Wavy hair ladies - help!

[RedPoster]

My hair used to be straight, but I’ve been having hormonal issues and it’s gone wavy. If I dry it - naturally or with a hair dryer- it’s a bit bouffant and horrible.

So I bought some curl cream and have scrunched it whilst it’s drying and it still looks awful 😩

I want to embrace my hair and not straighten it but at my old age I don’t know how to deal with it to make my hair shiny again? My hair is in good nick but it’s just drying unpleasantly.

thanks

It's all about trial and error in finding the right products which work for your hair type unfortunately.

However the main tips are:
Moisture...a good conditioner and possibly even a leave in conditioner or curl cream when hair is still dripping wet.
Avoid silicone SLS and sulphate in products. Loads of brands do curl ranges which are labeled 'curly girl friendly or approved' (Google the curly girl method) NB not all curly hair products are the same!
Only brush/comb hair when wet, preference with a wide tooth comb
Use microfibre rather than terry towelling towels.

Someone else above mentioned porosity, also it helps to understand your wave/curl type https://www.glamour.com/story/curly-hair-curl-type-chart

Once you've found the products and routine that works for you, you'll find your hair and waves look better and better over time.

And always put products (mousse or gel) to soaking wet hair to lock in the moisture.

I've embraced the wave this year. I follow similar steps to curly girl. Comb wet, remove water, out leave in conditioner, light scrunch, put in a light curl cream, scrunch again, then scrunch in a light curl gel like umberto Gianni to hold the curl. I then either leave to dry naturally or diffuse.
Microfibre towels are a god send. I have shoulder length hair and tie it up over night in a silk scrunchie pineapple style and use water and curl reviver for the next few days .
You have to find your groove with wavy hair, it took me awhile to get used to it. It's beautiful in its own way. I don't use merave products but I love the blogs for inspiration.

This works for me:

Wash hair and don't brush it after the conditioner is in or you will end up with fine noodles. I use sulphate/silicon free products. You need to "squish to condish" and want to hear a squelch.

Rinse out conditioner, whilst it's soaking wet use "praying hands" method to add some leave in conditioner. Add some style holding product like a gel. Microfibre towel. Every day the wash I use a conditioning shampoo followed by conditioner and then the next time I use a cleansing conditioner.

Shake hair out before drying. Diffuse by hovering the diffuser around your head first, low heat, low speed. Then start to diffuse ends.

I stop drying at about 80/90% dry, do my make up then scrunch out the crunch until it's fluffy.

this hairbrush is the best thing ever for producing waves or curls. And I have always been of the opinion that I find need a hairbrush at all!

How do you use this @hannahwaddinghamsbiceps

If you have fine hair curl creme just turns it into a sticky mess

This happened to me too! I had very frizzy, difficult hair as a teenager which became much smoother and more manageable in my 20s and 30s (I could have a straight fringe! No hope for that now), and now in my mid/late 40s it's really dry and frizzy again. I've embraced the wave and curl, started using a diffuser, found a curly hair salon and experimented with a few different products. I try to avoid silicones (so frizz ease is out) as they dry your hair out over the long term.

Currently I'm using Sebastian Potion 9, which has been a game changer, and also scrunch in a bit of Umberto Giannini curl gel - the Sebastian I buy on amazon and the other stuff is often on offer at boots. For me, blow drying with a diffuser ends up with a better result than air drying but horses for courses. Oh, and I NEVER brush it!

Merwave products were a very expensive way to ruin my wavy hair. They're very protein heavy which caused my waves to get matted and stringy and just looked awful, I was having a lot of breakage as well. So just a word of warning they don't work for everyone.

I use it when I've just washed my hair. You pull the hair away from your head, I.e. with a bit of tension, and the plastic edge makes sure your curls or waves form clumps as it goes through.
I have got very curly hair.
Then smooth some cream downwards (to prevent frizz) then scrunch some gel into the ends to help form the 'cast' of the curl.
It dries a bit crunchy so then you scrunch out the curls when your hair is dry.
I use silicone free products, currently I use cantu.

This is what I use.

Since going through the change, my hair has gone curly so when I went camping a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was less hassle to leave it curly rather than try and straighten it.

I put mouse in and lightly scrunch dry it. I add some hairspray which holds the curls. The next day, I can just wet my hand and scrunch my hair again and it's done. So much easier.

I use hair wow - you can get it from M&S it really gets rid of frizz

I really like Merwave products, just using the shampoo/conditioner has already made a massive difference

Oh my, so much information! And so many different things to potentially try!

I'm currently using Cantu and their curling cream needs to be added to damp hair.

I have fine hair but plenty of it with a capricious wave that can look great one day and crap the next. I have the Boots curl creme but it is slightly too heavy for my hair if I use too much of it.

My hair does like salt spray - any brand will do. It gives my waves texture and definition. Sometimes I will wash my hair with shampoo and while it's wet spray it with a light leave in conditioner and then the salt spray, always on damp to very damp hair. Then scrunch to form waves and either air dry or diffuse with a hair dryer.

For second day hair, I mist it with water, and then rescrunch to reform any rogue waves. I don't usually add product on the second day unless I have to target specific areas.

My top tip is to find lightweight products that work for you. I can use a heavier, more moisturising shampoo and conditioner but all my styling products have to be lightweight.

I have VERY frizzy hair. It has taken me my whole life but I have finally found something that works- Tresemme lamellar shine shampoo and Conditioner followed by the leave in serum/cream

Lots of people have been complimentary and for the first time ever I'm happy with how my hair looks

Heatless curls
Silk pillowcase
Lots of non-silicone conditioner
Regular cuts with someone who can cut wavy hair

I have wavy hair shampoo, conditioner and gel from Amazon, pink containers, highly recommend

Yes I use this too, 99p at Tesco. 🥳problem is with waves and curls , everyone’s is different. What works for mine won’t for someone else. If you are on Facebook there’s lots of curly and wavy groups on there.

I use a mousse and gel and get a cut from a curl specialist
It's desperate for a cut but this is mine. Usually lightweight products but with strong hold
My fave is John Frieda dream curls mousse and treluxe gel

Another vote for Merwave! Expensive but worth it

I could have written your OP!

I am 40 and the last 5 years or so my hair has got more and more wavy. As a teenager I never needed to blow dry, it would just air dry straight and silky! Now it’s a big frizzy mess that I don’t know what to do with it.
lots of tips on here I will try too, does anyone have a link to that hair brush and how do I know which products have sulphates?

I have wavy hair, and all this squishing and scrunching business doesn't work with my hair. If I want it to dry wavy, I just leave it to air dry. My hair hates products in it so I just wash and condition. Nice and cheap and easy lol

Yes, I don't do all the faffing either these days. It led to overworked, angry, frizzy hair.

The main thing I have done in recent years is used less hairspray and , when I can, left it to dry naturally more (although with no product at all it's very limp).But my hair takes about 3 hours to dry naturally!

I don't ever use mousse. Just some spray, some Aussie serum. The occasional scrunch. There are so many different types and textures of waves and curls. I do think a lot of the advice on here is for very curly hair.

Finding the best shampoo for your hair is quite important OP. Mine would be awful with loads of conditioner as there's lots of it but it's flyway not coarse.

This is all hormonal. My hair was curly as a baby, straight for much of my childhood and teens (when not ridiculously permed!) and then went really curly again when I turned about 20. The type of hairstyle and cut makes a difference too.