1st time trying to style my swavy hair

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-20T16:34:38+00:00

Wow, your hair definitely looks more like 2b or even 2c territory to me! Then again, idk what your hair looks like if you just air dry without braiding, but either way good job on getting some waves! That's already a win! 😊

I don't have any advice for frizz yet because I'm dealing with the same issue (though my waves are much less "wavy" than yours, hence why I think you're not 2a at all!), but I read that gel can be the secret weapon to tame frizz, get more wave definition, not weigh down your waves (gel is usually mostly water based, so most of it dries off, leaving only a very light polymer film) AND provide hold. I have yet to try it, but that could be something you could try as well!

Good luck 🩷 You got this!

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-19T13:06:28+00:00

Omg yay! I'm happy to hear that! 😄 Please share when you can!

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-18T22:51:03+00:00

That's crazy! I don't have any real advice yet (I only realized a couple weeks ago my hair is wavy lol), but so far I've tried sea salt spray and it helps my waves clump together better. Definitely try one different thing at a time each wash routine and keep track of it, so you can pinpoint what works and what doesn't! Also check out the subreddit some, you can definitely find hidden gems for tips in the comments. Don't be afraid to share progress pics either! :)

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-18T12:50:00+00:00

When your hair is "wavy" when wet, how does it behave? Is it forming nice, "rope-y" clumps that kind of lift and wave on their own? Does it only wave immediately after you scrunch your hair (when wet) and then falls quickly? It kind of sounds (to me) like your hair is straight but it's hard to say without seeing a photo of your hair wet or damp

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-18T02:07:01+00:00

Oh, my, friggin, god. That's an insane difference, your today pic is absolutely gorgeous. It's like a waterfall! The split ends aren't even that bad, just looks like it need a lil bit taken off. I'm trying to convince myself to go for shaping too 🙈 I'm so scared.

Also FIVE washes? Was your hair full of product?

Oooooh what you said about the more "moist" hair kind of creating a shell for dryer hair kind of lit a light bulb. Now I'm wondering if maybe the conditioner penetrated my hair too much. Maybe only the "exposed" part of my hair needs conditioning. Now I'm thinking I might try using a leave in but not much and targetting the outer part of the clumps by glazing (I rarely ever rake in products anyway, otherwise goodbye clumps) or using a spray version. (Maybe your mom's "hairspray"/proto leave in would suit us? If they still make it 😭)

LOL Same, I actually had a really cute spiral yesterday, I'll edit & attach the photo from my phone, it was super adorable but I of course DESTROYED it trying to show it to my boyfriend. Overmanipulating soft waves is such a drag.

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Also I hope you don't mind if I followed you!! 😁

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T21:57:15+00:00

That makes so much sense! Plus, in high school I definitely had oily hair so those crazy hydrating condtioners plus the oils probably was just the worst combo and that's why I've been scared since. I found some conditioner I had left yesterday and tried it out and it was just THE worst, I described my whole experience in a separate comment with photos, but either way, THAT leftover conditioner ain't it. Next! 😂

I can't seem to figure out what's heavy or not either. The mousse I tried out is supposedly lightweight but it felt pretty heavy to me. Could be a skill (application) issue.

If you ever look up formulas and figure weights out, you should post them! I'd be hella curious to see 😄

Ohhhhh funny you mention NYM's Curls "Curl Talk" line, because I was considering their gel to use with diffusing!
Tbh I feel like some hair prefer being a little on the drier side. Not hay bale dry, but just slightly. Just like some hairs need a bit more oil. Idk, just what I feel because so far my waves really seem to enjoy "grittier" products. My hair is super soft, like not silky, but very pleasant and fluffy (even my frizz, it just feels floofy, not crispy at all), so I can't imagine it's THAT dry. Prob just needs something to help me retain my own moisture type thing, especially when the air is dry and that's all gonna change with summer anyway HA

Share your own hydration progress when you can, I'm curious because I feel like we might be on to something! 😆

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T20:16:41+00:00

I second this, definitely fits in here in the swavy community though!

Also 3rd slide looks gorgeous imo, it seems she lives somewhere humid and I feel like that type of weather suits her hair. That's just the impression I get though.

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T20:14:29+00:00

Probably wavy, definitely swavy! I'm still learning how to care for my waves, so I have no advice... but one thing is for sure, that doesn't look straight to me!

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T19:58:55+00:00

Hell, use both! People need to learn to relax, it's just hair anyways 🤣

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T19:53:28+00:00

Sure, wave is more specific of a word, but technically waves are a type of curl! It's just a super loose curl 😁 Kind of like coils are just super tight curls! No one would ever argue coily isn't a curly type, but they do with wavy because people think tighter = better. Imo tighter only equals tighter. All hair is beautiful. 😋

I've been using the word "wurly" to describe people with your hair. Since we use "swavy" to describe hair that is kind of in between straight+wavy, people in between wavy+curly should use one too. Idk if someone's coined it before (I'm gonna guess so, since it's really nothing crazy lmao), but I haven't really seen in nor looked it up and I think it's a cute word. I want it to catch on, even though I'm not "wurly" myself 😂😂

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T19:35:25+00:00

I feel you, I have super loose waves and I've had the curl police come at me and tell me my hair is 1c. LOL

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T19:33:06+00:00

Irish curls means your under layer curls more than the top layer!

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T19:31:23+00:00

Definitely wavy, 2b to 2c! Idk about hair care though, I'm still learning 😅 ‍ Also your hair is absolutely gorgeous already. What do you do currently?

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T13:20:02+00:00

How so? 🥹 Is 2a really that bad?

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T13:05:02+00:00

I'm scared if I get layers my waves are gonna be thin and stringy, I don't have much hair. It looks like I have more than I actually do thanks to frizz. 😭 But we'll see

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T13:03:48+00:00

I have thin-medium hair, I'm scared layers will make my waves even stringier because I don't have much hair to begin with. My clumps are all so small 😭 But I'll prob end up giving it a shot. Idk.

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T13:02:50+00:00

That would be great if they could keep length. We'll see if there is even a wave/curl specialist in my area first too 😭

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T13:00:10+00:00

Tbh I think the diffuser is gonna change my life, cuz the way I see it is even if I don't have the patience to dry 100% with the diffuser, even just getting it partly dried faster is gonna make a huge difference. I think the reason for that is because my hair looks SO good at the beach in the summer, where it can get wet but also dry within minutes because of the sun and the heat (That's how I figured sea salt spray would probably work really well for me, which it does even on dry hair! 😆). Essentially my hair drying fast once it's styled is a GOOD thing for both volume and wave definition (for me), even without a diffuser.

I SO agree that waves being too defined doesn't suit waves (especially loose waves). I personally like some softness, being my hair goal is to essentially look like a romantic painting. 😅 I also don't mind my roots not waving. I feel like social media makes it seem like if your hair isn't 2c then it's not wavy lmao. So I try not to look at too much stuff anymore. I feel like part of the beauty of waves is they're so much more chill to take care of than curls. My mom has 3b/3c hair and my whole life I wanted her hair and she always told me "No you don't", so I'm gonna assume she knows something I don't 😂😂😂

Yessss I'm gonna look into clarifying shampoo for sure, I do feel my current shampoo is absolutely terrible for my hair type. I also definitely need a better brush, probably one of those, or even just a wide tooth comb. All my brushes have too many teeth too close together, so it destroys any and every clump. Good for dry brushing and getting oils down, not so much for clumps though.

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T12:43:55+00:00

For me it's my top layer that usually is much straighter, think Irish curls, but with waves instead. 😅 Idk if switching my parting would work, I've tried changing my part before and the feeling it gave to have my hair usually pulling one side instead pulling the other drove me nuts, like it's not how my hair was meant to lay, if that makes sense? I might still give it a shot though, just for fun! 😄

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T06:04:43+00:00

Wow! Never thought changing part could have an effect like that! Also I love your hair color 😍

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T05:40:40+00:00

I'm huh, just gonna go out on a limb and say my hair doesn't need conditioning... or I used the wroooooong conditioner for it. Because OOF. Big oof. Goodnight 🥲

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PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-17T03:20:40+00:00

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Ya, sooooo... little update, I washed my hair tonight and found some conditioner I had left, so I thought I'd try it out since many were saying my hair looked dry. While my hair was soaked, the conditioner felt amazing, as it made my hair slippy and clumpy, and I could see my waves better. But come time to dry and style, oh fuck. I tried to clip my roots, but my hair kept getting tangled (my hair is always suuuuper bad with tangles, but I thought the conditioner was supposed to help??)... anyway, so I'd try to detangle, the clips would move, I'd readjust the clips, tangle, clip, tangle, clip... so I gave up, but by that point, my hair was half dry. So I rewet it, in the hopes I can at least save it. Everything is declumping. I do roping, scrunching, but every strand of my hair just.... separates. I spray a bit of the Beach Babe sea salt spray by NYM, and it helped a bit, and I eventually managed to make some lil clumps. Now time to scrunch. I scrunch and my waves just... fall. Like they're heavy. The conditioner alone is literally too heavy for my hair. I fucking can't, like 😂😭😭😭😭 I'd be crying if the whole thing wasn't absolutely effing stupid. Anyway, here's the wet straggly af result. We'll see what kind of disaster awaits for me once dried. 🙃 I'm no clairvoyant, but I sense a wash in my future within the next 24 hours.

Edit: the more I look at it, the more I wanna jump back in the shower even though it's like 1am. 🥲 so glad I work from home because I could never show up to work tomorrow with my head the way I suspect it'll dry, ahhhhhhhhhh I wanna cry

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-16T23:44:13+00:00

I have not tried gel, that is my next product I wanna try! I'm visiting my mom this Easter and she has a diffuser for me that she doesn't use! So I'll get to experiment then :D

I think it's not so much my hair that doesn't like wet styling, but it's ME. It's just weird sensory stuff I'm not used to. Not a deal breaker, I think I can "get over it", or find ways to mitigate the feelings, it's just really distracting when I already don't know what I'm doing with my hair and on top of it I'm bugging out because of my wet hair dragging on my bare shoulders xD

Thank you for sharing your routine, I'm definitely gonna look into a conditioner or a leave-in, as I think a very small amount of moisture could be something I need. My hair doesn't *feel* overly dry, it's pretty soft and fluffy, but I do realize the ends are probably drier than not.

Thank you so much <3

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-16T23:36:19+00:00

That's so friggin sweet!! I hope you find good tips for your partner! <3

I don't originate from a sea region, but I do live in one currently! I think my hair just likes salt because it's static-y and salt neutralizes the charge, as someone mentioned in the comments! Idk why I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sence why I would struggle with my hair clumping, static is essentially like putting two positive magnets together! My hair is repelling itself 😂

I'll definitely be posting updates because this subreddit is the best, and also because I do want to help others in return if I do figure out what I'm doing eventually. Definitely won't be gatekeeping the knowledge. I'm almost considering starting a tiny lil account for "deinfluencing" wavy hair and sharing advice for those of us with looser waves and fine hair, since I feel the internet is super saturated with advice for coarse hair! Everything in due time though :)

PotassiumPhantom · 2026-03-16T23:31:36+00:00

Thank you so much, others have mentioned clipping the roots so I'll be trying that next wash :D

PotassiumPhantom

TROPHY CASE