Curly girl method help

[ApollO88]

Can anyone talk me through the curly girl method to help sort out my curls?

1. Wash out any silicone with sls shampoo (final wash)
2. Use only silicone free or water soluble silicones only conditioner (peg prefix)
3. Wash hair using conditioner and fingers on scalp
4. Leave in conditioner - more than you think add a curl creme
5. Wrap hair in the shirt after washing - plopping
6. Use gel or lube - no drying alcohol - plop some more
7. As long as you don't use any product containing non water soluble silicone (-cone -xane suffix) or any waxes you dont need to shampoo

This works because products can actually access your hair- there's no silicone barrier. You aren't drying out your hair with shampoo. Properly moisturised curls shine and bounce. They clump which = defined ringlets.

Easy, cheap as you like, and hair jn lovely condition. Very good Facebook groups exist with more extensive lists of ingredients and products

In addition, you need to keep an eye on the ingredients for alcohol - some are drying and some are moisturising. You need to avoid the drying ones urbanbushbabes.com/which-alcohols-are-good-which-ones-are-bad-for-your-hair/

Marking place.

What products are you all using? I am finally embracing my curls but can't really afford Aveda for all the time

Tresemme undone conditioner, an argan oil conditioner from Pound land, and eco styler gel that you get in enormous tubs off ebay. So not expensive at all. I know some people use the 30p styling gel from Tescos, and conditioner from Wilkos and Superdrug that are less than a pound a bottle.

Avoid the Boots curl creme, it's incredibly drying - full of bad alcohol.

My biggest tip is use WAY more conditioner than you ever imagine is possible, for co washing and leaving in.

Superdrug extracts conditioners - coconut, raspberry, aloe Vera - all good and v cheap. Around £2. Tesco blue gel - 75 pence. Cantu curl creme about 3-4 pounds. (Boots pink curl creme is even cheaper)
Obviously you can get pricier products if you want to but this works well. It's really the method and properly avoiding silicone that's key. I bought expensive products for years and had shitty fuzzy splitty hair. Now I don't - but I go through conditioner like no one's business.

Placemarking

Curly girl has massively changed my hair for the better. I used to have wavy/frizzy hair which was flat on top so I got triangle head, now I have defined curls, sometimes even ringlets.

Different routines work for different hairs.

I use garnier ultimate blends coconut conditioner which is always on special somewhere for around £3, scrub into scalp for a couple of minutes then scrunch into ends (squish to condish) and left on while I finish shower, then wrap in a microfibre towel so hair is piled on top of head (look up plopping on YouTube ) then boots curl creme scrunched in.

I haven't shampooed for about six months, and I rarely brush. Run fingers through hair while conditioner is on seems to do the trick.

There's loads of info online, Reddit has a great section if you can bare it.

It's definitely definitely worth a go, has had the same impact on how attractive I am as losing a stone and a half ;)

I've been doing the curly girl method for a few months now. It took a while but I'm definitely noticing a difference.
Check out British Curlies website for lots of info too

Shea Moisture is a great product too

Whattt? I've never heard of this. I'm a at my wits end with my frizzy mass which pre kids was lush ringlets. Will take a look...

Do gels not make your curls go solid? Also can you use mousse? Basically anything as long as it silicone free?

It does make your curls go solid but once you scrunch the crunch out you're left with soft defined curls.

Gels make a cast on your hair as it dries but you gently "shake" that off and release the curl. If I remember right the Umberto Gianni (sp?) gel is often recommended.

You let the gel dry then 'scrunch out the crunch'. Basically crush the solid cast of the gel until your hair isn't crispy anymore

And the cantu stuff is the curl activator not curl creme. But yes as long as your vigilant about silicone and wax you get great hair. Lots of websites give you lists of products or better ingredients to look out for. If you accidentally use a silicone you need to do a proper shampoo again to strip it out as it's not water soluble (so you need a detergent). It takes a bit of reading to get started most products have silicone in them so uou stand about for ages trying to find some that don't. But once that's done it's incredibly easy. I also spend far less time styling than before. Most mornings I just spritz my hair with a water and conditioner mix. Plop while I have breakfast and then shake my head a bit. Revolutionised my life.

1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts water makes a great weekly rinse too as it gets rid of build up on the hair. I use it after cowashing and before conditioning, so I don't smell like s chip shop!

pop24 you can use mousse, yes - but remember to check the ingredients to avoid silicones and drying alcohols. I know the Pantene Defined Curls mousse is ok, as is the John Frieda Frizz Ease mousse (the only Frizz Ease product that is CG friendly!). I think some of the supermarket mousses are ok too, but I can't remember which ones, sorry.

The Curly Girls! group on FB has lists/albums of photos, and about a million members ready to help. I don't really post on there much because I'm not a strict, absolutely conditioner only CG - I use lo-poo (sulfate and silicone free shampoo) every now and again which is frowned upon in pure circles . Probably every 10th-ish wash. I don't care if it's not approved, I've got a really good balance of low effort/quite good hair that works for me.

I have wavy hair and have been doing CGM for 1 year, it has definitely improved it. No more brillo pads on wet days. I use Faith in Nature from Oxfam/ Holland and Barrett. Hair is so much better now- less dry and brittle looking.

Thanks for the info. I'm excited! I've realised that none of my reg products have silicone in them so I must have worked that one out by trial and error without even realising so a good start. Left conditioner on this morning and used curl mousse and then 'plopped' with a t shirt and my hair was sooooo much better! Only prob is I then went swimming which kinda ruins things...

Well I've made a start. These Superdrug conditioners were £1.99 buy one get one free!

Does anybody use the Umberto Gianni gel for curly hair? It's s big pink bottle. Was tempted to get it but wasn't sure.

Can you recommend me a cheapo SLS free shampoo that I can buy from my Tesco grocery shop?

Yes the UG gel is great and v lightweight so it doesn't weigh your hair down.

Bumwad baby shampoo is fine. I don't mind the UG gel - but I use it to perk up dry hair, rather than on wet hair after co-washing.

Pop24 - I just wanted to check that you know silicones are any ingredient ending in -cone or -xane. Sorry if you already know that, I was just dead impressed that nothing you had already contain them, they seem to be in almost everything!

Oh sorry didn't get the xane bit, will check again. Thanks for alerting me!

Ok on the shampoo/con- it's neals yard and doesn't seem to have it. Curl mousse Currently using is ok so I'll stick with that for now. But I've been using a variety of serums/creams when I can be arsed to style (frizz ease addict) that are clearly bad for my hair for some time. Can't believe I didn't know about this!!! I've been going round with the worst frizzy mass on my head for too long.

Wow I've just googled plopping hair.

I didn't even know this existed. Makes sense not to twist my hair in a thick towel after a wash

Might give UG gel a go. I guess gels hold the curls more than mousse? I like to leave 2 or 3 days without having to wash so that might suit better.

Anyone got really fine hair and managed to make curly girl method work? Or reccomendations for products? I had been trying co-washing big hair was still really frizzy and then had my hair cut by a deva curl hairdresser who said in his experience it doesn't work so well for fine curly hair. He recommended just reducing frequency of washing but I can't seem to get reasonable hair with that either!!