hair

BARELY THERE WAVE

photos + post: kristin ess

Okay, common problem: your hair isn’t wavy but it isn’t straight either. If you airdry it’s just not cute– yah, looks effortless, but not in this right way. If you wave it all, it takes forever. So you just put it in a FUN BUN every day. WE KNOW YOU, GIRL. And we feel you. Here are several that I find TRULY help if you struggle with this hair type…

ONE. You need that SPECIAL TOWEL or an old t-shirt. They honestly help so much in encouraging wave and reducing frizz.

TWO. Learn how to plop. What? Yes, plop. Here’s my FAVORITE VIDEO for teaching people this method… You can do it with an old t-shirt which minimizes frizz or you can use one of the hair towels mentioned above. Leave the t-shirt or towel on for as long as you can. I usually suggest getting ready, doing makeup, or even sleeping overnight. Some people need 30 min, some people need 2 hours.

THREE. 2 simple products. You have to find the right product and know when to put it on. My clients and I both always seem to have the best luck with this routine: apply THIS MOUSSE only at the root when the hair is wet. Did you hear me? Only at the root when the hair is wet. That’s important AF. Then plop. And finally, once your hair is dry, waved up and out of the towel, scrunch in some of THIS WAVE SPRAY for added hold and to encourage wave all over. Continue scrunching until that dries (this is something you can do in the car on the way to work or even at your desk)!

FOUR. The right cut. It’s essential to have layers if you want to encourage your waves to come out and play! Without layers, hair gets heavy. You’re never going to get as much wave from a long blunt cut as you are from a cut with texture and movement. Tell your stylist you’re thinking about wearing your hair more air-dried and wavy and let them decide what type of layers you’ll need.

FIVE. The ol’ diffuser. Get that thing out. If you plop your hair and notice there’s still a little dampness at the root, lean over and diffuse so you don’t break up the waves!

SIX. Don’t brush out of the shower. Every time you run a brush or comb through out of the shower, you’re breaking up the potential wave and dragging the pattern down which will straighten it. Comb it out in the shower when conditioning and then not again! Why do you think it looks so good when you come out of the water at the pool or the beach?

BTW: I think the biggest issue people have when dealing with “barely there wave” is following instructions meant for wavy hair. Your hair isn’t wavy. It’s almost wavy. So you have to do things a little differently. You can’t add weight to all the hair (meaning product) before it dries or it’s going to pull the wave down. Have you ever noticed that your hair gets most wave when you sleep on it wet with nothing in it or when you get out of the pool or ocean and don’t put anything in it? You’re not weighing that potential wave down. Let it do it’s thing and THEN add the product!