Curly hair shampoo - help!

[WednesdaySpinner]

So I have decided to embrace the curls and give up my 15yr straightening habit! After speaking with my hairdresser, I bought some Paul Mitchell curl shampoo and conditioner and went home to test it out, however having tried it twice I’ve had to give up on it because it made my hair so ridiculously greasy - worse than it would look after not washing it for a week! I’m now using clarifying shampoo for a week to get rid of all the build up, after which my hairdresser has suggested I give it another go as my scalp will be cleansed and ready for a new shampoo. I’m somewhat sceptical of this and so am hoping someone out there has some words of wisdom to help and get me back to grease free hair.

I should note, I had been using Paul Mitchell lavender and mint for the last 4 years but it had started leaving greasy residue in my roots, which the hairdresser said was due to using the same product for a long time. So I can’t go back to that even if I wanted to (I went on a cleaning frenzy and threw it away).

What's your hair texture? Are you mixed race?

No I’m not, it’s just extremely thick and can be slightly frizzy at times. Because of the straightening it is more loose curls and waves than tighter curls at the minute but I’m hoping that leaving it alone will help

Have you tried the curly girl method ? Try using cantu products . Your hair sounds like mine . It's massive frizz if I leave it alone but I've always work my curly so know how to do it . I'm definitely in the minority though . It seems everyone straightens their hair when they actually have lovely curls !!

One of my friends has very similar hair to you and she uses the Lush Curly Wurly shampoo - she’s used it for the past few years and swears by it! It’s an odd texture from what I can remember but they have her a sample in-store and she never looked back.

I also do curly girl and it made such a huge difference. If you use Facebook, join Curly Girls - Support Group for Curly/Wavy/Naturally Healthy Hair. Lots of info there and people who will gladly offer advice.

Thanks everyone, will definitely look into these suggestions. Love the hair pigpoglet, I hope that I can get mine into such a healthy state.

The Palmers range is very good and reasonably priced.

100% curly girl method. There’s a great Facebook page with 150k+ members that are really supportive and give wonderful advice.

Is the palmers range curly girl friendly?

Phillip Kingsley texturiser (leave in before you wash) shampoo and conditioner! It is expensive, but mine can last 6-8 months (I texturiser I’ve had over a year, I use it every 2-3 weeks). Well. Worth.It. My hair so so healthy and bouncy.

I’ve trief out everything for curly hair (as you can tell by my username ) but it’s great! I’m happy to give anything a go, and use other tips though - I’m still on the holy grail!!

The most important thing is to avoid silicones. I wash with silicone free conditioner, for example Faith in Nature. You can also use a clarifying shampoo once in a while eg Aveda’s. Neutrogena used to make a great one but stoppped for some strange reason.

Not sure if it’s Curly Girl friendly but the best curl shampoo that I’ve found is L’oreal Professional Curl Contour. It can be hard to get hold of but I’ve been using it for about 15 years and always return to it.

Totally not CG friendly MrBenn, we don’t use shampoo at all except for the final wash.

I kind of meant in terms of silicone content really, in answer to the OP’s shampoo question. I did try curly girl about 15 years ago (I even bought the book!) but it didn’t work for my hair, so I ended up doing a modified version and still follow some of the principles.

I don't get on with the curly girl method personally.

I am using Shea Moisture products at the moment and my hair is looking lovely (bouncy curls, very little Frizz)

OP I would also recommend plopping as a drying method, it has been a total game changer for me

Just read the curly girl method do you not wash your hair or brush it as it says no brushes or shampoo? Mine would be smelly and matted in a couple of days!!

If the curly girl method doesn’t work for you, try googling “modified curly girl method”, which still allows shampooing, that’s actually what I was thinking of when I posted. It works for a lot of people and is what I used to do but have drifted a bit recently.

trepadora

i do a modified curly girl method .When I started CG it took ages for me to get the method right for me.

I sometimes use shampoo and I sometimes straighten with round brush , as long as I use moisturising products my curls are fine ,and using a clarifying shampoo occasionally prevents build up and all the angst about non CG stuff.

I had my hair done at a devacurl salon and didn't like the end result..was too product laden ,it was then I gave up and started doing what suited me rather than religiously follow the CG method.

I like Aussie moisture rich shampoo & conditioner for my curly hair, then a wee bit of boots pink curl cream through wet hair, leave to dry or use diffuser. Xx

TBH I've never found shampoo to make any difference (certainly not the over priced hairdresser stuff!) I've used a zillion different shampoo brands and my best advice is to basically just wash your hair as infrequently as possible. I wash mine max twice a week and would wash it less if I didn't go swimming so often. Then I condition and use a leave in conditioner. Again, I've not found the brand to make much difference. I then comb a curling mouse through, shake my hair up a bit, and let it air dry (but if you have long hair you'll probs need to blow dry with a diffuser). Curling mouse do vary by brand IMO and the best ones I've found are John frida, and Aussie. ive tried a few expensive hairdresser ones and not found them any better than the higher end ones you get from boots. It'll probably take a while for your hair to get over the straightening TBH. If you have the guts I'd get it cut quite short and go from there :)

I'm interested too, my hair is curly, what is the curly girl method? I have to wash my hair every day because the only time I can get a comb through it is when it has conditioner on it. I think you have to wash your hair minimally? But can you condition it every day though?

I ditched the shampoo two years ago and co-wash with anything silicone free! It's transformed my hair and I wouldn't go back to shampoo.

My routine - co-wash, apply argan oil. Done! These two things do what I spent years and God knows how much money on products (mousse, serum etc) trying to achieve!

nordicnobody what do you do on the days you don't wash, can you get a comb through your hair?

Body shop strawberry glossing shampoo and conditioner is working for dd's thick wavy hair.

I don't comb it. My hair is quite short ATM and my curls are tight corkscrews, so brushing it would turn it into frizz city. If I have bad bed head then I wet my hands and just sort of shake a bit of water through it and it dries curly again a few minute later. If it's just a bit out of shape I smooth a small bit of the john frida finishing serum over it. But I try to avoid doing anything to it unless I have to TBH. With my hair it gets on best when just left alone.