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?!

Moonbaby it's better to put your hair up high, between your crown and your forehead, then wrap your silk scarf around your head, because that stops your curls from being crushed and rubbed against the pillow or your head. It's called a pineapple. You will look like Vicky Pollard but it's worth it.

justtakeatowel At least nobody can see you now due to lockdown! Are you going to wash your hair today? There's a thing called a 'full wet refresh' that involves completely wetting your hair, brushing it upside down, then scrunching it (also upside down), and drying it. The water reactivates the product in your hair and it's almost like a wash day, but takes much less time. The kind of result you get depends on your products. Once I got great curls, another time I looked like my hair was made out of string.

Here's me today

I'm very late to this thread, but it's so interesting. I started to change how I looked after my hair about 9 months ago, I don't follow CGM religiously but I've borrowed some of the ideas. Before (when I was doing a standard every other day shampoo and conditioner, brushing several times a day to keep it tame), it was frizzy and unmanageable and looking back on photos it's so much better now. I wash it with shampoo and conditioner (both Alberto basalm coconut, the conditioner doesn't have any nasties in) once a week, and with just conditioner once in between. Currently trying to reduce it further. I use a wide toothed comb to detangle it once I've put the conditioner on, then I rinse almost all of it out with cool water. I get out of the bath and tip my head upside down, scrunching it with my hands to encourage the curls, then I absorb some of the water with a T shirt, especially focusing on the underside of my roots as that gives me more volume. After about 5 minutes or so (while I clear up the bathroom etc) I work a few drops of argon oil into the ends and the scalp, then leave it to air dry. When it's mostly dry, I lift it into a loose pineapple to encourage more volume. I also sleep in a pineapple. In general, I'm very pleased as it's much more manageable and the curls are more defined. It also doesn't go ratty once I've had it loose for a few hours, which it used to do. I'd like more shiny definition though, and the main problem is that the underneath bit at the back goes straight quite quickly, even though the rest of it is curly. Any advice?

What does SOTC mean? Where I'm from it means Shit On The City in footballs terms. Somehow I don't think that's the case here!

@SheepSocks scrunch out the crunch 😊 when you’ve used gel/mousse on your hair and it leaves it all crunchy, you scrunch your hair until all the crunchiness is gone and you’re left with silky curls. That’s the theory, anyway!

I’ll try leaving the crunch on overnight, and the pineapple tonight and see how I get on

Thank you @MoonBabysMagicalKalimba

If your hair is too short to pineapple overnight then what do people suggest?

This my hair, please can I have honest opinions?

@Rollerbird What products are you planning to use? When starting out the main thing to remember is to condition A LOT. Curly hair is dry, so the more moisture you can get into it the better. If your hair is too short to pineapple you can wrap it in a silk scarf (wrap it so your hair is pointing up to the sky and not flattened down), or some people fashion a floppy sleeping hat out of a very soft vest top. Say goodbye to your dignity

@Bakedpotatoandgin do you use any other curl products aside from argon oil? Maybe a curl creme (I love Cantu but it's a bit heavy for some), or gel would help to hold the curl. You can buy a cheapo gel, squish a big palm full into your wet hair, as it dries it forms a hard cast, then scrunch out the crunch (SOTC) with a little oil, or your hands covered in a cotton T shirt.

@SheepSocks Have you seen a doctor about your hair thinning? It could be a sign of a thyroid issue or hormonal problem. If you're healthy then maybe some hair vitamins would help. I take these Perfectil Hair Tablets which I think has helped my hair to be fuller. You have to take them for months to see an improvement though. Castor oil is good for the roots of your hair. You can apply some to your roots before a wash day, and really massage it in for 5-10 minutes with your fingertips to encourage blood flow to your scalp. Lots of people sleep with this in their hair as a hair treatment, and then wash their hair as normal in the morning.

If your hair is fine, try to apply products when it's damp, and try using lighter products at first. The curl custard might be OK. Use a 10p sized blob and rub it between your hands first, then turn your head upside down and rake through your hair, scrunching your hair towards your scalp to encourage it to curl. It should form a hard cast as it dries, then you can scrunch out the crunch and hopefully reveal beautiful curls.

@bemidjiMinnesota I've gone a bit mad on Amazon...
I've ordered cantu deep conditioning masque, leave in repair cream, and custard
Also a gel, and a Co wash, and a diffuser attachment for the hairdryer 😂 😂
Need a silk scarf now!

Thank you @BemidjiMinnesota - I have a few vitamin deficiencies, I will mention the hair thinning the next time I see my doctor.

Thanks - I might try a cheap gel. My hair doesn't do well with too much product generally, so I'll probably hold off a heavier one.

@BemidjiMinnesota I washed it yesterday and it was awful after I had done it! It looked like it was going so well but I've learnt that mousse alone doesn't work!

I'm going to do a deep condition today- the two occasions when I've had curls have been after this, and see how I get on!

I am about to start a bit of curly girl (need to do my roots first) and am waiting for some conditioner and custard to arrive. Have been using silicon and sulfate free shampoo bars for months. Last time I washed my hair, I conditioned and didn't brush/comb or hotbrush as I normally would and ended up with few nice bits but mostly frizz. . Been tying my hair back ever since.

Planning to co-wash, custard and air dry with lots of scrunching tonight. My hair is wavy rather than curly and wondering if I need to use a diffuser? Normally air drying my hair leaves it flat and frizzy.

Mine's just awful again today, I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with this!! I can't even seem to put it up in a way that's acceptable. I was hoping I'd have moved on from early 90s frizz but that is definitely not the case.

Roots done. Co-washed and used custard. Kept scrunching it while it air dried and then read that I shouldn't touch it until dry. It's not looking great, but not so awful that I won't keep going. It's not frizzy, so I suppose that's better than it would have been if I'd just left it to dry after normal shampooing.

It doesn't feel nice, but I don't usually use gel like products. I fear it'll look even worse tomorrow.

Oh no @justtakeatowel ! Did you do curl training when you did your deep conditioner? What do you think the main problem is? Is your hair not clumping, is it frizzy, it is dry? Yesterday I washed my hair and didnt use enough gel (was distracted) and instead of forming a cast, my hair was just limp and greasy looking. Do you think that might be an issue for you? The cast should be absolutely rock hard. Try to use really a lot of gel, like half a Tunnocks tea cake volume.

Haha @Rollerbird welcome to the world of buying all kinds of magical lotions and potions!

@Cynderella no you shouldn't touch hair when it's drying or it goes all weird. Ideally you would use a diffuser (low heat, low power) or fan heater to dry your hair, that's how you get a good cast. Your hair might look wavy now, but with the proper treatment as it grows then you might start getting ringlet curls. Curly hair is an unpredictable animal.

I'm pretty sure my hair dryer came with a diffuser, but I wouldn't know where to start looking for it. Will live with it for a couple of days and then have another go. I am starting to think it's not as bad as I thought it was!

I really like gel measurements in tunnocks tea cakes

It's a unit of measure I think we can all get behind.

@BemidjiMinnesota I'm going to focus on technique I think. I wonder if I'm just not getting it right, I don't think I'm spending enough time on each bit! I didn't curl train, I must remember to do that next time. It just seems frizzy and big! Doesn't feel as nice either. I used the ultimate blends almond conditioner for the first time so maybe that didn't agree with my hair. For the first time it also didn't feel clean either and just felt horrible from the very beginning.

I'm going to totally rewash and begin again today!!

As with a lot of things I try, I think I have information overload. I should just read one blog and stop. Can an expert tell me if my plan for next wash sounds OK?

• wash with approved conditioner
• comb through with wide toothed comb
• leave for a while and then rinse
• apply Cantu custard and scrunch through
• plop in t-shirt
• remove t shit, don't touch hair and air dry
• when dry, scrunch

@Cynderella looks good. I apply my product with "praying hands" rather than scrunching as that reduces frizz for me.

@Cynderella if you look further up @BemidjiMinnesota does a great summary. Today I tried something I saw on Facebook, I'll attach a screen shot. It really is information overload! I tried to follow that as I had similar products and felt like I really needed to concentrate on what I was doing.

I think I need a protein treatment so I've been reading about rice water rinses. I think because we can't go off and just buy other products easily I'm having to think and be more careful with what I have. I'm feeling a bit more positive today, inconsistency is really annoying. I tried to replicate what I did following bemid's method as that had been my best day but it turned out weirdly yesterday- I did use different products so probably why. I will try again another day! Onwards and upwards!
P.S sorry to keep including you Bemid you seem to have become my personal guru 🤣

@justtakeatowel I am here for you!

I love this protein mask As your hair is quite short you might only need half the pack and can save the other half for next time. It's possible to overload your hair with protein so you should alternate between a moisturising deep conditioner and a protein one. This post talks about protein overload

@Cynderella Your routine sounds good. I would just tweak it a little like so:

• wash with approved conditioner (make sure you really scrub your scalp with your fingertips, but if your hair feels greasy afterwards you can use a CG friendly shampoo. Some people can't cowash, I need shampoo to feel clean.)
• comb through with wide toothed comb
• leave for a while and then scrunch the conditioner into your hair with wet hands, to force the watery conditioner mix into your hair , rinse

- with head upside down, apply a tiny bit of conditioner to the ends of your hair and scrunch up again

• with head still upside down apply Cantu custard by either praying hands or raking and scrunch through
• plop in t-shirt, for 20 mins. When finished turn head upside down and scrunch the excess water out with the T Shirt
• remove t shirt, don't touch hair and air dry, flipping hair from side to side like a woman in an 80s music video
• when dry, scrunch out the crunch with a dry T shirt over your hands

Hope that helps! Good luck