Embracing Your Hair's Natural Texture: Tips, Tricks and Techniques You Need to Know to Get Started
I wrestled with my kinda wavy, kinda curly, crazy, kinky hair since I was nineteen. I've bleached it, dyed it, cut it short, grew it out, used hot rollers, velcro rollers, curling irons, straighteners, wands, waxes, gels, mouses, serums, perms, hairsprays all kinds of products, tools and tricks, in an effort to get my hair looking just so.
Now-a-days, I have accepted my hair's natural texture and instead of fighting those 'S' shaped locks, I do what I can to enhance them. It's been at once liberating and pretty darn fun, trying different products, new techniques, figuring out what works and what doesn't and I am happy to report on and share with you my vast knowledge on the subject. So, if you are wavy girl like me or you have a bit of natural texture to your locks and suspect you can do more to enhance those subtle waves, here are some of my tips, tricks and products to get you started on your own journey to embrace your hair's natural texture.
Qualifier: This was me using curling irons and rollers to get my signature sultry wavy style, instead of crazy kinky waves. While I do like this look, a lot, and got a ton of compliments on it, my hair was starting to get fried at the ends and growth was getting very minimal. The decision to pursue a more natural route was brought on in an effort to curb some of those pain points I had with my hair.
Currently, my hair is growing well and wavy. I did a pretty substantial cut in the spring and while some of the ends are still recovering another trim will most likely take care of that.
Help I have Crazy Hair?
First off, the best advice I can offer you is get to know your hair. Everyone's hair is different, so begin with some research about your hair. The curly girl method is a great place to start. CGM, as it is known, has some great info about what curl types exist and thus what you might have. 2a, 2b, 2c are the wavy types with 'S' pattern curls. 3a. 3b, 3c are your more curly types with the spirals. 4a, 4b, 4c are super kinky patterned hair type. Figure out which one you have if you can. You might have more than one and that's okay. When it comes to products and techniques this information is invaluable. What works for 3-4 curl types won’t necessarily work for 2 wavy types (ie. fishnet plopping, thick creams, deep treatments, etc.).
What is your hair's porosity? It can be high, med or low porosity Does it break right away when you grab a strand and pull on it or does it have some elasticity. Knowing this will help you figure out what kinds of products will work, how long it will take to absorb them and how much water to use when styling. Do some research and figure out how your hair protects itself and thus how it absorbs from the outside in.
Lastly, in the journey to understand your hair, there is the moisture/protein balance. Does your hair need moisture? Is it dry and straw like? Does it need more protein? Is it mushy, not holding a style? Does the style fall out after awhile? Based on your moisture/protein balance you can decide what products and deep treatments to give your hair based on its needs.
Understanding your hair is key. Then you can move on to getting the right products for your hair.
Products
Take a look at what you are putting into your hair? A lot of hair products and cleansers contain nasty straightening chemicals that can reek havoc on your hair's natural texture and strip your hair of natural oils. Read the labels in your hair products and see if your current shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousses, dry shampoos, creams have any harmful and drying substances such as parabens, sulfates and drying alcohols. The 3 biggies. If they do, phase them out or straight up get rid of them and focus on finding nourishing curl enhancing products that bring out your natural wave and let your hair's natural oils work their magic.
Here are the products I use to enhance and draw out my natural waves:
Wash And Conditioner: Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo And Conditioner
Deep Treatment: Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque (I only use this about once a month)
Styling Products: Marc Anthony Strictly Curls® Curl Enhancing Styling Foam, Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie, TRESemmé® Curl Defining Spray Gel
Special Note: Every curly, wavy haired influencer will recommend products that worked for them or that are Curly Girl approved. Don't get overwhelmed and do not go all out and buy every product under the sun and break your bank account in the process (learned that the hard way). Start with a few really good products that you can experiment with. As you make the transition from harsh products to natural wavy enhancing ones, you will start to notice if your hair is liking a product or not. It might take a while as your hair recovers but eventually your hair will start to tell you through feel, hold and texture if you are hitting the mark or not.
At that point, you can start to dive deeper into the product ingredient rabbit hole by looking into each of your curl enhancing products ingredients, some are better than other, and how it might be affecting your hair and how you can fine tune your product list. If you notice a lot of frizz when you use a certain spray, maybe jojaba oils and your hair just aren't mixing. IsitCG.com is a great resource to figure out if a product is Curly Girl approved but also how each ingredient in the products you use affects your hair.
Techniques
The last step in embracing your hair's natural texture is techniques. This step requires you to put away all the curling irons, straightens, heat rollers, velcro rollers and other high heat tools. You can keep your hair dryer, but don't use it on high high heat and don't use it without a diffuser, that big bowl like looking attachment with a bunch of plastic spikes sticking out of it. This handy dandy tool disperses the airflow from your blow dryer, so your waves don't get a straightening blast of air during a blow out. That is, if you choose to go the blow dryer route. You can always start with good 'ole fashion air drying.
The biggest take away when it comes to techniques, is that you don't need heat to draw out your waves. There are so many different techniques to try without ever using an electrical outlet. Choose the ones that feel most natural to you and then try experimenting with others. You won't know what works best until you try.
Dispersing your products techniques:
raking (raking it through your hair with your fingers)
praying hands (running your hands down the length of your hair with products in a praying hands motion)
scrunching (which exactly what it sounds like)
brush it in (again pretty self explanatory)
Curl training techniques:
finger curling
brush twisting
twisting
No heat drying techniques:
t-shirt plopping
silk scarf drying
air drying
Diffuser techniques (on low heat or at the very most medium) :
hovering (hovering the diffuser bowl above your locks without touching them)
pixie diffusing (scrunching up the waves either in your hand or into the diffuser bowl and letting it sit for while)
hover scrunching (hovering the diffuser over your hair while you scrunch it)
fishnet plopping (putting hair in a fishnet stocking and defusing through the stockings)
You can do any of these techniques upside down for more volume in your roots or just on the ends of your hair for a more subtle wavy look.
My technique combo is raking and scrunching my products into my hair, followed by a t-shirt plop for 20 minutes, then a mix of pixie and hover diffusing upside down. I flip and scrunch out the crunch from any of the products.
So, it might take some finessing on your part to get the techniques you are comfortable with working for you. Trial and error is the name of the game.
When bringing out your hair's natural texture be patient with yourself and your hair. You and your hair needs some time to adjust and transition. You hair needs time to embrace the new found freedom you are giving it. Perseverance is key. There will be bad hair days, there will be wonky waves, there will be failed wash days, but then, one day there will be you rocking your natural locks like the goddess you are.
Share your wavy hair experiences in the comments.
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