Hi! I'm Fabiana, and as I've mentioned in a previous post, I have long, extremely thick, wavy, and frizz-prone hair that's more on the dry side.
All of that is to say: I spent most of my teen years trying anything to make my hair less frizzy and more manageable. I never wanted my hair to be ~big~ — and I'll never forget the day that my classmate in middle school said my hair "looked like his mom's hair in the 1980s."
So it's safe to say that my hair journey has had a lot of trial and error. My parents always complained that I had way too many hair products and styling tools in the bathroom cabinets — but I had to do what I had to do. 🤷🏻♀️ Along the way, I spent years researching and experimenting to learn how to properly care for and style my hair.
It took some time, but I'm finally at a place where I love and embrace my natural texture. So I wanted to share what I've learned over the years — including my wash routine, how I air-dry and style my hair without any heat (which is most of the time), how I change things up when I occasionally style with heat, and how I care for my hair in between. You'll find all of that below. Also, If you have similar hair and have any tips or tricks, I'd love to hear about them in the comments!
Disclaimer: I did my research and personally bought these products myself for my hair type. What works for my hair might not work for everyone. When in doubt, consult with a professional.
How I style my hair naturally without any heating tools:
The process begins before I hop into the shower. I only wash my hair once a week, and when I do, it's always a morning shower so I can keep an eye on how my waves are setting throughout the day, but more on that later. I'm aware some people might think that's unhygienic or gross — but I've also asked the once-a-week question to my hairstylist. Since my hair is very thick and doesn't easily get oily, I got the stamp of approval from her that I can go seven to nine days without washing it.
When I'm in the shower, depending on how much product is in my hair, I might shampoo my roots twice to really ensure it's getting clean. Once I'm done rinsing out my conditioner, I comb through my hair with a wide-tooth comb (such as this Briogeo one) in the shower before stepping out. I always use a microfiber towel — or even an old cotton T-shirt — to wrap my hair in.
Once my hair is out of the towel, I take a generous dollop of leave-in conditioner (currently: Gemmist Leave-In Conditioner) and rake it through my hair with my fingers, starting at the ends. I sometimes alternate between a hair oil or leave-in conditioner for this step depending on how much hydration my hair needs. I decide this based on how long it's been since I've done a hair mask, if I've been using hot tools more often than usual, and so on.
I then make a ~curl cocktail~ using Ouidad Curl Quencher Styling Gel and BB Curl Defining Cream. I rub my hands together and then lay the products on my hair. I don't get too technical with sectioning off my hair during this step aside from splitting my hair in two sections and applying a generous portion of product to each side.
The last step in this air-dry process is gently gathering my hair into a loose, low bun with a gentle coil wire hair tie. I find that this helps my waves set while also smoothing out my roots so they don't become tight curls, which can often happen if I just let my hair be as is while its air-drying.
Throughout the day as my hair is drying and setting, I will occasionally unravel the bun, shake out my hair, and spritz the Playa Endless Summer Spray in it. I personally find that wave sprays work best when my hair is partially dry. I toss my hair around as I spray it, and then by nighttime, my hair is almost fully dry.
Here is my hair fully dried by the end of the night!
How to maintain the air-dried style throughout the week:
It's easy to think that after one night's sleep, your waves or curls are going to fall flat or get frizzy. But since I'd rather put the energy into making my hairstyle last versus washing it again, I have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to this.
On my hair-washing day, I spritz dry shampoo into my roots before bed. Since my roots will eventually get dirty as the days go on, I proactively delay that by spraying dry shampoo on my clean hair.
By day two or three, I use the Ouidad Curl Shaper Bounce Back Reactivating Mist, which is meant for touching up hair that is a few days old. I find that any sort of reactivating product adds just the right amount of moisture into my hair to keep the waves looking lively without weighing them down.
As the week goes on, if my waves are looking limp, I spray any sort of heat protectant into my hair and heat up a curling wand to touch up strands that need some sprucing up. This trick really does wonders, especially if I have plans and I want my hair to look freshly styled.
How I style my wavy hair with heat:
On (rare) occasion — maybe once a month — I'll fully style my hair with heat.
I wash my hair the same way I do when I air-dry it, but I leave it in my towel even longer. I don't like to add too much product to my hair when I blow it out because I don't want it to feel tacky or look weighed down, something that happens more often when my hair is blown out straight. So after my hair is out of the towel, I only apply some oil, a heat protectant, and from there, I section off my hair and blow it out. I recently switched over to the Dyson Airwrap — but for years I used a good old-fashioned round brush with a blow-dryer, and that got the job done.
I rely on dry shampoo to save my hair throughout the week, and when my front pieces are really looking like they're on their last leg, I wash them in the sink and blow-dry them. This method instantly freshens up my hair, making it look like I just washed and blew out my hair again.
Small ways I keep my wavy hair healthy:
In addition to how I style my hair, I also pay careful attention to how I treat my hair. I get haircuts every four months, which has helped so much with the health of my hair. Also, healthy ends help keep my waves from looking dry.
I make sure to do a moisturizing hair mask once a week. I've tried a lot of different masks, and I keep reaching for the Twist by Ouidad Sunday Feels Deeply Hydrating Hair Mask because it leaves my hair feeling super soft. On hair mask days, in the shower after shampooing my hair, I apply a generous amount of the mask and wrap my hair into a clip while I wash my face or shave my legs. After a few minutes, I rinse it out and follow it up with some conditioner.
Lastly, I drink a lot of water and make sure to eat a healthy diet — which, IMO, is overall the most important thing for the health of your hair.
