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?!

Iv been doing cg since September. Fine wavy hair.
I use a silicone scalp brush when I co wash. Helps to get it really clean.
I think it's trial and error with products and I'm still not totally happy with my hair but don't think I could go back to shampoo and straightening.
It's so much thicker and healthier.

@BlindAssassin1 what have you done to sort your curly hair? Have you any recommendations?

justtakeatowel, I went back to just baby shampoo for a least 2 bottles worth to clear the build up (had a really itchy scalp and lots of build up, which happens a lot to people). Then went through a bottle of Oloplex 3(sp?) to rebuild the structure of the hair, as well as deep conditioning treatments, some with protein, some without, at least a couple times a week. The FB groups can advocate no protein if you have low porosity hair - this is not true, all hair needs some protein, especially if you colour your hair.

All regular products off the shelves of Boots or supermarkets, all loaded with sulfates for cleaning and silicones for curls (except Oloplex which was from Amazon). I like the Dream Lengths range at the moment. Personally I avoid all coconut products, which seem to be in loads of CGM approved products, and itchy Ms.

I had one good CGM hair cut - but she lives miles away so I do my own which is easy enough with scissors (and lots of yt videos!). I found I don't need layers as I have fine curls.

The best tip I got was to protect your ends with oil. Lorraine Massey, who 'invented' CGM (no she didn't btw, woc have been doing this stuff for ever), said this was a no no. But when your hair is wet and put a little oil (argan is lovely) on your ends then your products over the top it is so hydrating and stops frizzy or splitting ends.

I had to take off a good couple of inches myself so it was just below armpit length. Its now down to bar strap length (when dry) in about 18 months, which is super fast for my hair.

I think you know if CGM isn't working for you if you get an itchy scalp, build up, breakage around the face/ neckline, or find an excessive amount of hair in the plug hole.

If you've ever seen someone with over-dyed and processed hair, like its 'mushy', stringy but gummy at the same time, if its both fizzy but wet looking then you need to stop. The hydration/ protein level are totally gone, and the hair structure is destroyed, and if you carry on it can't be repaired. I belong to some CGM recovery groups and there were a lot of tears and shaved heads.

Gosh that was long, sorry! DP said it should be my specialist Mastermind subject!

I decided to wash mine with body shop rainforest shampoo which has no silicones, sulphates, parabens and something else I can't remember then continued CG. I'm also timing it so I showered at 10.05, plopped for 30 mins and now letting it dry. I've applied the cantu curl activator and custard. My hair 2.5 hours later still isn't dry at all fully so I haven't SOTC yet. I don't have a full cast yet on my hair but some bits seem to have got it!

@BlindAssassin1 that's really interesting, I think I'll see what happens as it goes along but look really carefully at my hair. It does currently feel in better condition than it has in ages but then it's the first time in 20 odd years since I've not used straighteners every day! I've now been 17 days no cloud 9s! I'm hoping my front will grow more quickly because of that if nothing else!

No ringlets today and weird front!

@BlindAssassin1 your post is really interesting and I’ve definitely noticed I’m losing a lot more hair than usual when I wash!

I’m close to giving up too. After washing, curl cream, leave in, mousse, plopping and diffusing the curls look lovely and ringletty. I let it finish drying naturally and wrap it in a silk scarf before bed, but by the morning it’s a flat, frizzy mess and all the lovely curls from the night before have just gone!

So after scrunching this is what I look like! I'm ugly enough I don't need a frizzy mop to add to it

Oh and it's taken 3 hours and 10 minutes for me to get to this too!!!

Looks ok to me justtakeatowel

Mine has been straight for about 14 years. I have tried and failed to get back to my previous curls, many times. Going try it again.

IIRC I just used to wash it, use conditioner then mousse. Let it air dry. Used to wash it every 3-4 days. Looked great. Going to try same again. Though my hair is much finer now.

I don’t understand how CGM can make your hear break off though! That’s a bit scary.

I never ever used heat in mine tbh.

@justtakeatowel After plopping, have you tried using a microfiber towel or cotton T shirt to squeeze excess water out of your hair? Squish your hair up gently but firmly to get most of the water out, flipping your hair from side to side to make sure you get all parts; it'll dry a lot faster. To dry, I've heard of people using a colander when they don't have a diffuser, or I hang my head off the side of the bed and let a fan heater blow my hair dry. If I let it dry naturally it'd be flat AF and would take about 7 hours.

Try not to pull your hair tight, that stretches out your curl pattern and you won't be able to get it back without washing it. If you want to tie it up, loosely gather it into a claw clip on top of your head and near the front. That way your curls won't get stretched and will stand a chance of surviving. Or you can use a padded scrunchie and dont pull it tight.

It's a real process of learning what your hair likes. Do you have Instagram? Here are some people who post great curly hair content and short videos about techniques and products:

Hi Felicia

Inge Curls

House of Curls

The Mestiza Muse

There are thousands more, but these are ones that I really rate. Most of them have progress pictures back in their feed so you can see most of them started out looking like they'd been electrocuted but now have beautiful curls. I think your hair is somewhere in between Inge Curls and House of Curls?

I just haven’t washed my hair in 3 and a half weeks, clip it up when I shower and sleep in a loose low pony. Hair is doing bonny.

@OneHanded did you see the picture of my morning hair- low pony won't help that!

@BemidjiMinnesota I'll have a look at those links, I'll try squishing after plopping, I really need to get the time down. I tried a sieve the other day and it was the worst one ever! Went straight into a ponytail!!!

I enjoy following these threads as I like the theory that just doing x, y and z will simplify your life. But, whenever I've tried this, it's looked shit. And means you're housebound (obviously okay atm) because you have wet hair for so long. This "I'm just fed up of feeling ugly every time I walk past a mirror" resonates so much.

SwedishEdith the transition period from heat treated hair to curly is really tough because of the heat damage but also because your hair has literally never been in it's natural curl pattern before, so it doesnt know how to curl and takes a while to adjust to the new normal. It's not just going to suddenly spring into beautiful ringlets after a couple of washes. The first few weeks and months are bad, but as your hair starts to heal and isn't being stretched and burned regularly, then it gradually returns to its natural state. Even now if I straighten my hair (maybe 2x a year) it takes a few washes for my hair to recover. My curls come out square or frizzy.

Now my washdays take much longer than they did before because of all the squishing and plopping, but my daily refresh takes 3 minutes. So the time I lost on my curly wash day I make up on non wash days. I only wash my hair 2x a week now too so there are fewer of them.

justtakeatowel Thank you for trying the sieve, now I know never to do that! Try the fan heater thing if you have one. Your hair will be sticking out of your head like rock hard tentacles, but then when you SOTC the ringlets come popping out. The absolute best way to dry hair is by sitting in the hot sun, but obviously that's not possible 99% of the time.

This salon in Bristol is always posting amazing curl transformations, so you can look at them to see what can be achieved with your hair. I think [[https://www.instagram.com/p/B_MYc7EJZPP/?igshid=t0fo2hw5mmai this hair]] is the most similar to yours, and the 'after' picture is amazing.

@BemidjiMinnesota I need to sort out how to refresh as I think that would help a lot but currently my refreshes are taking just as long and results are shocking!!!

@BemidjiMinnesota what is your refresh routine?

My curls look lovely in the evening when they’ve just been washed, styled and dried, I wrap in a silk scarf for sleep but by the morning it’s a birds nest

How are you refreshing? Some people use water with a bit of conditioner mixed in (it needs to be quite wet, not just a little damp), but i get better results dry refreshing, just scrunching some mousse in and letting it dry.

If the top is a problem you can completely soak the top, add a tiny bit more product and scrunch it dry with a microfiber towel or T shirt, like how some people just wash their fringes?

Would you change to a side parting? That way if one side of your hair looks crap you can flip it over and (hopefully!) Have a better style on the other side.

Maybe would help you to get hydration in?

MoonBaby I just use mousse now, but some people prefer a wet refresh.

What does your hair look like when you wake up? What are you using to refresh now? Try the damp refresh with water mixed with conditioner like i just posted above, and then diffuse on low heat and low power until dry, it should take less than a minute and it can resurrect your hair.

I'm CG for 2 years. it's amazing. I just use conditioner to wash andcondition and then use Trepadora Papaya Slip for styling. I wash my hair every 5-7 days and just air dry. This is one side of hair just now day 4 in from last co wash.

Gosh my hair looks really light tbere. it's not that blonde really!

@BemidjiMinnesota I've been trying to do a side parting! I finding I can't go more side yet as it's too short so not enough to flip over, I'm kind of seeing what happens when I take the T-shirt off as when I tried to put a parting in it made the top really odd.

I want to do a side parting and I think when I get more hair it will be easier.

I really need to get mousse, I think it'll make a real difference but when I was last in the supermarket there wasn't any there!

I also think I'm going to struggle until I can get some length and curl at the front. I'll persevere a bit longer. I just hate the fact that it ages me 20 years currently with this frizzy mop on top!!!

Some people twist it when it's wet to train their curls, you could try that to start teaching your hair what it needs to do? It'll be like a natural version of wearing rollers.

Use the method from to divide and conquer twist your washed hair (with product in), wet plop and then dry. Without a diffuser drying will be very hard though, let's hope for a hot day with a nice breeze!

I was watching some videos today and it says that people with finer hair get better results from applying their products to damp hair, rather than soaking wet hair. Maybe give that a try? Use a t shirt or microfiber towel to squish the water out first and then apply your styling products and let your hair dry (it should take less time).

I've got to say, I love how game you are to try new things! Don't give up! ✊

@JMAngel1 your curls are amazing! Do you have it bleached? It looks in great condition.

@BemidjiMinnesota I'll have a watch.

Ok so I've tried putting more on the side and actually I'm only looking 15 years older now .

I'm not sure if it's long enough to stay but definitely the way to go. I could probably go more side in time too! Picture not great, looks more side in real life!