Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Help for dry, frizzy curly hair

7 replies

mummyandbaby · 25/07/2018 09:14

I am really struggling with my hair atm. Can anyone recommend a shampoo which may help. Not too much ££s.

OP posts:
beforeihit30 · 25/07/2018 10:40

Have you tried the Curly Girl method? Have a Google if not. In brief, what I do (having moved to it years back), is I’m silicon and sulphate free for shampoos and conditioners.

A good way to start is a silicone free shampoo to clear out any product you have without leaving something on (basically, silicones usually keep your hair frizz less, but you need sulphates to remove them, which you find in most soaps, and that can be very drying especially for curly hair). When I did this first (8 years ago!), one of the Aussie Miracle shampoos was recommended as being a good sulphate shampoo free from silicones.

Then, you start using shampoo and conditioner that is free from silicone and sulphate. These days it’s often indicated on the front to appeal to people wanting to avoid them, but if you look on the back pretty much all sulphates are listed as ‘sulphate/sulfate’, and silicones are words ending in ‘-cone, -conol, -xanol’ and a few other similar suffixes (you can find a list online). The most common ones are sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate and dimethicone.

I use Charles Worthington Everyday Micellar shampoo and conditioner this one, I find it doesn’t weigh my hair down so my hair feels natural but it’s also well controlled for frizz (in large part due to being sulphate free).

For styling, Boots own curl creme (the pink one) and hair gel (the purple one) are free from these ingredients and work well for me, I just use a little to tame strays.

FWIW I used to use serums, creams, mousse, hair sprays, oils, the works, so I was surprised by how well this system works. Not pricey - £5.99/shampoo or conditioner, always on 3 for 2 in Boots, and the Boots own styling is around £1-2 per tub.

beforeihit30 · 25/07/2018 10:44

By the way when you search Curly Girl you’ll probably find a ton of other stuff, eg about parabens, proteins, etc, plus methods like co-washing (ie washing with conditioner, not shampoo), people who have 10 different products they use, ways to dry your hair etc.

Just ignore all of that at the beginning! The really helpful bit is removing silicones and sulphates. I’m lazy and gave up on all of the other stuff and it still made a huge difference to my hair, frizz really isn’t my issue when it was for years (my main issue is just deciding how I want to wear my hair...).

One thing I found when I tried cowashing, out of curiosity, is that my scalp reacts to conditioner so basically I look like I have really bad dandruff when I condition my roots or cowash. So, I don’t do that! I looked that up and apparently it’s something to do with protein (I mainly took away that I don’t need to put conditioner on my roots!).

Heismyopendoor · 25/07/2018 10:47

I also do CG. Ditch the shampoo, sulphates are not good for hair like ours.

I co wash, which means I wash my scalp with only conditioner (it’s the Garnier oat one) for a few minutes then rinse out and then condition with it as normal.

There is lots of info online if you are thinking about it

Fattymcfaterson · 25/07/2018 10:49

There's a new gainer range of no silicone and no parabens. Use that and leave a load of conditioner in, add some mousse to wet hair and let dry. Voila!

WhereAreWeNow · 25/07/2018 10:58

The Shea Moisture black castor oil treatment masque is seriously moisturising. Be warned, your shower/bath with be lethally slippery afterwards though!

RaspberryBeret34 · 25/07/2018 11:01

I second the curly girl method! There's a group on FB called Curly girls (conditioner washing group for women) or The Curly Crew.

The curly crew are a bit less strict and allow no sulphate (gentle) shampoos.

If you want to just ease in, I'd start with a no sulphate shampoo and all products without silicones, no brushing, just wide tooth comb on hair with conditioner and use a t-shirt instead of a towel to dry your hair.

They're a bit pricey but the Shea Moisture shampoos are lovely (or there are other no sulphate options) and then you could go cheaper with the conditioner and use one of these (all silicone free):

www.superdrug.com/Hair/Hair-Treatments/Conditioning-Treatments/Ultimate-Blends-Oat-Milk-Sensitive-Scalp-Conditioner-360ml/p/750171

www.superdrug.com/Superdrug/Superdrug-Extracts-Conditioner-Raspberry%26Macadamia-400ml/p/710272

www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-conditioner-passion-fruit-green-tea-750ml/p/0306009

For products, I like Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly from boots:
www.boots.com/umberto-giannini-curl-jelly-scrunching-jelly-200ml-10222389?cm_mmc=bmm--Google+Boots+PLAs--BAU--C=%28GB%3AWhoop%21%29+Love_Island+-+Desktop%28GB%3AWhoop%21%29+Umberto+Giannini&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv-DaBRCcARIsAI9sba9OGFEDe2gAox9EEhFswJdw5NeI1w5byQCc-5XW_7vQJ6mIZcSWcHsaAgYqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Or Pantene mousse:
www.boots.com/pantene-pro-v-defined-curls-mousse-200ml-long-lasting-hold-level-5-10153580

If any products make your hair crunchy/crispy, just wait till your hair is completely dry then scrunch, scrunch, scrunch with your hands till all the crispiness is gone.

Surpriseitsme · 25/07/2018 12:39

If you want to try cg products i can recommend the curly girl buy/sell page on facebook for buying products. Lots of stuff on thete that people have tried and didnt suit

New posts on this thread. Refresh page