Turn Curly Hair Into Loose Waves
Want a new look for your curly hair? Turn your curls into loose waves -- it's tedious, but well worth it.
Contents
Steps
Using Hot Rollers
- Straighten your hair as you normally do. Make sure you use some sort of heat protectant as your hair will be handling a lot of heat.
- Put hot rollers in your straightened hair. They are similar to curlers, but they apply heat in order to keep the curl for a longer time.
- Leave the hot rollers in for about 20 minutes. Release them, and spray with hairspray.
- Look at your hair. It will have the smoothness and sheen found in loose waves without the kinkiness of curls.
- Or, if you want to save your hair from frying, you can put a little bit of leave in conditioner or mousse in your straightened hair before you go to bed, and braid your hair in two braids. When you wake up in the morning, comb the braids out with your fingers. Don't brush it, and there you go! You've got waves!
Using Tight Ponytails
- Wash your hair. If your hair does not need to be washed just dampen your hair.
- Towel dry the excess moisture from your hair.
- Combine hair mousse and gel and apply it to your hair.
- Spray your hair strongly with hairspray.
- Make a center part in your hair from front to back.
- Make two tight ponytails.
- Twist and wrap each ponytail into a bun.
- Blow dry your hair until it is partially dry. Keep the blow drier constantly in the center. (Don't worry, it won't burn your scalp.)
- Stop blow drying while your hair is still damp.
- Spray your hair strongly with hairspray again.
- Loosen hair from buns after your hair is completely dry.
- Gently arrange your hair attractively using your hands instead of a comb or brush.
Tips
- After washing your hair, blast it with some ice-cold water -- it seals the hair cuticle, making the hair shinier.
- Avoid adding too much product as it can dry out your hair, cause frizz, and even hair loss from product buildup.
- Give yourself a break in between straightening and hot-rolling. It'll help protect your hair.
- Since your hair is dealing with heat, apply olive oil in your hair every week. Wash it off after an hour. Olive oil makes you hair longer, stronger, shinier and healthier.
- Allow yourself as much time for this as possible. There are two main steps which take up a large chunk of time.
- If you don't have hot rollers, a large-barrelled curling iron also works reasonably well.
- Don't put too much hairspray on, as it can harden your hair and make it look oily.
- Instead of using heat, just wash your hair with a little shampoo and more conditioner. Rinse off with lukewarm water and make sure you do NOT detangle your hair with a brush as it will leave your hair frizzy. Use a wide toothed comb instead.
After detangling, apply some oil to your hair or leave-in conditioner (coconut and macadamia oils are perfect, or you can even try a little of olive oil). Braid your hair into 2 parts for looser waves while WET. After braiding, pat your braids with a cotton t-shirt to dry.
Warnings
- If your hair isn't used to extreme heat, make sure you break your hair in first -- straighten it for a couple days, and then attempt getting waves.
- Be careful not to burn yourself.
