Newly wavy hair- need hair brush help please!

[BigButtons]

I say newly wavy- it is becoming increasingly so as I go through menopause. I am 56 and have thick but fine just below shoulder length hair. It has always been straight as a die up until recently.
Now it has a definite wave to it and gets horribly frizzy if I brush it dry- I look like I have been electrocuted.
I can see that it wants to wave/twist. 56 years of treating it one way and now I have to learn something new.
I have heard that the Denman/ tangle teezer brushes are good to use when it has just been washed to help define the curl pattern.
Can any more experienced wavy hair ladies help this clueless woman out please. I don’t want to look like Hagrid any more!😮

Unless I’m blow drying I comb through conditioner with a wide toothed comb (basic one from amazon) in the shower and that’s it, no other brushing.

Same here. Brush conditioner in the shower and otherwise never use a brush.

Air dry or diffuse.

Don't use a brush. Wide tooth comb and only when it's wet. I don't think the make of comb is particularly important. Possibly light weight serum on the ends, but if it's fine you don't want too much product because it will go limp.

I find an afro comb works best

Thanks! I do have a wide tooth comb. The videos I was watching showed them pulling their wet hair through these brushes and then scrunching the hair up. It was supposed to encourage the curl pattern. I have no idea what I am talking about of course 🧐😬

Don't brush it! Use hair shampoo/conditioner designed for wavy, not curly hair

😬 how does all the trapped hair get out of you don’t brush it?
I feel like I am going down a rabbit warren!

I have 2 of these, one of them lives in the shower so I can brush my conditioner through. Love them.
Ninabella Organic Detangle Hair Brush for Women, Men & Children - Does not Pull the Hair - Hair Straightening Brushes for Curly, Straight & Wet Hair - Unique Spiral Hairbrush : Amazon.co.uk: Beauty

Fellow wavy here - I’ve found YouTube very helpful as there are a lot of videos there from women with various hair types.

The YouTuber that I’ve found most helpful is Courtney:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy6P0oH8B3Mm1mWcLiKex714G10G3MDU5

I also find India Batson helpful too:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy6P0oH8B3Mm1mWcLiKex714G10G3MDU5

HanzCurls videos are great for UK product recommendations:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy6P0oH8B3Mm1mWcLiKex714G10G3MDU5

Figuring out what works for wavy hair can take some experimenting but it’s usually some variation of:

Washing: after shampooing use a conditioner with plenty of lubrication for detangling your hair in the shower. Use a hair mask or deep conditioner at least once a month.

Styling: use leave-in conditioner or curl cream first on wet hair, then apply gel or mousse to keep the waves locked in place. Diffuse with a hairdryer to get the tidiest hair before scrunching out any crunch from styling products with a little bit oil on your hands.

If you’d like some product recommendations feel free to ask and I can recommend what I find useful.

https://www.qvcuk.com/manta-anti-static-flexible-hair-brush.product.715647.html

I use one of these in the shower , after I apply the shampoo to work it through my hair and scalp . it saves my hair getting tangled if I use my fingertips and much quicker . Then to comb through conditioner .

Much softer and more flexible than a TangleTeaser .

My hair has grown back very wavy after I lost a load of it through illness.

I do have a Dyson Airstrait , or I embrace the wavy .and let it airdry .

I just use my hands to brush through in the shower with the shampoo then conditioner

Forgot to add that this is a great comb for detangling hair and for brushing styling products through:
https://www.boots.com/tangle-teezer-wide-tooth-comb-lilacandblack-10320771

I don’t brush my hair when it’s dry because it gets very bushy and poofy that way. I only comb/detangle my hair when it’s wet and has conditioner in it OR when I’m oiling my hair before washing it. In both those cases the lubrication from the conditioner or the oil makes it easier to get rid of tangles and protects the hair from breakage.

With wavy or curly hair you don’t need to brush it. Any shedding hair is got rid of when you detangle on wash day. It can take a bit of getting used to not brushing your hair every day, but wavy and curly hair doesn’t need brushing like straight hair.

I’ve also remembered another UK wavy hair YouTuber that you might find useful:

https://www.youtube.com/@Tori_Hunter/playlists?app=desktop

I have wavy hair

I wash, condition and then brush the conditioner through and rinse
Add my styling products and then do a little bit of brush styling - I basically brush with a bit of tension then scrunch

So unless it's wet I don't brush it if that makes sense!

There are only two time i brush dry hair; if I'm blow drying it, or 3 or 4 days after a wash by which time its calmed down a bit. I struggle to get to 3 or 4 days now that i go to the gym and have to wash more often. Like others, I comb through conditioner in the shower. Otherwise with dry hair i just comb my fingers through it. That catches a lot of the fallout you're wondering about.

😍

My hair is a mixture of 2B/2C waves but I have one patch of tighter almost 3A curls at my crown that has recently developed and I’m hoping the rest of my hair will consider going the same way 😀

Agree with not brushing dry hair, a silk pillowcase has really reduced frizz too

I use a denman brush on my thick, wavy hair when it's wet and already full of product. I get a much tidier wave for that final brush before scrunching.

Then I go out in the bleeding wind and rain that seem to be a constant right now and end up looking like a scarecrow.

Spike and Buffy, I would call that curly hair!

BigButtons, if your hair has always been straight and fine, I picture something line this. If that's the case, then allow it to mostly air dry after combing, then help the waves with a round brush and dryer, with some mousse for curly hair.

I spent too many years trying to straighten my naturally wavy hair. I stopped a few years ago and discovered it's curly, not wavy; full-on Regency ringlets!

I spent too much money trying different "miracles" to encourage the curls! I read lots about the CurlyGirl method and tried various things but dismissed a lot as being too much faff.

What I do now (I should add I'm white, I think advice might be quite different if you have Black heritage)

Shampoo it infrequently (barely x1/week, but my hair's always been dry, which is often the case with curly hair) (I use cheap Aldi shampoo! but more expensive conditioner with argan oil when I wash it, and always leave it in for a few minutes before washing it out)
dampen it every day even though I'm not washing it
a smidge of conditioner raked through whilst it's damp, whether I've shampooed it or not (tresemme is good for me at this point- I find some brands too heavy/sticky) (smidge = a blob about the size of a butter bean, rubbed with a bit of water between my palms then raked through)
Wrap it with an ordinary towel to get most of the wetness out, but I don't rub/scrub it with the towel
Brush it with a DENMAN brush before it starts to dry. I only got this a few months ago and it's so much nicer than any previous brushes.
leave it alone until the next day! Even a diffuser makes it frizz so I always air-dry.

You may need to experiment with different conditioners. My hair is thick but quite fine now that I'm post-menopause --what suits my hair is very different from what suits my daughter's much coarser hair.

I've never bothered with silk pillowcases etc.

I don't look very sleek but my goodness, life is easier now I've learned how to manage the curls!

Hi OP

Fellow wavy hair woman here

1. brush hair in shower when I'm at

conditioning stage.

1. Rinse.

1. when out of shower, scrunch hair with hands and add your styling product of choice

1. Grab about 20 metal hair clips eg Bobby pins. Twist individual section of hair and pin to top of head for about an hour Or so. Use diffuser setting on hairdryer to speed things up.

1. Remove pins and give head a good shake. Gives me more defined curls n stops my hair going fluffy/frizzy

No idea why numbering has changed....I did have it in sequential order!

Metal Bobby pins are available on amazon or boots etc

My hair went curly after a nervous breakdown. it has taken me a few years to get used to it!

Aussie Curl shampoo, conditioner and hair cream is amazing stuff. It helps the curls curl and takes out the frizz. So much better than the Kerastase curl range.

I brush the cream through with a tangle teaser (although I’m going to try a comb now) and let it dry naturally.

Then I don’t brush it again until I wash it in 2/3 days time. My hair is dry enough to go longer between washes but I need to brush it to get all the loose hair out. It takes a while getting used to the feeling of unbrushed hair.

Good luck with it! And don’t get attached to how it looks on a good day…curly hair does whatever it wants and it never looks the same twice 🤣

I just comb through as normal, but I use either a hair straightener or Babyliss Big Hair to style it. I use Frizz-ease sometimes. And spray.

@mdinbc I'm very definitely a wavy my top layers are a bit tighter but I'm mostly 2B/2C

Brush wise I use a denman paddle brush

You are all amazing! I do look a bit like that photo but dark. I have straight bits and wavy bits and have spent ages trying to convince myself that my hair is still straight , but the frizz on brushing can’t be denied. I will try these methods😍