Co-washing/curly girl method

[digestivate]

Hello! Please could someone talk me through the co-washing/curly girl method? I have very thick, frizzy hair which is wavy/curly depending on how much scrunching I do, however to calm it down I always end up using about half a bottle of product which is just horrible. My hair just soaks up any product and it's as though I've put nothing on it at all.

Some questions:

Is it simply a case of washing my hair with conditioner rather than shampoo? I.e massage it in, leave for a few minutes, rinse out etc?

Do I need to dry it with a T-shirt rather than towel? Do I need to always leave it to dry naturally or can you blow dry?

Is it ok to do this every other day? (Currently wash hair alternate days)

Can anyone recommend a good conditioner to use that I can get in local supermarket? What does it need to be 'free from' - parabens? Silicone?

Thank you! I'm hoping this may be the holy grail of silky shiny, non frizzy hair

There are a couple of really informative Facebook group about this. Yes conditioner needs to be free from parabens and sulphates and other bits (not sure on all the bad ingredients). Superdrug own conditioners are CG friendly and cheap.

Fb group curly crew (curly girls and gents too) is the more flexiable of the groups. Good luck with it

Superdrug extract condiontioners are CG friendly and cheap. There are files on the fb group showing suitable products

Also have a look at reddit.Com/curlyhair
I use tresemme conditioner - this one : www.tresemme.com/us/en/products/conditioner/botanique-nourish-and-replenish-conditioner.html

This is great, thank you! Will have a look at the groups

Basics
Do a final wash with a sulphate shampoo, no silicone
From then on, no sulphates, no silicones
I wash with something cheap like wilko happy hair and condition with something thicker like shea moisture
I then put eco olive oil gel on soaking wet hair and diffuse dry, when dry I scrunch it until the crunchy cast goes

Oh and you need to scrub your scalp v v well with pads of fingers when washing

My hair is super curly rather than wavy so I'm not sure this will work in the same way, but my hair has been much better since I stopped combing/brushing outside of the shower. Now, I detangle when it has a load of conditioner slapped on it (using my fingers/ a wide tooth comb/ a tangle-teaser type brush depending on how much of a dreadlock it is), leave the conditioner on while I continue to shower, then rinse. I then gently squeeze a little bit of water out, but I don't use a towel, t shirt or any tools - I just put my products in and scrunch away.

The downside is it takes a hundred years to dry, which is ok in summer but not so great in the cold - I've cheated with a hairdryer the last few weeks, but I hold it far away and it's on a low speed so it doesn't disturb the curl pattern too much. I never got the hang of using a diffuser but I feel like that would change my life so maybe I should try again! My hair is a million times better since I stopped using heat, though.

I've been vaguely following the CG method for about 18 months and my hair is definitely less dry, and my curls are back to life after years of straightener abuse. I do cheat and wash with a shampoo about once a fortnight, as I use so much product it just feels gross (mine has sodium coco sulfate, I guess that's as evil as SLS). I will try to find a more CG friendly one once this bottle is done, but I use so little it's lasting forever.

Honestly you need to be all or nothing with this. I went all out and got beautiful amazing curls but then had it blow dried straight and basically I look 1000% more attractive with straight hair

Does anyone find their hair / head starts to smell after a while with CG method?

No 😳

You can do occasional Apple Cider Vinegar rinse to help get it extra clean while on CG method. It takes a few weeks for hair to transition but hair becomes used to it after a while. The Facebook group has tonnes of information.