3. Styling
Ok beauties, here is where your perfection happens. Styling your wash and go is dependent on a few things, how big you want your hair, your hair type, your likes and dislikes. Once your hair is thoroughly moisturized and sealed you can choose the styling product that works best for your hair.
► The Big Fluffy Wash And Go – Typically to get a big fluffy wash and go after you have conditioned and sealed your hair you will need to use minimal styling product.
There are some gels that are considered light weight in the sense that they provide some hold but they are not heavy to where your hair feels weighed down or becomes stringy.
Women with fine strands and thinner hair might opt for light hold styling so that they can manipulate their hair to make it appear bigger and less weighted in necessary.
Touching your hair as you dry can lead to it becoming bigger and less defined. A diffuser* can keep your curls intact but it also is great for creating volume if you turn your head upside down while you dry as well.
► The Defined Wash And Go – Some women prefer a very defined look to their wash and go, and to achieve that they may do what is called “shingling”. This just means grabbing small sections of hair and applying your styling product generously to the section before moving on to the next section. The hair is then allowed to air dry untouched.
Defining your curls in this manner allows you to show off your curl pattern in more of a dramatic form than you would if you just applied a light holding cream. When you allow the hair to set untouched it reduces frizz and ensures that your style lasts longer.
Women with type 4 hair may opt for this method because not only does shingling define curls it helps to keep the hair relatively tangle free as well.
There are of course other methods apart from shingling that can achieve the same result. The rake and smooth method which is similar to shingling or the praying hands method are all variations of the shingling method.
► Wash And Go Combined – This is just a combination of the above, where you are using light styling creams or gels and applying it in sections, probably not as small as if you were shingling but in an organized manner similar to shingling. Your hair will still be defined but will be fluffy and slightly big.
Tip: Getting that perfect wash and go will definitely require some product testing on your part so a good tip is to get sample sized instead of full sized products to test on sections of your hair until you find the combination that works for you.
Of course we could not leave a post like this hanging without some sort of demonstration, so we found two women, with very different textures and different ways of achieving their wash and gos.
Take a look and then comment below and let us know if you prefer a fluffy or super defined wash and go.
Here’s AfricanExport with her technique
And from SpiralsAndLife…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLYmR0a5Bi4
And from Mini Marley
Jan Lewis says
Both. I love how defined it is at the beginning, but I also love how fluffy it gets over the course of the week.
Kandace Rkm says
Dido, I like both as well for the same reasons
Qwiet Storm says
I really like the both looks I prefer the look after a few days the hard thing for me is maintaining because my hair is not long enough to pineapple it at night
L Boogie Francis says
I love the defined for me,personally. But think that the fluff always looks great on others.
Devera Smith Robinson says
When I had a TWA, my take on a washNgo was applying EcoStyler gel and running my palms throughout my head which created coils that almost looked like locs. I’ve never applied any other styling product as a washNgo without doing the palm method because I’m afraid it won’t turn out that great. I’ll have to try a true washNgo on a weekend day first.
Angela Rhone says
Defined.
Shena Gabriel says
Fluffy. My curls are super tight to the point where they turn into knots lol.
Kat Bastian says
heck, as a 4c, I’d like to simply succeed at a wash n go! lol
Dabney Ross Jones says
Defined! I like fluffy twist outs.
Latresia J Walters says
Fluffy.
Brittani Michelle says
NOT a fan of any wash and go, my hair is like no. I will not do this. lol but it looks good on other people both fluffy and defined. 🙂
Alice Cummings says
Cute!!!
Nicole Burns says
Both.
Imogene Gina Clark-Reddick says
I perfer the fluffy becauce wash and go is great as long it stay wet look because I have type 4b and 4c hair so there advaantages and disadvantages
Ashley Lawton says
My hair never fluffs I got 4c hair lol
Cassandra Miles says
In between 🙂 … I like seeing my hair snap into it’s natural curl pattern but when it dries it shrinks way too much for my taste and looks too uniformed. I mean what’s the point of having natural thick kinky hair if you won’t let it be a little wild sometimes? lol
Jennifer Corazón Gonzalez Windster says
Super defined but I’m really not tryna fight my 3c/4a twa. If It wants to be fluffy… Imma just let it be!
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
Ok maybe this is a dumb ass question, but what is this “3c/4a ” stuff everyone’s talking about? I’m from Canada and there’s lots of black girls up here and we done be putting numbers and letters to our hair type… Please explain this to me?
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
Dont*
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
Is it hair weave?? Lol cause maybe that’s it? I don’t wear hair weave… That’s why I don’t know?? Can some one fill me in???
Vicki Steverson says
You have to wear your natural hair to understand. You got a profile full of fake hair, braids and weaves.
Emily CottonTop says
Carrie,
The letters and numbers refer to curl pattern love, check this post out https://blackhairinformation.com/general-articles/hair-type-classification/
It is just a different way of knowing what your hair ‘is” . Some people choose to follow the hair typing system, some do not, read the article and you can decide what side of the fence you fall on.
André Luiz Catta Preta says
Beautifuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul : D
Nilah Smith Jones says
It has to do with the type of curl pattern that you have..
Vicki Steverson says
Love both, I like how my hair fluffs as my definition leaves.
Rose Smith says
I think its cute
Joya Felton says
fluffy
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
Your right I did have 1 weave. And for years I did braids. But not all the time, and now I’m wearing my own hair. This picture of me is my own hair, relaxed. I currently don’t have any extensions in and have been growing my own hair, waiting it for it to be longer so I can cut off the relaxed portion. So my question was what are the numbers and letters about?
Tawana Heard Hawkins says
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
I’m in the process of trying to make the switch to totally natural! This profile pic is my own hair but relaxed… It’s a couple years old but still all my hair. Right now my hair is half natural from the root half way down, then relaxed to the end. Looked pretty funny, but eventually I will cut off the relaxed ends and have just all natural, I’m looking forward to it, so ya creep my profile and judge all u want, but I know I’m going in the right direction for my self! I’ll find the answer to my question regardless! Have a great day ladies 🙂
Eilyon Dye says
Depends on the day
Cris Moreira says
Well sometimes it’s just complicated as my natural hair seems to have a personality of its own… 🙂
La Monica Adams says
Super defined!
Jade Noir says
i want super defined wash and go.
Michiko Jessica R says
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe the number and letters are based on your natural curl pattern.
Michiko Jessica R says
http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types
Mia England says
Well..if only I could do a wash n go Kelsey Lydia
Sunny Orison says
Defined. I want to see my curls. Let people know its not straightened frizz.
Georgiana Gray says
With my 4c, I take what I can get. I get short defined, if blown out, it’s defined until a couple of hours later, and it shrinks.
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
Thanks so much! 🙂
Carrie Laura-Lee Howe says
So I think I’m a 2c or 3a. A bit of both. Thanks again Tawana 🙂
Theconscienceofthefamily Faison says
I love this hair style, exactly what I’m looking for, suggestions s.
Natural Mystic says
Fluffy with some defintion
Darryl Ballinger says
I LOVE YOUR HAIR My new tell all book UNBEWEAVABLE”, it deals with the erasing of the image of the black African women and the slow poisoning of the American public. You can check it out for free at http://www.amazon.com just search (Unbeweavable the book) or http://www.unbeweavableda.weebly.com
Mizzp Malone says
now this is a hairstyle that I would like