The Musings of a Wavy-Haired Girl ~ By Nemisha, my curl friend with super soft, fine, wavy hair. Please use discretion while you read on.
For a long, long time I had thought I had “frizzy straight” or poofy hair. I think that happens to a lot of wavies. When your hair is curly or coily, you know it’s curly or coily. But when you have wavy hair, you don’t know for sure if you do.
Well, if you’ve got bends in your hair, some frizz, or your hair “poofs up” when you comb/brush it, I’m here to break the good news to you: You have wavy hair!
I started my journey in July-August 2021 and haven’t looked back since. If you’re a wavy-haired lass (or lad) starting CGM or looking for product recommendations and application techniques, I’ve got you covered!
Wavy Hair Needs…
1. A SLS-free shampoo, also known as low poo
When starting your wavy hair journey, invest in good quality SLS-free mild shampoo that you can use every wash day. If you’re an active person like me and end up washing your hair 2-3 times a week, then you can add a co-wash once a week so that hair doesn’t dry out. (more on SLS here)
2. Lighter conditioning products
Unless you have bleached/colour-treated hair or healing from heat damage, stay off deep conditioning treatments and hair masks. Protein-y hair masks work if you have fine hair like mine, but use them only when you need that extra strength. This is to avoid hair feeling over-moisturised.
I got over-moisturised (or overconditioned) hair more times than I can count.
The rule when I started the curly-girl-method (CGM) was “deep condition once a week.” If you need to use hair masks, I suggest using them in the winter months when hair is drier.
3. Less styling products
Here’s the kicker: You don’t need as much product as tighter textures. Yes, we need to style our hair. Yes, we also have frizz. BUT we don’t need to be heavy handed with it. Use less quantity or go for lighter products so that your waves don’t get weighed down.
Too much product flattens waves, too little does nothing!
My rule of thumb is: It’s better to be heavy handed with a light product than to be light handed with a heavy product.
I avoid hair butters, thick curl creams, even hard hold gels. I prefer light leave-in conditioners, light or medium hold gels and foams/mousses. And if they have protein in them then that’s a double win!
How do you know if a product is light or heavy?
Check the ingredients list.
The first 5 ingredients on the list should have no heavy oils or butters in them. Light oils like argan oil, jojoba oil, or avocado oil are fine but heavier ones like coconut oil or castor oil might weigh down your hair in the long run. Butters like shea butter, mango butter, cocoa butter work wonders on tighter, coarser textures but weigh looser textures like wavy hair down.
Caution: I have used heavier products and got good results but noticed that repeated use of them builds up over time (even though I shampoo regularly and clarify once a month). So, use them with the utmost care.
Other Wavy Hair tips:
- Coarse wavy hair textures can benefit from conditioning products.
- If you have bleached/colour treated or fine hair you will likely need more protein in your products.
- Low porosity hair can use warm water to open the cuticles while conditioning and styling.
- Use a heat cap if you plan to deep condition and try
- Wet plopping for 5 minutes to absorb your leave-in conditioner or curl cream.
Application Techniques
Based on my experience, the following application techniques work best on wavy hair.
What didn’t work for me was raking, brush styling and finger coiling or rolling.
- Glazing: Like frosting a cake, lightly glaze your product on your hair. This works best for gels. Another technique like this is tapping mousse/foam onto your hair.
- Scrunch and pulse: Perhaps my favourite styling technique! Scrunch and pulse the product to help your hair absorb all the goodness of your stylers. This works best for all: leave-in conditioners, mousses/foams, gels, and curl creams. SEE LIKE THIS
- Squish to condish: Best used with your conditioner and gives me juicy and fat wave clumps! Don’t stop till you hear that “squishy” sound. SEE LIKE THIS
- Roping: Another favourite technique, apply product to your palms, emulsify it well and press it on your hair like gently squeezing a rope. This works best for leave-in conditioners.
- Microplopping: Squeeze out excess product and water with the help of a cotton tee. Also helps with shrinkage! SEE more here
Watch this video for wavy hair styling tutorial:
★ Save 15% on TreLuxe Products with my aff link → Curl Supreme Hydrating Creme → Hi! Definition Gel
3. Wavy Hair Product Recommendations
I mostly use leave-in conditioners only. You can use the stylers best for you.
For special occasions I’ll add a foam/mousse or light to medium hold gels. Hard hold gels don’t work for me!
My preferred styling product is a foam or mousse over gels. Foams are lightweight, have higher water content and are less drying than mousses. Check this Treluxe mousse from USA.
My favourite leave-in conditioners
| Name | Remarks |
| Sugarboo leave-in | Perfect for summers, has protein! |
| Curls blueberry bliss | Lightweight, has good slip, rich in proteins and glycerine-free. |
| Giovanni Vita Pro leave-in conditioner | It is a spray leave-in. If most leave-ins weigh down your hair, consider using this. |
| Briogeo curl charisma leave-in conditioner | A little heavier, ideal for coarse/coloured wavy hair. Has protein. |
| Ashba leave-in conditioner | Has protein, more moisturising. Ideal for winters. |
My favourite mousses/foams
| Name | Remarks |
| Giovanni turbo-charge mousse | Medium hold and great wave clumps! |
| Innersense I create lift foam | Super moisturising and has protein. Gives soft to medium hold. |
| Flora and Curl foam | Very moisturising, use less. Gives soft hold |
Gels and curl creams:
I don’t use gels and curl creams on my soft wavy hair.
When I use a gel, I make sure it’s soft hold and lightweight. I’ve tried A LOT of hard hold gels and they give me a string of issues. They either build up on my hair, weigh down my waves, give stringy curl clumps or give me flash drying.
Gels that have worked for me are Sugarboo gel (has protein so I get good shrinkage), Manetain volume gel (soft hold and gives good crown volume) and DIY aloe vera gel. But on the whole, I prefer foams to gels.
Curl creams with oils and butters can weigh my fine hair down. So I avoid them. I haven’t found a curl cream (yet) that’s lightweight and doesn’t build up on my hair with long-term use.
One and dones
I must confess I am a huge fan of one and dones. I usually use a leave-in conditioner and skip stylers because my waves are quite happy with it.
However, if I want to style in a jiffy, here are my favourite single stylers:
| Name | Remarks |
| Manetain volume gel | Apply on soaking wet hair. Gives soft hold. Protein-free. |
| Sugarboo gel | Apply on soaking wet hair in small quantities. Spread evenly. Has proteins. |
| Ashba serum | Apply on wet hair. Protein-free. |
4.How I Care for Wavy Hair while Sleeping
I prefer sleeping on a satin pillowcase. If I’ve styled my hair I use a hair buff. When I do a naked wash (only shampoo and conditioner), I braid my hair loosely and sleep on a satin pillowcase.
Final words
These are the things that have worked for me. You must listen to your scalp and hair needs and modify your wavy hair routine based on your water quality, weather, and lifestyle. Do what feels right to you. Take my recommendations with a pinch of salt and experiment, experiment, experiment! Don’t like foams? Use a gel instead. Don’t like curl creams? Skip it. In the end, accept and love your hair and carry your waves the way YOU want to! Waves are not failed curls 😊
much love, Nemisha
PIN it
