Find your hair type.

Core Wash Routine

• Daily shampoo (gentle, daily-use) is your workhorse — small amount, lather, rinse. Straight hair gets oily fast, so washing every day or every other day keeps it looking clean.
• Use a clarifying shampoo once a week (or every second week) to strip buildup from styling products — clays, pomades, and waxes accumulate fast on straight, fine hair.
• Conditioner: keep it light. A daily lightweight conditioner is fine, but only on the mid-lengths to ends. Too much = instantly flat and greasy.
• Skip heavy deep-conditioning masks here — straight hair that doesn't need much moisture will go limp and stringy.

Styling Products

• Texture powder is your #1 — a few pumps at the root gives instant matte volume and lift on fine, flat hair, and it won't leave white residue.
• Sea salt spray adds beachy texture and grip before you blow-dry or air-dry; use at the root for volume, then work through.
• Hair clay gives a stronger, matte, all-day hold for slick-backs and side parts without stiffness or flaking.
• Pomade is the best call for a natural-shine, reworkable slick-back or side part. Water-soluble, so it washes out easily.
• Molding paste is the flexible option — easy washout plus a soft, bendable hold if clay feels too heavy.
• Avoid from day one: curl-specific products — mousse, gel, curl cream, and curl refresh spray are built for wave and curl, and on straight hair they'll just weigh it down or leave it stiff with zero benefit.

Finishing & Maintenance

• A lightweight hair oil (or hair elixir) adds shine and tames any flyaways without flattening — a single drop, rubbed between palms, is plenty.
• Argan oil works as a light pre-styling oil to smooth and soften, and it cuts frizz on the day-to-day.
• Between washes, a touch more texture powder at the root revives volume; dry shampoo isn't listed here but a little powder doubles as a quick refresh.

Sample Routine

• Wash day: daily shampoo → light conditioner (mid-lengths to ends) → towel-dry → texture powder at the root → blow-dry for volume → a dab of hair oil on the ends.
• Off day: no shampoo — just rinse, restyle any bed-head with a little water and a few pumps of texture powder, and go.

Core Wash Routine

• Daily shampoo (gentle, daily-use) works if you're active or oily; every other day is fine if not. Keep the scalp clean — wavy hair dulls fast at the root.
• Clarifying shampoo once a week strips the styling buildup (sea salt spray and clay can accumulate and flatten the wave).
• Conditioner: daily lightweight conditioner, focused on mid-lengths to ends. Wavy hair is drier toward the ends, so don't skip it entirely.
• A hydrating conditioner or deep conditioning mask every 1–2 weeks adds back moisture without silicone buildup — it keeps the wave defined instead of frizzy.

Styling Products

• Sea salt spray is a wavy-hair staple — spray on damp hair, scrunch, and air-dry for beachy texture and light, buildable hold with a matte finish.
• Hair clay gives a strong, matte hold for a more controlled day, and it reworks well if you start getting frizzy.
• Pomade is good for a sleeker option — slick-backs and side parts with flexible, natural-shine hold.
• For wave definition on more textured days, a lightweight curl mousse adds volume and shape without drying alcohols.
• Avoid heavy curl cream and maximum-hold curl gel — on wavy (not truly curly) hair they read as 'wet' and weigh the wave down into a flat stringy mess. Keep curls-specific products for the curly section.
• Texture powder is optional here: a little at the root lifts fine areas, but wavy hair usually has enough body on its own.

Finishing & Maintenance

• A lightweight hair oil (or hair elixir) on the ends controls frizz and adds shine without flattening the wave.
• Argan oil pre-styling smooths and softens while reducing frizz — rub a drop through before blow-drying.
• On day 2, mist damp hair with water and scrunch to reactivate the wave; reapply a touch of sea salt spray if you want more shape.

Sample Routine

• Wash day: gentle daily shampoo → lightweight conditioner → hydrating conditioner or deep mask (once a week) → sea salt spray on damp hair → scrunch and air-dry or diffuse → finish with a dab of hair oil.
• Off day: wet hands or a water mist, re-scrunch waves, add a little sea salt spray or hair oil and go.

Core Wash Routine

• Gentle daily shampoo is still the base — focus it on the scalp, not the lengths, since the ends don't need the strip.
• Clarifying shampoo is important here too, but less often — every 1–2 weeks to clear styling buildup without over-stripping the oils curly hair already lacks.
• Conditioner is non-negotiable: use a daily lightweight conditioner and plenty of it, especially on the mid-lengths and ends.
• A hydrating conditioner or deep conditioning mask once a week is essential — curly hair drinks moisture, and this is what keeps definition instead of frizz.
• Leave-in conditioner is the hidden MVP for curly hair — a lightweight, no-rinse layer between washes that hydrates, protects, and strengthens without buildup.

Styling Products

• Curl cream is the base layer — scrunched through wet hair for definition and frizz control with a light, natural-hold every day.
• Curl mousse adds volume and lift at the roots — especially good if your curls are fine or low-density and need body without weight.
• Curl gel gives maximum definition and hold: it forms a cast as it dries, then 'scrunch out the crunch' for soft, defined, long-lasting curls.
• Curl refresh spray is your day 2/3 tool — rehydrate and reactivate the previous day's style without a full rewash (works best when some product is still in the hair).
• Layer order for full definition: curl cream on damp hair → mousse at the roots → curl gel over the lengths for the cast.
• Avoid for curly hair: hair clay, pomade, and molding paste. These are built for straight-to-wavy control and will flatten curls, cause buildup, and leave a weighted, greasy cast that's a pain to wash out.
• Texture powder and heavy sea salt sprays are best skipped — salt dries curly hair out and powder is pointless against a curl pattern.

Finishing & Maintenance

• A lightweight hair oil (or hair elixir) is used to 'scrunch out the cast' after gel dries — it softens the curls and adds shine without weighing them down.
• Argan oil works as a pre-styling smoother and to control frizz on the surface.
• Refresh curls day-to-day with curl refresh spray, or re-wet and rescrunch — never brush dry curls (it frays the pattern).

Sample Routine

• Wash day: gentle shampoo (scalp only) → lightweight conditioner → deep conditioning mask (once a week) → apply leave-in conditioner on damp hair → curl cream → mousse at roots → gel over lengths → air-dry or diffuse → scrunch out the cast with a drop of hair oil.
• Off day: spritz curl refresh spray, scrunch gently to reactivate, add a touch more oil on the ends if needed — and don't touch it again.