Wavy Hair, Don't Care
Chase Kusero, celebrity hairdresser and one of the four founders of IGK Hair.
Since moving to NYC, I've gotten on board with the short, blunt haircut that every girl in her 20's seems to be sporting at the moment. With my 45 minute commute into work every morning, I sometimes have to decide between an extra 30 minutes of sleep or blow drying and styling my hair. When I go for a more low maintenance, air-dried, wavy look, I depend heavily on the right products to make my naturally somewhat curly/wavy hair look presentable. It also helps hide the fact that I hit my snooze button a few extra times instead of giving myself a 30 minute blow out.
First things first, I spritz a detangler all over my towel dried hair--the Bumble and bumble Bb Curl (Style) Pre-Style/Re-Style Primer is my favorite (gee, Bumble and bumble, could you have given this stuff a longer name?) It's specifically made for priming a curly hairstyle, and it helps smooth and tame any frizz. I comb that through and part my hair--I typically avoid using a brush since this will tend to disturb how my curls form.
Next, I let my hair air dry for 10-15 minutes while I put on my makeup. Once it's a little more dry and my natural waves have started to form, I smooth a dime sized amount (my hair is shoulder length, so if yours is longer you might need more) of IGK's Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel through my hair, avoiding my roots so I don't get an oil slick halfway through the day. I scrunch my hair slightly to get more waves going and to make sure the product is evenly dispersed. IGK has killed it with their affordable hair products and I usually buy the travel size of the Rich Kid Coconut Oil Gel because a little goes a long way.
I let my hair air dry a little longer while I get dressed and then I use my Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer with the diffuser attachment to add some heat and dry it the rest of the way. I keep the dryer on the lowest or second lowest heat setting (too high heat will result in dreaded frizz) and gently scrunch my hair at the ends while targeting sections with the diffuser. I like to flip my head over to get the diffuser at my roots and to add extra volume. Once dry, my hair is wavy, not curly, and has little to no frizz!
As a final touch, I will put a pea sized amount of Bumble and bumble's Brilliantine in my hand, emulsify it by rubbing my palms together, and then apply sparingly on my ends to create separation for a more defined and polished look. If parts of my hair are not curling evenly, I will twist those pieces with a little of the product. Fun fact, Brilliantine was Bumble and bumble's first-ever product and has remained a cult favorite ever since.
If my roots need a little volume, I will add some texture by spraying Oribe's Après Wave and Shine Spray at my roots. I lift up sections of my hair and spray from a few inches away so I don't get too much product buildup and cover my hair from the roots to about a few inches down the shaft. This stuff is one of my favorites from their line and it smells AMAZING. So amazing, in fact, that Oribe launched a perfume line to match the scent of their hair products.
And voilà, my hair is done! If I want to wear my hair wavy the next day and completely skip showering, I put my hair in a loose braid while I sleep so my waves stay intact and I will reapply the Oribe Après Wave and Shine Spray the next morning to give my hair a little more life.
Good luck out there my wavy haired friends and let me know if you have any questions about recreating this style for yourself by clicking the "ask me for beauty advice" link at the bottom of the page. I have other wave/curl products that I will rotate through depending on how long my hair is or how damaged my ends are in between haircuts--so I am happy to share those with you.
