Wave Brushes and Building Waves

Waves come from brushing curly hair in a consistent direction until the curl pattern lies down in that direction and stays there. There is no shortcut and no product that produces them. What the brush, the durag and the pomade do is make consistent brushing effective, and consistency over weeks is the whole method.

Bristle hardness

Hard bristles reach the scalp through longer or coarser hair and do the initial training, but they are rough on the scalp and can irritate it if used constantly. Medium is the everyday brush for most people and the one to buy if you buy one. Soft bristles lay the surface hairs down and polish the pattern, and they are what you use for the last passes and for a short, already-trained head. Many people own a medium and a soft and use both in the same session.

Direction is everything

Brush outward from the crown in every direction, following the way the hair naturally grows from that point. Front section forward and down, sides down and back, back section down. The pattern forms because every hair is being trained the same way relative to the crown, and brushing against that on any part of the head undoes it there. Be consistent about where your crown is and work outward from it every time.

How long it takes

Weeks to months, depending on hair length, texture and how often you brush. Ten to fifteen minutes a session, two or three sessions a day, is a common regimen, and results start showing after a few weeks rather than a few days. Brushing longer in one sitting does not substitute for brushing regularly. This is the part people abandon, and it is the only part that matters.

Length and cutting

Waves need enough length for the hair to bend and lie down, so cutting too short resets the pattern and cutting too long lets the hair stand up on its own. Most people settle into a cycle of growing it out and taking it down, sometimes called wolfing, then trimming back. What length works depends on your texture, and finding it takes a couple of cycles.

Products

A light pomade or a moisturizer gives the hair enough weight and slip to lie down, and keeps the scalp from drying out under constant brushing. Use a small amount; heavy grease builds up, attracts lint and needs washing out, which then loosens the pattern. Wash regularly rather than avoiding water to protect a pattern, since buildup on the scalp does more harm than a wash does.