Wavy Hair Basics Archives - Page 9 of 14

Newbie Mistakes Wavy Haired People Make w/ Curly Girl Method

March 21, 2021 by Emily Evert 2 Comments

For some people with wavy hair, we don’t even realize our hair is wavy until we’re adults. I realized mine was wavy a few years ago. For others, they know their hair is wavy but decide to start the curly girl method (or wavy girl method, or modified curly girl method, etc) to try to really take good care of their hair and/or get the results they prefer.

Regardless of why you’re new, there are a few common mistakes that I see people with wavy hair make when starting the curly girl method, or starting to embrace their natural hair texture. I thought I’d cover some of the more common ones, so that anyone who finds this early on in their journey can get help!

Common curly girl method mistakes for wavy hair

How To Take Care Of Fine Wavy Hair

September 12, 2021 by Emily Evert 13 Comments

A couple months ago I got a devacut on my wavy hair. It didn’t turn out like I had hoped…but I still benefitted from the experience. One of the best parts of the experience was that my stylist told me that I have fine hair.

I didn’t know this! I had previously believed that I had normal to thick hair strands, as that’s what results I got from a microscopic hair analysis test I did a couple of years ago.

While I would typically be inclined to believe the microscopic analysis over the stylist, when I thought about it, it made SO MUCH sense that my hair is fine rather than normal to thick. I had always thought that my hair didn’t behave the way that my hair type ‘should’. It makes way more sense that I just had my hair type wrong.

I often see others in wavy/curly communities recommend to newbies that they determine their hair type before they try to determine a hair routine that will work for them. I understand the logic behind this, but I also have found that it can be tricky to determine your hair type, which is why I don’t often give that advice myself.

However, I have now come up with a set of tests that I find to give the most accurate hair type results. So check out my post how to test your wavy hair type if you want to use my method for determining your hair type including porosity, density and thickness.

So first, I’ll share how to tell if you have fine hair and then I’ll go into what techniques or practices may work best for you if you have fine wavy hair.

How To Determine If Your Hair Is Fine

Take a single hair and place it between your thumb and index finger. When you look away from your hands, ask yourself if you can feel that hair. If you can’t really feel the hair, then your hair is fine!

I had heard about this test early on, and had initially thought my hair was fine. However, microscopic hair analysis told me that my hairs ranged from average to thick thickness, so I believed that for a long time. I now believe the hair analysis was incorrect, and the “finger test” and my hairstylist were correct.

How To Care For Fine Wavy Hair

How to Modify The Curly Girl Method For Wavy Hair

November 8, 2020 by Emily Evert 6 Comments

Does the curly girl method work for wavy hair?

Many people with wavy hair have good results from following the curly girl method. You may find that your hair does better with slight modifications to the curly girl method, though.

I’ve said on this blog before that treating wavy hair like curly hair is going to give better results than treating it like straight hair. I certainly believe that to be true in a general sense. I am much happier with the look and feel of my waves after I started the curly girl method. I believe my hair to be much healthier now, too.

Yet, wavy hair is unique from curly hair in some ways. While I would generally recommend that people with wavy hair try out the curly girl method, I think they may need to make some modifications. Learning your wavy hair type can help you to pinpoint what products and routines will work best for you.

Let me back up a bit though…

How Often To Wash Wavy Hair With The Curly Girl Method

February 23, 2021 by Emily Evert 5 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post.

I’ve put off this blog post for too long, I’ve gotten multiple emails asking me this one!

How often should I wash my wavy hair?

Most people with wavy hair like washing their hair every 3-4 days, or about twice a week. Washing too much can be drying or stripping, but not washing often enough can make hair feel dirty. Washing about twice a week tends to be a good balance for most with wavy hair.

Once they have adjusted, that is. If you have always washed your hair daily, then jumping to every 3-4 days may feel like too much too fast. I’m not sure where the idea comes from, but many say that you can only wash your hair once a week when following the curly girl method.

I’ve read the official curly girl handbook, and it doesn’t say you can only wash once a week. In fact, the wavy section says 3-4 days. Every 3 to 4 days also seems to be the most common answer I see in wavy hair forums and groups.

On non-wash days, some people do nothing while others choose to refresh their waves. I have a blog post where I tested 8 different methods for refreshing wavy hair to see which ones work best.

Curious about other differences between what is mentioned online about the curly girl method vs what the book really says? I have a whole blog post about the “online” curly girl method vs what the book really says.

Can you wash your hair daily on the curly girl method?

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