Wavy Hair Care - A wavy hair blog sharing tips and tricks for embracing naturally wavy hair.

How To Tell If Your Wavy Hair Is Weighed Down

January 3, 2021 by Emily Evert Leave a Comment

A while back I had suggested to someone seeking advice in a wavy or curly hair forum that their hair might be weighed down. They responded by asking me how they could tell if their waves were weighed down or not. I immediately realized I should use this as a blog post topic. It was a great question, and one that I would have needed help with early on, too. I knew the odds were high that this would be something others would want to know, too.

Signs That Your Wavy Hair Is Weighed Down

Your roots are flatter than usual
Your roots look wet or oily
Your roots feel “producty” or sticky.
Your waves are limp instead of bouncy.
Your hair literally feels heavy.
You have less volume than usual.
Your waves start lower on your head than usual.
Your curl pattern is looser/straighter than it used to be.

But..

How Can I Tell If My Hair Is Weighed Down?

To know if your wavy hair is weighed down, you need to know how your hair “normally” looks, feels and acts. Is it flatter, straighter, less voluminous, less bouncy, or heavier feeling than normal? If so, it’s likely weighed down.

Day 2 Wavy Hair: How To Refresh With Water

January 1, 2021 by Emily Evert Leave a Comment

How To Get Day 2 Wavy Hair

To get good day 2 hair, starting with hair that was styled well on wash day and protected well while you slept is really beneficial. This will have you starting with better results. To refresh your hair, simply get your hair wet and allow it to dry, squeeze out any cast that forms, and you’re done!

If you find that on day 2 you wake up with hair that is really in rough shape, whether it’s fallen flat, lost all definition, or become really frizzy, I’d start by looking at your wash day and sleep routines. The easiest way to get good day 2 hair is to keep your waves in good shape after washing.

I have a whole blog post about how to make wavy hair last longer. It talks about the importance of getting good definition on wash day by using a hard hold product. Getting good hold on wash day allows your waves to hang around longer, which makes refreshing far more successful. Refreshing wavy hair with water is great for reviving a bit of definition, re-activating hold in your styling products, and settling some frizz. If you’ve lost too much definition, or never had waves to begin with, refreshing isn’t likely to give you the results you want. If your wash day goes poorly, the best solution is to re-wash.

If you have good hair on wash day, it’s also really important to sleep in a way that protects your hair overnight. If you leave your hair down and sleep on a microfleece pillowcase, you’re likely to wake up with your waves flattened and your hair frizzy. You may have even broken some strands overnight. See my post How To Sleep On Wavy Hair for specific instructions for how to sleep on wavy hair including long wavy hair, short wavy hair and thick wavy hair.

Ultimately, the goal of sleeping on wavy hair well is about reducing friction (as this reduces frizz) and protecting your waves from being flattened by the weight of your head.

Does Wavy Hair Technique Or Products Matter Most?

December 31, 2020 by Emily Evert 3 Comments

I remember spending so much time over-thinking what products I would buy when I was first starting the curly girl method. There was so much information to take in, and I wasn’t positive about my hair properties. I wasn’t sure about my porosity, I worried I may be protein-sensitive, I didn’t know whether to believe the people who said “you get what you pay for” with hair care products – the list of uncertanties goes on.

At first, I thought finding the perfect products for my hair type was the answer to getting the look I wanted. Over time, I grew to realize that my hair routine or my hair techniques matter a lot more than what products I use. So sometimes, I find it a bit surprising how much conversation in wavy/curly hair groups or forums seem to be product-focused. It’s very common to see people sharing a problem they’re having or an improvement they’d like to see in their hair, and then ask what product they should buy to fix it. It often seems like the assumption is that products are always the problem and products are always the solution.

In my opinion, sometimes products can be the problem or the solution, no doubt. In my blog post best mousse for wavy hair, you’ll see that I did get dramatically different results (especially on day 2 and beyond) depending on what mousse I used. Sometime soon I’ll do a post about whether or not gel or mousse is necessary for wavy hair, to show how helpful it is for my hair to use a product with hold. For me it make a huge difference.

If you use products that have too much protein, or not enough protein, or too much moisture – you can make your moisture – protein balance out of whack and that can really impact your hair a lot. If you don’t clarify often enough that can cause build up and result in problems. There are a lot of cases where products 100% absolutely do matter.

Cheap Wavy Hair Products That Have Worked Well For Me

December 28, 2020 by Emily Evert 2 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post.

If you have wavy hair and are frugal, or are just mindful of your budget, it is easy to be shocked at what some wavy hair products cost. Early on, I remember wondering if I had to buy $30 conditioner if I wanted really good results. At the time I thought, if I have to spend that much money, this just isn’t for me.

These days, I am more open to spending a little money on my hair than I was in the beginning. Still, I’m not someone who is of the mindset that drugstore wavy hair products can’t work well. I know from experience that some affordable hair products work great! Are professional hair products better? I can’t answer that at this point. I can say that I am able to get results that I am satisfied with, on a budget. Someday, I’d like to try more expensive products and even to learn more about the science behind ingredients in higher-end hair care products and how they may differ from cheaper ingredients. While I don’t currently have all that knowledge, I do have the experience that has shown me that some affordable hair care products can provide results that meet my expectations.

On this website, I’ve intentionally spent more time writing blog posts talking about technique. I try to write a lot about technique because I think too many people expect products to be the primary answer for getting the hair style results they want. I’ve found that technique is really the most important thing. I even put it to the test by comparing using “bad” products with “good” techniques, vs using “bad” techniques but “good products”. The difference was huge! You can see that in my post Do Wavy Hair Techniques or products matter most? I do think products matter too though.