It is common among wavies to have poofy waves without distinction between them or stringy waves that are not cohesive. To fix this problem, you need to take better care of your waves as well as encourage clumping.
What is clumping?
When strands of your hair work together, they form one wave or curl rather than many independent curls.
How to Squish to Condish
Your hair needs to be well-moisturized if you want to achieve the best waves. I found the best results by using a method called “squish to condish”. In order to do this, you must:
1. Cleanse & condition
You should shampoo or cowash your hair, followed by a rinse-out conditioner.
2. Squish in conditioner – upside down
As you’re still in the shower, flip your head over and squish in more conditioner. As with scrunching, you want to use a flat palm and avoid squeezing out all the water. To achieve the best results, you need the perfect ratio between water and conditioner, which can be found by trial and error.
3. Add your product to try to keep those clumps together!
For the best definition, use a gel-like Kinky Curly Curling Custard. Your product should keep your waves moisturized while maintaining a strong hold. Apply the gel with an open palm and scrunch it in. Any product application method will result in either poofy or stringy hair for sensitive wavy hair, so be careful.
Kinky Curly Curling Custard
4. Allow your hair to dry.
Investing in a diffuser will help your waves dry faster. When using a diffuser, flip your head upside down – while sitting on a chair – and blow dry your hair in sections to avoid breaking up clumps. Set each section of the diffuser so that it is almost touching your head; hold this position for around five minutes. You could break up the clumps of curls you’ve worked so hard for if you move the blow dryer around. The blow dryer should be set to the lowest heat and strength settings.
5. Scrunch out the crunch/cast
It is now possible to scrunch out any cast that may be left on your hair, revealing soft, defined waves. If you like to part your hair specifically, move one clump of curls at a time to the side you prefer. If you want a straight part, do not break up clumps.
Frequently Asked Questions About Clumping Curly Hair:
When it comes to curl clumping, water is probably the biggest culprit. Without moisture, curls can’t survive, let alone clump, so you need to fully hydrate your hair. When shampooing and conditioning your hair, ensure it is completely soaking wet.
Your curls usually clump by using your natural curl pattern. The bristles disrupt your natural curl pattern by raking away all of your natural definition. Using a wide tooth comb can help to detangle your curls and distribute your products evenly without frizzing up your curls.
Scrunch or squish your hair upwards to boost your wavy hair to form into natural clumps. This method will help your natural waves soak up the moisture, and also it is an excellent method for tackling dry wavy hair that’s difficult to style.
By scrunching or squishing your wavy hair upwards, you can encourage it to form natural clumps. Besides absorbing moisture, this also makes it easier to style dry wavy hair.
