Texture Tales: This is How Ali Styles Her Long Wavy Hair

 

My mother has naturally curly hair, so it came as no surprise that I had some wave to mine. Often times, we would wash my hair and leave it free of product. Neither my mother or I knew a thing about “refreshing,” so my day 2 hair was ALWAYS brushed out and put into a half ponytail. You know what? I absolutely loved it! I have always been a fan of voluminous hair. Looking back, it may have been a poofy mess, but it was my poofy mess and I happily embraced it.

 

As I went into high school, I transitioned to coloring my hair and straightening it. I even got a perm at one point! Which doesn’t make much sense, but I thought it would give me more uniformity. Boy, was I wrong! It was probably the worst decision I ever made for hair up to that point. It left my hair completely damaged and lifeless.

 

 

My first baby, actually! He was born with a full head of beautiful hair. It started to curl into these perfect barrel curls by the time he was 9 months old. I spent some time trying to figure out how to make it “less frizzy” and stumbled across the Curly Girl Method in a Facebook group. After seeing the drastic change in my son’s hair after one wash with only conditioner, I finally took on the method for myself.

 

I started the Curly Girl Method when I was 5 months pregnant, so my hormones were going absolutely haywire. My hair was in this constant state of change from what I believe was from both the method and my hormones. I struggled to find balance with co-washing, not co-washing, protein/moisture balance, and overall time to just learn the best techniques that worked for my texture. I’m happy to say that I spent the first 9 months using the exact same products as the day I started and just focused on techniques that work best for me and my hair. It was the smartest thing I did and saved me a lot of money by not buying “all the things.”

 

 

Learning to let go of perfection has been the most empowering part of my natural hair journey. I used to be obsessive over creating the perfect part, the smoothest blow-out, the most uniform curling iron curls. In the end, I still wasn’t achieving the look I really loved. I was envious of those with big, voluminous curls that I saw on those who embraced their natural texture.

 

About 4 months into my journey, I decided to try blowing out my hair for an event. When I was done styling, it didn’t look right. It wasn’t “me” anymore. Those big, voluminous waves I was gradually achieving, were pressed flat. I had no root volume and minimal texture. To my surprise, I couldn’t wait to wash my hair and start over with my natural style. It was pivotal moment in my healthy hair journey.

 

 

My sleep protection routine is fairly simple. I put my hair up in a pineapple and sleep on a silk pillowcase. I could certainly benefit from wearing a puff, but I haven’t been able to get past wearing something on my head at night. I always end up taking it off out of discomfort.

 

 

My top tip for definition is to hover diffuse. This allows you to not touch your hair or disrupt the clumps and pattern as little as possible.

 

My top tips for volume are root clipping with claw clips (not metal clips, those snag easily and cause breakage at my roots”>, diffusing upside down by starting at the root first to lift weight from the ends, and flipping your hair to the opposite side you’d like to wear it on and securing it with a Zazzyband headband. Once I’m ready to leave, I removed the headband and flip my part to the opposite side. This gives me killer results every time.

 

 

How do I choose just one?! If I absolutely had to choose just one curl crush, it would be Ariba Pervaiz. I imagine her hair is what unicorns dream of. She has volume for days, but also somehow manages to achieve an incredible balance with definition. Not only does she have a gorgeous mane, but she is unapologetically herself. I adore her for that.

 

My current hair regimen is pretty straight forward: shampoo/low poo, condition, leave-in, curl cream and gel. I’ve more recently switched over Innersense products and their I Create Hold gel is a force to be reckoned with. They have the perfect amount of Aloe that my high porosity hair loves.

 

 

I don’t have a washday without my Denman brush. On soaking wet hair, I apply my leave-in, curl cream, then use my denman brush to brush my hair while upside down. From there a gently rope my hair together and give my head a little shake. Tada! Perfectly clumped waves to work with. I’ve lovingly begun to call this technigue the “#brushropeshake.”  I’ve received a lot of feedback from other wavies that this has worked wonders for forming curl clumps.  

 

As for product application, I’ve learned that the “Praying Hands” technique works best for my soft waves. Any attempt at “Raking” in product has left my hair stringy and lifeless.