u/baardolator

My hair is almost waist length with a looser wave/curl pattern. I don’t know what ‘curl type’ it is, it seems more on the wavy side but not really like beachy waves. It’s quite inconsistent, the hair around my temples is finer and forms spirals, with the hair around the nape of my neck being comparatively straight, and the rest of my hair is just everywhere in between those two.

Realistically, I know that my waves/curls/whatever they are would probably look conventionally better if I had some length taken off (or some layers) but quite frankly, the only thing I like about my hair at the moment is the length lmao. I seem to always prefer my hair when I have a lightweight mousse layered underneath a gel, and so far I’ve found that using only mousse or gel results in very little definition and hold.

My hair seems really quite low porosity to me. Water beads up on the surface and it takes a very long time for it to transition either way wet/dry. It is very prone to being weighed down by product, so I’ve been experimenting with less product and lighter products in general. Right now, I’m trying to find a stronghold gel that won’t weigh my hair down.

In the photo I used around a golf ball size of Wella Shockwaves mousse and some of the Got2b curlz jelly. I’ve been undecided on using leave in conditioner to be honest, I try not to weigh my hair down but I do prefer the feel of a very small amount of it (literally a pea size) watered down, and I did this in the photo with the Aussie work that curl creme. Unfortunately after doing this my hair seemed to lose shape really quickly, it fell quite flat and the curls just started to look frizzy, tangled and a bit flat, only a few hours after I took the photo. When doing this same routine, but using a stronger hold gel (vo5 mega hold) instead of the jelly, my hair held up so much better - but it felt much more weighed down.

Not sure what to do really, thicker strong hold gels give a nice cast and the curls really last, but my hair never has volume due to being weighed down. Jellies feel better and less like they’re sitting on my hair but the results just don’t seem to last. Looking to see if there’s somehow a miraculously lightweight yet stronghold gel that won’t weigh my hair down :’)

Very open to this being the wrong idea though and other suggestions are very welcome! Thank you :)

My hair is around type 2c and seems low porosity. It’s pretty much waist length and I’d say on the thicker side of medium density. For any different clip recommendations, I’m in the UK and don’t mind checking out drugstores or even online but would like to keep it lower budget.

I’m struggling to find a comfortable way to preserve the shape overnight. I’ve tried just a satin bonnet, just pineappling, pineappling with a satin bonnet, and these three methods seem to deform the shape a bit. More than just frizz, I can cope with/refresh that, but it’s like the pattern of my curls twists overnight (and they tangle with each other) in a way that is quite hard to rectify without completely rewashing it. Most of my problems happen around the root area, the definition disappears really quickly and having it loose in a bonnet or even pineappled just doesn’t seem to work for me.

Last night I tried root clipping the top portion with a medium size claw clip, and medusa clipping the back and sides (up to the top of my head) with really small claw clips. Put the satin bonnet over the top of these clips and the shape has maintained soooo much better!

However, it was really quite uncomfortable to sleep in. I did try to put all of the clips at the top portion of my head to make sure that I wasn’t leaning on them, but I think from certain angles my roots felt like they were being pulled on. My scalp is a bit sore this morning - I didn’t feel that I had clipped anything in my too tight, it felt like I just had my hair up comfortably until I went to bed. I do like the results this morning though, so I’d like to keep doing this if I can find a better method. Maybe clipping differently with the clips I currently have, or maybe trying a different type of hair clip that could be more comfortable for me :’)

I’ve attached a photo of the clips I used, they really are just normal claw clips (yes the larger one is missing a peg, it’s old but I love the colour 🥲) I used the one medium size clip and about 6-8 of the smaller ones (again, my hair is waist length and definitely not fine)

Thank you in advance :’)

Been a bit obsessed with styling my hair lately, not sure what my ‘curl type’ is (given that my hair just isn’t consistently resembling one category), or if that even matters really. I think my hair type might be around 2b at the nape of my neck, with spirals resembling 3a around my temples (which you can’t really see from the back) and the rest of my hair seems to be mostly 2c but I honestly don’t know lol.

I think maybe having an idea of your ‘curl type’ is a good starting point? (I’m a total newb to wet styling waves or curls) But whenever I style my hair specifically using guides for what I think it might be, (mostly 2c as a balance) it feels stuck to my head and inconsistent. I read pretty much everywhere that sopping wet styling is the best way, almost like the only way. I think my hair is quite low porosity, it takes ages to transition either way between wet and dry, water beads up on the surface and product is prone to sitting on the top. I also keep reading that sopping wet is the best for low porosity hair.

Personally I think I hate styling sopping wet though lol. The process itself is genuinely exhausting to me, the curl clumps definitely form more smoothly (which I guess is the primary goal with sopping wet) but they separate around my scalp into strange droopy partings that weigh down. The water dripping absolutely everywhere is overwhelming, it’s a sensory nightmare. The products I apply end up all over my face, the hair splashes and drips product EVERYWHERE, this is a problem because my skin is so sensitive that even when trying my best to avoid getting any hair product on my face (and always washing/cleansing my face immediately after styling my hair) my skin still flares up as a result. Styling it with my head upright causes the clumps to sit flat and stick there forever. Styling it leaning forwards gives me a crazy back ache and then I flip my head over (even when shaking the roots before) and the roots are all stuck in the ‘leaning forwards position’ and somehow the length even manages to tangle when wet so I have to start all over with my head upright anyway. After this nightmare of a process it then takes probably 5 or 6 hours (honestly maybe even longer?) to air dry (excruciatingly long process of not moving my head or touching my head to set a gel cast) and even around an hour to diffuse on medium heat.

Genuinely in awe of those of you who can wet style consistently and get good results. I definitely find the curl clumps more formed and clumpy (in a good way) when sopping, but for me it seems to come at the expense of volume and having a cohesive look throughout the upper portion around the roots particularly? Perhaps this is partly a length issue, my hair is pretty much waist length now and has no layers, it’s just cut in a softer V/U shape at the ends. I do have a fringe which I style like curtain bangs but that is never really the issue for me. My hair is medium-slightly thick in density but honestly nothing notable, the strands seem pretty medium in texture, not fine but not really coarse either? I think it looks like I have more hair than I do simply because it’s so long now and prone to frizz.

Felt too lazy and hot to bother with the burden (for me) that I have found sopping wet styling to be so far, so I decided to just do damp styling and call it a day whatever the results. Actually quite impressed with it considering how sopping wet is always the recommendation. There’s definitely more frizz and the curl clumps are smaller but they look more voluminous and cohesive in my opinion, which I think I might actually prefer. There seems to actually be a bit more texture and definition around the root as well which is proving to be a challenge for me to achieve when styling sopping wet (I posted here last week showing my first diffused results with sopping wet styling, asking for advice on definition around the crown)

Here’s my routine this time:
- Alberto Balsam mint shampoo, shampoo twice, second time I included the lengths rather thoroughly, hoping to remove product build up.
- Herbal Essences hello hydrate hair mask, the one in the blue pot, used in place of conditioner. Not much of this by my standards, maybe two 50p size blobs. All over the hair apart from the very roots, combed through with a wide tooth comb and washed out thoroughly. Only left this in for a few minutes, mostly just to detangle.
- Hair was sopping wet at this stage, I applied a tiny pea sized amount of Aussie ‘work that curl’ creme, I even mixed this with water despite my hair being literally sopping. Gently scrunched this in, not particularly careful with it but focused on the ends. Only took about ten seconds. I’ve been experimenting with less product on my hair in an attempt to avoid weighing it down (so I’ve been watering down some products) but I really don’t think I like the feel of my hair without any leave in conditioner or creme.
- Plopped my hair into a large cotton t shirt, left it like this with only the Aussie leave in for about 15-20 minutes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Aussie curl creme just dripped off/dried into the t shirt as my hair was plopped, but when dry my hair still feels much nicer than not using it at all.
- Removed t-shirt, my hair was really quite damp still (it dries very slowly), but the initial dripping wet sopping stage was gone. My hair seemed evenly saturated, was still a bit ‘squishy’ sounding when scrunched, on the wetter side of damp - but it wasn’t hanging down and dripping in a few large clumps. Began applying hold products here.
- Leaning forwards and using ‘praying hands’ I applied the Boots own brand mousse, it’s in a purple bottle ‘extra firm hold mousse lightweight’. Probably a tennis ball size of mousse, applied all over including roots and when it felt decently covered I scrunched all around, turning like an acrobat to get it from all angles. I like quite a lot of mousse :’) and this one feels very airy and light in the hands, kind of bubbly rather than creamy.
- Flipped my head upright, applied some of the Eco styler gel (the Argan Oil one in the red top pot) with praying hands. Decent amount of this, enough to cover my palm but not heaped, mixed this with some water to emulsify. Lightly scrunched afterwards. The damp/wet styling process of scrunching and shaping the waves/curls took only a few minutes!
- I then diffused on medium heat, low speed very briefly. Using the hover method just to set the cast slightly as I didn’t feel like diffusing my hair fully dry (it has been very hot where I live and I couldn’t stand it!) So I just set the cast a bit, 5 minutes maximum, and let it air dry after that.
- Hair dried in a few hours, I wasn’t very precious about it given that I’d partially set the cast with the diffuser. Tried not to touch it or move it around too much but didn’t care massively. Left it in the cast, stiff and looking like noodles before going to bed.
-Pineapple method and satin bonnet to sleep. I didn’t scrunch it out until this morning. Didn’t use anything to scrunch it out, no oil just my hands dry scrunching it and gently ‘clapping’ the length and shaking the roots a bit.

The routine looks really long but honestly it was so easy and didn’t take anywhere NEAR as much time as sopping wet styling does for me, also no back ache! :) I basically washed as normal, detangled in the shower, used a tiny amount of curl creme, plopped, and then applied two hold products before a brief diffusing to just set the cast. After which it air dried (from damp styled and briefly hover diffused obviously) in a few hours. Huge time save and honestly less draining. Starting to think a little frizz and smaller clumps is genuinely worth the added volume, less back ache and effort.

Found this small cushion/pillow in a charity shop for £1 yesterday. It didn’t immediately strike me as a ‘celestial’ but I just loved the overall whimsical, preraphaelite fairy tale vibe. On looking closer I noticed the stars and moon detail 🌙 I actually love the more subtle use of celestial motifs like this!

Sadly I can’t see a brand or label anywhere, nor can I see an artist name on the print. I imagine that the fabric is printed from an art piece/illustration, maybe a scene from a fairy tale? I’d love to know where this comes from and who the artist is (or even just similar styles of art.) This style is sooo pretty to me ✨

Obviously I thrifted this so it could be from literally anywhere. Despite reverse image searching it, I haven’t been able to find anything similar, not even a picture of the artwork. It’s not tapestry/woven/embroidered or anything like that, the printed main body feels like cotton and has a ruffled lacy trim.

I found this small pillow/cushion in a charity shop. Sadly there are no labels or names I can see, it might be a handmade item but it looks like the fabric used features a print from a fairytale? Obviously I could be wrong about this but can anybody think of the potential tale this might be based on?

Before is my hair with no product, air dried and brushed when dry. After is my hair styled wet by scrunching with mousse and gel, and then diffusing.

You can see what my natural hair just does. It basically just puffs out like a big triangle when brushed dry, like that is the entire hairstyle, just ‘christmas tree’. When following wavy/curly advice, there is definitely more definition/shape and less frizz, but I’d like to know if there is a way for me to increase definition/shape around the crown.

I’m hoping this isn’t purely a length related issue, although I’m sure the weight of my hair inevitably stretches out the wave/curl pattern around the top portion. I don’t mind the wave/curl pattern being more gradual and varied, but it just seems a bit flat, awkwardly straight, and stuck to my scalp really. The top section of my hair is also much more prone to frizzing and is frequently the cause of failed refresh days for me.

Even if I could just get more definition and hold there, not necessarily bouncy curls (although that would be ideal lol I can’t imagine it’s plausible) I think I’d be happier with it :) I’m not entirely sure what my curl pattern is, or if that is even terribly important, but my curl pattern seems looser towards the nape of my neck, curlier at my temples (finer hair there which forms into ringlets), and the rest of my hair is more middling. No idea what category my inconsistent pattern would fall into, but my hair has maintained that pattern pretty much all of my life. I don’t think the inconsistencies are damage related, I haven’t used dyes/bleach or heat on it in about 15 years, apart from very recently using a diffuser on low heat lol. I don’t really mind the variation in pattern, it’s just the weird flatness around the crown that bothers me. Any advice would be much appreciated :)

My hair is pretty long, and I think it is quite low porosity (water beads up on the surface.) I suspected that this might be what pulled the curls/waves down when I leave it to air-dry, so I finally tried diffusing yesterday. When air-drying I usually struggle to get much definition/shape at all with all of my hair (pretty much roots to ends) feeling weighed down. I think I struggle to get a decent cast when air-drying given how long it is and/or the time it takes to finally dry. After trying the diffuser, I think the lower half is good, definitely better than before but the top/crown feels a bit meh still.

Routine:
Washed using Alberto Balsam mint shampoo and conditioner, combed conditioner through in the shower to detangle.
Applied Aussie leave in ‘work that curl’ cream immediately after showering, very wet hair using not much product, perhaps a penny size of the curl cream.
Then applied the Superdrug own brand mousse (purple bottle, strong hold) perhaps two golf ball sizes, one for each section of my hair halved, just combed through before gently scrunching.
Then applied VO5 stronghold gel using praying hands to finish wet styling, maybe two 50p size blobs of the gel.
Microplopped after gel with a t shirt before diffusing.
Hover diffused for a few minutes to set the cast, then started using pixie diffusing method while leaning forwards, I was trying to cup sections close to the scalp for volume. This took about 45 minutes to dry on a lower heat/speed setting.
To sleep, I loosely pineappled on top of my head with a satin bonnet.
Shook it out a little this morning, applied a little oil (the Pantene Pro-V Argan infused oil) using praying hands and this is the result.

The result I have here is ultimately quite noticeably better than when I wait (several very long hours of not moving my head lol) for my hair to air-dry. I think I’m really happy with the lower half, but I’d still like more definition around the top of my head. The waves seem a bit stretched out there still, which was always the problem I had (throughout all the length) when leaving it to air-dry. I’m not sure if this is primarily a product issue, or to do with styling techniques. Not sure if I should try different products, or different amounts of product for my seemingly low porosity hair, or do something a bit more specific with my diffusing. Also something of a frizz halo but that isn’t really high priority for me right now as this is genuinely the least frizzy my hair has ever looked :’)

I remember this kind of thing being everywhere in charity shops when I was a child in the early 00s. Always surprises me to find anything in this style now (certainly where I live anyway) so I was super pleased to find this :) and only £1.50!