Wavy / curly hair help - with pics

[JamieFrasersBigSwingingKilt]

My DD13 has super-thick, wavy, frizzy, long hair. Though we’ve been styling it straight (at her request), we haven’t been very successful. We suspect it might be more wavy than we think or even curly but have no idea what to do with it. I have no experience of curly/wavy hair. She also has scalp psoriasis. Please can you wise mumsnetters advise me on specific inexpensive products I can buy for her that will help create mermaid waves / curls without aggravating her scalp (or even help it)? I’ve checked out various websites for info and am completely overwhelmed at this point. Thank you.

Hello, wavy haired woman here and your daughter’s hair looks a lot like mine did at that age when I insisted on dry brushing it (never a good idea :)) . I’ve heard good things about merwave products but haven’t tried them myself as they are quite pricey. I follow swavycurlycourtney on instagram/youtube and she is great for tips and routines . Basically the key is to use lightly moisturising products but avoid weighing the hair down with too much heavy moisture. I find the banana ‘hair food’ shampoo and hair masks great as they don’t have sulphates or silicones in (which can strip/weigh down the hair respectively) and you can get from boots or Superdrug. Then I comb or brush when wet, use a little 5p blob of curlsmith air dry cream to moisturise and a bigger blob of boucleme super styler gel when the hair is super wet (but any gel is fine) then gently scrunch the hair to form curls and then leave until dry , or gently diffuse , and then ‘scrunch out the crunch’ when it is dry. That leaves me with nice soft curls. Good luck to her on her wavy haired journey..

Ps also a cut with long rounded layers will also encourage the waves.

Similar to my hair:

Cut with gradual layers

Wash with purology purple shampoo and conditioner, or anything sulphate free

Brush when wet, never when dry

Put in something moisturising like a curl cream, plus a good amount of Umberto Giannini curl jelly. Scrunch (look at videos), then leave to dry naturally or dry with a hairdryer and diffuser. When dry, scrunch again to break up the stiff cast on the curls and make them softer. Tie up at night in a pineapple held by a loose scrunchie, so the curls don't get disturbed.

Thanks so much for the speedy replies. Will those shampoos / conditioners be ok with her scalp?

Does your dd wash her hair frequently because of applying medications to her scalp? Frequent washing dries hair out, makes it frizzier, and can stop the curls from forming. Can she try shampooing less often and washing with just conditioner most of the time?

Products which are not curl-friendly are often quite harsh on sensitive skin, too. Curlsbot.com is a really useful site where you can check whether a product is curl-friendly.

After washing, brush pure argan oil through her hair. Then style. Don’t use products that only contain a little argan oil.

follow the Charlotte rich wavy hair method on Facebook.
oils and products high in moisture make frizz worse especially if you have soft water.

wash with shampoo, washing with conditioner will over moisturiser her hair and add to the frizz

My dd has curly hair and also many allergies to chemicals and she uses Faith in Nature conditioner (she doesn’t use shampoo) and then she uses a curl cream. She also sleeps in a silk bonnet (Etsy).

https://www.faithinnature.co.uk/collections/curly-hair-dry-scalp

I use Only Curls products and really rate them.
This is my method with similar very thick hair.
2 x Shampoo.
Condition.
Leave in the conditioner! Do not rinse!
Use a "wet brush" to gently brush through the conditioner.
Then use the Only Curls mousse and brush through gently.
I then twist my hair in small sections to encourage the curl and squeeze dry with a microfibre towel.
I try to leave it in a big clip for a while before blow drying using a diffuser, not on the most hot setting.

Scrunching does not work for me btw, or drying hair upside down, like all the videos seem to recommend. Just make it frizzy and undefined.

Hope that helps a bit!

https://onlycurls.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=1784137364&utm_content=68806999426&utm_term=only%20curls&gadid=674807119615&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqcO_BhDaARIsACz62vM9O4QUXwxhC7JnLlSKm_b-u_W52eipzh44UaiOXaUTv3aSpkd560waAt-9EALw_wcB

Sorry I can't remember how to do short links 🥴

You should look at #welshiecurlgirl #Mollysringlets and #nualamoreysalon on instagram.

I also have curly hair and have had a flare up of scalp psoriasis. Do you have hard water, as a chelating shampoo will help prevent build up. A gentle one is Malibu Un Do Goo. I often use it with a gentle scalp brush. Lots of great products named on here - Curlsmith Air Dry Cream is a great leave in conditioner, again without build up, which can aggravate scalp problems.

My son is curly and has the scalp psoriasis. He uses shampoo with selenium and conditions with the most natural conditioners we can find.

Then he uses curl jelly or just cheap gel in a pot (there's an olive one that's about a tenner in a big pot on amazon that's kind to hair.

She needs to learn what to do with her hair. Like pp said, looks like she's dry brushing. That's a no no for defined curls.

When went run the product evenly through sections of the hair. Tip head upside and scrunch. She could then use a t-shirt to wrap her hair in.

When dry scrunch to remove excess product. She should have glorious curls.

I have curly hair too and between me and my son I reckon we've tried every product and method going. Our hair like the gel and it like being air dried. She'll figure out what's best for her, just buy her all of the products and watch some videos with her. And let her experiment!

I use a Boucleme curl product ( yellow label) and pop that in to damp hair. When my hair is dry I comb through it with my fingers. I also use Aussie leave in conditioner to style. I avoid shampoos with silicones in as I believe that they irritate my scalp.

Try these products. https://soapsforlittlesuds.co.uk/

Look for the starter packs for wavy hair, probably a protein rich conditioner would help.

I have similar scalp issues.
First stop using anything with sulphate or silicones or oils because these make hair more frizzy.
i only wash my hair every 3or 4 days and use cantu cleansing shampoo followed by cantu cream conditioner.
I use cantu Shea butter products to style, I use curl crème and curl custard which is a gel. Use a curl separating brush on soaking wet hair then smooth some crème on, then squish some gel on the ends. There are loads of videos you can watch for styling tips, the only curls videos are great but their products are very expensive. The cantu products are much more reasonable and a tub lasts me ages. My hair has shiny defined curls, and a quick water spritz maybe followed by a tiny bit more gel or crème on the ends will do to refresh if you have bed hair in between washes.

I use the only curls styling products and really rate them. I wash and dry with Redken all soft and then let fry slightly with a micro fibre towel. I then use the foam and firmer gel from only curls and pixi dry with a diffuser.
Like a previous poster scrunching with the diffuser doesn’t work with my hair and I find my way faster too.
I leave to air dry the last bit and then scrunch out the crunch when completely dry.
Next day I rewet and scrunch in a little more foam and then when dry use a little hair oil/ serum.

Your daughters hair will look beautiful when she finds her way!

Wow! Amazing suggestions thank you. She only washes her hair once a week. Would it be ok if she did a wash with something like neutrogena T-gel or oilatum scalp shampoo to help her scalp - or would those affect the curls? Also, how long would it take for curls to develop if using the methods you suggest? Also, are there any particular brushes she should use? She uses a wet hair brush currently.

So much great advice already that I can only suggest trying Aveeno Shampoo!

I found medicated shampoo completely stripped my scalp, which then caused my scalp to develop more oil and this made it more prickly and my hair both frizzy and greasy!

The brand Yes To has a scalp scrub which I really liked. I also treated myself to Philip Kinsley itchy scalp shampoo. Lots of people rate The Body Shop ginger shampoo but I haven't tried it.

I use a Wet Brush and literally only brush when wet.

Have you got a good curly experienced hairdresser? Cut / shape can make such a difference.

I've been doing the routine I posted above for a month and my hair looks so much better. It does massively help that I found a good hairdresser. I have thick hair which is a mix of curly and wavy. I've had so many bad cuts as hairdressers just aren't taught how to cut hair like mine!

The Only Curls Instagram account is full of videos and tips. It's about find a routine that works as all hair is so different!

@CurbsideProphet I also found medicated shampoo stripped my scalp. The liquid steroid (b-something?) was excellent for getting on top of the scalp psoriasis. I used to use the Body Shop ginger shampoo and banana conditioner years ago, if the formula is the same they were great. Expensive, but good was the Christophe Robin salt shampoo in a glass tub - it's award winning for a reason. It's sometimes on offer on Look Fantastic.

Thank you for all the extra input. This is great!

Are the shampoos and conditioners from Curly Girl and Merwave specifically beneficial for wavy/curly hair - or could I buy anything that’s sulphate- and paraben-free?