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Starting Curly Girl Method - join me in achieving shiny bouncy hair!

145 replies

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 01/05/2018 08:24

Have been researching this for ages (3 days Grin )
Anyway found a fab curly girl thread from 2009

However some of the products have been discontinued, not all the blog links work, so I thought I would star a new thread.

So here is what I have gleaned so far:
Sulphates (the stuff which makes your shampoo foam) is a Bad Thing as it strips all your hair of oils, so you need sulphate free shampoo.
Found this list from the original thread which lists all the banned products.

Silicon ( Frizz Ease type serum) is a Bad Thing as it seals up the cuticle, so that moisture cannot get back in.

So moisture is the holy grail, and that is why hair gets frizzy, as it is too dry.

So most curly girls seem to cowash, which is washing with conditioner, or a special runny conditioner type product.

So here are the steps I have figured out, ( I haven’t bought the book yet).

One last wash with a sulphate shampoo, to clear out build up.

On subsequent washes, you cowash, but only use your fingers or a shampoo brush ( a stubby ruby bristled brush) to loosen dirt.

It is recommended that shower not too hot, and also wash hair upside down, so you are not flattening your “ canopy” of curls.

Comb through a handful of conditioner with a wide toothe comb

Also add your styling product in the shower eg scrunch with gel.

DO NOT use a normal towel, dry with a tshirt, or a microfibre towel.

Then there is the “ plopping” method where you lie a dry t shirt on a flat surface. ( loo seat) and sort of lower your head upside down and let your curls gather then sort of gather up the t shirt & fasten gently round head.

either air dry or dry with a diffuser, not too hot.

Other stuff I found : curl type 2 a, b, c, 3 a, b, c 4 a, b, c it’s a whole new world

Also deep condition according to curl type. I am about a 2b and am sitting here with a mixture of coconut oil & olive oil slathered on my hair.

Right off to create some curls!

OP posts:
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CurlyWurlyTwirly · 01/05/2018 13:55

Thanks for that link Ally

I scrunch dried it on high heat, low blow. Looked great, initially, but the weight of my hair is dragging out the curls. Its still quite ringletty round my face, I am due to go to the hairdressers and I think I will ask for layers to be put in the back, so it is less dragged out "S" curl and more ringlets.

I do like this curly girl method for work from home days, (not quite sure how I will do the school run with a T-shirt round my head) I can come back and let it dry at my leisure. However I think I will still be blowdrying and straightening for the "serious meeting" days, as It does keep till the next wash.

I am definitely going to continue with the no sulphate, silicon free & oiling as my hair is getting a bit dry with colouring.(covering a bit of grey & balayage)

For tomorrow, any tips from the more experienced "curly girls" what concoction to use for dampening down, I have come across loads of recipes, but the basic seems to be water & a bit of conditioner...

OP posts:
AsMuchUseAsAMarzipanDildo · 01/05/2018 14:05

Wow! Ollivander your before hair is ridiculously similar to mine. Can I ask what you wash it with?

I’m toying with Body Shop banana conditioner. Has anyone used it?

Also interested in recommendations for damping down.

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 01/05/2018 14:07

I've used banana conditioner before its fantastic, ,leaves your hair really shiny. However not sure how it works with CG method

OP posts:
Sabulous · 01/05/2018 14:12

Having a silk pillowcase asking helps with next day frizz Grin

AsMuchUseAsAMarzipanDildo · 01/05/2018 14:17

Thanks curlywurly. On the website it says it’s silicone free, but hoping others have product recommendations. Wavy hair seems tricky to get the balance between hydrating frizzy ends and removing grease from roots.

Ollivander84 · 01/05/2018 14:17

I wash with a mixture but mostly

Wash - moogoo or garnier in the white bottle (oats and something!) or shea moisture black soap conditioner or as I am co wash
Condition - shea moisture low porosity conditioner
On soaking wet hair - cantu custard
Add lube half way through diffusing
Scrunch out the cast with some mizani hair oil

MsAtomicBomb · 01/05/2018 17:48

Ooh I've been thinking of starting a thread on this OP. I tried to do the curly girl method a couple of years ago, I can't remember why I stopped now Blush But I really want to have another try. My hair is 2a/2b, just past chin length and currently straightened EVERY day.

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 01/05/2018 19:29

My first attempt is going well! Posted the obligatory photo on face book.& got lots of likes (shallow I know!) It is a bit flat on top - definitely need a few more layers.

Tomorrow I will see how it is after sleeping on it. I'm going to invest In a silk pillow case, or a nice silk bonnet I've seen on Amazon.

OP posts:
Paddling · 02/05/2018 09:24

Just be careful. If you have fine hair (like I do) the whole only Co-Washing can not work. I need shampoo to wash out the products. So I co-wash for 3 days and then I need shampoo.

Likewise - what product works for some people can be awful on others - again too heavy a product on me weighs down my hair and everything just gets pulled down.

QueenOfTheAndals · 02/05/2018 09:38

Agree @Paddling. I find Cantu and Shea Moisture (even the range for fine hair) too heavy and avoid products with coconut oil as they don't seem to work well for my hair and just dry it out.

DaisyStarburst · 02/05/2018 09:43

I've been experimenting for a while, you need to find what's right for you. Co-washing didn't work for me, it felt awful so have experimented with different shampoos, I've now got loads! I quite like Faith in Nature but I've decided when they are used not to buy any more plastic bottles. Not sure if there is a solid shampoo without sulphates. I tried not brushing it or combing it as I read somewhere, just using fingers, it got so matted I had to have loads cut off and it stopped growing, this is two years ago and it's just started growing. Now I detangle gently with a tangle tease brush before shampoo, final rinse in cool water and squeeze water out. I have a microfibre turban, £1 in Primark, same as a t shirt but I find it stays on better, plop into that and leave it on while I dry and get dressed. Then scrunch in Boots Curl Cream while hair is still damp, it acts as a leave in conditioner so I don't need to use conditioner in the shower. Style gently with fingers. I can get away with washing every other day by running wet hands through and scrunching a bit more curl cream in. It's finally started growing and looks good. This may not work for you as your hair will be different to mine but worth giving it a go. I tried sleeping in the turban, that didn't go well, came off and matted hair!

DaisyStarburst · 02/05/2018 09:48

Only need a small amount of curl cream I rub it in my hands and then run through hair, too much will flatten it.

Kittykat93 · 02/05/2018 09:49

Watching this thread for ideas, I started my own thread on it but didn't get much of a response !

QueenOfTheAndals · 02/05/2018 13:36

Maybe I'm not doing it right, but plopping never works for me as it ends up flattening my hair.

GinSoakedItchyPony · 02/05/2018 14:48

I'm watching this thread.
I followed CG years ago when the first book came out - circa 2004 I believe. I stuck with it for several years. My hair always looked great on the day I washed it - no frizz, beautifully formed curls - but I could never get decent 2nd day hair. It took hours to dry too, because it was so long and so thick meaning I really couldn't wash it daily.
I gave up a few years ago. I'm still very careful about the products that I use, especially shampoo, but my hair doesn't appear to have suffered from the reintroduction of silicones.
I'd possibly be interested to try modified CG again. My hair is shorter now so no problem to wash more frequently.

IToldYouIWasFreaky · 02/05/2018 15:11

I've been doing a version of CG for years. My key points are no silicones, no SLS and no brushing or combing! I don't do plopping. I have chin length, 3B hair and plopping just leaves it a total mess, with some portions pulled straight, some flattened and some frizzed up. I just put the styling products in, section and twist to define the curls and let it dry naturally as much as I can, then a quick blast with the dryer.

I used to do a lot of co-washing with conditioner but I can't find a good co-wash on the market at the moment (the ones I like keep being discontinued Sad) so I am currently washing with non-sulphate shampoo daily, using the Tresemme coconut conditioner, then Boots Pink Curl Crème and Tesco Essentials Gel. The Tesco gel is a recent find and it's bloody brilliant! I need quite a lot of it but it's only 52p a pot...Grin Oh, and I like R&B from Lush to smooth out any frizzy bits when I get them.

I can never get good 2nd day hair. Once I have slept on it, that's it, it needs to be totally re-done

Liesmyparentstoldme · 02/05/2018 17:34

I've been doing the no silicones, sulfated etc for about a year. But over winter, I've definitely been half arsing it with my hair. Kept letting it get dry and shoving it in a bun. Not using any products.

I really want to put effort in again, and get good hair ready for summer!

sexnotgender · 02/05/2018 17:36

I’ve been curly girl for nearly 18 months now. It’s absolutely fantastic, I’ve finally come to love my hair.

CurlyWurlyTwirly · 02/05/2018 17:54

My 2nd day hair was a bit of a mess. Sort of stretched out S waves, curls & ratty ends. After the gym & gardening I washed it again. ( I can normally go 3 days between washes as my hair is thick & coarse)

Today, I did no sulphate shampoo; the minimal foam was strange. I also had a no paraben, silicon or sulphate conditioner and my hair just sucked it up. Didn’t have any leave in conditioner, so just put in some gel. However after about 20 mins of plopping, the top bits were drying & looking frizzy so I added this oil “elixir” thingy which I got from the hairdresser. Texture of a serum, but is oil.

One thing I have noticed is my hair is already starting to feel softer, after just 2 days.

I am going to invest in some microfibre towels, so that I can reduce “plopping time” or cut it out. I think blotting your hair with a really absorbent towel ( instead of rubbing vigorously with a normal towel) helps keep the cuticle smooth, so that hair looks shiny & less moisture is lost...

Also going to invest in a silk pillow a case, as that is suppose to help maintain curls as it is skippering & also apparently cotton pillows suck moisture out of your hair & skin

OP posts:
CurlyWurlyTwirly · 02/05/2018 17:55

*slippery

OP posts:
itcuddles · 02/05/2018 19:14

The CG method was an absolute god send for me. I'm 5 years strong and curls are in wonderful condition. I will warn you not to expect an instant result, your hair will look shit initially while you're transitioning but bare with it.

If anyone is interested my routine for 3b curls is cowashing with loreal elvive extraordinary oils low poo cleaner, then detangle with conditioner from same range using wide tooth comb. Rinse, then apply either shea moisture coconut and hibiscus curl defining smoothie or shea moisture jamaican black castor oil strengthen and restore leave-in (I alternate to keep my routine fresh), and then finish with shea moisture coconut and hibiscus curling gel soufflé, comb everything through with widetooth comb again, scrunch out excess water and product, then blow dry upside down with diffuser.

Those of you who are having trouble with your curls dropping out are you using a gel? If not you should be, but a little bit goes a long way.
Your hair will feel really hard when it dries but just 'scrunch the crunch' out and your curls will turn super soft and also hold their shape, I promise!

itcuddles · 02/05/2018 19:16

Thats meant to say low poo cleanser not cleaner, makes it sound like something you clean skid marks off your toilet with Grin

MightyMunki · 02/05/2018 19:41

itcuddles your hair sounds similar to mine, so I’m keen to try a few of your tips as I feel like my routine needs tweaking a bit. I saw the Jamaican caster oil conditioner in a video recently so I’ve got it on my list.

I normally use a tangle teaser in the shower on conditoned hair. I have tried wide tooth combs in the past but I find they just get stuck in my hair, maybe time to dig it out again and try to figure out how to detangle with itHmm.

naichick · 02/05/2018 19:52

Oooh great thread thanks op, i have been doing cgm for a few months but sometimes get a bit pissed off with sitting around with cold wet hair! Overall my hair is curlier and goes longer between washes. I’ve been using faith in nature, shea moisture deep conditioner and umberto gianni curl friends gel which is nice and light. My hair is fine 2b/c and gets weighed down easily ao if anyone can recommend a cg friendly lightweight conditioner that would be great!

1sttimemama1986 · 02/05/2018 20:04

Hi fellow curly girls, been following this method for 10 months and can see a massive change in my curls. It's been a journey and getting the right products and routine that suits my hair has taken a while. It's all trial and error.

My curls are much more defined since following this method. I love the Facebook group I'm part of, addicted to reading all the advice, checking out different products and seeing before and after pics.

My routine is co wash with tresemme undone conditioned, condition with wilko happy hair -apple, rinse most out and whilst soaking squish in a splodge more whilst head upside down.

I then whilst head upside down squish in a small amount of cantu curl activator, followed by small amount of umberto gianni curl jelly. Plop in microfibre turby towel for 15 mins, diffuse for 5 mins on low heat. Leave to air dry.

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