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If you’re within the small wave community, you know about 720 waves pattern (swirl waves) and may even aspire to have them. The 720 hair pattern is unique compared to the other hair wave patterns. Think of hair waves as kung fu fighting; I know it sounds crazy, but let me explain! 
Hair waves take the discipline, and the type of wave pattern is equivalent to the fighting technique! There are five different hair wave patterns… 180 waves, 360 waves, 520 and 540 waves, and 720 waves. If you know anything about kung fu fighting styles, you know there are five major techniques. Do you see where I’m going with my analogy so far?
The 720 wave pattern is the rarest and maybe the most respected pattern of them all. This unique wave pattern isn’t the easiest to achieve or maintain. That is why the 720 wave pattern is so uncommon… Once you’ve mastered the swirl waves, you’re crowned as a hair wave legend. I totally had a kung fu nerd moment summarizing the five-wave patterns. What can I say, I love kung fu movies!
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What are 720 waves?
720 waves start from the crown of your head, swirling in a downward direction. The 720 hair pattern is described as being similar to the swirls on a perfect ice cream cone.
Unlike the 360 wave patterns that flow straight from the crown to the hairline, the 720 wave design has a different flow trajectory. Instead, the 720 wave flows downward diagonally towards the sideburns and hair neckline in the back of your head.
Remember that the 720 waves are also referred to as swirl waves, beehive waves, and spiral waves. Keep in mind the other 720 wave names are used interchangeably by the diehard hair wave community.
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Personal experience with spiral hair waves
There’s no secret when I began my hair waves journey, I was obsessed and could have been categorized as a COD. It’s well documented; just check out any of my social media pages before 2016! Honestly, I was all in, and I took it pretty seriously… No one could tell me anything about my waves.
I’ll be honest, between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, you wouldn’t catch me without a brush in my hand or a durag nearby. It got so bad that I wouldn’t answer my birth name… I only responded to Wavy Wil. I know, it was pretty bad!
At the time, having waves meant being a part of an elite social group in high school. These days my hair obsession has changed… I traded my wave brush for an afro pick and durag for a curling spung. The dedication is still the same, and I still possess the knowledge that I’m able to pass on. You guys are essentially my spinning waves legacy!
Alright, enough of my babbling of when I rocked spinner waves and only answered to Wavy Wil. Let’s do business and get you some serious beehive waves!
Things you will need to start 720 beehive waves.
I’ll be honest with you; swirl 720 waves do not come naturally… You will certainly need help to achieve the best possible results. Below are a few things you will need to achieve the perfect swirl wave pattern… Please note that there isn’t anything on this list that is greater than the other; each equally important. I am excited to help you get the perfect beehive swirl waves that I did the Birdman hand rub; let’s get it!!
Key to great 720 waves pattern
- Durag – The polyester material known as durag, wave cap, or wave rag is an important part of maximizing 720 wave patterns.
- Wave pomade – Most wave grease contains beeswax, castor oil, amino acids, and proteins that promote wave hold and natural shine. Without proper moisture and binding formula, swirling waves are near impossible.
- Wave shampoo – Clean hair is important because of hygienic reasons, but it also improves the appearance of your waves. The right wave shampoo, in combination with everything on this list, will get you some serious spiral waves!
- Conditioner for waves – Keep in mind that using conditioner could be the problem solver for coarse waves. Conditioners for waves are designed to trap moisture in the hair and soften it too.
- Wave brush – Most people understand the importance of the hairbrush when building flawless connecting waves. Not only is it a phenomenal grooming tool, but it also promotes blood circulation and improves hair growth.
- Patience – As always, I’ll give it to you guys straight… Swirl waves do not come overnight! Note that flawless beehive wave patterns could take weeks to develop and even longer if you have coarse hair. This means without patience; you’ll never get the perfect beehive wave patterns you desire. I always say good things come with patience, including 720 wave patterns.
- Dedication – The 720 hair pattern is only achieved by a select few. This is because this wave pattern requires a lot of attention and devotion. Most people are unwilling to put in the work; that’s why the 360 waves pattern is the most popular.
Back to my wave kung fu analogy, these seven “weapons” are needed to get perfect swirling waves. You’ve probably realized it takes more than wave products and tools to get swirling waves. Patience and dedication are equally important.
Can you get perfect swirl waves in one day?
The short answer to this question is yes, but it is certainly more complex than that. Note that hair waves could start naturally forming after just a few hours. Notice that I said natural waves could form… The wording I chose to use is intentional. Natural 720 wave patterns in one day are highly unlikely even if you have the finest hair.
Anyone who tells you they were able to get full natural hair waves in 1 day is lying to you!! At least not naturally. As much as I’d like to tell you there’s a secret to getting natural waves in 24 hours, it simply isn’t the case. If your hair hasn’t had any prior training, the chance of getting beehive waves in 1 day drastically decreases.
However, with that said, this doesn’t mean that 720 waves overnight are completely impossible! let’s explore how it may be possible to get 720 patterns in one day.
Uses of texturizer for beehive waves in 1 day
As I stated, you can get beehive waves in one day but with added help! That extra help comes in the form of a hair texturizer. I want to go on record and say I do not advise using harsh hair texturize to get waves. Carrying on the kung fu theme, texturizing products is the equivalent of the evil-fighting clan.
- Hair texturizer – this product is a chemical that changes the hair’s natural physical attributes into an unnatural fine hair texture. Let me add that texturizer could cause permanent baldness, hair damage, and hair dehydration.
The process of using texturizer for waves is a practice of applying a chemical to the hair to speed up wave progression. Most people who apply texturizer for waves do it because they feel their hair is coarse.
Once the hair texturizer is applied, the process of getting waves is the same. Remember, even with the use of texturizing products a du-rag, hair brushing, and applying wave grease are still necessary. This is the only realistic way to get beehive waves in 1 day!
How do you brush hair to maximize the 720 waves pattern?
I mentioned earlier most people understand the significance of brushing their hair to promote blood circulation to your scalp. However, did you know that brushing also promotes the training of 720 wave hair patterns! You should also note that brushing is also the first level of keeping the hair clean of dust, dirt, and dandruff.
As I stated earlier, every kung fu master is skilled with a wide range of weaponry. It is no different; you’re a 720 wave master! The hairbrush would be one of the greater weapons available that will help maximize your swirl waves of hair!
How do you cut 720 hair waves?
One of the most difficult things about the beehive pattern waves is cutting them… It is even harder to cut your waves on your own. This is because the 720 hair wave pattern isn’t cut the same way as cutting 360 waves.
There are a few things you need to understand before you take hair clippers to your spiral waves. Keep in mind that a simple mistake during haircuts could result in messed-up hair waves. When cutting the 720 wave pattern, it isn’t as simple as cutting against the grain… There’s much more to consider, such as direction and length of haircut.
- Haircut direction – It is extremely important to follow the direction of the beehive wave pattern. Cutting waves against the grain will result in a short haircut which makes it extremely difficult to see 720 waves design. Keep in mind that following the wave pattern will continue to train your hair to follow the swirl design pattern.
- Hair length – Remember, your hair length directly impacts whether your waved hair is visible or not. Ideally, you should have been growing wolfing hair for at least 2 months or reached a 3 guard with the grain haircut. Wolfin hair will give your 720 waves pattern a dark shiny, and deep hair wave appearance.
Haircuts are an important part of building a great swirling 720-wave hair! A bad haircut could certainly make or break your hair wave progression. Be sure the barber cutting your hair and lining up your hairline is someone you trust to get the job done correctly.
How to get 720 waves on the crown?
The dreadful line in crown waves.
If you know anything about swirl 720 waves, you know that it starts at the crown of the head. The most annoying thing is 720 waves with a big line in your crown. This is a common mistake that occurs when the 720 waves crown isn’t trained properly.
Getting 720 waves crown is one of the trickiest parts of the swirling wave pattern. Inadequate hair grease and improper hair bushing make it incredibly difficult to get spiral waves on the crown of the head. Keep in mind that the hair on the crown does not have a natural path like the top or sides of the head. The hair on the crown flows in multiple different directions. Have no fear; I will give you a few tips to get swirl crown waves!
Grease your wave crown
Be generous when greasing the waves on your crown… A good pomade to use for your 720 crown waves is Cold label Wolfin Pomade. Remember, wave pomade will not only keep your hair lubricated but also offer a firm hold to keep your waves looking nice.
- When you apply the wave grease to the crown of your head, remember to apply the product with two fingers. This will give you control over the amount of grease used and allow you to follow the swirl path of the wave patterns.
Brush 720 waves crown
Hair wave brushing is one of the things when building 720 waves that you just cannot skip or do occasionally. I’m sure I’ll say 50 times in this article that hair bushing during 720 wave development is extremely important.
- When you’re brushing swirl waves, it is a good idea to brush slantways following the angle of the 720 waves. This will assure that the waves on the crown are trained to follow the wave pattern. Keep in mind that brushing them in a crosswise direction will eliminate the line in your crown.
Wrap swirl waves
I’m sure you’ve never watched a kung fu movie where the fighters didn’t have hachimaki (cloth tied around the fighter’s head) … This is the same concept of wearing a durug when attempting to build 720 swirl crown waves!
- To get 720 waves on the crown of the hair, you must use wave pomade, brush your hair crossway, and then put on a durag. Make sure the du rag is fitted snug on the head by pulling the tail of the durag after tying. Consider putting on two durags if you’ve been wolfin to assure the rag doesn’t loosen up.
How often should you moisturize swirl waves?
I get this question most from men beginning their hair wave journey… “Wil, how often should I use wave grease to build waves?”. Let’s face it; when you’re a beginner building wave, things can get a bit confusing… Just a lot of rules for the perfect 720 beehive waves. I’ll simplify the rules and make sure you get the best outcome!
As I mentioned, there are guidelines for building the perfect hair wave patterns. Your daily lifestyle and hair texture greatly influence how often you should grease your waves. A general rule of thumb is to apply moisturizer once or twice a week. Let’s be clear here, that’s a suggestion and can be adjusted to fit what works best for you.
Back in the day when I had spinning waves of hair, I definitely greased my hair more than twice a week… I was extremely active as an adolescent, so I had to wash and grease my hair pretty often. Let’s look at some criteria that require frequent hair moisturization.
Criteria for greasing beehive waves more than twice a week
- Hair texture – It should be noted that hair texture greatly impacts how much hair wave grease is needed to achieve perfect beehive 720 waves. Keep in mind that coarse hair doesn’t retain moisture like straight hair. This is because the spirals in the hair strand make it difficult for the lubricant to reach the scalp. Because of this characteristic, it’s necessary to use grease more than twice a week for swirl waves.
- Lifestyle – You should know, that your daily activities can be pretty harsh on the hair, especially on 720 beehive waves. Typically, if you’re a physically active person, that means you’ll have to wash your hair often. To retain hair waves after physical activities and washing hair, it’s important to grease your waves and put on a durag.
- Poor Product – Keep in mind that hair products that are made with inferior ingredients may result in over usage of the wave grease products. This means you may have to use the shoddy wave grease more than twice a week.
It should be noted that the right amount of grease in your hair is important when attempting to achieve 720 waves. You want to be sure that you use enough grease to keep the hair moisturized but not so much that it’s caked on.
Is it possible to get 720 wave patterns if you have coarse hair?
I can relate to this question… When I started my waves journey, I often wondered if waves were a possibility, let alone achieving 720 wave patterns. I used to question if, realistically, I could get nice hair waves because of my hair texture.
I’ll tell you firsthand, as a man with coarse hair, spinner waves are achievable, and so are swirl beehive waves. I say all that to say yes; you can get spiral wave patterns!
You should know that coarse 720 waves demand 100 percent dedication and more attention than someone with fine hair. Look man; no one said 720 coarse waves would be easy… I’m here to guide you through the hurdles and help you achieve the best beehive waves as I did.
How long does it take to train your hair for swirl waves?
Two questions that I get often are “how do you train waves? and “how long does it take?”… It is important to train your hair to achieve and maintain deep 720 waves. When your hair becomes familiarized with routines that promote wave patterns and it is easier to get perfect beehive waves.
- Fine hair wave training – With fine hair, they typically are hair types 3a, 3b, 3c, and 4a. These hair texture types usually see wave progress much sooner than hair textures 4b and 4c. Someone with 3a, 3b, 3c, and 4a textured hair could expect to see wave progression in 7 to 10 days. You should note that fine hair texture loses wave progression much easier than coarse hair texture.
- Coarse hair wave training – If you have coarse hair texture, you should expect to see progress in your waves in about 30 days. Remember, the estimation for coarse waves includes daily brushing and moisturizing hair a few times a week. In the worst-case scenario, you could see wave progress in 90 days if you have hair textures 4b and 4c. Keep in mind to achieve swirling waves, you should get one haircut every month. I know this may be tough to do for some, but to get 720 waves, it’s important to limit to one haircut every 30 days.
Best way to start training waves pattern
Slightly dampen your hair with water using a spray bottle. This will start that initial hair moisture. Once your hair is lubricated, apply a quarter-size wave pomade evenly throughout your entire head. Doing so will add an extra layer of moisture to the hair that is vital to start wave patterns.
The next step to training 720 waves hair is to use your brush to prepare and style your waves once the pomade is applied. Keep in mind that brushing your hair frequently is important when training beehive waves! When training your hair, start from the top of the head for beehive crown waves. This will ensure that your 720 wave pattern on the crown matches the other wave patterns throughout the head.
The final step in training the swirl waves is the durag, which I call, the heartbeat of creating spiral wave patterns! Remember, the rag allows the hair to lay in position to form wave patterns, and durags also prevent loose hair from sticking up.
The durag center seam of the cloth should be in the middle of your forehead and aligned straight to the back of the head. You should also know that the bulging seam must be facing outwards and not on the head. If the protruding seam of the durag is on the head, you will have a line indention in the middle of your waves.
Once the du-rag is aligned correctly, tie your du-rag over your head. You also do not want any slack in your durag… To prevent imperfect 720 wave patterns, make sure to pull the tail of the rag to wrap the whole head.
How often should you wash hair to maintain Swirl wave hair?
I think it is safe to assume that you all understand the importance of washing your hair waves! If you do not… the last thing you want are dirty 720 waves of hair. Dirty hair from leftover products causes your waves to have nasty residue and cause a smelly head.
It is important to understand that wave washing should be done twice a week to keep your hair clean and soft. You should also know that over-cleansing will strip the natural oils in your hair… It is important to keep your waves clean but also moisturized.
A good idea, on the days that you do not wash your hair, consider laying a hot, wet wash towel on your head. This will also help keep your waves clean during off-wash hair days.
How to correctly wash 720 waves
As I mentioned in so many past articles, there’s a unique process when caring for pattern waves. That includes the process of how you wash your waves as well.
I previously mentioned there are special techniques to properly wash swirling wave patterns. It is important to follow the steps to maintain perfect beehive waves while washing your hair. Keep in mind that a mistake could result in loss of wave progression during hair washing. Alright, let’s get to business and go over the best process of washing your 720 waves hair.
The best practice when applying shampoo to your waves is to put a quarter-size amount of shampoo into your hand. I advise against putting shampoo directly on your hair because it’s harder to spread and increases the risk of losing your wave progression.
Another key to properly washing your beehive waves is your hair must be damp before you begin to shampoo your waves. Remember that the main objective when washing hair waves is to maintain the 720 hair patterns. With that said, it’s good practice to place a quarter-size amount of wave shampoo in your palm instead of directly into your hair.
Step two:
Rub the shampoo into your palms, then apply it to your hair in the same direction of 720 waves. Make your 720 hair pattern completely covered with a dedicated shampoo for waves to maximize results.
Step three:
In order to reach the scalp when washing spiral hair waves, you’ll need a good waterproof waves brush. With your wave hairbrush, you will brush in the direction of your wave pattern. Keep in mind that this will alleviate the scalp of dirt and old wave products. Remember to avoid going back and forth across the head when shampoo brushing; it’s best to follow the directional flow of your hair.
Final step:
Now that we’ve correctly lathered your hair, it’s time to use the proper rinse technique to maintain wave progression!! While standing underneath a showerhead, allow the warm water to gently rinse the waves with cleaning shampoo. Remember, you want to relieve the hair of all product residue; this includes rinsing hair waves. Consider brushing your beehive hair waves while rinsing.
Remember during and after rinsing to pat down your beehive crown down to the sides of the head to prevent weak side waves. Trust me; this will save you a hassle later!
720 waves and maintenance conclusion
Job well done, young grasshopper; you’re now ready to become a 720 waves pattern master! This article delivered all of the kung fu wave secrets to achieving the most sought swirl waves technique. Your skillful art of understanding beehive waves will help you put any 360-wave adversary to shame. Alright, I’ll stop with the corny kung fu references.
Remember, the key to getting swirl wave patterns is understanding how to use the tools available to you. Things like wave grease, durags, and wave hairbrushes will allow you to achieve perfect 720 patterns! Note that limiting haircuts and allowing your hair to experience wolfin stage make wave patterns appear deeper, shinier, and darker.
Also, note that the swirl crown waves are the most difficult to achieve. I’ve provided tips for getting waves on the crown of your head. Achieving waves on crowns requires a little more work than getting waves on the rest of the head.
I am confident that you guys will be able to achieve perfect swirl waves like a true kung fu master. Feel free to show your appreciation by liking, subscribing, and sharing this post… Let’s keep building our community together! Also, read the other article from AfroCurlsandCuts.com.