To think Curly Girl Method is just a huge amount of stress to look lank and greasy??

[TheOtherSideOfTheMountain]

I know the die hard CGM followers will lynch me for this.

I thought lockdown was the absolute perfect time to take up Curly Girl Method. So I've not only been doing it myself for 5 weeks now, but also avidly researching and following loads of social media groups to learn all about it.

The thing that has really struck me is...even those who get through the "settling" period of letting your hair adapt to no shampoo, no silicone and sulfates etc - because it's accepted that you have to become a greasy mess for a bit to come out the other side - whisper it just never end up looking that great.

I must have viewed hundreds of galleries of people showing before and after pics. Some of them DO look amazing- that's how I got sucked in. But what I've noticed is the ones who look fab with huge bouncy curls, when you really read their routines properly - often aren't following it properly. They're cheating with the odd shampoo, or a non CGM conditioner. Those who religiously only use the approved products and methods seem, even at their very best, to look a bit dreadlocky....sort of greasy and stringy. Even when everyone tells them they look awesome.

So why has this method got such a cult following? People are spending literally hundreds of pounds trying to find the holy grail approved product. They're beating themselves up if they accidentally use something which isn't CGM approved. I'm seeing people get really really stressed about not following every instruction to the letter. But nobody is acknowledging the fact that actually they might look a whole lot better if they just cherry pick the bits of the method that work for them?

Has it got a cult following? I’ve been doing it for years but don’t know anyone else who is.

The initial problem is finding the routine and the products that work for you. There are so many variations that it can take a long time. I still tweak my routine from time to time and like to give new products a go.

My hair looks good and I’m very happy with it. I’ve never used straighteners or any other method of trying to get rid of my curls though, so maybe my hair took to it more easily.

I have no idea what this is, but if you don't like it you don't have to do it you know. Just do whatever you like best, it's your hair.

Yanbu. People on that FB group really do seem to treat the whole thing like a cult religion.

I tried it and followed all the rules for a few months. Spent a ridiculous amount of time doing my hair, trying out different products and methods of using them, and it didn’t really look any different to what I’d been doing before. But then a lot of the curly girl method is just common sense so I’d been doing a lot of it anyway. In the end I decided that what I actually wanted was nice hair that was as easy to maintain as possible, and for that, I need shampoo!

I would kill for my curls to go like that!

Ohh @tiredanddangerous your hair is lovely!

I never got on with the fully CG method myself and now use Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioner, works a treat. Still free of all the baddies like silicone but I just can't live life without shampooing! It can get a bit culty, I totally agree, just do what works for you!

I agree op. I've been trying it, for approx 3 months, bought the recommended products. My hair looks shit

Yeah I couldn't get it to work for me. I wondered if that is because the theory is more applicable to afro type hair? Mine is just wavy so all the conditioner just overwhelmed it.

DD's routine is incredibly simple and her hair has never looked greasy

I agree with you OP.
Just doesn't work for me.
I've had curly hair for 50+ years and I know it best.

and the products I use are very cheap, found in Superdrug and sometimes even in Poundland

Urghhh I hate it too. I've tried numerous times and it just looks crap and my hair feels horribly itchy and dirty.

I've got very curly hair and I use sulphate free shampoo which seems to help. Its an ongoing battle.

I agree! I left that fb group a little while ago because the method wasn't working for me and there was always a massive pile on if someone posted something that was even slightly off method.
I must have tried it for a year and my hair never really got to a place where i was happy with it. It looked so dry and dreadlockly like you said. I'm now back to shampooing and tbh my hair is the best it's been in a long time. I guess the method doesn't work for everybody x x

I’m a curly girl. It takes time. Also make sure you keep it simple, don’t use loads of products to start with.

I agree that different things work for different people. I've found some specific curly products made me worse. Just conditioner washing has made a huge difference for me. Don't think I'll be buying any more products...

I didn't get on with it at all. I do a close contact sport and I NEED to wash my hair (think other people sweat etc in my hair).
Instead I'll wash my hair when necessary but once a week use a clarifying shampoo and do a hair mask. Also, leave in conditioner after every wash. I use sulphate free wash and style products and let my hair air dry as much as possible and less of the diffuser. Still figuring it out as I go along though

I started trying to do curly girl but in the end just went for a sulfate/sillicone free shampoo and conditioner routine and that works so much better for me. I finally love my curls (which I never had for the previous 29 years of my life)

You're not wrong OP. The main thing I think curly girl fails to take into account is that there are lots of different types of curly hair. Not every one has thick, dry and unruly curly hair.

My hair is curly, but fine and prone to grease. I can't not wash it, it looks and feels disgusting. I also need to use heat to style my hair and make it look nice. If I dry it naturally, it looks lank and flat. If I diffuse it, it's lovely and bouncy. I also think my hair looks better the less product it has on it. So much of curly girl is focused on 'products' rather than just leaving your hair to dry on its own.

Yeah. Looks greasy.

Glad it's not just me! Yes, I think my issue is with the attitude in some of the groups and the "one size fits all approach"...people are made to feel like it's the exact CGM way, or not at all - when that clearly isn't the case. I have been trying, because I really wanted it to be some magic recipe for perfect hair but I'm just finding it expensive and not great results which was what got me thinking that it seems sad quite a few in those groups seem a little bit deluded about the results they're getting.

Although have to say @tiredanddangerous your curls are just gorgeous! Would you mind sharing which products you use? Although of course they won't necessarily work for everybody...

I've tried it 3 or 4 times over about 8 years or so on my fine but plentiful curly hair and it doesn't work. Particularly now I have a toddler who pulls on my hair anyway which separates the curls and makes them fluffy. I don't have time to "plop" in a t shirt or use a diffuser which did seem to help when I first tried.

I also have attempted this whilst in lockdown and cannot tell you how horrendous my hair looks and feels!

If you're finding curly girl page too much the curly crew are a bit more mellow

It worked really well for me at the beginning, several years ago, but has never worked since. Actually, nothing seems to work, but the curly girl method just made my wavy hair look lank and horrible. You could drive yourself silly trying to find the right products. Also the advice in the original book was to keep it fairly simply, but the people in the groups seem to use dozens of different products, and do all sorts of time consuming things, which is hardly simple! I just use sulphate free shampoo and silicone free conditioner and leave it at that.