curly girl products.

[mumcantmakeadecision]

Are there any curly girl followers on here? I'm looking for some help to find some new products to use.

What are you after?

I use cantu shampoo and conditioner, then a tiny squirt of tigi catwalk curls when my hair is dripping wet and put my hair on the top of my head with a mice fibre towel. If there is any fluffing when my hair is dry, I use a dab of the pink boots curl creme. I occasionally dry my hair with a diffuser (low blow, high heat) but more often leave it to dry naturally.

To refresh curls on non-wash days, I spritz with homemade lavender water, then smooth over a tiny dab of the boots creme. Occasionally I use the devacurl leave in conditioner.

whats the tigi catwalk curls?
I'm getting a really itchy head, and I think its because I'm not getting the scalp clean enough.
I am looking for some acceptable stuff that's available in regular shops, and doesn't cost a fortune.

Cantu isn't very expensive and can be found in random pharmacies (or in Amazon). It's the shampoo that is more difficult to find, most conditioners are sulphate and silicon free (Sainsburys own brand Apple conditioner ticks all the boxes and is about £1). Body shop's rainforest range is also reasonable and CG-friendly.

The tigi catwalk curls is about £15 but I use the tiniest amount so expect it to last six months or so. Compared to the money I was spending on serums, I think I am quids in! The boots pink curl creme is around £2.

Lavender is a natural cleanser, which is why I add a couple of drops of the oil to the boiled and cooled water in my spray bottle (it was a cheap ikea one). Might help your itchy scalp?

Shampoo:
-Palmer's Shea Formula Moisture Repair - sulphate free and available from Superdrug (classed as an "ethnic" shampoo). Actually pretty good and it's only £6.99 for nearly 500 ml;
-Giovanni shampoos (available from the British Curlies website);

• Aubrey Organics (health food shops).

You could also try the sulphate free conditioning cleansers by As I Am and Kera Care (available from Afro-Caribbean shops or online from Paks and Zara Beauty supplies). There are others out there. I find that even though I more or less follow the CG method, I need to use shampoo at least every 2 weeks rather than just a co-wash as I get an itchy scalp. The cleansing conditioners are not too bad though and I still use them.

Also available from Zara beauty is a line called Camille Rose Naturals. Imported from the USA but the Soyalicious conditioner is really nice.

The Giovanni Direct leave in is really nice. Very light. I have to add oil and a curl cream to seal it but it works well. I still use the Kimmaytube home made leave in conditioner recipe which requires the Kinky Kurly Knot today leave in (expensive) but you mix it with the other ingredients so it's not too pricey.

I have been using the Bee Mine balanced moisturiser but am also looking for something else as a curl cream which is moisturising, not just for styling (hence I will not be trying the Boots Curl Cream). I hear good things about the Lush curl cream, but it contains a waxy substance on the ingredients list which I don't think will be helpful for product build up for a user of sulphate free shampoos. The search continues.

I had a bottle of a now discontinued boots 'naked' shampoo and used that on the weekend, my scalp seems much happier!
last night I fell asleep with my turbie bowel in, no products, and my hair is so bouncy and curly this morning!!
no idea how it will look after a day of work, but time will tell.

how do you both get 2 or 3 days inbetween washes? or do you wash it daily?

I don't have the time to wash every day, nor would I, my hair would be like straw. When my hair is on the longer side I use the pineapple method: loosely tie up hair in a high ponytail and sleep on a satin pillow, then next morning take it down and if needed, use a spray bottle to refresh which is filled with a mix of distilled water (to avoid hard water build up) with maybe a bit of leave in conditioner and a tiny bit of oil. The curls sort of bounce back without to much handling. If the hair's short or in between, I sleep with a a satin scarf then spray as before but use my fingers to tease out the curls and style.

Often I just slick it up or back in a ponytail if it's too crazy to wear loose.

My hair has never needed daily washing, it's pretty dry! I'm a twice a week girl!

I don't do anything special overnight, but spritz it in the morning. It never gets greasy.