How To Figure Out Your Hair’s Wave Pattern

If you’ve ever struggled with your hair’s wave pattern, you’re not alone. Understanding your wave pattern is helpful for knowing how to properly care for your hair, finding the right style, and choosing the right hair products that will work for you.

In this post we’ll describe the three wave patterns of hair, how to care for them, what styles will work best, as well as the best hair products to use for each.

What Wave Pattern Do I Have?

The wave pattern of your hair is the shape that the strand forms in its natural state. It can be straight, wavy, or curly.

Chances are, you already know what your wave pattern is. Each category of wave pattern can have any combination of texture or density. Often times you can even have a combination of two wave patterns on your head.

Also, keep in mind that when curly hair gets damaged, it normally looses a lot of its curl. So that means that if the ends of your curls have gone straight, you probably have some damage.

Straight hair

While those with curly hair dream of it being straight, those with naturally straight hair wish they had some body.

Depending on the texture, straight hair can be very difficult to curl. A higher temperature should be used when curling, and if the hair is coarse you may need to use slower movements with your iron.

How to care for straight hair

• You’ll need a little more hold if you want to add curl to this hair, so I recommend a firm hold thermal spray before you iron as well as a strong hold hairspray for after
• Straight hair has a tendency to get tangled easier, so always be careful when brushing. Check my guide on brushes and brushing here.
• Sometimes straight hair lacks volume, so use a root lifter and I recommend round brush blow-drying the hair out to give it some body.

Best hair styles for straight hair

The longer straight hair is, the straighter it will be. If you want to achieve volume and body I recommend getting some layers and not letting the length get out of control.

Very short straight hair such as mens cuts and pixies can be a challenge. If the hair is cut too short, it may stick straight out. You need to find your happy medium to where you can get some movement without looking like Alfalfa.

Perms are an option if you are struggling finding a style that you are happy in. But I recommend doing either a perm OR color, and not both. Perms can be really harsh on the hair and when you mix that with color you are just asking for damage.

Best products for straight hair

The best products for straight hair will be anything that promotes body and hold. Here I’ve listed a few of my favorites.

• Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo and Pure Volume Conditioner  – Volumizing shampoo and conditioner that won’t weigh hair down or fade color.
• Aquage Uplifting Foam 8 oz  – This is my all time favorite mousse/root-lifter. Use half a golf-ball sized fluff, apply to your root area and style. If you apply too much or all throughout your hair, you can actually weigh it down!
• Aquage Sea Salt Texturizing Spray – Creates that “beachy” soft-textured look. Spray to damp hair and dry with fingers or diffuser. Or you can spray it into dry hair and scrunch to give it some “ummph”.
• Amika Un.Done Texture Spray – This is my favorite texture spray. As Amika says, it’s “sexy-in-a-bottle” and they aren’t lying. It adds volume and texture to give you the ultimate “un-done” look.
• Aquage Freezing spray– This is a stronger hold hairspray that provides maximum humidity resistance. Spray 8-10 inches away.

Wavy hair

Wavy hair is typically the most desired of the three wave patterns. It can be easily straightened, and also holds onto a curl well. You can air-dry it, round brush it smooth, or scrunch it to be diffused.

How to care for wavy hair

• Wavy hair can have the tendency to get frizzy, so make sure it stays well moisturized.
• If you want to rock your natural wave pattern, don’t brush it out dry. Brush it out wet, apply product, air dry or diffuse, and leave it alone! Brushing it out will make it look un-maintained and crazy. Try a wide tooth comb or just your fingers instead of a brush.
• Braiding the hair can help to shape the wave pattern. I like to braid my hair when it’s 90-100% dry and let it sit over night.

Best hair styles for wavy hair

This wave pattern has the best of both worlds when it comes to styling. Wavy hair is very versatile and it can be worn a number of different ways. It doesn’t have a problem achieving volume but is still manageable.

Keep in mind that the longer this hair is, the more it will straighten out. The weight of the hair will pull down on the wave pattern. This also means that the shorter it is, the wavier it will become.

Best hair products for wavy hair

The best products for wavy hair will be anything that controls frizz and gives a medium hold. You can use straightening products if you want to wear it straight, and even dip into curly hair products to accentuate your natural wave pattern.

• Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and Hydrate Conditioner – Replenishes lost moisture in your hair and smells AMAZING. All of my clients ask me what I’m using on them when I use this. I keep it at my backbar and actually use it on 90% of my clients!
• Aquage Sea Salt Texturizing Spray – Creates that “beachy” soft-textured look. Spray to damp hair and dry with fingers or diffuser. Or you can spray it into dry hair and scrunch to give it some “ummph”.
• Aquage Silkening Oil Treatment – This product is used for blow-drying, anti-frizz, anti-humidity, heat protection, and works wonders as a smoothing serum. It even cuts your blow-dry time down!
• Aquage Defining Gel – This is my absolute favorite product for curls. Use about a quarter sized glob on wet hair to define your curls and eliminate frizz. After application the hair can be blowdried with a diffuser or air-dried.
• Olaplex No. 6 – Leave-in conditioner and styling treatment. This repairing leave-in conditioner hydrates, eliminates frizz, and protects the hair from heat. Use this after you shampoo and condition, it works well with blow-drying but can be used on air-dried hair as well!

Curly hair

Curly hair is the most difficult wave pattern to care for. This hair must be moisturized well in order to avoid appearing frizzy. But when well maintained, it can be a gorgeous low effort hairstyle.

Not all curls contain the same pattern and can form small tight ringlets and coils to larger looser curls, all on one head of hair. I have several clients that their hairline has tighter more springy curls, and the rest of their hair is a looser wave pattern.

How to care for curly hair

• Find someone that specializes in cutting curly hair, this hair is easy to be cut too short because it shrinks up so much when it dries.
• This hair can also be customized when texturized to create a better shape based on how and where each curl falls.
• Curly hair should be washed less frequently than other wave patterns because it needs the natural oils to help smooth and condition the frizzy cuticle.
• This hair can be air-dried, round brushed, or diffused with a blow dryer to keep the natural shape of the curls.
• Moisturizing is key to keeping frizz down and keeping this hair healthy.
• Rinse this hair in cool to cold water to seal the cuticle and help keep frizz down.

Best hair styles for curly hair

The style that you choose depends on how much maintenance you want to have. Keep in mind that the shorter curly hair is, the curlier it will become. Length will help to weigh the hair down.

When this hair is significantly short, it can be difficult to straighten. If you like to wear your hair straight often, then keeping some length will benefit you.

I recommend choosing a style that will look great straight OR curly, so that you have more options to choose from.

Best hair products for curly hair

When choosing product for curly hair, your main focus should be on keeping frizz down. If you want to rock your natural wave pattern, then I recommend using something with a flexible hold so you don’t feel super crunchy and can wear it for a number of days in a row.

My absolute favorite concoction for curly hair is to mix aquage silkening oil treatment with aquage defining gel. Let it air dry or blow-dry with a diffuser!

• Aquage Silkening Shampoo and Conditioner – Perfect for fragile or color treated hair. These really help to smooth down the hair, reduce frizz, and my favorite aspect, protect against humidity! They can also be inter-mixed with other shampoos as well.
• Aquage Defining Gel – This is my absolute favorite product for curls. Use about a quarter sized glob on wet hair to define your curls and eliminate frizz. After application the hair can be blowdried with a diffuser or air-dried.
• Aquage Silkening Oil Treatment – This is used for blow-drying, anti-frizz, anti-humidity, heat protection, and works wonders as a smoothing serum. It even cuts your blow-dry time down!
• Olaplex No. 6 – Leave-in conditioner and styling treatment. This repairing leave-in conditioner hydrates, eliminates frizz, and protects the hair from heat. Use this after you shampoo and condition, it works well with blow-drying but can be used on air-dried hair as well!

Conclusion

Learning about your hair’s wave pattern can be a game changer for your hair care routine. With this knowledge you’ll know how to care for your hair, what styles will work for you, as well as what products you should be using.

Straight hair

• Tough to hold a curl
• Tangles easily
• Lacks body
• Opt for layers for volume
• Use high hold and volumizing products

Wavy hair

• Most versatile wave pattern
• Can get frizzy
• Shorter lengths will increase wave; Longer lengths will straighten it out
• Use moisturizing products

Curly hair

• Gets frizzy easily
• Shrinks significantly when dry
• Needs special cutting techniques
• Use moisture and high hold products

If you have any further questions for me on this topic, be sure to leave them for me in the comments. And as always, Have A Good Hair Day!