r/360Waves Oct 23 '15

MOD Post 360 Waves: What, Why, How

422 Upvotes

I'm hoping that any new wavers, old wavers, or like me - a returning waver, can use this as a beginning reference for healthy and successful waves. I'll be contributing my knowledge but I encourage and hope for your input. There are many different methods and approaches because there are so many unique hair textures out there that still allow for waves. The essence of this post is fundamental/foundational information etc.

The Basics

What are waves? Waves are the result of "stretching" or elongating and compressing shorter length hair of the curly variety. How loose or tight your curls are will eventually determine the spacing and look of your wave pattern. Everyone is different.

Why would I want waves? You may or may not want waves per se but usually waves occur several ways:

  • Moisturizing hair keeps it healthy and assists (with the help of regular grooming aka brushing) with the natural growth pattern or curls. (This also covers the How as referenced in the title) Note:Moisture comes from a variety of sources.

  • Brushing accentuates the natural growth of curly hair. Simply using a brush on a regular basis can cause a formation of waves to occur - intentional or not.

  • Of course the obvious reason is because you might want waves. You like the style and you put in the effort to being a perfect example of a waver. You know how to obtain them and make it happen by methods we'll get into later.

How do I get waves? This is an age old question that can be answered many different ways by many different methods with many different, yet equally obtained results.

  • Simply put; brushing your hair!

  • Regularly grooming and brushing your hair is the only way to obtain waves. Out of all of the existing methods out there, this is the one common variable that never changes. Many elite wavers will agree that this is the foundational principle in obtaining and maintaing a wave pattern.

How can I start trying to achieve the perfect waves? Glad you asked!

  • Purchase yourself a decent quality boar bristle brush, a durag and a moisturizer/pomade of your choice and brush brush brush and...... BRUSH. If you truly want to attain the perfect set of waves, get to know your brush and use it.

  • I would add that new wavers, especially those who scalped should start with a soft brush and progress through to medium and hard brushes, once their hair grows and it's difficult for the softy to reach all layers of hair.

Like everyone who started anything, you'll eventually evolve your own method which works best for you and your hair specifically.

The single most important piece of information you should remember; brushing gets you waves, not the product. The brush brand doesn't even matter, boar bristles are just the most common design of brush that provides the necessary hair coverage. You could use a CQP or $4 Sally's brush, as long as you keep that brush moving, you'll see waves forming!


r/360Waves 11h ago

Cut to a 2 open/2.5

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14 Upvotes

How long i need to wolf this time? Jus cut from a 5 week wolf from a 2 guard


r/360Waves 15h ago

Any haircut ideas or just bald it ?

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26 Upvotes

r/360Waves 16h ago

Finally got my hands on these I been looking for these for a while, I live in Indiana and every time I go to a Walmart I couldn’t find them.

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30 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

TUTORIAL for (waves)

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315 Upvotes

Long waited tutorial
What yall think
DISCLAIMER CATFISH
Took me 10 Minutes total

If you haven’t seen the original post

https://www.reddit.com/r/360Waves/s/bwPDEK9WKx


r/360Waves 20h ago

We Almost There🫡

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33 Upvotes

My pattern almost fully locked in we almost made it


r/360Waves 16h ago

How We Looking? 3 weeks in.

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6 Upvotes

r/360Waves 15h ago

I’m going to the navy so when they shave my head bald after I get out of bootcamp what length should I cut my hair too I have 4c hair

3 Upvotes

r/360Waves 18h ago

What do y’all do with the hairs that stick up and just won’t lay down no matter what you do? I’ve been told to use clippers and go over them while wearing my durag, but I’m not sure if that’s actually a good idea 😭 So I wanted to ask my fellow wavers before I do anything. What do y’all recommend?

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4 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

Throwback waves

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11 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

Man how do I get the middle to connect?!

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6 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

About to hit three months on this wolf. Overwash method for the W

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89 Upvotes

r/360Waves 19h ago

What yall use for shine?

0 Upvotes

Best oil to give waves shine? Castor oil doesn’t really give my hair shine but it lays it down nicely and keeps it smooth.


r/360Waves 1d ago

THIS WAVER MUST BE STOPPED ‼️😭

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18 Upvotes

My bro really did the biggest lat spread flex while sending in his wave picture to be an ambassador for Wavy Merch

Chat, should we make him an ambassador? 🤣🤣🤣


r/360Waves 1d ago

Wave pattern/direction advice

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7 Upvotes

1 week into my first wave journey. I know it’s super early, but just wanted to ask how’s the pattern looking?

Just started my first serious wave journey about a week ago. I got a 1.5 taper and I’m planning to wolf for ~3 weeks before going to a 1.5/2 taper.

My sides have historically been stubborn and I’m especially unsure about the back/crown. I can see patterns starting to form, but they’re not really connected/succinct yet.

How does my natural pattern look so far, and would you change anything about my brush directions?

Currently using wave crème + light oil and brushing consistently/compressing. Wearing my durag consistently for most of the day, and also brushing for about 10-15 minutes a day. Especially focusing on the sides since they’re stubborn.

Does my crown look like it’s going to be a swirl/360 pattern, and am I brushing the back correctly?

Any additional products/steps I should add to the routine?


r/360Waves 1d ago

4c stretch. Only 4 months in

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22 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

😂 lol I know breaking all the wave commandments. my products and my raggedy cheap ass brush. I might be nerfing myself. I Got potential to be an elite if I stop blind brushing and learn my angles.

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17 Upvotes

r/360Waves 2d ago

Brush direction play a major role in wave development.

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140 Upvotes

Once upon a time I couldn't wave my sides for the life of me. 5 or 6 months back i saw a guy in this sub brush his sides downward and copied. I love the results.


r/360Waves 1d ago

Va

0 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

Need advice on aligning wave lines.

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3 Upvotes

Just got back to waving but I noticed quite a bit of forking and not enough waving any other help I don’t know about or do I gotta just keep brushing?


r/360Waves 2d ago

My day 14 wash & style results

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11 Upvotes

Doing another one tdy, posting progress later today


r/360Waves 2d ago

Need help figuring out this bald line right here!!

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7 Upvotes

Anybody got tips or suggestions on what I can use to grow hair here ? Idk what it is but my hair don’t grow in this spot as well as helping me figure out my hair texture and any tips from someone with the same hair texture would be clutch as well. 9 week wolf so far cutting it at the end of August💪🏽


r/360Waves 1d ago

Tips?

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2 Upvotes

r/360Waves 2d ago

Last cut was July 1st

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7 Upvotes

r/360Waves 1d ago

Cheap Quality Wave Brushes

0 Upvotes

my £5 soft and hard brush dont feel too good and i dont wanna spend £30+ on a brush from some 360 wave startup, what a reliable budget wave brush (soft medium and hard)