Deep Wave vs Water Wave: What is the Difference Between? Which is better?

Hi guys, my name is Sandra. If you have read my article comparing Loose wave with Body wave, you must have been familiar with who I am. However, if you haven’t then let me introduce myself again: I am a professional salon professional owning multiple salon stores, as well as a business woman trading and selling hair extensions and similar types of hair enhancements for more than 10 years. During my time as someone working in the hair industry, I have met with many customers and hair buyers stuck between the options of Deep wave vs Water wave, saying that they look too similar, or that they don’t know if the product would match their customers’ needs or not.

Continuing my work in the previous Loose wave vs Body wave article, I think that it is best to make these similar topics into a series – on how to distinguish and decide between different texture choices that are often mistaken with one another. And for this article, let’s go through the features of Deep wave vs Water wave, shall we?

Table of Contents

1. What is Deep wave hair?

Before going into the details, we should go over the general physical description of each texture first, to be able to tell the differences in their appearance. Let’s work from the ground up, shall we?

First, let’s start with Deep wave:

Deep wave can be described as the tighter, more defined version of the Body wave. True, it still has that iconic S-line wave, but instead of a 2-dimensional, flat look of the Body wave, Deep wave texture is much more voluminous and 3-dimensional. → Balancing both the classy, polished look of the typical Body wave, and the voluminous, lustrous and thick look of other tighter, more defined curly textures. Hence, hair buyers using Deep wave are benefited with a more dramatic, extra, yet still elegant hair look. The curls are still very well-defined and uniform – much like the Body wave, consistent from the top to the bottom length → Deep wave can deliver a sophisticated, elegant and well-kept hair look for their customers.

Among the available textures in the market, Deep wave is among the more long-standing, classic and timeless options. In fact, throughout the years, despite changes in the market, the number of customers ordering and buying Deep wave from my shops remain quite stable, unchanged and unfazed by any shifts or trends out there. Personally, I would say that this particular texture is a must-have for all hair businesses, as from time to time, this line can secure quite a stable influx of money – rather than going on and off like the other trendy texture choices.

Deep wave texture is voluminous and 3-dimensional

2. What is Water wave hair?

Comparing Deep wave vs Water wave can be a confusing task from the start for many, especially inexperienced buyers, as the two textures can be quite similar on the first glance. However, unlike what most people believe, Water wave’s appearance can be quite distinct from Deep wave if you really look into it:

Water wave hair texture often features a looser, more relaxed and flowing curly pattern, in most cases, the hair can look identical to wet, rippled hair strands that has been just out of the shower – delivering a more laid-back, bohemian vibe, with a natural, beachy feel to the final hair look → A sensual, unique, wet hair texture, the favourite of many hair buyers in the market.

The curls are much lighter and free-flowing, rather than following a stiff pattern like the Deep wave → balancing and integrating both waves and curls to one single hair texture → Adding in a slight volume increase to the hair, Water wave is much more lightweight and natural, unlike the dramatic and voluminous look of the Deep wave.

Unlike the Deep wave – with a stable amount of sales year-round, Water wave is rather a seasonal hot item. In fact, the beachy, relaxed and laid-back look that the texture delivers the perfect hair look for beach days, pool parties, or other Summer activities. Therefore, its sales seasons often reach their peaks around mid-year, stretching from April to late July. If hair suppliers wish to target these sales rushes, and this particular texture, my advice is to start stocking the hair 1-2 months prior, which means the perfect time for an inventory refill would be from February to March.

Water wave hair texture has a looser, more relaxed and flowing curly pattern

3. Differences between Deep wave and Water wave

Now this is the crucial part – comparing the distinct features between Deep wave vs Water wave textures. Indeed, knowing the appearance of the hair textures are merely just a start, everybody can do it, by just looking – you can easily describe them yourself. However, telling the differences in versatility, volume, maintenance,… is the hardest part. To avoid making unwanted mistake, hair buyers and stylists out there, let’s go through the differences together:

	Deep wave	Water wave
Curl patterns	The curls take a tight, well-defined and 3-dimensional S-shape line, consistent from the top to the bottom.	The patterns feature both waves and curls – looser, more relaxed and inconsistent, flowing textures. Represent a wet, rippled hair look.
Ability to hold curls	Excellent – can hold its curls for a prolonged time, thanks to its defined, tight and uniform pattern	Medium range: the curls can still be preserved for a long time. However, looser waves are more prone to straightening out → losing their original textures
Volume	Being tighter and more defined → Deep wave offer more width rather than length. Deliver the more voluminous, full hair look thanks to their dense wavy patterns	Being looser and more relaxed, Water wave can only offer a moderate, natural volume to the look: More lightweight and flowing hair texture → looking less voluminous and dramatic.
Natural look	In terms of hair look, Deep wave is not as natural as Water wave: Its tight, consistent curls look more like a polished, salon-made hair look, rather than a natural one → Suitable for clients wanting professional, elegant and sophisticated hair look	In terms of hair look, Water wave can offer a more natural appeal: Its loose, relaxed and free-flowing patterns look a lot like the natural texture of African American women → Blend in better with the natural hair, delivering a softer, seamless and effortless hair look
Versatility	Slightly versatile: Tighter, more defined curls can make it slightly harder to straighten or curl → demand more effort and higher heat to be styled to one’s liking → Better to use the Deep wave as it is, rather than restyling it.	Highly versatile: Looser curls allow the hair to be straightened and curled into other wavy textures freely, without demanding as much effort and heat as the Deep wave → Easier to lose its waves
Maintenance	High maintenance: Tighter curls call for more detangling and moisturizing – as the hair is easily tangled and more prone to frizziness More demanding during the maintenance	Slightly lower maintenance: Loose curls are less prone to tangling and shedding → requiring less detangling and moisturizing The curls can even bounce back if conditioned after styling

Differences between Deep wave vs Water wave

4. Pros & Cons of Deep wave vs Water wave hair

Learning the differences in versatility and appearance between Deep wave vs Water wave is just a start. In fact, for hair buyers to make better choices, I highly recommend you guys to consider the benefits, as well as the drawbacks of purchasing these textures before actually stocking them. In fact, many of my colleagues also struggle with overstocking or buying the unsuitable hair product, leading to frozen inventory that loses its value and selling ability over time. To avoid making these mistakes, let’s walk through the pros and cons of each texture, that I have gathered and written below:

4.1. Pros & Cons of Deep wave hair

When choosing between Deep wave vs Water wave hair, the benefits and drawbacks that come with sourcing and selling Deep wave hair texture can be:

4.1.1. Pros of Deep wave hair

For hair buyers considering purchasing Deep wave hair for their next order, here might be some benefits you can enjoy from using or selling these products:

Volume and Fullness: the tighter curls that come with Deep wave allow the texture to deliver more volume to the hair → making it much thicker, providing more coverage for hair flaws underneath
Long-lasting curls: more defined curls also mean that the hair patterns would be much longer-lasting, even after multiple styling and curling.
Stable sales influx: Deep wave is a year-round hot item – securing a stable sales amount despite changes in market trend → a must-have for all hair businesses

4.1.2. Cons of Deep wave hair

Despite its numerous benefits, Deep wave hair also comes with its own drawbacks:

High-maintenance: due to having tighter, consistent curls, Deep wave is more affected by, tangling frizziness and more likely to have flyouts than other textures → calling for more frequent detangling and conditioning
Less natural-looking: Deep wave leans more to a dramatic, polished look than a natural one → not suitable for natural hair lovers.
Less versatility: the curls are well defined and long-lasting → less affected by styling methods and hence, less flexible.

→ Suitable for hair volume lovers – clients wanting thicker, more dramatic and glamorous looks, like celebrities, influencers, as well as people attending formal, high-class events wanting to have a more sophisticated, luxurious appearance.

4.2. Pros & Cons of Water wave hair

Similarly, when choosing between Deep wave vs Water wave hair, you guys can also expect some of the benefits and drawbacks of buying Water wave hair:

4.2.1. Pros of Water wave hair

For hair buyers considering purchasing Water wave hair for their next order, here might be some benefits you can enjoy from using or selling these products:

Natural looking hair: the curl patterns of Water wave are similar to the natural hair texture of colored women → blend in better with the clients’ inherent texture, delivering a more natural look
Low maintenance: looser, flowing curls demand less frequent maintenance and moisturizing, as they are less prone to tangling and frizziness
More versatility: the loose curls seen in Water wave can be styled more freely: straightening or curling are all allowed → suitable for hair buyers wanting to personalize and change their style more often
Targeting sales rush: Water wave is a seasonal hair item – often in the Summer → during this time, it can generate more profit and sales influx for the seller than any other hair textures

4.2.2. Cons of Water wave hair

Despite its numerous benefits, Water wave hair also comes with its own drawbacks:

Short-lasting curls: having looser curls also means that the hair cannot preserve its natural hair textures for a prolonged time, especially after multiple restyling.
Easily weight down by hair products: using too many, or too heavy, silicon-ridden hair products can weight the curls down – causing them to lose their definition even faster
Less coverage: as the hair offers more length than width and volume, the hair flaws underneath can be easily-exposed → needing more unit or density to be able to conceal these completely.

→ Suitable for natural beauty lovers – hair clients wanting the most natural, seamless hair look that can elevate and embrace their natural features. Furthermore, clients with a tight schedule can also rely on this manageable, low-maintenance hair textures for their day-to-day hair wear.

5. How to identify a High-quality hair extension?

One recurring issue for many hair buyers out there is how to actually identify a decent-quality hair extension from rubbish, low-quality one. A special feature of the available items in the hair industry, regardless of Deep wave vs Water wave, is that any hair extension can be fake, low-quality, synthetic or mixed hair marketed as authentic ones. Therefore, the next step to take is to learn how to distinguish high-quality hair, by using these methods:

5.1. Ask for visual proofs

To build trust with their buyers, hair vendors will go out of their way to provide evidence and proof. As buyers, you should not be hesitant to demand these from them, start by asking for close-up videos, images of their hair and its sourcing and production, and then you can even video call or visit their physical site to have a more realistic view of their business. In these video calls, you should ask the buyers to hold the hair up close to check its appearance, or tell them to run their fingers through the hair to check for excessive tangling.

5.2. Hair test

You can perform these test yourself, or ask the vendors to send you the video of the hair test – any way is find:

Burn test: burn a small section of the hair, if it burns slowly, curls away from the flame, gives off white smoke, and leaves behind fine, crushable ash, it is 100% human hair, but if it burns fast, emits terrible smell and black smoke, or leaves shiny, plastic beads – it is synthetic hair.
Bleaching test: apply bleach to a small hair section, if the hair can lift evenly to at least #613 bright blonde or #27 honey blonde, it indicates pure human hair origin, while mixed hair types often result in uneven tones and color outcome.
Cuticle test: scrape the surface of the hair gently with a sharp blade, if it produces a thin layer of white dust, it confirms that the hair comes from a single donor, the highest grade available in the market; if it leaves grey ash, it might be collected from several donors.

Performing hair test is absolutely required

5.3. Check feedback

Most hair vendors often upload their past customers’ feedback to their social site. However, my advice is to dig deeper than just this, as many scammers can still steal reviews from others and claim them as their own. Instead of that, you should ask for honest reviews from other experienced buyers, like your friends in the field, your colleagues, or from hair vendor lists provided by hair influencers in the industry. This way, you can be more sure of their quality, and know a little something about how they treated their past customers.

5.4. Place sample order

One of the most effective ways is to place a sample order to put the hair’s quality to the test. For this very first order, let’s start with a small quantity, like 3 bundles and a lace. And when the hair arrives, you can perform the above hair tests on the hair yourself, and rate your experience working with them and their support throughout the process. If you are satisfied, now you can consider working with them long-term.

6. Final words

In conclusion, after reading the article, I hope that I have been able to shed light on the differences between Deep wave vs Water wave, as well as helping hair buyers and business owners to make the right investing decision and decide between the two options. For clients wanting voluminous, elegant and long-lasting curls, or for businesses targeting year-round sales influx, Deep wave is the way to go. And more clients wanting natural, relaxed and manageable hair look, or business owners targeting Summer sales – Water wave is the perfect candidate.

Deep wave is for a polished look, and Water wave is for a laid-back vibe

After deciding on the hair textures, choosing the right suppliers is the next uphill battle. In fact, given the complex and competitive nature of the market, the global hair industry has soon been filled with threats from scammers and unreliable vendors, wanting to trick and take advantage of you. I, myself, was a victim of these tactics, losing millions of Rands to them, therefore, I understand that this is a problem for many hair buyers out there, unknowing who to trust.

In the middle of all that, just when I have lost all trust for this industry, I have decided to give it another chance, and this is when I met K-Hair. My first order was a sample order of 3 bundles only, but when I received the hair, I knew that this supplier is the one to be trusted – the hair was not only gorgeous and shiny, but also durable and versatile. This I know after I have run multiple tests through them – burning, bleaching, washing,… I’ve done them all, and every time, they came out just as I wanted, just like how authentic, single-donor hair would behave. I have been working with them for more than 4 years now, and their hair has never caused any complaints, even my VIPs with the most demanding and high standards are satisfied with them. Actually, thanks to their dedicated support and consultation, I have been able to choose the right texture to offer to my buyers, and make wiser hair investments to support my business.

If you guys are still hesitant about which vendors to trust, maybe K-Hair would be your next stop. The sales executive who works with me for my orders is quite supportive and professional, so if you guys want to give K-Hair a try, give her a call. Her name is Cherry and her contact information are: