Wave On/Alyssa Hawkins

Let me start this entry off by saying how glad I am that so many of you are interested in learning more about your waves and how to embrace them!

I hope everyone’s waves had a good week! Since I was in the pool most of the time, my hair was in its natural state all week, and my products got a serious workout. I had a few comments, along with emails, asking about products that you can find at places like Walmart that will work well with waves. Before I knew of NaturallyCurly, Walmart was the only place I knew of where I could get something specifically for my wavy hair (because Walmart has everything of course).

Thank goodness for CurlMart, so we know what exactly works for our waves! If you’re in desperate need of product and are waiting on your favorite products from CurlMart to arrive, there are things at Walmart that have gotten me through a few days.

For starters, I am not a gel fan. I don’t like the crunchy feel or the wet look, so gel is not for me, even though it does make curls look good. When needing something quick I turn to mousse. I am a fan of the Garnier Fructis Wonder Waves Mousse because it holds my wave all day. The down side to it, though, is that it doesn’t control my frizz. It says that it will, but I didn’t find it doing that for me. I let my hair air dry for about 20 minutes and then take as much mousse as needed to scrunch my entire head. To get a little more volume, I flip my hair over and scrunch the underneath section. Plus, if I don’t scrunch the underneath section of my hair it dries straight, go figure.

I’ve tried other “wavy” products from companies like Bed Head and that didn’t do much to enhance my waves. It kept them from drying crazy and completely frizzed out, but my waves definitely didn’t look their best. Overall, if you’re like me, don’t dig the crunchy waves and are in need a quick product fix, I suggest Wonder Waves.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a morning person. I have to get up an hour and a half before I need to leave because I move slowly before 11 a.m. Every morning means another day of getting ready and doing my hair. Now that I don’t straighten my waves very often, my hair doesn’t really take that long, which is a huge blessing. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t need a reliable morning routine that will give me awesome second day waves or even just an out-of-the-shower routine that will start me off right.

Once I make it to the bathroom and either assess the damage or get out of the shower, my morning routine always includes a few things:

• A microfiber towel. Right now I’m using the DevaCurl Deva Towel and Aquis Mimi’s Diva Dryer Hair Towel.

• My diffuser. I don’t have a special one at the moment, but I am working on perfecting the DevaCurl DevaFuser.

• My scrunching fingers. They appreciate nighttime so they can be rested in the morning!

• Whatever products I’m currently using and convinced I can’t live without. Because I like to try so many new products, I don’t usually stick to the same thing every week. I’m a mix-it-up-every-week kind of gal.

My fresh out of the shower routine

Once I’m done rinsing out my conditioner, I flip my head over and use the microfiber towels to start scrunching and get the first round of water out.

At this point I take whatever gel-type product I’m using, and with my head still flipped over, run my palms over the top and bottom layers of my hair, and then scrunch again (this time without a towel). Then I get out, flip my head back over, and get ready for round two.

I then turn to a spray like KMS California Sea Salt Spray or John Frieda Dream Curls or some other spray that will enhance my waves that I haven’t discovered yet. Once I have sprayed my product in, I go back with the Aquis Mimi’s Diva Dryer Hair Towel and scrunch again. Using the microfiber towel helps reduce my frizz dramatically as well as get the extra water out so that I don’t have to diffuse for very long, if at all.

I then do my makeup, eat breakfast, and start catching up on some TV shows that I recorded the night before. Once I’m dressed and almost ready to go, I add something light like a mousse or foam, which at the moment would be AG Foam Weightless Volumizer to my waves. I then diffuse my hair for about five minutes, and then I am done!

My Second Day Routine

As many of you know, second day hair can be a little harder to tame because you might have made a mess of it overnight, or it just might not look the same as your fresh hair. Since I started using a satin pillowcase, I’ve noticed a huge difference in the mess of my hair when I get up, but I still need to do some taming.

To start things off, I get my spray bottle of water and evenly coat my head. I do not get my hair soaking wet by any means, just enough to make my hair damp. I then take a spray (one of the ones I use when fresh out of the shower) and spray that all over. I again grab my microfiber and start scrunching. If I feel like I need a little extra hold, I will use a mousse, but that typically doesn’t happen.

I stay away from gels and mousse on my second day hair because it makes me feel like I’m on product overload, and it also makes my hair extra crunchy.

Final Thoughts

Establishing a morning routine took me a little while because I wasn’t exactly sure what method worked best. Now that I have created a routine, I cannot do my hair any other way. Even if you aren’t sure what products work best in your hair, it always helps to know a good order to do things in so your waves look the best they possibly can.

If you’re in the process of going natural and have a lot of heat damage, I would recommend staying a way from the diffuser just for a bit so your hair can take a break from heat. If you need to diffuse before you leave, make sure you use a low heat setting. No need to damage your hair when you are trying to embrace your natural look!

Alyssa does a product review video of the Jonathan Product No-Frizz Hydrating Balm.

Alyssa does a video review of Goody Simple Styles.

As a wavy—curly pics to come!

I have been wearing my hair natural for almost a year now and it has been quite an adventure. I straighten my hair approximately once every three weeks just to mix things up a bit, but otherwise I am a full-on curly girl… or at least a very wavy one!

For a few days in a row it was extremely humid here in Austin, which isn’t exactly uncommon, but not so common in the cool months here (both of them). When I say humid, I’m talking about the kind of humid where the moment you step out the door, you are drenched in sweat and your first instinct is to jump back in the shower. It was completely disgusting. I, being the genius that I am, decided to straighten my hair one night right before the humidity hit, but blew off checking the weather beforehand, which I will never, repeat never do again (did I mention I will never do that again?) If you are thinking “Wait, don’t you work at NaturallyCurly? Don’t you know about the Frizz Forecast?” The answer is yes to both. Why I did not use actually make use of this tool is beyond me. Learning from my mistakes!

The morning after straightening my hair, I woke up, did a quick touch up, and stepped outside. “What happened?” you ask. Shazam! Mother Nature put me in a hair time-out. Instant frizz and wave! I rolled my eyes, thwacked my forehead, trudged up the stairs to my cache of hair accoutrements, sighed, and threw my hair into a ponytail. Since I don’t wash my hair every day, and the humidity still permeated the Austin air, this same thing happened on Tuesday morning. My second thought was “Well, that was a waste of a straightening!” I won’t tell you what my first thought was!

Alas, Wednesday morning my glory moment came in the form of a nice shampooing. After I got out of the shower and completed my morning routine, I looked in the mirror, smiled to myself and said, “Much better.” I often think my hair looks fine in the morning but that was literally the first time I realized how much I loved my hair in its natural state. I have enjoyed trying all kinds of products, finding out what routine works best for me, and spending less time doing my hair, but never had it occurred to me that I feel like I belong to my curly hair —and vice versa.

That lightbulb moment was a huge inspiration to me. I hope all curly girls have that lightbulb moment like I did. So often we feel like we need to conform to what the world tells us is beautiful—be it straight hair or shimmying into a size 2, but this lightbulb moment made me thankful that I have curly hair and am a size 6 (even if that sounds cheesy).

It also made me extremely grateful that I have taken the time to find out what products and techniques work, because my hair has developed bona fide ringlets. When I first started this journey, my waves didn’t start until about 3-4 inches down my head and it annoyed me. Now my curls start right at my scalp, proving to me that my hair is as happy with me as I am with it.

Writing this blog has made me realize that I am in love with my curls and I am thankful that I have reached this point, even if it did take me a year. If you are still waiting for your lightbulb moment, have patience! The journey can be a very difficult one, but once it happens you will be just as excited as I am. If you have had the pleasure of experiencing your lightbulb moment, take a second to tell us about your moment down in the comment section. Encouragement from other curlies is so helpful!

With the new year right around the corner, I know many of you are getting restless with your hairstyle. It’s OK to admit it and it is definitely OK to change things up a bit. One of the first things women turn to when looking for a change is color. It’s a quick fix for your boredom, and can easily be changed to many other colors.

The first time I put color in my hair was when I was 18, and it was only highlights. Up until then I had never done a single thing to my hair to change the color or even add a little oomph. My hair was always getting lighter in the summer and darker in the winter so I didn’t see a point on spending money when I could just wait until the seasons changed. However, that was all while I was straightening my hair.

Now that I wear it wavy 95% of the time, my waves sometimes need a little help standing out, and that is where balayage comes in. (WARNING: The following information is all technical. If you know what Balayage is, feel free to skip this.) Balayage is a type of highlight that creates a very natural-looking color with hardly any grow out. The word balayage if French for “to sweep” and that is how the stylist applies the color. Many stylists use a brush to apply the color lightly at the root, and heavier at the tip of your hair. The light amount of color at the root means very little grow out. There is no foil used for these highlights, and you leave the salon looking like your curls have been sun kissed.

Now that we have gotten to know each other I feel like we can talk about things other than just waves. What we hate, what we love, what we wish we could do. We can talk about other options like doing a different curl pattern or even straightening. Yes I said it, straightening. I love having wavy hair and I love that I have fully embraced my waves, but I also like changing things up once or twice a week just to give me something different. I know to a lot of people straightening once or twice a week seems like a lot. But so many wavies get frustrated with their hair and only going straight once or twice seems like a miracle.

So let’s go through our true and false list now.

1. Because you straighten your hair you can’t possibly embrace your natural style.

   No! Wrong! I embrace my natural look and I am so glad I have it, but sometimes I just want to change it up. I want to run my fingers through my wonderfully soft hair and just be able to mess with it once in a while, something I can’t do when it’s wavy.

2. You’re a hypocrite! You talk about wavy hair all the time and now you’re going the straight route.

   First of all, if I’m going to be a hypocrite it is not going to be about this. I’ll save my hypocrisy for something good! And yes, I do talk about wavy hair and give product suggestions, but never have I ever said, “You must only wear your hair wavy and no other way!” That would be silly. Embrace change!

3. Straightening is terrible for your hair and you will kill all of your wave!

   It is true that heat damages your hair. However, just like you have products for your curly hair, there are also plenty of products that you can use to protect your hair from all of the heat. I’m currently using the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Straight Fixation Smoothing Créme, and I have noticed that it keeps my hair very smooth and healthy. There are several other products that you can use to keep your hair healthy while straightening as well. Concerning wave loss, it is true that the more you straighten, the more you convince your hair that’s how it should be. You want to be careful that you aren’t turning to your flat iron too often or you will notice that when you want to be natural, it will take a little more work. Remember, the less work needed=the happier you will be!

Disclaimer: This is not a step-by-step article on how a DevaCut is done. This is my experience and what I loved about it. If you do want the step-by-step version, check out the video at the bottom of the page that I made while getting my DevaCut.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I have always gotten just a normal haircut. A haircut that always looks good with my straight hair, but if it’s too short, I won’t wear it wavy until it grows out. Before working at NaturallyCurly it just never dawned on me that there could be a haircut for wavy and curly hair. I am here to tell you that there is a haircut! It does exist!

This fabulous secret (that shouldn’t be a secret) is called a DevaCut. It’s for any type of curly hair from waves to serious curls. Before I got my cut I hadn’t done any research on what other people thought about theirs. I wanted to form my own opinion and hopefully be amazed by the results.

I got my DevaCut from Anna at Trashy Roots Salon and Spa in Round Rock, Texas, and she gave me a great walk-through of everything she would be doing to make my wavy hair even more wavy and fabulous. For those of you that think the DevaCut is a specific haircut, it is not. It doesn’t have its own style like a bob, but instead it is personalized to what you want for your hair. For myself, I wanted to take a few inches off but still keep my layers. I also let Anna know that I wear my hair straight 1-2 times a week so I wanted to make sure everything was even all the way across.

What makes this cut special is how they actually do it. First of all it is a dry haircut which makes it unlike anything else I have ever had done to my hair! Curls shrink up when they dry so if you get it cut wet the stylist, and not to mention you, don’t have any idea how your curls will look when once it does dry. They take each individual curl or wave and cut it to whatever length you are wanting. They cut it at an angle so it doesn’t interrupt the curl pattern like cutting the hair straight does. It was really amazing to watch because she could cut each piece individually and get them all the same length seemed like quit the feat. Because I do straighten occasionally she kept that and mind and cut my underneath layer a little differently. My underneath dries straight. It’s really weird and sometimes frustrating, but she cut it a little shorter than everything else so it wouldn’t hang longer than everything else. Brilliant, I know.

When all was said and done she product-ed me up and sent me on my way with wavy hair. My hair has actually turned into more of a version of a curl instead of a wave, which is fascinating to me. The DevaCut has worked wonders on my hair. It made my hair so much healthier and helped the curl more than anything ever has. If you are looking for a haircut that is curly specific, this is your way to go.

Check out my video:

I’ve been trying some new wavy hair products and I’m happy to be here to report my results! I have tried out the AG Volume Foam, Jessicurl Gelebration Spray, and DevaCurl B’Leave-In Curl Boost. Let’s get this going so we can find you some new products to try out!

Jessicurl Gelebration Spray

Overall, the Jessicurl Gelebration Spray worked well for my hair. You don’t have to do anything different when styling your hair with this product, so you might like it for that reason. It smelled good and it held the wave well. The only downside for me was that it gave me the same crunchy wet look that I always try to avoid. It also wasn’t great at taming my frizz which is key for me.By the end of the day, I also noticed that my hair was a little more crazy than tamed. Depending on the look you are going for, you will love this product or it won’t be quite for you.

AG Foam Weightless Volumizer

Next we have the AG Foam Weightless Volumizer. I am in love with this stuff! This was the perfect lightweight product to use that gave my waves an excellent hold. Again, you don’t have to change your normal routine to get the best results from this product. It also controlled my frizz without making my hair feel heavy, and best of all…no wet look! A little bit of this goes a long way, which is another great feature of it. For those of you who like your product lasting as long as possible for the sake of saving some extra money, this might be a go to product for you.

DevaCurl B’Leave-In

Finally we have the DevaCurl B’Leave-In. One thing I learned about this wavy hair product is that more is better. As wavies, we’re used to thinking that the more product we have in our hair, the heavier it’s going to be. But with DevaCurl, you can use quite a bit all over your head. When I use the DevaCurl, I have to style my hair differently, so if you are looking to change up your routine a bit, listen up.

DevaCurl works best when you are using their Low-Poo and One Condition, so you might want to try that with the B’Leave-In. When I condition I scrunch my hair with the conditioner in and then I do a light rinse. Once I’ve rinsed, I flip my head over and use a towel to get a little of the water out of my hair. I then coat my hair with the B’Leave-In and scrunch away.

A plus to the B’Leave-In is if you like the crunchy look you can leave it alone once out of the shower. If you want a more loose wave that doesn’t give you that wet, crunchy feel you just keep scrunching your hair with the palms of your hands until it loosens up. It’s magic! For me, this isn’t a great product to sleep in just because it looks like my hair might be dirty. It doesn’t feel that way but it makes it a litter darker than my natural color giving it a dirty look. For same day hair this stuff is fantastic, though!

Where to Get Them

Reviews of hair products can make for a boring blog post, but I wanted to pass on a few products you can easily find in CurlMart that will work wonders on your waves. I also get a DevaCuut a week-and-a-half ago, so check out my video! Until then, try out these wavy hair products and let me know what you think about them! Also let me know if you have any questions about anything wavy in particular and I’ll help you out as best as I can! Until next time, keep on waving!

Wavy blogger WavyLyss489 decided to give her wavy hair a twist of curl with Curlformers.