Why is my hair straight when wet but wavy when dry

...does that mean that I aren't conditioning it properly?
I love the way my hair looks when it's wet, but as soon as it starts to dry there is almost no wave left and no product I've found will really bring it back - do you think I should look into conditioner? At the moment I only use shampoo.....

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• Basically, i love how my hair looks when wet. Its completely straight. Sometimes, it'll get almost dry and then suddenly start flicking everywhere and other times i can get it to dry somewhat straight.

  Is there any product i can use to help it dry in the shape it has when wet? Blow drying straight does not work for me (and my hairs too short to try using straightening brushes etc) It would just be nice to not have to straighten it all the time lol.

  Or alternatively, does anyone have tips for making my flicks more regular (they're a bit random hence why i hate them) and taming fly-aways, so i can feel like my hairs decent without straightening it?

• I'm the same, as soon as my hair starts to dry it goes fluffy and all over the place!

  I used to use gel in my hair when I was younger and put it in when it was dripping wet and that worked a bit.

  My best technique now for drying naturally is using something that makes my hair "crunchy" and then do not touch it at all until it is completely dry. The "crunchy" coating on the hair keeps its shape while it is drying, as the damp spoils my hair basically. Then when it is dry you can russle your fingers through it to seperate the strands of hair. I hope that makes sense!

  I use weather works sealant cream but mousse and stuff works ok too.

  Or you can wear a hat while your hair dries, I used to that too!

• pierat wrote: I'm the same, as soon as my hair starts to dry it goes fluffy and all over the place! I used to use gel in my hair when I was younger and put it in when it was dripping wet and that worked a bit. My best technique now for drying naturally is using something that makes my hair "crunchy" and then do not touch it *at all* until it is *completely* dry. The "crunchy" coating on the hair keeps its shape while it is drying, as the damp spoils my hair basically. Then when it is dry you can russle your fingers through it to seperate the strands of hair. I hope that makes sense! I use weather works sealant cream but mousse and stuff works ok too. Or you can wear a hat while your hair dries, I used to that too!

  Oooh, wearing a hat sounds much cheaper than buying products all the time! How well does it work? My hair has a bit of wave that makes it look messy... would it straighten that?

• I'd try a straightening cream on wet hair and see how it dries.

  Can you show us a picture of how it looks if it dries naturally? I've noticed that flicky bits can be caused by the haircut, especially on razored styles.

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• tooblueforyou wrote:

  Oooh, wearing a hat sounds much cheaper than buying products all the time! How well does it work? My hair has a bit of wave that makes it look messy... would it straighten that?

  You have to put the hat on carefully and you can't have your hair over your ears as it will end up with a kink there!

• Pierat - i know exactly what you mean. Its exactly what i've been trying to do! haha. I've been using lots of silicone serum whilst wet, or superdrug straightening cream. It works somewhat, but i was wondering if there was a product specifically for this. I thought about gel, but i want my hair to move when dry. A hat would not work for me! lol

  Jude - as i said, i have tried it. I might try using a lot lot more of it, and not touching it at all to see how that works. I assume you mean a heat protection straightening cream? Unless there is something specifically for it. I'm using superdrugs own one though, so it might not be great haha. I can try and get a picture, but since its been razored its not really changed from how it looked before unstraightened, just a bit lighter.

• My hair also flicks and gets random waves. I've tried mousses and serums and that stuff, but I didn't think they made a difference and I hated how they felt on my hair. What I do now is I try to "fluff" it as much as I can while it's drying and try to shape it the way I want, running my fingers through it, pulling it back every now and then, etc. I can't really get it to be completely straight, but I mostly do manage to get it to flick inward instead of outward, which I prefer.

  However if I want it to look its best I still have to straighten it. I don't think it's possible to achieve perfectly straight hair without styling it if your hair is just not that way. I try to only straighten it when going out, and settle for decent looking for weekdays and such...

• Yeah thats what i mean cafeinaverde :) Just want something decent for like work & college - basically i'm trying to get my hair healthy again, so calming down on the straightening is a good idea!

  
  I used to do it every day!

  I think however that this silicon serum whilst drying is working quite well. Makes it all soft and shiny too haha

  
  I also use straightening shampoo & conditioner :)

• There are some products which claim to do this but I've never had any great success with them

  John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum is one i have been recomended but have never used, supposedly it works well and is great for your helping your hair get back to being healthy and even helps your colour last longer.

  Toni and Guy do a couple of different products I've used the 'Tame It Straight Serum', which wasn't that good for me other than making my hair smell nice, but at the time I had really long hair so it may work better for you.

  The other is Toni and Guy No Kinks Smoothing Balm, a friend of mine has used this and she said it doesn't help straighten hair without heat but it does make straightening last longer so you have to do it less frequently. She said she could sleep on hers and it was still straight the next day and even got rained on lightly but her hair stayed straight.

• Last night I used something I haven't before - Aussie Frizz Miracle shampoo, deep conditioner and Dual Personality leave-in cream. I left it to dry naturally but unfortunately fell asleep on it before it was completely dry!

  But when I woke up it doesn't look fluffy (except my damaged ends) so I would recommend trying it.

  I think that shorter hair like yours would be easier to do as well - I find medium length hair a pain as it does what it likes once it leaves the bottom of your face and isn't long enough to have the weight to pull it down.

• Have you seen the special Babyliss straightening hairdryer? I'm not sure what it is called but I have one although I haven't used it for ages but you can also use it as a normal hairdryer.

  I'm not gonna sell it very well here lol as I was initially disappointed with the results and found it difficult to use, but I was expecting it to look like it had been straightened and I have absolutely no hand-hair co-ordination. (as an example, I cannot rub my tummy and pat my head at the same time

  
  ) but it was quite cheap and I think would do what you want if you teamed it with a serum or shine spray afterwards.

• Oh I remember that. It was just a more complicated version of an air styler I thought?

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• Kind of yes, but it's also a normal hairdryer. It has little ceramic combs.

This may sound ridiculous...

Yet I didn't realise my hair was wavy until I was 30! 

I always washed and straightened it. Threw it up into a bun. Used heat styling tools and harsh ingredients. 

It was only after my friend pointed out that I had natural waves seeking to escape that I decided to embrace my wavy hair. 

Since then I've never looked back. My hair is long, soft and shiny. I've got beach worthy waves all year round. Hair that makes me feel confident, empowered and happy.

Unaware that your hair is actually wavy?

Scroll below to discover the 5 clear signs that you have gorgeous waves hidden within your locks...