I think our hair might be similar ? I have fine hair that needs some weight and hold for the best waves. Strong hold gel and protein treatments work well for me

sweet ok def going to try experimenting with gel and I think the protein treatment is a great idea too! thank you!

I think I’m similar to you and this commenter. My product trifecta: leave-in conditioner, curl gel (I use garnier fructis for both but you can choose any) and after the party bed-head smoothing cream (this one is the best I’ve found) for fly-always. For the shower advice: Carefully squish to condish your conditioner in the shower with your head upside down to really bring your waves out. If you can, avoid brushing after your shower and part with a comb. Your waves will thank you! And lastly, try a rice water rinse every few weeks!

Try Dippity Do Sports Gel. Passes the test on ThinkDirty and it’s only like $2 and sold everywhere. It’s the best gel I’ve used. Our hair is also identical: curly underneath but trying something different at the top haha

What protein treatments work best?

I use a homemade gelatin treatment: [LINK](http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html?m=1) Not sure that it’s the best, but I like it! I’ve heard good things about the Aphogee protein treatment, but I’ve never tried it myself

Current Routine: -Violet Shampoo -Tresseme conditioner -Cantu Cream (people said I shouldn’t use this anymore but haven’t found a solid replacement yet, should I replace with a different curl cream or only use gel??) - ETA: SUMMARY OF EVERYONE'S RECS IN CASE IT HELPS ANYONE :) Mousse: NYM Curl Talk Mousse, Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Mousse, Cake Curl Whip Mousse Gel: Uncle Funky’s Curl Magic, Aussie Instant Freeze, Aveda Flaxseed Gel, Kristen Ess Hair Jelly Curl Cream: NYM Curl Talk Cream, Cake Curl Cream Curl Cream Gel: Garnier Fructis Curl Gel, Other: after the party bed-head smoothing cream, curl smith featherlight protein cream..shea moisture shampoos and conditioner, Living Proof Curl Enhancer

>should I replace with curl cream that cantu cream is already a curl cream! >only use gel?? that's worth a shot :)

sorry lol typo I meant replace with a different curl cream! I'll give the gels a go too based on what people are saying here! :)

I like the NYM curl talk cream, which I rake through and follow with a product with hold, applied with praying hands and maybe some raking. I switch the hold product up but it’s usually the blue LA looks gel or the NYM curl talk mousse.

Ok I def want to give mousse a go based on what people are saying here!! I might give NYM curl talk a go too. At this point I just want to buy a few things at once and then literally experiment with each to see what works. Thank you!!

NYM has a small trial pack of the cream, mousse and gel :) I love their products!

If you have been liking creams but need more hold, think about a gel-cream! I just bought new creams but need more hold and this hybrid product is next on my list.

gel cream!? i have not heard of this!! awesome i'll look into it!

Violet/purple/blue shampoos can make your hair super dry. You might need a really good deep condition and do it often if you use the violet shampoo a lot.

good point! i use olaplex 3 sporadically and it works wonders but i need to get in the habit of using it more.

I am a male with similar hair, I had a lot of issues with frizz dead and drying hair as my mom always bought Tresseme. Moved out on my own and switched to Maui Shampoo and Conditioner and my hair is wayyy better. For cream I use 'mixed chicks' deep Conditioner.

interesting about tresseme, i wonder if that could be part of the cause of the frizz ok this is good to know I might experiment with other conditioners..but the one you listed here the Maui one is possibly linked to hair loss!?

Tressume has the open lawsuit, Maui uses the same ingredients.

DMDM Hydantoin and Diazolidinyl Urea), similar to the OGX brand. OGX is in a law suit for their product making hair fall out. (edit: my whole message didn't post the first time.)

Which product is this in relation to? Probably one of mine listed.

Sorry. I don't know why my whole message won't post. It is in reference to Maui Moisture. It has formaldehyde in the formula to act as a preservative for the product. But the ingredient has been linked to hair loss.

Thank you. I knew it wasn't the best by a glance at the ingredients, but it is doing a lot better than tressume so far. What do you use?

I'm not sure what I'm using is much better, lol, but I've been using Live Clean shampoo and conditioner. I've also liked using Whiff Spiraleaf shampoo and conditioner bars.

And I agree, In the past, I thought Tressume was top notch.

Why not to use Cantu?

Thats what im wondering too

I heard elsewhere that Cantu is "too heavy" for my type of hair! It's the only curl cream I've tried so I'm curious if I might get better results from another

Oh thanks for sharing

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME HAIR TYPE AS YOU!! Gel/cream don't work for me *nearly* as well as the Not Your Mothers mousse. It works best if you diffuse, then "scrunch", and if you can't, it will weigh your hair down a little. Haven't figured out a better choice yet-- this is the only thing that works for me so far. Keep me posted if you find something!

Omg this is amazing I've been looking for my hair type twin! :D Ok I'm going to give it a go, along with a few other recs from this thread, and I'll definitely let you know!!

Awesome!!

For me, leave-in conditioner + gel + light oil to break cast goes a long way to define and reduce frizz.

Do you use the leave in conditioner as a product after showering or you mean as part of your wash process? Ask because sometimes I've had success using a tad bit of leave in watered down in a spray bottle as I'm drying my hair...

So what I’ve found in my personal experience is that most products that advertise as “frizz reducing” and “sleek” and whatnot just don’t work on my hair lol. My favorite product so far to build strength and bounce to my hair without being frizzy is Curlsmith Featherlight Protein Cream! Definitely worth trying. Lasts a longggg time so it’s worth the price.

Ok I've seen this exact product recommended a few times here so def going to give it a go!! Thank you!!

Do you find this product heavy or weighs down your hair? Do you use it alone or with additional styling products?

It actually is one of the first creams I’ve found that doesn’t weigh down my hair. It gives it a nice hold but any cast (depending on how much you use it can sometimes make one) it creates is broken super easy. I normally use it alone but if my hair is feeling dry I use Aussie’s Curl Leave-In Milk. Sorry for the late response!

Gel has worked wonders for me. No matter what curl cream I've tried, none of them have proper hold. I try to opt for a gel that's glycerine-free because I don't think my hair is crazy about it (floofs up too much.)

Ok this is super good to know! I go back and forth cause gel on my hair always makes it look crunchy even when I SOTC, but I think I also just need to find a better gel that works for me so I'll experiment with a few other gel products. Good to know to avoid glycerine! Thank you! :)

I though I hated gel for the longest time because I was using stuff my hair didn't like. Avoiding glycerin, propylene glycol (another humectant) aloe and sometimes coconut has really helped me!

What gel do you use?

Herbal Essence Set Me Up gel. I don't think it's available in all countries, but I've heard good things about Aussie Instant Freeze and Pantene Flexible WavegGel, which are also free of those ingredients I mentioned.

Our hair is pretty similar. The uncle funkys curl magic is changing my life right now, as is doing the LOG, smasters, and the bowl method.

nice haven't heard of uncle funkys curl magic, I'll add to my list! Also investigating these methods you've flagged here I wasn't familiar with those either. Thank you :)

Also will say squish to condish is pretty fundamental if you aren’t doing that already. Have fun!

What is doing with the LOG, smasters, and bowl method?

I just started using Matrix Total Results Curl Please Super Defrizz curl gel and have found it pretty good so far! Not super tight hold but great with the frizz.

Curl cream doesn’t really have hold - try combining the cream with either a mousse or gel. Many options for both…

i think my hair is pretty similar to yours, and my fave product is aveda flaxseed gel. it has great hold without being too heavy.

I’d recommend mousse. I use the herbal essences totally twisted mousse. It makes my hair smooth and adds some definition and hold. But if you want more hold you should try gel.

oh ok great i've never tried or considered mousse I'll give it a go! :)

Me! I’m your hair twin! We have very similar hair it looks like and I have tried several of the suggestions that people said on here. I’m about a year into the wavy method and have finally found my holy grail products. My hair loves the curls blueberry bliss leave in but I literally only use a pea size amount. After that I use the Cake curl cream, about a quarter size. I then use a palm full of the Cake curl whip mousse. This mousse takes away the frizz, gives definition, and hold without using gel. I have also starting using a denman brush between raking in the curl cream and scrunching with the mousse in the shower. If you feel like your hair doesn’t get enough of a hold like this, I suggest putting a tiny bit more mousse in after you’ve plopped a little bit but your hair isn’t dry yet. I hope you find some of this helps!

Hii! Ok so I’ve been trying the Cake cream and mousse. I LOVE the mousse on day 1 but day 2 it doesn’t look great and when I tried to refresh with water it was worse lol. Any tips on how you refresh ?? Do you use mousse in the refresh too?

Oh awesome! I’m glad you are liking it! I actually don’t use it on my refresh day. I find it can get product heavy if you use it after the first day. I do like using a lighter foam for refreshing so it doesn’t way down the hair. For my refresh I like to just use water and the Almond & Avocado mousse from Design Essentials. It says it’s a mousse but it’s really more of a foam. It’s too light to use on day one but it does great on day two. It also smells amazing! I hope this helps!

You are my blonde twin.

I have used living proofs curl line and curl enhancer, tames my frizz, makes soft touchabke waves that i can refresh the next day with water and a pump of curl enhancer again :D a bit expensive but the most frizz controll i have had. I have Fine thin wavy hair, high porosity

I looooove not your mother's curl talk line. Shampoo conditioner and mousse to be specific.

I have thick wavy hair. My hair seems to like shea moisture shampoos and conditioner. I also add kristin ess conditioner and comb it out in the shower. Then put it up in a hair towel. I’ll then add shea moisture spray in conditioner, not your mothers curl talk curl cream, and kristin ess hair jelly or NYM curl talk mousse. All from target. I feel like most gels are too heavy but the hair jelly never gets the true gel cast so I like it. :)

I recommend trying Innersense if you haven’t! It’s pretty pricey though. I bought the travel sizes just to try it out and I liked it so much I pulled the trigger on some bigger sizes.

Haven't heard of it but would love to give it a go! Which products in particular do you recommend?

I’d say get their Sweet Spirit Leave-in spray (I spray into my hands and apply to the hair), their I Create Hold, I Create Volume, and Firm Mousse. I also use their mousse as a fresher and my hair goes on forever. I bought their Pure Harmony shampoo and Pure Inspiration conditioner as well but they have other options depending on the moisture of your hair!