To think the curly hair method is a con?

Straight hair grows from straight follicles, curls of all grades grow from curved follicles. The hairs grow in response to where they were formed.

Brushing straight hair dry is ok because you're just following the naturally straight hair structure.

But if you brush curly hair dry you break the ringlets apart, break the outside of the hair structure and cause tangles and knots because you've roughened up the surface and it all gets massed up together. Mine looks nice on wash day then a few days later - Edwardian birds nest. Hence eyeing a silk bonnet yesterday.

Detangling by hand when it's soaking wet and full of conditioner, then using a wide tooth comb is best.

After curl cream - I've seen special brushes with wide ridged edges which seem to create nice even curls and ringlets.

Remember all this works well for children - I had to have my hair cut short as a child because it was too much work, often got mistaken for a boy and resent it still.

The full curly girl method is very long-winded so I do a condensed version. I wash and condition with Aveda's curly products (pricey but really good if you have fine hair), then run curl cream from roots to ends, scrunch to form the curls, scrunch gently with a microfibre towel, and either air dry or diffuse. The results are pretty good!

You've got to find your own way with curly hair and try all kinds of different products. It doesn't behave like straight hair, it's a learning curve. And if you've straightened for a long time your curls don't look as good as they could yet, they will recover as your hair grows out though. You might have to tie/clip it up for a while.

It takes a while after heavy straightening for your hair to recover and regrow without damage.

Regular hair masks, cold final rinse, a hairdresser that understands curly hair and a lot of trial and error is the curly girl method really!

And silk pillowcases or bonnets too.

I can’t see that you have said how old you are but peri-menopause can change your hair as much as puberty does to girls so you might be getting patches of crazy hair that don’t quite line up with the rest of the head yet!

Curly or Coily refers to textured hair. Afro-textured hair is another term for coily hair which would generally only be used in reference to someone of black heritage.

An Afro however is a style - where textured hair is combed out - anyone whose hair will cooperate can have that. It's mostly worn by people of colour, hence the name. It is not a hair type..

I see a fair number of women with coily ringlets that look never quite dry. It gives me the ick, and I’m guessing it’s very easy to get the curly girl method wrong.

It might be that it's thin?

I have thin curly hair and it doesn't work well for me - I end up with too many tight curls and no volume and look like a weirdo.

You have to experiment but the game changer for my curly, thin, frizzy, coloured hair has been hair Botox, which is nothing to do with Botox, just a sealed in conditioner your hairdresser puts on your hair every six weeks, - it took a couple of treatments to kick in but really helps with frizz.

Mostly I just leave it to air dry, or do an upside down diffuser dry if I want more volume (stopping before it's fully dry), or straighten-ish it with a babyliss big hair brush if I want it to look smarter. Use a protecting oil if using heat.

A good shampoo and conditioner and styling cream (I use the bumble and bumble feather light oil ones) are really important - my hair hates cheap shampoo. Before I started the hair Botox a weekly intense treatment (I used philip Kingsley elasticiser) really helped.

Also tying it up helps it not frizz overnight

Mine looks best when I've been out in the rain. It goes into lovely corkscrew curls. I wish I could replicate it indoors.

Try not washing the conditioner out at all. Just apply, brush, scrunch dry with a t shirt (not Towel). I think the curlier your hair is the more conditioner you have to have in it.

It works beautifully for me, I look amazing when it is first done, I then walk out if the house, a baby breaths on me and bang, frizz!

@Axolotyls it might be worth trying just soaking your hair and then T-shirt dry and see what happens. Mine often does not behave first thing on the second day, but a quick soak and it is presentable at least 😁, there’s usually enough product still in there to have some effect. The soaking calms down the Annie effect!

It’s certainly not for everyone. If you have greasy hair or any scalp issues it can be the worst thing you can do.
The best way to manage my waves/ curls is to comb/ brush it all out, give it a wash with a shampoo that produces a good lather, no conditioner. Then towel dry/ hairdryer til nearly dry, gel and then I use a curling tongs.
It’s a lot easier than trying to keep the natural curl pattern.
I often get asked is my hair naturally curly or what method I use. I always tell people to just buy a tongs. They are cheap, easy to use, quick and the curl lasts, plus you don’t need to use lots of different products.

Well, as already explained, unless she has black heritage, she doesn't have Afro hair. She has curly or coily hair.
But you can keep telling me I'm wrong because you don't understand

Exactly the same as this. It’s really low maintenance and I’ve had loads of compliments since I started doing this. Also NEVER brush your hair when it’s dry. Just comb/ brush out tangles while your hair is soaking wet

Yesterday I saw in M&S a mulberry silk bonnet. About £25. I am tempted.

Tell that to my milk white, heavily freckled sister who has a mass of ginger afro hair.

That sounds great! I'm sure it looks amazing!

Since starting wearing my hair curly, it always seems to me like so much of my hair is falling out! But the curls prevent hairs that you naturally lose from falling out, plus no brushing to remove them, plus washing my hair less often means that there's more dead hair to remove come wash day. So much hair 😑

Sounds brilliant!!

I remember the first time I went out curly - i’d had a curly cut and the hair dresser dried it!

I had so many compliments!!

So many in disbelief my hair curled!!

Yay!

Tell me you have no clue about the CG method without telling me…….

Exactly.

Another challenge in doing CG method is, not to get caught up with all the hype the influencers are doing and get scammed into buying/adding unnecessary products/ steps. You don’t need any more than a silicone free conditioner, curl cream and maybe gel.

The original CG method is the simplest and most effective thing ever.

If I washed my hair daily I'd never be able to leave the house.

All curls are different though! Mine do not need much moisture at all. If I wash my hair with conditioner or anything with shea butter they go all lank. They come to life with protein.

OP, the CG method did not work for my hair type. It’s worth trying to figure out where you sit on the curl spectrum and seeing what other people with similar hair recommend for washing and styling :)