You probably think your hair is straight. Or maybe it’s just "poofy." Honestly, most people who complain about frizz actually have a secret wave pattern that they are accidentally brushing into oblivion every single morning. It’s a common tragedy.
Standard hair care is basically designed for bone-straight hair. We wash it, we brush it while it’s dry, and we wonder why it looks like a tumbleweed instead of those effortless beachy waves we see on Instagram. If you want to know how to get wavier hair, you have to stop treating your hair like a flat surface and start treating it like a series of springs.
The science is actually pretty cool. It comes down to the shape of your hair follicle and how protein bonds—specifically disulfide bonds—are distributed along the hair shaft. Straight hair comes from round follicles. Wavy and curly hair comes from oval or asymmetrical follicles. If your hair has even a slight oval shape at the root, the waves are there. You’re just suffocating them.
Stop Brushing Your Hair Dry (Seriously)
This is the biggest mistake. If you take one thing away from this, let it be this: put the hairbrush down. When you brush wavy hair while it’s dry, you are mechanically breaking apart the "clumps" of hair that want to stay together.
Waves need friends. They need to stick to other hair strands to form a cohesive shape. When you brush, you separate those strands, creating a cloud of individual hairs that have nowhere to go. That’s frizz.
Instead, only detangle when your hair is soaking wet and slippery with conditioner. Use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb. Once you rinse that conditioner out, the brush becomes the enemy until the next wash day.
The Chemistry of the "Scrunch"
You've likely heard of "scrunching," but most people do it wrong. They wait until the hair is half-dry and then start frantically squeezing. By then, the cuticle has already started to set.
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To really influence how to get wavier hair, you need to manipulate the hair while it is at its most elastic—which is when it’s dripping wet. This is where the "Squish to Condish" method comes in. Popularized by the curly hair community and stylists like Lorraine Massey, the technique involves cupping water and conditioner in your palms and squeezing it into the hair. You should hear a squelching sound. This forces moisture into the hair shaft and encourages the hair to coil or wave upward.
It’s about memory. Your hair has a "set" point. If it dries straight, it stays straight. If it dries scrunched, the hydrogen bonds reform in that wavy shape as the water evaporates.
Why Your Shampoo Might Be the Villain
Sulfates are great for cleaning engines. They are less great for your hair. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a harsh surfactant that strips away the natural sebum (oil) produced by your scalp.
Wavy hair is naturally drier than straight hair because those oils have a harder time traveling down a curved hair shaft than a straight one. When you strip that oil away, the hair loses its elasticity. Dry hair is stiff. Stiff hair won't wave.
Switch to a sulfate-free cleanser or a "co-wash" (conditioning wash). It feels weird at first because it doesn’t foam up like a bubble bath, but your waves will thank you. Look for ingredients like decyl glucoside or coco-betaine if you still want a gentle lather without the destruction.
The Protein-Moisture Balance Tightrope
This is where things get nerdy. Your hair is primarily made of a protein called keratin. For waves to "pop," your hair needs a balance between structural strength (protein) and flexibility (moisture).
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- Too much moisture: Your hair feels mushy, won't hold a wave, and looks limp. This is called hygral fatigue.
- Too much protein: Your hair feels like straw, snaps easily, and tangles constantly.
If your waves are falling flat an hour after styling, you probably need a protein treatment. Products containing hydrolyzed silk, wheat protein, or amino acids help fill in the gaps in the hair cuticle, giving the wave the "skeleton" it needs to stand up. If your hair is brittle, go heavy on the deep conditioners with shea butter or jojoba oil.
The "Plopping" Phenomenon
"Plopping" sounds ridiculous. It is. But it works.
Normally, when you get out of the shower, gravity pulls your wet, heavy hair down. This stretches out the wave before it even has a chance to dry. To combat this, take a long-sleeved cotton T-shirt—not a terry cloth towel, which is too rough and causes frizz—and lay it flat on a bed.
Flip your hair forward, "plop" it onto the center of the shirt, and tie the sleeves around your head. This keeps the hair compressed against the top of your head while it dries. It’s like a specialized mold for your waves. Leave it there for 20 minutes. When you take it down, the waves will be tighter and more defined because they didn't have to fight gravity while they were soaking wet.
Heat is Not Your Friend (But a Diffuser Is)
Air drying is usually best for hair health, but it can leave waves looking a bit flat because of the weight of the water. If you must use a hair dryer, you need a diffuser attachment.
A diffuser does exactly what the name suggests: it diffuses the airflow so it doesn't blow your hair all over the place. If you use a regular nozzle, you’re basically just blow-drying the waves straight.
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Pro tip: Don't touch your hair while you're diffusing. Put the hair in the bowl of the diffuser, push it up toward your scalp, turn the dryer on (low heat, low flow), wait 30 seconds, turn it off, and move to the next section. Touching wet hair while it's drying is the fastest way to invite frizz to the party.
Choosing the Right Styler: Mousse vs. Gel
If you want to know how to get wavier hair that actually lasts until Tuesday, you need a holding product.
Mousse is generally better for fine hair. It’s full of air and won’t weigh down the waves. It gives great volume at the roots.
Gel is the heavy hitter. It creates a "cast"—that crunchy feeling you might remember from the 90s. But here’s the secret: the crunch is good. It protects the wave while it dries. Once your hair is 100% dry, you "scrunch out the crunch" (SOTC). You squeeze the hair with your hands until the gel coating breaks, leaving behind soft, defined waves that hold their shape.
Realistic Expectations and Hair Typing
We need to talk about the Andre Walker Hair Typing System. Most "wavy" people fall into Type 2:
- 2A: Fine, thin, easy to weigh down.
- 2B: Distinguishable "S" shape, usually starts a few inches from the scalp.
- 2C: Thick, coarse, and starts waving right at the root.
If you have 2A hair, you are never going to have Shirley Temple curls. And that’s fine. Trying to force your hair into a pattern it doesn't naturally have will only lead to damage. Focus on enhancing what you have.
Also, your hair can change. Hormones, pregnancy, and even the mineral content of your water (hard water is a wave killer) can alter your texture. If your hair suddenly goes straight, check your shower head for mineral buildup. A chelating shampoo might be all you need to bring the bounce back.
Practical Steps to Take Right Now
- Do a Reset Wash: Use a clarifying shampoo with sulfates one last time to strip away all the silicone buildup from your old products. This gives you a clean slate.
- Ditch the Terry Cloth: Buy a microfiber towel or just use an old XL cotton T-shirt to dry your hair.
- Apply Product to Soaking Wet Hair: Don't towel dry first. Apply your mousse or gel while you are still in the shower. The water helps distribute the product evenly.
- Micro-Plopping: If "plopping" with a shirt is too much work, use your microfiber towel to gently squeeze the hair upward toward the scalp to remove excess water after you've applied your styler.
- Hands Off: Once your hair is styled and scrunched, do not touch it until it is bone dry. Every time you touch a damp wave, you break the hydrogen bonds and create frizz.
- Protect It at Night: Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase. Cotton grips the hair and pulls it, destroying the wave pattern while you toss and turn. Or, try the "pineapple" method: tie your hair in a very loose, high ponytail on the very top of your head.
Changing your hair texture doesn't happen overnight. It takes a few weeks for your hair to adjust to the lack of sulfates and for the natural oils to balance out. Be patient. Your waves are there—they’ve just been hiding.