Swavy Hair Guide: What It Is, How to Care for It, and How to Style It
Hair with gentle waves that is sometimes mistaken for straight hair. Learn what it is, how to care for it, and how to style it in our guide to swavy hair.
December 19, 2025
Is my hair just straight? Or could it be wavy? If you've ever wondered this, you might have swavy hair.
Let's get this straight (haha), if you had genuinely straight hair, this would not be a question on your mind.
You my friend, have swavy hair. Swavy is one of the most misunderstood hair types. Iâve seen it dismissed as âbarely wavyâ or âalmost straight.â
The truth is your hair IS swavy, it's loose waves. And while it might never be curls, it is surprisingly versatile and beautiful in its own way.
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TL;DR
Swavy hair is NOT straight hair. It is a loose wavy hair type. Go for lightweight products and avoid heavy creams and oils. My general formula for a routine is volumizing shampoo, volumizing conditioner, a light spray leave-in, and a light mousse OR gel.
What Is Swavy Hair
Some examples of swavy hair
In the CurlsBot type system, Swavy hair is hair that:
- Does not naturally dry completely straight with zero bends or waves
- Also does not ever form curls, even occasionally
It is the most elongated type in our system. Physics-wise, itâs still a coil, just an extremely elongated one. Shrinkage is also a huge part of our system, which is the difference between the length of hair in its dry resting state and its stretched length. For swavy hair, the shrinkage is extremely small.
Youâll sometimes see this texture labeled as â1bâ or â1câ on TikTok or modern charts, but those labels are derived from the Walker system. In the original Walker system, any visible wave was type 2, and 1c referred to coarse straight hair that is usually extremely straight and resistant to texture. So those labels donât really map cleanly onto what people are trying to describe now. There is a hair type system called the Irrizarry system that has a "beach waves" type that is similar to swavy, but this system isn't commonly used. You can read more in my post on the science and history of hair typing systems.
You can see how Swavy hair fits into the different hair type systems
I did not invent the term âswavyâ and do not know who did, but I do know the s is there because loose waves often form an s pattern.
How Do You Know If You Have Swavy Hair
The easiest answer is: take the CurlsBot quiz.
Want to know your hair type?
Wavy? Curly? Coily? Take the quiz to find out in just 2 minutes!
But conceptually, itâs simple. CurlsBot curl typing is based on scientific evidence that straight hair is structurally distinct from other textures. You can read more about it in our guide to the science of hair typing.
If your hair:
- Does not dry completely, totally straight
- Has some bends, flips, or soft waves when dried naturally
- Never curls
Thatâs Swavy.
If your hair is often described as âstraight but frizzyâ or âstraight but poofy,â it may also be Swavy.
How Swavy Differs From Other Hair Types
Some examples of swavy hair patterns
Compared to straight hair: Swavy hair does not dry perfectly straight and is more prone to frizz and puffiness. But on the plus side many straight people struggle to add texture, and adding some texture is a bit easier with swavy hair.
Compared to wavy hair: Wavy hair, in our system, sits closer to curls. Itâs mostly waves but may occasionally curl. Swavy never does.
Swavy is usually lumped into categories like â1aâ2a,â â2aâ2c,â or the LOIS âSâ type, which is part of why it gets so muddled.
Hair type is also fluid. If Swavy hair changes types, it is most likely to change to wavy.
I currently have Swavy hair and used to have wavy hair. In my case, the shift was likely driven by hormones, aging, and my haircut.
How to Care for Swavy Hair
Swavy hair elongates easily. Because it has little to no shrinkage, many curly hair products weigh it down fast, making hair look stringy or greasy.
General care principles:
- Lightweight products work best
- Liquid or spray textures tend to outperform creams
- Volume is easy to lose and harder to get back
Swavy hair is also the curl type most prone to static flyaways, so hair products that are anti-static like many spray leave ins can be genuinely helpful. Especially in the winter.
R+Co Foil Frizz & Static Control Spray
An effective anti-static spray for swavy hair
Detangling dry often works well for Swavy hair. Dry hair is less vulnerable to damage, and this texture usually doesnât require much force to detangle.
Swavy hair can tolerate traditional dry brushing methods, including boar bristle brushes, which help distribute natural sebum for shine.
Swavy hair is also more likely to look oily and get weighed down, so shampoos that actually cleanse matter. Many curl shampoos and co-washes simply arenât effective enough.
Products for Swavy Hair
Thereâs usually no reason for Swavy hair to use curl shampoos or conditioners. Theyâre often too heavy and not cleansing enough.
What does tend to work:
- Volumizing or fullness shampoos
- Lightweight conditioners or glosses
- Light gels and mousses
Get our free lightweight products guide! It has tips for finding light products at any store with dozens of example products and routines
Swavy hair can also benefit from products that are often avoided by curlier textures, like hairspray. Many curlies find these drying, but they can be excellent for adding hold and body without weight on swavy hair.
Creamy and oily products are the most common problem category. Many are simply too dense and over-conditioning. I see so many people with this hair type grabbing a curl cream and regretting it.
Products to use with caution
The biggest problem products I see for swavy hair are
- Oils
- Creams
- Deep conditioners
I see a lot of people say that deep conditioners are just conditioners, which is true, but for curly brands they often have tons of oils and butters. These can build up on swavy hair and weigh it down. If you want a deep conditioner choose a light one like this one OR do a heavier deep conditioning mask as a pre-shampoo treatment.
NatureLab.TOKYO Perfect Volume Thickening & Conditioning Hair Masque
I love this lightweight mask, it conditions well but doesn't weigh my hair down
Creams are a go-to product for regular curls, but for swavy hair they are optional and sometimes detrimental because they have so many conditioners. If you do want to use one, go for one that's specifically formulated to be light. And go light on the application.
Color Wow Curl Wow Flo-etry Vital Natural Serum
A lightweight cream, one of the few that don't weigh my hair down
Oils are often just too heavy and at their worst can be really really hard to get out. I learned the hard way with coconut oil. Oils are unnecessary but can be helpful for high porosity/damaged ends, so if you want to use them switch them to pre-poo like Abbey Yung does. If you want to use them post-wash, opt for a blend specifically formulated to be lightweight instead of just plain kitchen oil-- and use sparingly.
Signs you have the wrong products
Swavy hair is very prone to overconditioning, which is when hair feels limp, mushy, and often has a weaker wave or curl pattern.
Some people mistake this for "moisture overload," but it has more to do with conditioners than it does with moisture. It happens when too many heavy conditioning products weigh your hair strands down, turning them mushy or stringy.
The solution? Clarify and lighter products!
Get our free lightweight products guide! It has tips for finding light products at any store with dozens of example products and routines
Subtypes of Swavy Hair
Not all swavy hair is the same! Hair type is just one factor that can influence how your hair behaves. There are other factors that can influence how your hair behaves such as:
Porosity is roughly a measure of how easily your hair absorbs and releases water. Take our porosity quiz to find yours
Density describes how many hair strands you have per square centimeter
Strand width refers to how thick each individual strand is, often called "fine" or "coarse"
-
Strand width
- Fine (small strand width) swavy hair is prone to static flyaways and low volume, so benefits from anti-static products and texture-adding products
- Coarse (large strand width) swavy hair is less static-prone but can have more stubborn frizz, where pre-shampoo masks can help soften resistant areas
-
Density
- Thin (low density) swavy hair looks greasy very easily
- Thick (high density) swavy hair may tolerate slightly richer products, but still not heavy ones
-
Porosity
- Swavy hair can be any porosity
- High porosity Swavy hair is tricky because damage is often mistaken for a need for heavy products, check out our light products guide for product recs
- Lightweight formulas with cationic ingredients that bind to damaged areas work better than rich creams for high porosity swavy hair
Most people have a mix of all of the above. I have fine and coarse strands, thin and thick areas, higher-porosity ends, and lower-porosity roots.
Thatâs normal. If you're curious about your porosity take our porosity quiz.
Products to look for
You have two major types of products to look for
- Smoothing/glossing
- Volume/fullness
I don't usually mix these in a routine. I go for products labeled smoothing or glossing if I'm wearing in loose waves OR for products labeled volume or fullness if I want to look more wavy. But I've occasionally had success mixing them up. Just be aware the smoothing product will make your hair look straighter and volume products will likely make your hair look more wavy.
A Basic Routine for Swavy Hair
Clarifying shampoo
Weekly to bi-weekly clarifying is usually a good idea.
Ouai Detox Shampoo
An effective clarifying shampoo with a light citrus scent
Pantene Shampoo, Sheer Volume
My favorite budget clarifying shampoo
Everpure Clarifying Shampoo
The best drugstore clarifying option for high-porosity/damaged swavy hair
Gentle shampoo (optional)
For non-clarifying washes. It's fine to use a clarifying shampoo every wash if you want to, but many people find it a bit drying.
R+Co Dallas Biotin Thickening Shampoo
A thickening shampoo that's perfect for all swavy hair
Odele Volumizing Sulfate-Free
An excellent choice available at most drugstores
EverPure Volume Shampoo
A great gentle drugstore option for high porosity/damaged swavy hair
Conditioner or gloss (optional)
Some people with swavy hair really don't need much conditioning. They can pick a really light rinse out or use a gloss instead as Abbey Yung recommends or a leave-in as a rinse off as Wavyhairroutines talks about. If you skip rinse-out conditioning, I strongly recommend a leave-in for protection against friction and UV damage.
Living Proof Full Conditioner Volumizing Conditioner
A great high-end option for all types of swavy hair
Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume Conditioner
My favorite drugstore option for swavy hair
EverPure Volume Leave-In Conditioner
A great drugstore conditioner for high porosity/damaged swavy hair
Leave-in
For protection against heat, UV, and pollution, I now consider this non-optional. Light spray leave-ins work best.
Pantene Miracle Rescue 10in1 Multitasking Spray
This is a drugstore option appropriate for all swavy hair (even damaged/high porosity). One of the few that doesn't weigh my hair down.
Eva NYC Mane Magic
Another option for a lightweight leave-in for swavy hair
Abbey Yungâs routine is pretty close to ideal for Swavy hair, which makes me suspect this may be her natural texture. If you want to learn her method check out our Abbey Yung Method Guide.
Hairstyling Products
This is very much a choose-your-own-adventure situation. You can wear your hair as smooth undulating subtle waves or bulk up the waviness for textured beach waves.
My soft and smooth routine
I go for an "anti frizz serum" type product like Color Wow Dream Coat. Use the curl version if you donât use much heat. Hover diffuse on low to dry, pointing the dryer down so frizz doesn't form.
This product usually helps my hair be frizz-free for 1-3 days. It's nice to just wake up and not have to do anything to my hair. Sometimes I will layer a gel like MopTop Anti-Frizz for extra hold. I have a video of me using it here.
My air-dry cream routine
Air dry creams are the latest trend and many are formulated to be light. I have used the Kitsch one and it works pretty well, though it doesn't have much hold. I end up with subtle waves and some halo frizz, but overall a nice smooth look. I have a video of me using it here.
Kitsch Smoothing Air Dry Cream for Hair
A lightweight air dry cream I often use
Beach waves:
This is my go to routine most days. I use a gel or mousse on very wet hair, brush it with a denman, scrunch it, pixie diffuse for 10 minutes, and air dry the rest of the way. This gives me some nice waves even though they usually relax out by the second day. Here's a video of me using Miche Set and here's a video of me using two gels.
Miche Set
My fav lightweight mousse for swavy hair
Tresemme Bouncy curls
A great budget mousse option for swavy hair
Brushed Out
This is what I usually do for second day hair. Brushing can make your hair poofy, but to minimize this I use a spray leave in or other anti friction product. Adding a very lightweight "oil" product also helps. Here's a video of me demonstrating how I use my traditional Fuller boar bristle hairbrush.
L'ANZA Healing Strength Neem Silk Serum
A little goes a long way for making sure that brush glides through your hair
Fuller Brush
I've had this brush for years and it's still going strong
A texture and volume routine
Texturizing products that add what Barbie Delle calls âgrit.â Ingredients that do this include magnesium sulfate, rice water, and protein-based products.
Unfortunately I am a weirdo and I hate the texture of these products, so I can't provide much advice but there are lots of great videos out there and Abbey Yung also recommends some texturizing products.
Oribe dry texturing spray
I see this product recommended a lot for adding texture and volume to swavy hair
Tresemme Dry texture finishing spray
A budget option for adding texture and volume to swavy hair
Drying Swavy Hair
Ah the age old debate of air dry vs. blow dry. I settled this for myself by just doing both!
Since swavy hair is easily elongated, air drying will often make it more elongated, because water is heavy and your hair is just sitting there with water in it while it dries.
Because of that I opt to diffuse at least some of the way. I've found the pixie diffuse method gives me the best waves. Even 5-10 minutes helps build my waves up A LOT.
OFC you can also do a traditional blow out but don't forget a heat protectant!
Volume at the roots can be hard to get with swavy hair, I use root clipping most days. Focusing diffusing on the roots with the clips in helps a lot.
Bounce Curl Root Clips
A great option for adding volume at the roots
Styling Swavy Hair
Swavy hair is extremely versatile.
- It blow-dries straight easily
- It holds curling iron styles well
- Heatless curls tend to work especially well
Elongation is not a flaw. Swavy hair often looks great worn shiny and subtly wavy using boar bristle brushing or very lightweight smoothing serums.
Glossing and smoothing trends usually work well for this texture, even though they also further elongate the pattern.
Personally I love brush styling for swavy hair. It makes my pattern more consistent and defined. I will say it takes a bit of practice to get the hang of it. It really helps to watch some tutorials like this one.
Bounce Curl Define EdgeLift Brush
What I use to define my waves
Refreshing Swavy Hair
Swavy hair refreshes in multiple ways:
- Wet refresh: rewet, scrunch, diffuse
- Dry refresh: use an anhydrous product like a serum, oil, or pomade, often with brushing
- Mixed refresh: lightly rewet with a water-based product like mousse
For me the wet and mixed refreshes are almost never good though, and I opt for a dry refresh or brushing out.
Heatless curls are also an excellent refresh option. If my second-day hair looks questionable, overnight heatless curls usually fix it completely.
Haircuts for Swavy Hair
In my opinion, people with this hair type will not get very good results from "curly cuts" like the deva or ouidad cuts...and I know this from experience.
My stylist who does rezo and ouidad cuts told me not to bother and just go for a traditional cut. Which has honestly saved me a lot of money and frustration.
I do like cuts with a lot of layers like wolf cuts.
The Science of Swavy Hair
A few relevant points from the research:
- Looser textures show more pattern variability
- LâOrĂ©alâs system includes a type 2 that is not straight but not very wavy, which likely maps well to Swavy
- From a physics perspective, Swavy hair behaves like an extremely elongated coil
- The conditioning trade-off curve for Swavy hair is very low, meaning itâs easy to lose volume with excess conditioning
You can read more about this in our posts about our curl type system and the science and history of hair typing.
Influencers with swavy hair
I could only find two people who claim to have this hair type: Matcha Maddie(Youtube, Instagram, and Tik-Tok) and SwavyCurlyCourtney. Though Courtney veers more towards the wavy hair type, her tips will generally work for people with swavy hair.
Matcha Maddie
An influencer who hasn't said she has this type, but looks like she might is jadeswayves. I think her tips are going to be especially useful for longer swavy hair.
It's actually somewhat hard to find influencers with this hair type, because a lot of people just use heat on it. Also the CurlsBot type system is based on how hair behaves so it's hard to tell just by looks.
Email me if you'd like to be listed! I also made a Pinterest Board of influencers who either might have swavy hair OR have tips useful for the type.
FAQ
Can Swavy Hair Use Curly Methods and Products
Some can work, many are too heavy. Dense products can sometimes be diluted with water before application to reduce weight.
Can This Hair Type Change
Yes. If Swavy hair changes, it usually shifts toward wavy, but it can also loosen. Hormones, aging, health, and haircut all play roles.
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