How to make straight hair wavy?

[TheKiwi]

My hair is very straight but looks much better with some waves in it, however I'm not sure how to achieve the look for a whole day. I've tried braiding it when it's wet and sleeping on it overnight, but the waves fall out within an hour or so.

Do you have any recommendations of products or techniques that can make the waves last all day? Is there a curling iron I should by? A styling mousse? I'm totally clueless!

I'm trying to avoid getting a perm since I dye my hair regularly and don't want to over fry it.

 

[ALAUU]

^ Good luck with that! I've got straight hair, I'm talkin' pin-straight. It's a real pain to try and get it wavy. I do have a Hot Tools curling iron that is AMAZING, especially because it's much cheaper than most curling irons and it actually works. I would definately recommend it. It works quite quickly also. I can curl my whole head in 15-20 minutes.

 

[99 Apples]

my hair is also painfully pin-straight and I'm too lazy to curl it, which is bad for your hair anyway

I've been able to make my hair stay wavy by waiting until it's still damp, (but not really damp, only somewhat) working in some mousse, and twisting it into a really tight bun on the top of my head. I sleep on it and then when I wake up in the morning it's really wavy. the waves do fall a little but it still looks a lot more voluminous by the end of the day

if you don't want to wait you can make a looser bun and blow dry but I don't know if it would last as long.

 

[afterrhours]

I have straight hair that is very hard to curl as well and I don't like using heat. Usually I either braid my hair when it's a little damp(doing this while my hair is wet does not work at all) and sleep with it overnight, or I tie it in a bun similar to what 99 Apples does. This tutorial works well for me too if I want just loose waves. I keep it in overnight and my hair ends up looking more wavy than hers, which I like. For me it lasts all day, but it depends on your hair. My sister does it and gets very little wave that fall out very easily.

 

[evaa]

I usually curl my hair with my straightener (you can just use a curling iron though), and then once its done ill wet my hands and run it through my hair a little. Then the curls loosen up a bit and turn into waves

 

[oh me]

this looks lovely

 

[lafindesiecle]

i am a HUGE fan of the foam rod spiral curlers and they're ridiculously easy once you get the hang of it, i also am afraid of heat styling.... i usually add some styling mousse/hairspray to my hair to texture it a bit, and then either blow dry it, sleep on it, or just brush it through and do this the next day... very hard to do on slick/clean hair.

when i start i get my hair the tiniest bit damp -- a few sprays of mist or i just run my damp fingers through it a bit, it should only take a few minutes to dry. then i put spiral curlers of different thicknesses throughout my hair... the trick I think is to pull your hair in the right sections -- literally pull a 1 or 2 inch square section of hair and wrap it very tight and neat around the curler, holding it vertically, and then bend the ends in. it is not like hot barrel curlers -- more like using a curling iron to create spiral curls, you aren't wrapping the hair over itself but rather down the body/barrel of the curler and just securing the ends.

i alternate the direction of the spirals for every curler so as to create a messier wave and less of a structured "curled hair" look. it takes me about 20-25 curlers to get my whole head. when i'm done sometimes i mist some flexible-hold hairspray over my whole head to help them set.

i usually leave them in for about an hour, usually while i get dressed/put makeup on/make coffee etc.... when you pull then out, unwind carefully, leaving the silly perfect spiral curls intact. once all the curlers are out, tousle your hair a bit with your fingers to break up the rigid spirals and that's it!

this is my hair naturally, air dry, with nothing in it:

and this is what it looks like after the curlers! it lasts all day for me most of the time, and my hair is VERY stubbornly straight. the last time i went to a salon like this the girl was very surprised to find out my hair is actually straight b/c she thought the waves looked very natural.

(all pix mine)

 

[lafindesiecle]

also yes, i definitely recc' using some styling mousse etc as i said before, it's really hard to get your hair to hold ANYTHING if you've got pin straight hair... adding some voluminzing/texturizing/curling mousse or even a flexible-hold-hairspray will definitely help your waves stay. and don't fuss with them! if i were to brush my hair with anything other than my fingers when i'm wearing it wavy, it would destroy the curls almost entirely.

i also found that my hair started holding curl a lot better after i dyed my hair? i guess the damage or something makes it less stubbornly straight/easier to manipulate with product.

 

[Esprit]

my hair is super-straight, even if I curl it and then put hairspray on it'll be straight by the end of the day
it's a shame, because I really like the beachy/messy wavy look, especially with dark blonde hair like I have. I think sometimes the grass is always greener though, because if I'm ever late in the morning (which is most of the time), I can just brush my hair and leave and it looks 'done'.
What I find works better than curling it is leaving it in plaits overnight, for some reason even without hairspray this seems to last quite a while.

 

[MimiV]

my hair is super-straight, even if I curl it and then put hairspray on it'll be straight by the end of the day
it's a shame, because I really like the beachy/messy wavy look, especially with dark blonde hair like I have. ....

I'm in the same boat! During the end of my last hair appointment the hair dresser brought out the curling iron and I told him that there was seriously no point in curling my hair. He insisted and brought out another "super" curling iron and spent 40 minutes curling my entire hair. Needless to say, after walking the 5 minutes it takes to get back to my place - my hair was flat again .

I really like the beachy/wavy look too! What I do, when I don't have a sea around to dip my hair in, is I just fill a spray bottle with water and salt and then spray my entire hair with it. I've tried the "beach look" sprays that you can buy at the hairdressers, but I honestly find the salt + water combination works the best.

 

[Esprit]

I'm in the same boat! During the end of my last hair appointment the hair dresser brought out the curling iron and I told him that there was seriously no point in curling my hair. He insisted and brought out another "super" curling iron and spent 40 minutes curling my entire hair. Needless to say, after walking the 5 minutes it takes to get back to my place - my hair was flat again .

I really like the beachy/wavy look too! What I do, when I don't have a sea around to dip my hair in, is I just fill a spray bottle with water and salt and then spray my entire hair with it. I've tried the "beach look" sprays that you can buy at the hairdressers, but I honestly find the salt + water combination works the best.

i always wonder if the texture of the salt water feels weird on your hair though? hmm i might have to try it though because i want to achieve that festival/beach/messy wavy kind of hair that lasts all day and not just half an hour!

 

[diesanni]

Papilotten... I have no idea what they are called in English but they do wonders and look like this:

fransendiana.nl/lilienstern.de

 

[lafindesiecle]

^^ these are the rollers i was talking about a few posts up! i put them in differently though as my hair is quite long, i find that rolling them around like that creates more voluminous curls which also can get pretty 80's pretty fast if you aren't careful, and that rolling it as a spiral is better for the loose waves/beachy look. They really do work wonders though, and my hair is PIN STRAIGHT and super thick.