1st Lady of Wave Nation Guide the REUP!

"1ST LADY OF WAVE NATION GUIDE"

When you start out as a waver the key items are: 3 brushes, moisturizer, pomade, comb, durag, and a good shampoo. The 3 brushes a waver need are used for different purposes and thats a : Hard brush, Medium brush and Soft. When you get a 1.5 cut on your first week or cut period you will use a soft brush. As for a product you can use Coldlabel ( [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ) Premium Wave and Scalp Butter for low cuts or just to moisturizer and even add shine or Seasick Moisture Creme and Pomade ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I apply this after my wash, which I will talk about in a few. As your hair grows you move up to a medium brush for your main brush session then finish it with a soft brush. Then when you get heavy into wolfin you will add the hard brush, Wolfin Pomade or Seasick Pomade and a comb to your session. You will first comb your hair every brush session to untangle your hair and train every curl to get ready for the brush session (Combin also helps with depth and connection) then apply a fingertip of Wolfin Pomade or Seasick Pomade (or your favorite pomade) then you go in with a hard after that you go in with a medium then after that finish the session with a soft then rag up. (When I wolf, for more compression I put a wave cap over my durag (or Tsurag)to help compression wise and help my crown lay flat) If you are just starting then your first wolf session should last 4 wks, 2wks afta your fresh cut is the start of your wolf session. After you reached 4 wks of wolfin you will go get your fresh cut which is 1.5 wtg. Now your 2nd wolf session should be 6 wks after those wks get u a 1.5 wtg. Now your 3rd wolf session should go 9 wks. After that you get your 1.5 wtg. Also if you want an even cut meaning no thin spots on certain areas get #3atg cuts which equals 1.5 wtg. As you progress in these wolf session you will have a trained and ready pattern. Now your wolf sessions will focus on depth and connection and this is where you will only trim so much then do fresh cuts. Lets say you reached wk 4 ok now you are 6-9 wks well you dont want a 1.5 cut so what you will get is a trim to focus on depth and connections so get a #2 wtg or for an even cut a #4 atg. And comb and use all 3 brushes during this phase. Now wash day..... On wash day I wash my hair with Organix (http://www.organixhair.com) Shampoo and conditioner. Or you can use your favorite shampoo I run warm/hot water to loosen my curls and stress them out from that nappy stage. If my hair is in a wolfing stage I will comb first then I apply my shampoo and brush it in wtg as if im just brushing. Rinse then repeat. After rinsing I pat my hair dry with a tshirt due to less frizz then I will comb my hair then apply your Premium Wave and Scalp butter or Seasick Moisture Creme to moisturize and Wolfin Pomade or Seasick Pomade when im wolfin. Then if im heavy wolfin I comb it in then brush from hard to medium to soft then rag up and cap over. After drying I go back in but no product applying this time just hit it with a comb then brush. If your hair is low do soft to medium brush only. A hard will damage your scalp when hair is low. Wash your hair once a week unless it gets dirty or you workout then to avoid shampooing so much during that week co wash your hair. Co wash is Conditioner Wash meaning only washing your hair with conditioner after workouts or just to refresh ya hair. Find a good moisturizing conditioner to do this. As for durags I wear nothing but Wavebuilder durags or So Many Waves and to get great compression I do Tsurag. Everything you need to know is in writing right here. Just read and follow along to the instructions. As for brushes I recommend Dianes (thats what help my wave and connection game) Diane #168 Red Club, #8169 Softy, #8119 Medium, #8159 Hard. Get you a regular comb. Now if you follow this and stay dedicated you can spin just like me. Everything I mention I did and my waves succeded. Theres no if and's or but's also if you need to purchase these items online (brushes) go to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or go to amazon and type in : Diane Brushes. Also check out [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] they products are legit trust me. Also other good products I tried and like were Seasick Pomade and moisturizer at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] as well as for the ultimate shine I love Xotics Sweet Jamila at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] also for a great leave in conditioner I found that Shea Moisture Restorativr Conditioner was really good you can find that at your local Walgreens. Also I use my Organix conditioner to Co Wash.



"WASH DAY"

I wash my hair on Thursdays so after my wash and procedures in the morning (Friday) I will get up unrag and if its low I will brush with a soft if its thick I will go from comb to hard brush to medium to soft. If my hair is in between low or wolfin growth then I will use medium to soft brush. Saturday samething mind you my hair is still moisturized. Sunday samething. Then Monday I may add a fingertip size of Premium Wave and Scalp Butter, or Seasick Moisture Creme, or Sweet Jamila or Frederick Benjamin SleekWater Pomade for shine and moisturizer then go into my brushing procedures. Tuesday and Wednesday samething as Sunday and Saturday which will lead back to Thursday wash day!

Also as a waver to lay down curls and train them do not rinse your hair with cold water on wash day. Cold water will cause your curls to shrivel up tight which leads to a longer brush session to where your trying to set and lay your waves back into place and less control of your hair. Always wash and rinse with warm/hot water but not too hot to where you burn yourself.

Wavers say after washing and applying products and ragging from drying time when they unrag their hair is dry. Well what it was you didnt fully pat your hair dry and your water over product ratio caused that to happen. So next time make sure your hair is pat dry then apply product in evenly distributed and brush. Also if you want to, own atleast a silk or satin durag to use after wash to hold in all that moisture while drying for your main brush session. Then if your like me continue wearing your fabric/ WaveBuilder durag.



"SHINE"
When looking for shine you can get it these ways...naturally from the brush to where certain boar bristles will bring out your natural shine. As well as a shirt instead of a towel due to spliting and breaking ends which leads to a dry dull look. Also keeping trims and cutting off those dead ends. Wash your hair as needed do not shampoo everyday! Co washing would be a great substitute til shampoo aka wash day. Let your hair air dry do not blow dry blow drying oils is like frying up your hair in it which will give that crunchy but dull look. Remember my last tip bout moisturing to where hair can be unhealthy even if you did apply a product your covering unhealthy hair. Cold water is a blessing but a curse to curly kinky hair wavers. It will tighten up your curls which will lead to long brush sessions and set pattern after wash but it is also a shine enhancer due to it closes the cuticles. So its a give or take once again do you want to give shine by the other tips and still do your warm/hot water rinse or do you want to cold water rinse and pay for the long brush battle of setting your pattern back? Me personally I rather stick to my warm/hot water rinse due to I wash once a week I shirt dry my hair (blot with shirt) apply my moisturizer comb brush and rag up for air dry as well as keep up with my trims. But the matter is straighter the hair the shinier but by being a waver also a skinny waver I take on these tips of keeping my natural shine.... ***And when I say blow dry im meaning with no shower cap. Shower cap contains the moisture thats why they are called conditioning caps aka deep treatments. But this is for blow drying wit no cap, blow dry if your H.O.T. or deep treatment with a cap. DO NOT BLOW DRY WITHOUT A CONDITIONING/SHOWER CAP!***


"MOISTURIZING"

When moisturizing your hair its easy to over do it and under do it. The best moisturizer is a water based moisturizer because you want to add moisture to your hair first then seal it with a butter or oil. So a moisturizer you should look for is a water based which its ingredients will start off saying water or aqua then a few ingredients down it will say your oils or butter. This will show you are moisturizing but sealing your hair all at once without over doing or under doing you won't have to constantly apply products which is over doing as well as causing build up. Your hair should stay moisturize, as far as under doing you should do a fingertip for top and side portion of your head and fingertip for the back and side portion for equal coverage and a half of fingertip for you crown.



"POMADES"

Pomades is the best friend to brushes and durags as far as help training and making those curls lay down. When you look for a pomade you should look for a good enough hold to your liking as well as ingredients that gives great benefits. You also should want a "Give and Take" pomade. One that gives you great hold but wont take away the natural feel of your hair. When you rub pomade in your hands before applying it will let you know what you are in for.... a pomade that glides and melts in your hands will give you a decent hold and a soft natural feel to your hair. A pomade that needs more pressure but not much of a melt will give you great hold but will need that hard brush handy.


"BRUSHES"

The ultimate tool for waves... The Brush! A wavers brush is like a Queen to a King. When you look for a wavers brush you look for that exactly a WAVE BRUSH. Wave brushes consist of 7-9 rows for spaces of spacing out your waves. The brush that comes into mind that I own and use are Diane's #8169 "The Softy" (8168 is the club version) #8119 "The Medium" (8118 is the club version) #8159 "The Hard (8158 is the club version) (CLUB MEANS JUST A SHORT HANDLE VERSION FOR BETTER CONTROL AS WELL AS CARRYING) Other good Diane brushes are #168 "Red Club" and #9008 "Red Palm". If your looking to go beyond Diane to a good high quality brush I recommend Kent's Brushes at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for brush #MN1B "Rectangular Medium" and #MS23D "Rectangular Softy" these two brushes are not only the finest in quality that will give your waves that flawless look even if your waves arent! Always remember even if you have a clean head have a clean brush or brushes and durags. Less acne and a clean scalp.


"DURAGS"

The durag..... Besides a brush a durag is the most needed tool for a serious waver. Waves are laid down curls which is why you brush everyday and why you need the durag to compliment the brush. You have different types of durags.... Silk..... Satin..... And the WaveBuilder durags which gives a breathable material of fabric. I advise silk durags or satin to wavers who have a hard time keeping their hair moisturize because these two materials holds moisture. Their like a barrior to moisture. As for fabric breathable material I can wear due to my hair can stay moisturized from what I explained I dont over or under do moisturizing my hair due to product and usage. Some wavers say some durags dry their hair well its not the durag its your hair and to hold your much needed moisture I can see why you consider silk and satin and now I hope you see why I consider WB durags or So Many Waves durags and Tsurags.......


"SHAMPOOING"

Types of shampoo, or its cleaning action, determines how much oil it will remove from the hair during washing. It is a great idea to choose the correct shampoo for your hair type. Your natural oil needs to remain in the hair to retain its shine, manageability and elasticity. A strong shampoo may strip hair of tints, natural color, and natural oils, which are dull effects. Also when you think about it shampoos and conditioners can coat damaged hair, even split ends, making your hair look and feel healthier which is not do to the choice of shampoos...


"HAIRCUT"

Since your hair is in training IF you have no waves right now, only get wtg cuts because you are still training your hair and pattern. Once its fully trained then you can get atg cuts. But for now IF YOU HAVE NO WAVES OR SET PATTERN only get WTG cuts. I forgot to mention that but yeah I had to train mines good before I could get atg. And how do you know if your pattern is set and trained is when you take a comb and comb atg you can see a pattern of your waves and when you comb back wtg your waves lay back into place.


"Against the grain" is "atg" when you go the opposite way you brush. And "wtg" is "With the grain" and thats when you brush from crown to hairline. Your guards/cuts should read this way when you want a cut

1.5 wtg = 3 atg
2 wtg = 4 atg
3 wtg = 6 atg
Remember your guard sizes go up when atg due to you will cut off more hair if you go 1.5, 2, or 3 atg. So to avoid that go up on your guards when doin atg cuts. I find that atg cuts give my waves that full/even look.


"FINDING YOUR CROWN"

How I found my crown was one day I was combing my hair and my head was itchy so I took the teeth part of the comb and instead of just combing crazy I dragged the teeth around my crown in a circular motion til I saw a spot that would not move with the hair as im doing so and that lil "bald spot" was my crown. As I spotted it my hairs were coming from it in angles which will show you which angles to go to brush from crown to hairline. This will also help you see what angle to brush your weak side. Stay consistant with those angles and you will see great results. Have patience!!



"DEEP CONDITIONING/WOLF MANAGEMENT"

If your that waver with that thick, kinky, tight curls its hard to manage your wolf!! \(*.*)/ Well what you need is something to help loosen those curls once a month or every two and thats a H.O.T. Hot Oil Treatmeant, a heat activating Deep Conditioner, or some good benefiting oils. When you do this its after shampooing and rinsing you will pat hair dry but not too dry and apply it to your hair then shower cap or conditioning cap and blow dry or sit under the dryer. What this H.O.T. or D.C. will do is loosen up your curls as well as give it the conditioning benefits it needs or missed. After the minutes (Which is listed on the product) has been done if its a thick treatment like oil I advise you to rinse with a co wash or if you have a not so strong natural shampoo rinse with it and pat dry and follow up with your moisturizer and pomade as well as comb and hit it with a brush but not a hard due to your hair and scalp is still in a weak state. After drying you will go in with a comb then hard....medium....and finish with a soft. If you followed my no cold water notes you wont need a Plastic Bag method (a sandwich bag and rub wtg of your hair to lay down extra hairs) if not you will need the PB method. Also since im at the stage of fully trained waves every now and then I will trim to keep the wolfing alive as we as edge ups Iget temp and neck fades just to have that clean look with my wolf.


Last but not least....



"THE COMB"

Always remember a comb session before brushing benefits maintaining wolf as well as help connection and depth. A hard brush is ok but that comb will comb up every strand of hair for it to be ready to coordinate with the follow up brush session as well as help tame an organize your crown game. Don't doubt the comb!

List of products I use and found were good products

COLDLABEL ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"Premium Wave and Scalp Butter, Wolfin Pomade, Ultra Shampoo, 7 Juices and Berries"

SEASICK POMADE AND MOISTURE CREME
([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"Seasick Pomade and Moisture Cream"

SHEA MOISTURE ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"Restorative Conditioner"

XOTICS ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"Sweet Jamila"

FREDERICK BENJAMIN SLEEKWATER POMADE
(http://shop.frederickbenjamin.com/water_based_pomade_p/100210.htm)

PINK LUSTERS (any local beauty supplier)
"Jojoba and Castor Oil Hot Oil Treatment"

ORGANIX SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONERS
(http://www.organixhair.com)

AS I AM ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or local beauty supply/walgreens)
"DoubleButter Rich Moisturizer"

BLENDED BEAUTY ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
"Silk Shake" (its a great detangler)

HOLLYWOOD BEAUTY (local beauty supply)
"Olive Creme" (Great 3 days after wash day moisturizer)

DIANE BRUSHES ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
#8169, 8168, 8119, 8118, 8159, 8158
Amazon for the Red Club and Palm ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] type in #168 or 9008)

PHILLIPS 440 BRUSH
([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Type in Phillips 440 Brush

KENT BRUSHES ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or lower price ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and type in Kent MN1B or MS23D)

SO MANY WAVES TIE DOWN CAP/DURAG (Silk or Satin) ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

TSURAG
([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

WAVEBUILDER DURAG (Breathable fabric durag) (local beauty supply/Wal-Mart)

NUBIAN HERITAGE ([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or local Walgreens)
Evoo & Moringa Repair and Extend Natural Shampoo (great shampoo)

BEGINNERS CLIPPERS AND TRIMMERS (Self Barbers)
I use...
ANDIS MASTERS
ANDIS TRIMMERS II GTX EDITION (I put a gold blade called Promate for extra crispy lines on these trimmers)
([You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Yours truely,

Racheal Boyd "1st Lady of Wave Nation"

Instagram: 1stLady_ofWaveNation
Twitter: @RachealMMGBoyd