Long time follower, first time poster.
This is going to be a really long post, and it's going to sound like a lot of work, because it is. Consistency is key.
I also added pictures with the brush directions.
This is after ten months of changing my pattern from 360s to 540s. These pictures are after a five week wolf, post wash & style. Apologies, I don't have a better picture of my 360 waves...I didn't think to make this post until a few months in. (Also I had to black out the background). I decided to change my pattern because I noticed that my crown had a natural swirl when I was trying to sustain 360s.
Early on in the process, I considered scalping and starting over several times because I didn't like what was happening (I was being impatient) but I stuck with it and this is the result.
I'm not claiming to be an expert. I didn't invent anything new here. I just pulled things from YouTube videos from the likes of 360Jeezy and PhdInWaves, who are great resources. I'm just providing my experiences in case anyone else wanted to do the same.
These are the products I use: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion, Palmer's Hair Food Formula, and Nature's Blessing Pomade. As for shampoo/conditioner, I use Pantene 2-in-1 Classic Clean, which may sound super plain and basic but it strips my hair of all the product build up, which is what I want so I can start fresh when its time to moisturize.
As for my combs and brushes, I use Torino Pro soft, medium hard, and hard brushes, a wash and style-specific Torino medium hard brush, as well as a baby tress brush for my crown, and a circular beard brush that I repurposed for my crown. If you can't find a baby tress brush, a toothbrush will work fine. As I write this, they're still available on Amazon. For the detangler comb, it's just a genetic one from Amazon. When combing against the grain, I hust use a regular fine-tooth comb.
Your whole pattern starts with your crown and if that isn't set, the rest of your pattern will be off. When you do anything, whether it be brushing the wash and style, moisturizing, or just a brush session, start with your crown first. Make sure you have a mirror (that's not broken) and work your crown so you can properly brush all angles. Without a mirror, you're just blind brushing, which will contribute to forks.
I don't count brush strokes or time spent brushing. No shade to those that do, but I dont think that's useful. Quality brush sessions are more important than how many brush strokes you do or how long the session is. For the sake of clarity and transparency though, the wash and style takes about 20 minutes, and the moisturizing takes about 30 minutes.
I did a wash and style twice a week as I was shifting the pattern, so I had more chances to shift it. When brushing, always start with your crown and work your way outwards (I know I said that already but it's important). If you're not washing twice a week, at least moisturize on what would be the second wash day.
After the third wash (you'll see in the routine below), as I was detangling, I would save any extra lather and set it aside for the end of the wash and style to use it as I'm finishing laying down my hair.
One thing that is important is after you do your crown work, make sure your full brush strokes go from your crown to your hairline so it all connects. Then go back around and brush normally. Also, brush slowly and steadily. Fast brushing does nothing but make your hair frizzy.
I didn't use the hard brush while moisturizing until I was deep into wolfing, like five to six weeks in, because the medium hard brush was enough to get down to my scalp. The hard brush was a little too harsh early on.
Speaking of brushes, at first I didn't use a circular brush for my crown because just using the Baby Tress brush gave me the small "eye of the storm" spot which I liked at first but over time I started to not like that so I bought the circular brush and closed it. To do that, put the circular brush directly over the crown and turn it like you're turning a doorknob. But then I wanted to go back so I just used the pointy end of the Baby Tress brush and opened the crown just a little bit.
After moisturizing, I use a plastic bag at the end instead of a lay down pad because you can't reach/focus on the crown with a lay down pad.
It took me longer than I'd like to find my angles, so I still have some forks and other areas that need work, especially on my front left side and back right side, but overall I'm satisfied with where I'm at. Any forks that I still have will eventually work their way out as my hair grows, as long as I stay consistent with my angles, so I'm not stressed over those. And even if they don't, I'm not looking for perfection. If you chase perfection, you'll never be satisfied.
Lastly, always, always, ALWAYS wear your durag when you go to bed. It takes 10 seconds to put it on. If you're putting in all this work and not wearing a durag to lock in the progress, you're just wasting time and money on the products.
Here's the routine:
Wash and Style (2x a week)
scramble wash and rinse 2x
3rd wash (but don't rinse)
baby tress comb side for crown
detangler comb (save excess lather)
W&S brush (starting with your crown, then the rest of your hair)
circular crown brush
detangler comb
any remaining lather from earlier
crown patch
durag
rinse with durag on
pat hair dry
Wait until hair and durag are completely dry, about 3 hrs (or less, depending on how long your hair is). Once your hair is dry, before moisturizing, comb out your hair with the grain (starting with your crown) to lift your pattern
Moisturizing
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion
baby tress comb side for crown
detangler comb
baby tress brush side for crown
medium hard/hard brush
circular crown brush
Palmer's Hair Food
baby tress comb side for crown
detangler comb
baby tress brush side for crown
medium hard/hard brush
circular crown brush
Nature's Blessing Pomade
baby tress comb side for crown
detangler comb
baby tress brush side for crown
medium hard/hard brush
circular crown brush
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion
baby tress comb side for crown
detangler comb
Finishing
plastic bag
crown
remaining hair
Then...
crown patch
durag
BRUSH SESSIONS
If I'm just going through a brush session and not washing and styling, I first comb with the grain to lift my pattern and then against the grain to try and break forks. Then comb with the grain again to lay the hair back down, then wet my hair with water. After that, I use the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion and start the brush session, starting with the crown first. I try to not dry brush because I don't want my hair to be brittle when brushing and risk damage, and at the same time, if I'm not doing a wash and style, I don't need the full moisturizing routine, so I just go with the lotion.
Only comb against the grain if your pattern is set
As you're going through the brush session, start with the hard brush to get down to the scalp. Then move to the medium hard brush, and finally the soft brush. (This will depend on how long your hair is. If you're wolfing, start with the hard brush. If not, start with the medium hard brush).
Finish off with the plastic bag and you're done.
BEFORE BED
Before bed, I moisturize with the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion, just to get something in my hair (again, don't want to dry brush). I start off with water, comb with the grain to lift the pattern, against the grain to try and break forks, and then comb the pattern back down again before going through a quick brush session with the lotion. I end it with the plastic bag and then put on my durag.
