls!

I'm not great with curling tongs but I get on much better with curling wands with a large barrel as all you need to do is wrap the hair around it.

The key things for creating waves with a wand are:

1. PREP! always use a good heat protect spray, I like the GHD one. Ensure hair is well moisturised particularly the ends. I like to pat some hair oil into the ends and use a leave in conditioning spray.
2. Curl away from your face at the front to "frame" it - look up YouTube tutorials on how to do this if you're struggling
3. After you've made each curl, cup it in your hand until it's fully cool- this is so important, it made all the difference for me, if I don't do this the curl falls out when I brush it or after a few hours.
4. When you've curled it all and it's fully cool, brush it out using a wide tooth comb (not a hair brush), starting at the ends. Again, look for tutorials on brushing out curls if you're unsure.

I find using a wand gives me the most long lasting waves but there are alternatives!

You can try heatless curls using a dressing gown cord or specially designed product. You can also try braiding your hair when slightly damp before bed.

Would also highly recommend checking out https://youtube.com/@kayleymelissa?feature=shared
I really love this lady, she has a ton of videos on creating waves using a variety of methods including heatless and I find her instructions super easy to follow 😊

Thanks all, the closest I can get to the wave look is plaiting it but they're quite small waves as I don't think my hair is thick enough. The curly blow dried look isn't for me, I think I want the opposite of the girly groomed look with beachy waves. I'll take a look a the videos linked thank you and see if I can manage to coordinate using my GHDs without burning my ears! Seems no love for those waver machines though, I thought they looked too good to be true!

The way I do mine is wash it as normal. Then put a long sleeved cotton top on my bed and tip my head forward so all of my hair falls to the front. Then I sort of gather it into a ponytail, but don't tie it, and then starting with the ends of my hair on the middle of the top I gradually pile the rest of my hair onto it. Wrap the top around my head and tie it with the sleeves. Leave it on for a good few hours. Then I lean back over the bed and remove the top. Fling my hair back and then just run my fingers through it to loosen it up and get my parting back in the right place. My hair is naturally wavy though. I just either can't be arsed with it half the time or straighten it

Sorry forgot to add there's YouTube videos of the method I use which probably explains it better than I have

I think it depends on what your natural hair type is. Salt spray works for me, but it may not work if your hair is naturally very straight.

Parts of my hair are straight, parts have a slight wave, it doesn't hold a style or even curls done by other people though without a lot of product. I did manage an 80s night with amazing crimped hair so there is hope!

I second the overnight heatless curl band, cost around £6 on amazon but get the soft one not the hard tube version, easy to use and lovely curl next day or after a few hours that drop to nice waves.

This is the easiest styling tool ever and creates fabulous beach waves.

https://mermadehair.co.uk/collections/all/products/double-waver-pink?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwr7ayBhAPEiwA6EIGxGx3clIoWsagwuBlPrDvx7NEWfF65s6FQNGoqnWsOHJVdO3mZzp3UhoCopgQAvD_BwE

Here it is in action.

All you people using overnight ones how do you sleep? I can't stay still, it's giving me 80s rags in my hair vibes when I'd get up and there'd be about 3 I'd wriggled completely free of!

It's the larger version of that I was looking at, they make it look so simple but I wonder if it's cumbersome to try and do on myself.

I have one of those 3 barrell curler things, used it once and sold it, just looks like it's been crimped but big crimps. Not the beachy waves I'd hoped for.

I've mastered curling with straighteners, I straighten the ends of my hair first, and then clamp the hair in sections, starting about 3 inches down from the roots. I hold the straighteners diagonally and twist once and let the hair slide through, stopping about 1.5 inches from the ends. Don't have them too hot or clamp them too tight as your hair will snag. I googled a few vids first and paid attention when my hairdresser did it and I can do it really well now

That's what I needed to hear (as I'm scrolling fb marketplace for hair waver thingies). OK, I'll try again witn the GHDs, I've tried loads of times and just can't get it to work, clearly not very coordinated, but will look for more videos and see if I can master it. I'm that person who has had long hair their whole life and can do straight or basic pony tail!

DD is a very rough sleeper - even for her they work really well, the waves/curls actually look nicer and more natural when they’re a bit messy! A dressing gown tie is far better and more comfortable than the special curling ones that you can buy though

The 3 barrel beach wave things are really easy to use- takes me about a minute to do my whole head. Sometimes you get a weird kink at the top if you're not careful with placement, but generally its fine.

To whoever said plaiting damp hair is better than using heat tools- that's not strictly true, sleeping with wet hair causes a lot of breakage and is really bad for your scalp.

I have a mix of straight/ wavy hair too and I use curl products to get a wave when I want to avoid heat styling. I use the Lee Stafford curl range defining Gel on wet hair and then leave it to air dry before touching it (needs to be planned in advance for a WFH or weekend day). I then add curl custard and some serum for another day or two of waves before washing again. I get a really nice natural wave using that but if I heat style it falls out within half a day and dry curler make me have triangle hair!

My hair is long and straight and I don't know what to do with it but I bought some bun bons to sleep in and they're amazing. Never got on with other heatless curlers, takes too much dexterity but these bun bons truly seem idiot proof.