BTS: Grace's Wavy Hair Journey By Lauren Murray

Flourish Hairdo is a resource hub where all curlies and coilies can come to find information on their textures, ways to style their hair, and

what products they can use, among a plethora of other information about their hair type. But we also love our wavies who are in this community also! Often times, wavy recieves quite a bit of hair hate, rooted in wavies not being as curly as some of their textured counterparts, as well as the ability of their texture to achieve straight styles with ease. But what about the naturally wavy community members who want to rock their hair in its natural texture? NC Video Editor Grace (a proud wavy) actually didn't know her hair had texture up until last year, but has since advocated for the wavy through her media visibility. We know how much y'all love on her on YouTube ;) so she graciously gave us insight into her hair journey, Holy Grail products, and her perception of wavies in the curly hair community and conversations.

Check out her thoughts!

Lauren: How did you wear your hair as a child?

Grace: My hair was a lot straighter as a kid. I had some bangs at one point. My mom liked my hair long, so naturally when she let me make decisions about my hair, I cut it into a bob. I also loved to do foam rollers overnight and have my mom french braid my hair. My parents never seemed overly concerned about my hair, but would indulge me if I wanted a certain style. In the fifth grade, my mom agreed to let me try at-home highlights which resulted in orange streaks that I had to get fixed at a salon. That was the beginning of my hair-coloring habit, but it's actually been over a year since I last colored it which I think is helping with its health and texture.

When and what made you decide to embrace your wavy texture? Have you always embraced your texture?

I honestly thought my hair was straight until about two years ago. I realized one day that if I didn't brush out my hair it actually had some texture, and since I'm lazy, I just decided to stop brushing it. At that point, it was a solid 1C (lol), still pretty straight with a hint of waves just because I was using a Pantene clarifying shampoo EVERY DAY on it (girl, what?) so it was totally stripped and lifeless. I was also using a lot of heat on it -- curling it or doing blowouts on it almost every week. I made the transition once I started working with NaturallyCurly and realizing what switching to a sulfate-free, hair friendly regimen could do for my hair.

What are your holy grail products? What is your hair regimen?

I really love the DevaCurl wavy line. The DevaCurl Micellar Clarifier is amazing, and the Low-Poo/One Condition are both light enough that they won't weigh me down. Part of the problem with having fine hair and trying to switch to products that are safer for it is that not many of them are made for that type of hair, they're made for thicker, coarser hair which can take a lot more without getting weighed down. There are a lot of gels, butters, oils, and things like that out there that are amazing for other hair types but basically make my hair go straight.

My hair regimen is usually DevaCurl weightless waves shampoo/conditioner or the Trader Joe's tea tree tingle shampoo with the 2 Girls With Curls conditioner. Sometimes I'll use the Micellar Clarifier instead of shampoo if it's been a while since I've washed. I finger detangle in the shower, add a tiny bit of leave-in, usually Briogeo or Brown Butter Beauty, and then style while my hair is soaking wet too. I've found that my waviest hair happens when I use the SOTC (scrunch out the crunch) method. I put two handfuls of LA Looks blue hair gel in soaking wet hair and scrunch it with my hands, and then scrunch it further with a towel until most of the moisture comes out. I let it sit, and it usually gets crunchy because of how much gel I put in it. When it's dry and crunchy, I scrunch some more and the crunch comes out and it leaves me with really nice waves. The gel really reminds me of the kind of thing a teenage boy in the early 90s would use to get a nice Timberlake 'do, but it works! Sometimes I'll use a foam instead if I want to switch things up or if the gel is weighing my hair down. I like the DevaCurl Frizz-Free Volumizing Foam and the Design Essentials Curl Enhancing Mousse. Those don't provide as much hold but they are a lot lighter on my hair.

I don't really have a tried and true technique for my hair yet. I still feel like I'm at the beginning of this hair journey. Every wash day is different for me and I'm not really getting consistent results yet. I've definitely figured out which products I can't use -- anything with the words "butter, oil, creme" are usually out. I've gotten the most consistent results by using the SOTC technique but I'm still experimenting.

How do you feel about the hair hate against wavies seeking a space to embrace their textures? Do you feel ostracized?

I understand the hair hate against wavies. Wavy hair is not a hair type that has been deemed unacceptable, unprofessional, or unkempt by our society. It still fits within those "classic" European beauty standards -- I see articles and videos all the time explaining how to get a "beach wave" look, which is basically what my hair type is. Don't get me wrong, I definitely get bad cases of bed head, but I don't experience the same kind of discrimination against my hair that I see with other hair types. I do feel excluded sometimes, but I'm not really mad about it. I try to understand where people are coming from and I think it's unnecessary for me to try to invade certain spaces. I do love connecting with other wavies, though! It's a unique hair type that presents interesting challenges, so it's nice when I do get to trade tips and chat about it.

Any advice you would like to give others who are just now embracing their wavy hair?

I think that your natural hair texture is the one that looks best on you, so I like to encourage people to embrace it. I think my biggest tip for anyone embracing their natural texture is to be patient. Not every day is going to be a good hair day -- there might be weeks where you only have bad hair days and your hair looks like string cheese because you decided to see what a castor oil infused hair butter would do to your strands. It's okay. It'll get better. Just keep trying things and seek out other people with similar hair and see what their routines are.

For more on Grace's journey, follow her on ig @gracelhathaway, or keep up with her on the NC Youtube channel!

Source: naturally curly