Is my hair actually wavy? Merwave?

[blinkybell]

I keep seeing these ads and am very tempted to buy some.

My hair was always very fine and dead straight but over the last couple of years it feels coarser and has a definite kink to it. I used to have quite oily hair that needed washing every day but it’s a lot dryer now and I tend to wash it every other day. When it’s wet it’s very wavy, but as it dries it dries a lot straighter and once I brush it it’s straight-ish. I usually just wash my hair in the shower with whatever shampoo and conditioner is to hand and then give it a quick blast with a hair dryer

I’m tempted to buy some and a diffuser hairdryer but I’ve bought some many products and tools in my quest for amazing hair that I can’t really justify another thing that I’ll use once and abandon as it doesn’t really do what I want it to do

Thanks!

I don't think you need specially marketed products to bring out the wave or experiment. You can experiment by:

• scrunching the ends of your hair upwards with a towel while it's still wet
• then applying some light gel
• letting your hair dry naturally then scrunching again to get rid of crunchy gel
• or blow drying on a low/medium setting so it doesn't blast out the waves (without using a brush/comb while blowdrying, and then scrunch out gel again)

(My hair is curly and I flip between wearing it wavy and curly - sometimes the curls are too much of a pain!)

thats pretty much it

If you want to try an 'official' route, then you could try a month with the products so you know what to expect, but I wouldn't. I would just go with what @EleventyThree says

I basically tried the routine above - but I started with scrunching in some deep conditioner then scrunching the water out if that makes sense. Then adding gel, and as I didn’t have a diffuser I put a sock over my hairdryer! And yes, my hair came out really wavy! I’ve upgraded to some curl creme (under £2) for the first bit but you don’t need to spend loads. It was amazing how wavy my usually very straight hair turned out!

I tried Merwave. It’s very expensive and my hair dried like a crisp hat and itched like mad! Worth a try though

Merwave leaves hair looking very crispy and dry.

I just use Aldi shampoo and conditioner, VO5 volume mousse and L'Oréal Studio Line Invisihold gel. A bounce curl brush can make a massive difference but you can buy a cheap one for a fiver online. Also some protein feed if your hair is dyed or bleached.

You're supposed to scrunch that out!

Merwave dried my hair out so much too. I just wash and condition my hair upside down in the shower, scrunch extra water out and then scrunch some more. Put hair wrap on, then I don’t brush it, just flick the wet curls to be in the position I want (out of my eyes) and leave them to dry. Sometimes I use a hair oil or similar scrunched in to get rid of extra frizz. You can use curl cream or mousse etc after conditioner.

Thank you!

Ill go and have a mooch in Boots and see what gel/mousse I can find

I did scrunch dry my hair the other day with my normal hairdryer and it looked a bit shit. Definite wave there, but not defined at all. Maybe I need a diffuser? I didn’t put any product in it other than a bit of heat protector spray.

I also can’t help but brush my hair once I’ve dried it. It feels so knotty if I don’t. Is that something I’d just have to get used to?

It does sound like you have a loose wave in your hair.

Ive been using merwave for 3 months and im really happy with the results. I have very thick, coarse hair with a lot of damage and its this is the first time in 20 odd years I can leave it to air dry without it ending up in a poofy frizzy triangle!

Ill be sticking with merwave as I like the product however if you want to bring your wave out its as much technique as it is product

Yeah I can’t brush mine if I’m trying to get it wavy - I comb the conditioner through with a wide toothed comb but if I brush it at all it just goes frizzy and then drops out. If I don’t brush it it stays wavy until the next day at least (whereupon I inevitably get up and brush my hair as a reflex).

Also you could try going silicone free for shampoo.

I use sea salt spray. Any brand. Shampoo and condition, add some hair oil as my air can be dry and frizzy, (I use kevin Murphy or kerastase), then spray it with some sea salt spray, and let it dry naturally (except the front bits which are naturally straighter so I scrunch them). 8 times out of 10 this works great. The other two days I look a bit um Lionine . But I take my chances 😂

I tried but had to wash it out in the end

Thanks all!

Just to update, I bought a hairdryer with a diffuser and some beach wave scrunch gel.

Tried it yesterday - I have waves! Lovely defined waves and it was a lot wavier than I expected.

However, I need more advice please. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it this morning as it looked like I slept in a hedge when I woke up.

I found online that I should dampen it, little bit more gel and scrunch dry with the diffuser again. Looks better than it did when I first got up, but not as good as yesterday. I don't want to have to wash it everyday.

Thanks!

You will have to try different things. I would try wetting it with a sprayer, then letting it dry naturally naturally or with a diffuser. If that doesn't work, try brushing it dry and then spraying it but only a little but just to take the frizz out.

Don’t brush it dry! It’s so damaging on wavy or curly hair and will look horrendous even if wet down afterwards

i sleep on a silk pillowcase with my hair tied up in a v loose high pineapple

The wavy bits of my hair are better if I brush them, then spritz to get rid of the frizz. The curly bits hate being brushed. I think it depends on the thickness of your hairs and how curly they are.

I’ve also recently discovered I have wavy hair (after 30 years if either straighten or looking like I’d stuck my hand in a plug socket!) I’ve been using merwave but looking for high street versions and also keen to find the answer to next day hair. This is mine day after (being caught in the rain twice!) and it’s ok underneath but the top is definitely looking a bit flyaway. I tried spraying and adding more gel but it’s starting to look a bit crunchy for my liking even after scrunching out the crunch.

I’ve got some WOW cream for dry hair I’m going to try later willcreport back as I like it as a finisher for straight hair. Otherwise I’ve heard using oil is good for calming frizz but I’m afraid I can’t recommend one yet (I have Argan oil so might just try that) . I’ve also just ordered a diffuser as I’m not keen on having sopping wet hair for hours.
post a pic op I’d love to see how yours looks

OK so the WOW cream did nothing except make it look greasy on top so the search continues. Has anyone tried the Merwave refresh spray or can recommend a cheaper alternative? My diffuser arrived today (£12 for a Babyliss hairdryer + Diffuser - thanks Vinted!) so will be trying that when I next wash.