Only Curl, Merwave etc- worth it??

[neverbeenskiing]

My hair is super thick, and if I let it dry naturally it's curly but also frizzy and unmanageable. I've straightened it for years, or sometimes I straighten and then put a wave in with ghd's. I would LOVE to ditch the styling tools and embrace my natural curls, but with more definition and less frizz. I've googled the 'curly girl method' and just found it a bit overwhelming, it seems complicated and such a lot of effort.

I keep seeing adverts for Only Curl, Merwave and similar sets but it's an investment and I don't want to spend a ton of money on products with no guarantee they'll work. My hair tends towards being dry at the ends and greasy at the roots. I'm worried that using so much product will make it really greasy and I don't want to be washing my hair every day.

Has anyone used something like Only Curl and had good results? Is there a way to get a similar result without paying loads of money for multiple products?

I've found merwave to be really good but I'm not a huge fan of my natural beachy waves so I just rough dry my hair now and put in a heatless curler to sleep. Love the vintage style wave I get.

I used Only Curl & didn't find it any good.
You could try the Umberto Gianini curly products (pink tubes) as a cheaper alternative. One thing I find is that you need a lot more product in your hair than you think you do. If I'm feeling flush I use Trepadora products but they really are very expensive. One thing I would recommend is going to a specialist curly hairdresser & they will give you a decent curly cut & tell you how to look after it.
What I do:
Shampoo
Loads of conditioner, squished in. I then brush it through with a soft brush as this smooths out the cuticle
A leave in of some sort (brushed through)
Gel.
Scrunch up your curls,add water so that they are sopping wet. Squeeze each section with an old t shirt to get out excess water once you have scrunched the curls.
Dry with a decent hairdryer with a diffuser. Do not touch your curls until they are dry (I dry mine a bit to start with then leave to air dry).
Scrunch out the cast.

Not tried Merwave although we three of us with curly hair we've spent a fortune on products over the years. I've found the Only Curls products great. They often have a deal on and are helpful with tips if it's not quite working

I love Merwave, it's the only products I've found that define my waves but don't weigh them down.

I am tempted by Merwave, but worried it will make my hair greasy. I'm also worried that with all the products and steps you have to go through it will end up being more time consuming than my current routine of drying and straightening!

Is your hair long? I've looked at heatless curlers but I'm not sure they'd work for me as my hair is only collar-bone length.

Those of you who rate Merwave, do you really need the whole kit with the shampoo and conditioner? Could you just use a regular shampoo and conditioner and get away with just the foam and gel? As far as I can make out scrunching in the foam makes the waves and the gel creates definition and hold so not sure why you need 5 different products?

I straightened my hair for 20 years and now wear it wavy/curly - it's actually been quite life changing! I think it looks pretty much the same as my friend who bought all the Merwaves stuff. I just watched CurlyZia on TikTok and bought a conditioning mask (about a fiver), mousse and gel. I imagine any mousse or gel works exactly the same.

I would say buy normal sulfate free shampoo and conditioner
I would only recommend the mousse and gel from merwave.
I found I had nice waves on the first day but went downhill and frizzy / greasy on subsequent days.
I've gone back to blow drying straight, unless I'm on holiday

I found I had nice waves on the first day but went downhill and frizzy / greasy on subsequent days.

This is my fear!

Yes my hair felt very full of product as they recommended you dampen your hair in subsequent days and scrunch in more noise and gel.

I started on Cantu with shampoo, spray conditioner then mousse which worked well. Then I ran out and could only get Umberto Giannini but just did the mousse and gel. This has been the best combination for me so far, as long as you give the gel cast long enough to dry before scrunching it out. I also use a bit of the serum when scrunching the cast. So I find I can follow a normal hair wash routine but then use the curl products. It lasts three days, one great hair, one ok and one messy bun. I've also tried the very cheap but lauded Boots Curl Cream (hated it) and Only Curls but the consistency was a bit too watery.

We got on well with the cantu products, especially the clear orange bottle. Hair absorbs it like a dream and curls are gorgeous after. I use it at night before going to bed.

I use shampoo and conditioner (at the moment Garnier Banana ones) I don't bother checking for SLS or silicone free any more although I suspect these are OK. Brush the conditioner through under the shower with a wet brush. Use a towelling turban (microfibre) on really tight for a few minutes. Scrunch through Umberto Gianni mousse (again I suspect other mousses might work just as well). Diffuser dry to partially dry by hovering the diffuser over my head rather than scooping up the hair. Do this till about 50% dry. Then leave it till it's totally dry and very gently run my fingers through to loosen the waves. It does mean going to work with damp hair but luckily we are very casual. Next day dampen a little and add a bit more mousse, diffuse again.

I liked the look of merwave but the price put me off, so I looked at the products and looked for an alternative, thinking about roughly the same method.

So since October last year this has been my routine - wash and shampoo hair with sulphate free shampoo/conditioner (I've tried a few brands but they're all much the same results to me), hair sopping wet straight into a microfibre towel, brush hair with wide tooth comb, about a 10p size of hair oil (my hair needs this otherwise it's sooo dry), 1 squirt of mousse in the palm of my hand distribute through hair and scrunch curls, 1 pea size amount of gel in hands - rub together and scrunch one side of hair and then repeat for the other side.

On day 2/3, I spray my hair with water with a misting bottle then a couple of spritz's of curl refresh spray and scrunch again.

I use the Umberto Giannini range that someone mentioned so I use:
Curl Whip for mousse
Curl jelly for gel
And the curl refresh spray

Then I use an OGX oil.

Usually get them for 3 for 2 at boots and since October I've only had to get a second mousse, I still have half a bottle of the others left.

I feel like it sounds like it takes ages but honestly it takes 5 mins to do it now that I'm in the habit!

What cantu product is that? A leave in? I have the shampoo and conditioner but nothing else. It's about the same as my other shampoo so no great shakes.

Yes my hair is very long, almost to my waist.

I have curly hair and my hair looks the same whether I use expensive or cheap products so I would save your money. I think it's more important how you use the products. I use Loreal Invishold gel (£3) applied to soaking wet hair, squeeze out the water, wrap in a t shirt instead of a towel (that makes a big difference with frizz) then diffuse dry. I avoid silicone as it weighs my hair down but I just use normal shampoo. V05 gel is also good and I've had good results with an Alberto Basalm one that was £1 from Sainsburys. Mousse also works well but gel gives better hold and my hair is curlier when I use it. You don't need lots of products either.

The curl revitaliser leave in spray. It's made such a difference and doesn't go crunchy.

I use Aussie bouncy curls shampoo and conditioner, then their curl cream in the summer (or when it needs cutting)when it needs a bit more moisture, winter I tend to use Shockwaves Curls and Waves mousse.

Then leave to dry naturally. I don't tend to wrap it in anything to dry it, I blot with a towel to stop it dripping.

I use only curls - I have thick below shoulder hair - I don’t need to use much product (10p size blob) so although it’s not cheap it lasts for a long time - I did try merwave but found it too fussy and Only Curls works much better. If you download the app they have frequent offers!

I started with Merwave and it was fab. You do need the whole set to get started and to learn how it all works.

However, it gets expensive! So then I joined 'The Wavy Hair Method by Charlotte Rich' on Facebook which is an amazing resource. It looks overwhelming at first but it's really not as complicated as it looks. It recommends a huge variety of normal shop bought products so much more sustainable long term.

I'd only look at curly girl/only curls if you're 100% that your hair is properly curly because those products are much heavier. Wavy hair products need to be much lighter.

Merwave do (or did) a travel sized kit which I bought to try as a starter kit rather than the full size one as I wasn't sure whether I would like it. With only curls I would agree you do need to be sure whether your hair is wavy or curly as only curls is made for curls and therefore the products are very heavy and tend not to work so well for waves

Like others I have since learned what works best for me and don't use Merwave anymore, I use a mixture of other products

Unfortunately I think it is just trial and error. I have spent A LOT of money on trying different products that didn't work