Tuesday, September 27, 2016

how to achieve thick, wavy curls

How to achieve texturized waves with thin & fine hair: 
When gathering questions for my first Q&A on the blog, I was asked how I style/curl my hair. I decided to dedicate a post to my general hair routine. I'm a huge believer in keeping hair healthy, fresh, and finding products that aren't going to break the bank (All the products I use are under $10), so if that's something you're interested in, read on!

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In high school, I hardly ever used a heat protectant, and used the blow dryer and straightener almost daily. I thought I had the most oily hair and skin in existence--I didn't understand that my hair was overproducing oil because I was washing it too much. I have trained my hair to work with only washing it every 3 days. It was torture for the first couple months while my hair adjusted, but this has worked wonders! I have less split ends and I have natural waves that I never thought I had. Creating some texturized, natural waves makes a great base for the look I'm about to show you.

I'm a huge fan of the free, beachy-wave look, as well as keeping my hair as healthy as possible. My hair grows reeeeeally slow and it's super fine, so in order to achieve volume and texture (while protecting it from heat) I follow these steps:

1) When I step out of the shower, I immediately spray with this miracle leave-in conditioner spray. I get too greasy to use conditioner all over my hair in the shower (I only focus on the ends), so when I use this stuff I spray about 4x's around my entire head to distribute shine and protect against heat. It's the most expensive hair product I own, but that's because it is worth every penny!!

2) Next I put about a nickel-sized drop of this argan oil on the palm of my hand and with both of my hands I apply it to the very ends of my hair by bunching in a gentle upwards motion. I have had this same bottle for literally 3 years, it lasts forever and it helps my ends stay nourished.

3) I don't blow-dry. I maybe use the blow-dryer once per month, on low heat. This is what has encouraged my hair to produce natural waves the most!
In case you haven't heard this before--do not towel-dry your hair! It encourages frizziness and breakage. Get a big soft T-shirt and designate it specifically for hair care. I have a certain way of turban-wrapping my hair with one of my hubby's soft T-shirts that I leave hanging with the towels. I leave it on for 15-20 minutes while I get dressed, cook breakfast, etc--then I unwrap my hair and use the towel to bunch my hair in an upwards motion (while squeezing carefully with each bunch) to dry it a little more. I let it air dry the rest of the way. I've been using a T-shirt for almost a year and my hair has way less breakage!

4) Once my hair is totally dry--and sometimes I even wait to do this the next day--I'll brush it with a wide-toothed comb like this one in downward motions. Then, starting with my part, I spray this dry shampoo into my roots, sectioning farther down on each side of my head as I go (about 1" each time). I spray the roots on the back of my head by flipping my hair upside-down and sectioning accordingly. YES, I use dry shampoo on clean hair! I find that this prevents my hair from feeling dirty as quick. I'd much rather use it on day 1 then wait until it feels greasy. 


5) Lastly, I use this curling wand to throw in some beachy waves. Remember, following the other steps should help you achieve some natural curl--even if you have fine, thin, straight hair like I do--and should give you a base so you don't have to use as much heat on your hair! As a rule for curls, I take fairly large sections of hair (over 1") and I don't leave my hair on the barrel longer than 10 seconds. As a final finishing touch, I go through with a mirror and pull smaller sections that need some extra curl--because there will inevitably be spots that need a little more heat when you're curling so quickly.


I hope this gave you a good visual on how to style texturized wavy curls! As a side note for hair care--generally be aware of ingredients in hair products. (Even higher-end products like Chi have ingredients like alcohol, which is why I stopped using their heat protectant that I used to love.) If anyone wants me to do a video tutorial, leave a comment. I'd be happy to make one. I'm always up for trying new things. :)

Thanks so much for supporting my blog! I was blown away with the number of views on my last post. You are all amazing!

xoxo
Brittany

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