Before we get into this, let me tell you a bit about the wave game. It has been along long before most of us have been alive. The look of smooth, sophisticated 360 waves have been a staple of the black community for years. Why? Most of the time it is because waves are easy to maintain and don’t require a lot of money. All you need is a brush, some grease and a stocking cap. You can get fancy later but those are the bare essentials.
Often times when you look at older photos of black men they are all wearing waves. I’m talking about after the 1960’s and the whole “black power” movement. Back then brothers wore afros proudly. I don’t knock afros. It’s my second favorite look to 360s. Im known to grow out a mean fro once or twice a year myself. But getting back to my point. After civil rights and everything, brothers decided that rocking afros really weren’t the style anymore and waves started to become a dominant hairstyle. Along with the curl, fade, “mushroom”, the “gumby” and a host of other hairstyles that LOST the test of time.
So how do you get 360’s? First thing is first you need to get a low cut. This is because you have to retrain your hair from the bottom as it grows out. Your hair is already used to however you rock it now… you have to undo whatever you are rocking now.
If you are of African descent you know that your hair is VERY curly. It naturally grows in a “S” pattern. So when you grow it long each strand tends to get caught on other strands and they nap up. Well when you wave up this problem kind of goes away. Brushing your hair in the 360 wave pattern causes it to lay down, this laying the “S” pattern of your hair strand flat on your head. When all of your hair lays down like this, it forms the waves.
After you get a fresh cut and brush you’ll want to add some moisturizer to your hair. This helps your hair lay flat with your head and not nap up. You can get a product called pink lotion or carrot crème for this. Test both and see which one is the best for your hair. If your hair is thick like mine you may not be able to wash out certain moisturizers so it is important to test, test, test!
Last and final step, preserve your hairstyle. But how do you do that you ask? Two ways. First is hair grease. This is hard, wax that you can put in your hair to hold it. I only recommend this for parties or special occasions as it is very annoying to have to wash out sometimes. Finally, wear a wave cap or stocking cap when you sleep do you don’t knock your new hair pattern lose while you sleep!
For those of you that are lazy:
How to get 360 waves
- Hair cut
- Brush
- Moisturize
- Wear a stocking cap when you are sleeping
I hope that helped someone and please check back regularly for more tips and posts!
Top 5 Reasons to Get 360 Waves
You may wonder exactly why you are going through this process to create the effect of waves on your hair. Is it really worth it? Or is it just a big waste of your time? Great question. What I have for you right now is the top 5 reasons you should take the time to do this:
- Ladies love it- Ladies love a man with nice hair, period.
- It is easy to maintain- Much easier to brush and throw a durag on than deal with twists or dredlocks
- It is cheaper than other hairstyles- Your products will run about $100 a year, and haircuts about another $200 or less. That is much cheaper compared to the costs of cornrows and twists.
- You can do it yourself- it is easy to brush and wash your own hair with waves. With dredlocks or braids you will have to get help to maintain them.
- They will never go out of style- waves have existed since the early 1930′s and have stood the test of time.
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