Wavy Hair Care

A wavy hair blog sharing tips and tricks for embracing naturally wavy hair.

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15 Hair Gels Tested Head-To-Head On My Wavy Hair (With Pics!)

May 31, 2021 by Emily Evert 19 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post. 

What is the best gel for wavy hair? I tested 15 curly girl method approved hair gels on my wavy hair, to find out! I documented each one with pictures over 3 days to test how they perform on definition, volume, frizz control, and longevity!

It’s no secret that I tend to prefer mousse over gel on my wavy hair. When comparing mousse and gel, gel will usually win out in offering more hold and more definition. If your goal is to hold your waves as long as possible between washes, to keep frizz at an absolute minimum, and/or to maintain as much definition as possible, these are all reasons why you may opt for gel.

Plus, many people use mousse and gel both!

My blog post comparing 10 types of wavy hair mousse has been a popular article, so I thought I’d do a gel comparison post as well. This has been 2 months in the making, as I’ve tested each of these across 3 days each, and some of them I had to try multiple times.

If I didn’t get a good cast over all of my hair or otherwise thought my first test run may have been ‘off’, I tried a second time.  Ps – if you aren’t familiar with gel casts check out my blog post what is a gel cast. My goal was to find the best gel for wavy hair, and to rate the gels based on various factors – to help you guys decide which one(s) you’d like to try.

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Clarifying wavy hair | Signs You Need To Clarify | Routine

May 2, 2021 by Emily Evert 25 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post.

What is a clarifying wash day?

A clarifying wash day is when you use a stronger shampoo than a regular wash day, for the purpose of removing buildup on your scalp or hair.

I wasn’t familiar with the idea of clarifying your hair until I was an adult. Many people first hear about clarifying shampoo after they discover the curly girl method, but it is not exclusive to the curly girl method.

What are chelating clarifying shampoos?

Chelating clarifying shampoos are designed to be used by people who have hard water. While regular clarifying shampoos remove build-up caused by products, chelating clarifying shampoos have the added benefit of removing build-up caused by hard water deposits.

About 85% of households in the US have hard water. I sometimes see people assume that if they have “city water” rather than well water that they’ll have soft water. City vs well is not the difference between hard and soft water, city water can be hard as well.

If you have hard water, opt for a chelating clarifying shampoo. If you aren’t sure if you have hard water, they make water test kits that can tell you if your water is hard. A common sign of hard water is when your faucets, showerhead, etc get mineral deposits around them over time.

Hard water deposits look whiteish with a slightly blue tint. When we had hard water in the past, we had to periodically soak our sink dish sprayer and shower head in vinegar because the hard water deposits would cause our faucet’s water output to be reduced or to come out in an uneven flow.

Clarifying wavy hair

Are there curly girl approved clarifying shampoos?

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What Is The Wavy Girl Method? | Wavy Girl Method Routine

April 28, 2021 by Emily Evert 4 Comments

What is the wavy girl method?

The wavy girl method is a style of haircare coined by Kristine Contreras, owner of “Wavy Girl Method (Official)- Wavy Hair Don’t Care” Facebook group. The wavy girl method is based on the belief that people with wavy hair should modify the curly girl method to suit their hair. 

I’d strongly encourage you to join the wavy girl method Facebook group. It’s a huge group that’s really active, and it’s really accepting. I’ve seen some jokes online about how some curly girl method groups feel cult-like.

While the cult part is a joke, there are definitely some CGM groups that are extremely strict and will kick out users for even mentioning a product that has an unapproved ingredient in it, or things like that. The wavy girl method group is just a really nice group that allows people to share what works for their hair and their lifestyle.

What are the wavy girl method rules?

Most people hear of the curly girl method first, and it has several rules. It’s natural to then expect the wavy girl method to include a list of specific, rules, too. The wavy girl method doesn’t have a detailed list of rules. Instead, it’s more of a rejection of strict rules, actually. It’s just a method that says “do what works for you!”

Many people who follow the wavy girl method start off with the curly girl method, and then make tweaks as needed. In other words, they are doing a modified version of the curly girl method.

However, some people with wavy hair choose to not follow any of the rules from the curly girl method. For them, it’s not really that they have modified the curly girl method, but instead that they are just doing their own thing entirely.

Wavy girl method

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Hairspray For Wavy Hair | Curly Girl Approved | Enough hold?

April 21, 2021 by Emily Evert 6 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post.

Curly girl approved hairsprays

Curly Girl Approved Hairsprays

The only curly girl approved hairspray I have used Pantene Air Spray Level 2. You can read more about my experience with it further down in this blog post. In short, I didn’t love it and therefore wouldn’t recommend it but experiences can definitely vary by hair type.

I haven’t tried the rest of these, so these aren’t necessarily recommendations. Finding alcohol-free hair sprays that are curly girl method approved is really tough, though. I thought people may appreciate a list that they can research further if they would like.

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Wavy hair care blog owner

About Me

My name is Emily, I have been blogging since 2009. I found the curly girl method in 2018, which helped me to discover my naturally wavy hair. Since then, I’ve continued to wear my hair wavy, reading and watching tons about wavy hair. This blog is where I share what I’ve learned, in hopes of helping others. More about me and my backstory can be found on my about page.

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