My wavy hair used to be a chore until I got a haircut that worked for me. Now, I always have some level of layers. Sometimes, my friend who cuts my hair (Alis at Fox + Stone in Corte Madera, CA) will do different things to cut down on some of the bulk and weight but keep it voluminous (I have “vampire hair”).
In terms of products, I like moisturizing shampoos and conditioners because my hair tends to get very dry, partly because of the texture, I think, and partly because it’s colored (I have highlights, and it’s a few shades lighter than natural right now). I also use some sort of leave-in hair oil or conditioner on my ends, again, because of the whole dryness issue.
For techniques and tools, my biggest thing is that I use very little heat styling. I get split ends when I blow dry frequently or use flat irons or other heat styling tools on the regular, so I’ll blow dry maybe once or twice a month now at the most (back when I did it every day in the ’90s, my hair was so dry that it was like a bale of hay growing out of my head).
Usually about once a week, around the beginning of the week, after I wash my mane, I’ll let it air dry and use a large-barrel curling iron to add more curls and waves where I want. Then, I’ll spray a beachy waves spray on it, and let it do its thing.
After that, I usually won’t wash it for as long as I can stand it a few days, and will just use dry shampoo at the roots to absorb the oil and cover up any hair funk. I do that to 1) save time, 2) extend the life of my color job, and 3) because I think my hair just looks a little better when it’s more “lived in.” 🙂
Products I’m currently using for my wavy hair
- Shampoo — Rene Furterer Acanthe Curl Enhancing Shampoo or Kerastase Bain Elixir Ultime
- Conditioner — Oribe Conditioner for Beautiful Color or Intense Conditioner for Moisture & Control
- Leave-in conditioner — Shu Uemura Art of Hair Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil or Kerastase Touche Perfection Replenishing Balm for Dry Ends
- Beach wavy spray — Kerastase Spray a Porter or Shu Uemura Art of Hair Texture Wave Dry Finishing Spray
- Dry shampoo — Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo or TRESemme Fresh Start Renewing Dry Shampoo
How about you? What’s your hair texture (relaxed, straight, wavy, curly, super-curly), and what products, tools and techniques work best for you?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
