Advice needed from hairdressers – what shampoo do you recommend for very thick wavy hair?

10 comments

1. I’m not a hairdresser but I’ve tried many many different brands and the only ones that seem to work for me (unruly frizzy ginger hair), is Aussie and dove, I use the intense condition one. I’ve found as annoying as it is you just have to keep testing stuff and hopefully you find something you can stick to, I know I can use either Aussie or dove and I probably won’t be having a bad time with my hair. I also use the Aussie leave in conditioner spray before drying.

   It’s not cheap, but lush do have hair care tailored towards specific hair types and ranges for ethnic hair as well. They a did a write up about how they came up with the ranges. But probably not your think if you’re not looking to spend £15-20 a month ish on hair products. I often get Aussie when it’s on 3 for £10 and the dove is £2 a bottle I think.

   https://www.lush.com/uk/en/a/hair-care-for-black-hair-types

   Your hair sounds like mine, it’s very thick, as I said unruly, gets frizzy if I don’t get it cut regularly and holds tons of water. I’ve found a mix of oils, butters and after conditioners help to keep it tame. As I mentioned I use the Aussie leave in conditioner spray, I’ve been testing “Power” conditioner from lush (you can try anything free before committing) and using their tofu shampoo and the oils and natural products seem to do wonders for my hair, it’s a lot less dry but still doesn’t feel heavy from the oils, but I use them every other wash.

   I also found a leave in conditioner liquid that’s about £5 but I can’t remember the name for the life of me. It’s a clear tall bottle, pink packaging, from a hairdresser called Paul and they sell it in Sainsbury’s. That worked well for me as well.

2. Have you tried using no shampoo just conditioner? I comb conditioner through in the shower, never use a brush or heat and never rough dry with a towel. My curly hair is like silk, very soft and never frizzy. I think conditioner is way more important than shampoo for wavy or curly hair tbh.

3. Not a hairdresser but same hair type. The products depend on which styling method you’re using – curly girl method for defined waves, or straightening it. Air drying then dry brushing wavy or curly hair makes it huge and frizzy.

   Personally I do both. I wash weekly because I have dry hair, you might want to do it more often. If I’m leaving it curly, I use sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner, then curl cream and gel on soaking wet hair. At the moment I’m using Only Curls but Aussie do a nice one too. It takes a couple of washes for the curl pattern to come back nicely if I’ve been straightening it.

   If I want it straight (or smooth, it’ll get bumps in it from plaits after day 1) I use sulphate shampoo, serum with silicones in it and heat protection. I blow dry it then use hair straighteners on it. My favourite is Redken Extreme Lengths but any smoothing shampoo and conditioner will work. I like Matrix heat protection spray for hair straighteners.

   With both options I add styling oil at the end to the lengths and ends.

   The important part is the method, not so much the brands.

4. I’ve done the following:

   * Get an undercut. It will half the volume of your hair, and if it is just under the back of your hair, you can wear your hair so that it isn’t noticeable. It will leave you feeling a lot cooler too.
   * I only use cheap conditioner. I now only wash it once a week, it doesn’t get frizzy or greasy, and I can just rinse it with water. It never looks like it needs washing, but I do it just to remain socially acceptable and to soothe any doubts I may have about being clean.

5. Try the wavy routine from Bouclème. All of their products are sulphate and silicone free. Sulphates dry the hair out and silicones don’t let the moisture get in to the hair.
   These type of shampoos don’t foam up much, but they do clean the scalp. Follow the advice on their website and be patient, your hair will get healthier and a lot easier to manage in about a month or two.

   https://www.boucleme.co.uk/products/30-days-to-waves-kit?variant=41362515296456&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=19658256205&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiApOyqBhDlARIsAGfnyMqZpqYoelF-3sa0zBtYO8-MdmHM9xlSdYcOsEFzpewdCA-RpNfNKasaAnPJEALw_wcB&country=GB&language=en&redirected=true

6. I have the same hair. Shampoo makes no major difference as far as I can tell so anything you like is fine within reason (but definitely nothing that claims to be a 2 in 1). It’s what you do after washing that counts so making sure you condition well and use products that protect against heat before drying. Again this is only my opinion, but there’s no sense in air drying our hair as it gets crispy, frizzy and dry, it actually needs heat. You can minimise damage by washing twice a week or less if you don’t need to wash as often. I wear mine straight so I don’t know anything about preserving waves, but if you want straight and shiny use a good hairdryer (this makes way more difference than any product imo) with the nozzle on. Dry in sections and under tension with a paddle brush and point the nozzle down to smooth your hair. Always leave it at least 30 mins after getting out of the shower though so you’re not drying dripping wet hair.

   Personally I’ve given up the battle and now get Keratin treatments twice a year. I don’t want to be dramatic but it’s actually life changing.

7. I see Aussie being mentioned a lot and that’s the one I’m currently using – their curly range (pink packaging).

   I have very thick naturally curly ginger tresses that can look magnificent but I’m lazy and can’t be arsed and hate it flapping about on my face so it’s mainly up but this Aussie one seems to combat the frizz better than most other ones I’ve tried relatively recently.

   Someone mentioned an undercut which I’ve also had done but to be honest my hair is perfect underneath but the top layer is the bit that is unruly and frizzy (bleached, coloured or untreated) so I’d only have the problematic bits left with an undercut and a monk’s cut would be a whole random look hahaha.

8. You’ll find lots of product recommendations over at https://www.reddit.com/r/CurlyHairUK/ My hairs more curly than wavy but I’m a fan of Noughty, which is often on offer in high street retailers. I also like Curlsmith and Flora and Curl but they’re more expensive so I wouldn’t suggest splurging until you’ve worked out what your hair likes

9. Hairdresser

   I would recommend a smoothen shampoo and conditioner

   Dry/ frizzy hair does not need repair, alot of people think oh my hairs dry I use repair will fix it quicker, repair has lots of protein init and it makes it brittle and more dry

   Hydrate or smoothen are the best have lots of moisture and less protein

   Air dry is fine, add in a smoothing cream i love olaplex no 6

   I will recommend not buying from a shop but get a brand you can only get in salons so much better quality last so much longer

   Also if it doesn’t foam add more water not product

10. I’m a bloke with long curly hair that can also end up looking like hagrid if left unkept.

    I’ve not found any shampoo to do the trick and usually just use whatever my partner has on the shelf.

    The only thing I’ve found that works is to dry my hair by wrapping a towel around my head and squeezing it tight rather than patting or rubbing it dry, then spraying some de-fizz spray on it and then hoping for the best.