10 Simple Tips on How to Style Wavy Hair

Not quite straight but definitely not curly, it can be argued that wavy hair holds the “best of both worlds” when it comes to hair textures. It looks beautifully tousled and beachy on its own, but because it falls somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of hair finishes, it can be easily flipped and transformed based on what you’re feeling that day. Still, those that have wavy hair may fall in a rut where their not sure how to style wavy hair without completely changing it’s natural finish, thus making it something that it’s not.

To give you an idea of how to fix up your rolling waves without solely relying on heat tools or a hair tie when you just have to resort to a topknot, we rounded up the helpful series of tips and styles below.

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1. When you wear waves naturally, you don’t have to sleep in braids to get a baseline look. However, you can create smaller, more uniform waves by braiding all your tresses into tinier braids, sleeping in them, and undoing them in the morning. One catch! Use a clear elastic band to tie off each end, as bigger, thicker hair-ties could create an undesirable dent and slide off when you sleep.

2. Use a gentle or a sulfate-free shampoo that won’t leave your hair dry or drag down your waves with lots of build-up. Most curly-hair shampoos are formulated like this and even you wavy-haired ladies can benefit from it. Check out L’Oreal Paris’ EverCurl or Oribe’s Ultra Gentle Shampoo next time you’re shopping around.

3. Twist back the two front sections of your hair and pin them in the back for a quick and romantic half-up style. Since your hair is already set with waves, you won’t have to do anything else. This should take less than five minutes—each side combined.

4. Love your waves but hate the frizz? When your hair is damp, work a tiny bit of dry oil through your strands to eliminate this from happening in the first place. If you’re trying to fight frizz that’s already there, rub dry oil between your hands and gently stroke your hair to settle down the fly-aways.

5. Embrace your natural waves by blow-drying with a diffuser, allowing the air to circulate and dry your waves without pulling them down or creating a straight style like a regular blow-dry head might do.

6. After air-drying or drying with a diffuser, create a deep-side part and pull all your hair to one side. Take the section all the way at the bottom (this should be the one closest to the neck) and pin it in place.

7. When you’re looking to give smooth, wavy hair more of a beachy vibe, the answer is in a sea salt spray bottle. This will help separate your waves, giving them that piece-y, undone look as opposed to silky, cascading waves. There’s a ton of options on the market now that are infused with conditioning oils so that you aren’t left with dry strands.

8. Your waves might be fine and dandy, but due to the oils that your scalp produces, sometimes the hair on the crown of the head falls flat throughout the day. Dry shampoo is a quick fix, but you can also just flip your hair to the opposite side for a little 90s lift.

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9. Alternatively, if you’re looking to relax volume for the hair around the crown of your head, you can gently flat iron top sections at a very low heat.

10. Typically, hair falls straight and flat when it’s soaked with water, but the “wet hair” trend changes that. Using gel or oils, slick the top section down or mold little waves near your face. Apply less gel and oil in the rest of your hair, but enough so there isn’t such a stark difference in textures.