Curl enhancers

[katie]

I want to achieve a curly look by the scrunch technique.What products are best for enhancing curl for someone with no curl pattern at all?I am a 4b relaxed.Therefore my hair when wet is completely straight and it also airdries completely straight in a pony.I am wondering if it is even possible for me to achieve this look.

 

[queenofmean68]

I can tell you this.....do not buy that stuff by John Freida for the wavy look. It didn't work on my relaxed 4a hair. You may have to resort to doing twistouts.

 

[Karonica]

LOL!

The Ripple Effect worked on mine, but it would always look dry the next day.

Try adding some mousse and then scrunching with a sticky gel like Let's Jam. Or you can try Black & Sassy creamy set for scrunching, or some type of sticky setting lotion like Lottabody.

 

[katie]

bumping for more responses

 

[pookeylou]

For relaxed hair...it may be especially hard to acheive this look without additional manipulation.

For natural hair I use Pantene Curl Defining spray and my natural coils spring out.

If your relaxed hair dries straight then it sounds like you may have to do a twist out...use rollers or even a straw set.

 

[katie]

What about braidouts?Because I can't twist hair.Do twistouts give a different look from braidouts on relaxed hair?

 

[patticake]

personally i prefer braidouts. twistouts give a more looser wave pattern and braidouts give a tighter one and cause more shrinkage. if you have thick hair (unlike me) maybe you should give the twistout a chance with some rollers on the ends. then you'll have a nice wavy style.

if you want to do the scrunch method i also suggest mousse and some gel.

 

[katie]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

[ccd]

I believe I have 4a hair....I've always been able to leave my hair wavy/spirally thru air drying....I've experiemented since joining this site so I tried braidouts and twist outs so here's what I did

For the airdried "no manipulation"......leave in conditioner ( helps with curlies/waves) POTION #9 (always helps prevent frizzes, curl definition...but I use this mostly in the summer.
Recently I used Agree Conditioner & Rusk Leavin ( as leavin) with serum to help coat the hair and prevent frizzes.

One day I let my hair dry no heat.. ( RESULTS were OK, livable).but then a few days later I tried a diffuser to dry my hair 65-70%....not completely dry .....use the diffuser to form the curls ( I really Like this result)**

Then I did braidouts and twistouts alternating.....The braidouts got the BEST results for tight curly well defined curls.......so I prefer this method...but I needed to airdry my hair about 50% then braid because my hair will not be dry the next day... HOPE this helps........good luck

 

[Karonica]

Braid-outs are good because you can get a more unified wave pattern.

 

[Lorraine]

Katie,
I use a couple of things:

Volumax non-alcohol styling gel (great hold but don't use too much)
Aussie Hair scrunch hair spray (must scrunch a lot)
Generic Humectress conditioner (so light and soft)

 

[sengschick]

Katie,

You may want to give KMS Curling Balm a try. Maybe you can find it in a trial size. I just purchased one from Beauty First for $4.95. You may also want to check the Ouidad site as well. She has sampler packs that you can purchase and she specializes in curls.

I have to applaud the braid out technique b/c I did my first last night and I LOVE it

. If you hair dries straight (and especially if there's not even a wave) and there's no curl left to enhance, you my have to create the look by braiding or twisting.

 

[azul11]

How would you do a braidout without looking like you are a castaway from fraggle rock? God bless you all.

 

[sengschick]

What's wrong w/Fraggle Rock?!

I guess you have to like big hair. I'm almost 6' tall, so flat, sleek hair does nothing for me.

I'm sure it depends largely on how small or large the sections of hair are when you braid. Larger sections produce a loose wave.

 

[katie]

I did a really good braidout yesterday.It lasted all day and even all night at a party I went to.The key to not looking "Fraggle Rockish" is to do smaller braids on the sides.Big briads make my sides stick out.This braidout was so good I walked home and it was snowing and the curl still held

 

[aqualung]

Nothing makes my ringlets down style pop like washing with CON (leave some in) and spraying with diluted Sta-Sof-Fro. I let it air dry loose. A January 2004 Essence article mentioned how nicely CON ultra moisturizing emphasizes curls.

One time I washed and conditioned with the L'Anza Strait Line before applying the John Frieda Dream Curls. The ringlets looked PATHETIC cuz the Strait Line straightened them out too much.

Next time I'll try CON + John Frieda Dream Curls.

 

[katie]

Has anyone used IC Frizz Buster Straightning Gel for a braidout?I know the point of braidouts is to get curl but this gel is used to straighten(so the tub says) so I was wondering if it would still work.