Anyone else starting curly girl method during lockdown?

[MoonBabysMagicalKalimba]

I started a few days ago, I figured if my hair looks crap at least no one has to see it. Got all my products, all silicone and sulphate free, and a silk bonnet to sleep in. Curls are looking ok but quite rats tail like. There’s still a little bit of frizz too.

I’m an every day hair washer, currently trying to get my hair to adapt to every other day but the on the second day it definitely looks greasy and limp. Very glad I don’t have to go anywhere or look presentable!

Is anyone else giving this a go, or done it in the past? How long does it take for the lovely curls to appear and stop looking like I’ve been dragged backwards through a hedge?!

I’ve been doing CGM about 90% of the time for the last few years. One area I struggle with is with styling products - nothing could give me the same results as my silicone filled Tigi Curls Rock so I occasionally still use this.

However during lockdown I finally got around to trying homemade flaxseed gel and loved the results on day 1. Not so good on day 2 but I’m going to persevere for a bit.

@justtakeatowel It's best to use the Cantu cream before the Cantu custard; creams should always go on before gels.

The recommended application order (though as with all Curly Girl things, every person is different!) is LOC
L = Leave in conditioner
O = Oil (argan oil is a good one, just a few drops through the ends)
C = Cream

Apply them to soaking wet hair while hanging your head upside down and between each product rake and squish your hair to form curl clumps. I usually wet plop then (put hair in a shower cap and wrapped in a towel for 20 minutes) before applying the gel and scrunching it on. Don't rake the gel through your hair, you want it to coat your curl clumps and form a hard cast over them, to protect them while they dry curly.

Once your hair is dry, either naturally or with a diffuser on medium heat and low power, the gel should be rock hard like Something About Mary's fringe. Put your hands inside a T shirt and use your covered hands to scrunch the crunch out of your hair. The cast should break and underneath you will have amazing curls.

That's the theory anyway This is just what works for me, and I had a long learning period which involved me looking like Barbara Cartland's poodle for 6 months (deep conditioner is your friend!)

Perseverance is key when you're weaning your hair off sulphates. I did it when I swapped to shampoo bars and it seemed to take FOREVER! But once I'd done it I found my hair wasn't getting as greasy as often. During the transition I wore a lot of Dutch braids! I was also an every day washer and now it's every other - could go longer but prefer every other day

Find out what works for you for cg - you don't HAVE to do it like it says in all the guides, but no sulphates and no silicones, and something to hold the curl are key.

I personally use a 99p conditioner (XHC), Garnier Hair Food Mask (can usually get this half price somewhere), boots curl creme and currently Shockwaves mousse. I cowash with xhc, leave the hair food mask on for a few minutes, rinse and plop in a microfiber towel. Then I put some curl creme in, scrunch it in, same with some mousse and leave to dry. I get good results this way - I prefer it to doing it in dripping wet hair and it works for me.

@BemidjiMinnesota the reason I did this was because the custard said sopping wet hair and the curl activator says damp!

@justtakeatowel trying to figure out what works and in what order is a nightmare isn't it? I used to mix the cream and the custard together in my hands before applying, then wondered why I looked like Doc from Back to the Future.

Did you use a harsh shampoo to wash the silicones out of your hair first? What conditioner are you using? Do you have a deep conditioner?

I looked hideous for the first part of my Curly Girl journey, I only persevered because I'm very lazy and not straightening my hair was saving me 15 minutes every morning, but now I love my hair and would never go back to straightening.

There's an amazing curly hair guru on YouTube and Instagram called Hi Felicia who has lots of videos about getting started and how to apply different products.

I've gone at it a bit half cock really! I'm currently using body shop rainforest shampoo and conditioner as they seem ok but are the closest I have got in the house!! I think it might be worth doing a clarifying shampoo first- am I right in thinking they Johnson's top to toe is what I need?
I'm currently in a meeting (I'm a little bored!) I'll get picks of my hair and show you what it's like!

I really appreciate your help!!

Yes! Please send pictures! I am also avoiding work and this is much more interesting...

You can clarify with any harsh shampoo (or even washing up liquid!), as long as it doesn't have silicone in. Check the ingredients list and anything that ends in -one is bad. The main one is diamethicone. This is just to remove the past silicone build up from your hair so your conditioners can get into the hair shaft and make it healthier.

When conditioning your hair in the shower use A LOT of conditioner and try to really squish the conditioner into your hair with wet hands, so the watery conditioner mix is forced into the hair shaft. Do this for a couple of minutes.

When you get out of the shower, hang your head upside down and scrunch a little of the excess water out before applying the rest of the products. You can use a little squirt of your normal conditioner as a leave in, just keep it near the ends.

When you're scrunching your products in it will feel really gooey and the product mix will ooze out through your fingers; this is normal, just keep raking and scrunching until it feels like your hair is coated and it's not dripping off the hair anymore. The goo will make the floor of your shower very slippery the next time you get in, so unless you are confident that you can easily do the splits without breaking in half, you might want to rinse it away.

This is a load of waffle, but the most important thing to remember about curly hair is that it is very dry and needs a lot more moisture than normal hair. If you use lots of conditioner and do deep conditioning treatments ( this Banana Garnier Hair Food mask is amazing and always on special offer. ) then your hair will gradually start to recover.

Hopefully this has worked!
I think it needs a lot of conditioner and I'm not using enough. I've got the papaya version of the conditioning treatment, I'll have to try the banana one! I think it looks a bit more wavy in real life than the pictures are showing, it's definitely a bit better than 2 days ago. I made the mistake of parting my hair with a side tooth comb and the front was horrendous!!

@BemidjiMinnesota and the children have even said that it's ok ish but just not what they are used to!!

That looks great for so early on in Curly Girling! The back is really trying to make ringlets. The best time to part your hair is when it's sopping wet, after conditioner but before products. Any kind of combing when damp or dry will break up your curl pattern and cause frizz.

I havent tried the papaya mask (it got lost in the post, I hope it ended up with someone who loved it) but it should work well. Do you have a shower cap? Next time you wash your hair, do the fairy liquid clarifying (your hair will feel like rough wool), then condition with your normal conditioner. Use a decent amount and really squish it in. Rinse it out and then apply a generous palm full of the papaya mask and rake it through your hair with your fingers, making sure every strand is coated. Rake and squish for ages, then put the shower cap on and wrap a towel or T shirt over the top and leave it for an hour before rinsing.

After that just continue with the Cantu products like I wrote above and your curls will be popping, or maybe very greasy, but if that happens you can just adjust the amount of product you use and try again. There's never been a better opportunity to get the 'scarecrow' phase of the CG method out of the way.

For your length hair I would say use about a 10p sized blob of Cantu Curl Cream, and a matchbox sized blob of the custard.

Good luck!

@BemidjiMinnesota When my head is tipped upside down after washing it and scrunching in my leave in, it forms into lovely curly clumps. But as soon as I throw my hair backwards to part it and start styling, it all separates into frizzy rats tails! I think this is where I’m going wrong and it’s just looking a mess. Is there anything you can suggest?

Hi MoonBaby

Have you tried applying your products with your head still upside down? So, when you've finished squishing in your conditioner then keep your head down and apply the next product and the next, squishing product in and water out with each squeeze. You'll need to have your products all lined up and the lids off ready, as though you're a TV chef.

Once you've squished everything in, wet plop with a shower cap for 20 minutes to trap the moisture inside your hair. Your hair should be lovely and clumpy.

I am going to brave trying this too. My hair is curly (frizzy) underneath and straight on top.

I have been using the cantu shampoo and conditioner for a while, and not brushing, towel drying or using heat, I also have a silk pillow. But if I am going to do it properly I don't want to buy baby shampoo just for my final wash. Also, what else do I really need? A deep conditioner and something to set the curls? I find it really hard to work out what I can use. Can anyone recommend anything that I can get via mail order at the moment? TIA

IrisJoy

You can use fairy liquid as a final clarifying wash to strip all the silicone off your hair, you will just need to condition well afterwards.

Since you're already using Cantu, why not try their curl activating cream and curl custard? You'll need a deep conditioning mask, i recommend Garnier Hair Food Banana, it's often on offer for less than £4 for a huge tub. Leave the mask on for about an hour with a shower cap over the top so it can really penetrate your hair. Deep conditioning was the biggest game changer for me, I looked like a mad professor before that.

Curly hair needs a lot more moisture than normal hair, so however much normal conditioner you are using, double it! Really squish it into your hair too, it makes a big difference.

I usually get my products from Superdrug, but I've just seen they're not delivering hair products. Maybe try Boots? Or Look Fantastic have a lot of Cantu products.

@BemidjiMinnesota thank you. That's really helpful. I will get ordering and go for it!

I’ve been doing it for a couple of months and have been having great fun with it, never having really used much hair product before and being really crap at styling my hair. Have become a bit of a junkie trying new ones, but the brand I really like is Shea Moisture - which sounds like it would be too much for my fine, barely wavy hair - but it has banished the frizz and made it shine like never before. But it is an internet rabbit hole of a topic and I have definitely relaxed about it and very often just use leave-in in day 1 and then gel in day 2 to lengthen time between washes. I look shite though as have decided to embrace the grey as well (another pre-lockdown decision I’m thankful for as am psychologically prepared) but quite excited about where it might all lead!

@BemidjiMinnesota I will follow your regime on Saturday and report back! Thank you

@justtakeatowel Please do! But if it all goes wrong and you end up with vertical 80s hair then I apologise; it's a learning process. 🤷‍♀️

I tried it for 2 hours having never left my hair to dry naturally . The look 👀 on my sons face said it all and it was back to the parlux.

Stick with it - it honestly is worth it.
The greasy scalp is just transition and this will settle down quickly - I'd say after a couple of weeks.
I've been CG since June last yr - awful frizzy fluffy hair, damaged by years of ringing... pretty much all the damage is gone now, the curls are getting better each week, and it's really growing!
Mine is fine too and I can't bear it feeling 'producty'. My routine is:

Co-wash scrubbing 5 mins with a light conditioner (eg Faith in Nature)
Loads more conditioner squished in with lots more water for 5 mins (bowl method)
Pantene 5 mousse scrunched into soaking wet hair
Blot hair with micro fibre towel
Brush (!) through lightly, then smooth and scrunch in flaxseed gel
Diffuse upside down and side to side.

Lasts 3 days then I'm desperate to wash - as I say, I hate it feeling heavy - I like to be able to shake the curls.

I've been doing CG for a couple of years and have never looked back.
The key for me is a hairdresser who understands it. I travel 50 mins to one but she's so worth it.
Here's my routine
Baby shampoo for clarifying, after hair dye
Superdrug extracts or Aldi apple conditioner for co washing
Shockwaves mousse upside down on soaking wet hair
Cantu coconut curl cream or Shea gel upside down to get a caste
Scrunch once dry.
On future days, wet hands and scrunch
Use a bit of cantu spray if going out

Hairdresser is in NW and she's awesome. PM if you want her details

Just wanted to recommend a brand called Boucleme, all natural, no sulfates, sillicones etc, very light and smells amazing. I have very thick, very curly hair and tried many of the products on here, eg Cantu, found them sticky or the smell overpowering. Boucleme shampoo (no foam), then leave-in conditioner and a bit of the light defining gel on the frizzier edges. It's a bit pricier but lasts a long time, and I think you can now buy from Boots, though I've always got online. Oh, and air drying in this lovely weather gives the best results.

Ok so with the clumps drying on top of your head, how do you then part and arrange your hair afterwards without messing them all up? I think this is where I go wrong!

I’ll try the upside down, shopping wet curl cream and mousse tonight, plop, then diffuse dry upside down. I did a co wash last night and for the first time since I started, my hair doesn’t feel revoltingly greasy after the co wash! So that’s a good development.

Moonbaby I don't bother parting my hair, I just let it fall where it naturally wants to fall. If you were going to part it then I think you'd do it in this order:
Out of shower
Stand upright
Roughly part soaking hair with fingers
Put head upside down
Start to squish in conditioner

It's not necessary to have a razor sharp parting with curly hair, the curls form where they form.

Join the a CG group on Facebook! If you're following the method, you shouldn't be using any shampoo at all. Either use a co wash, or just conditioner to wash :)