Curly girl styling products

[AnxiousElephant77]

Like loads of others, I'm using lockdown to try and make peace with my naturally curly hair. I've never tried the curly girl method, but I've found some sulfate free shampoo and conditioner. What products do you use to style, after you have washed your hair?

And am I right in thinking you basically just wash your hair, condition it, leave a bit of conditioner in, and then style your hair, but don't use heat. Last time I had my hair curly I used to wrap it in a t-shirt after washing it which did work.

Am I missing anything?

I use Cantu hair custard to form a cast on my wet curls and then gently
scrunch the cast off once they're completely dry.

You look like a crispy 1980s nightmare while it's drying and depending on how much hair you have it can take ages, but it gives me perfect spirals with zero frizz.

I do use heat, though - once my hair's about 50% dry I flip it upside down and use a diffuser on low, without touching it with my fingers AT ALL. It takes all my willpower not to scrunch while I diffuse but it's 100% worth it in the end.

(Note: I don't do this every day - only when I want to look fancy Otherwise I pop a tiny bit of custard in after I get out of the shower and let it dry naturally.)

Well done for trying to make peace with your natural hair.

Pretty much. I have 3b curls, I style with cantu curl activator (this seems to work for a lot of people with different curl types 🙂) and a gel. At the moment I'm using an LA looks one, since I can't be arsed to make flax seed gel!

Some people find it helps styling to wrap in a t shirt (plopping). You can use a hair dryer but on a cooler setting with a diffuser. Hope that helps!

I wouldn't even know where my diffuser attachment is! Am I going to look like a frizzy mess for months?! Interesting, I've never heard of any of these products!

You absolutely don't need a diffuser - I just use it on days when I don't want to wait for my hair to dry naturally.

I get the best volume when I dry upside-down and with some movement, so it's great for that.

But if you're happy to air-dry, great! It minimises the likelihood of frizz - you just have to be really diligent about not touching your hair while it dries.

Following with interest.

Don’t ask me I just spent £57 on curl products 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

I use banana conditioner from the pound shop and VO5 hair gel. And that’s it!

I do diffuse dry my hair but that’s mainly because it looks better when I do and it’s so long at the moment and there’s so much of it it would just go flat if I didn’t.

Just wash it add some curl creme and diffuse .. if it's curly then it will curl .. that's all I do .. I'm amazed how many people have curly hair and straighten it ..

but I've found some sulfate free shampoo and conditioner

you need silicone free conditioner.

I use sulphate free shampoo, cantu conditioner and a leave in curl cream - either the boots pink curl cream or the curl taming leave in cream from Noughty. I style my hair with the denman brush and let it air dry.

But I guess what works and what doesn't depends on the curls - what works for one is a disaster for another. Lots of trial and error. took me a couple of years to figure it all out.

what kind of curls do you have?

Last time I had my hair curly I used to wrap it in a t-shirt after washing it which did work.

some swear by it but it causes endless frizz for me.

Also looking at doing this. Lots grey in my hair too.

Am I supposed to use something to get rid of all the silicon already in my hair? Suggestions for cheap products appreciated too.

I just used a clarifying shampoo for the first few washes when switching.

I use Boucleme - the curl defining gel and a bit of the super hold styler.

These are the best products I have ever used.

Brilliant thanks. Try an find something on Amazon now. :-)

The first thing i had known was that , just because you have curly hair , what works for one curly hair type can be vastly different for another . Whenever I tried curly girl and failed it was because I wasn't listening to And adapting for my hair . Some curly girls for example :

• insist you need to rake in or comb through product using a desman brush . For me , massive no no as I lose my curl pattern . I have to smooth product on only .
• insist you need to leave conditioner in . Again a fail for me as weighed hair down and gained no curl definition .
• say you can never have too much product . Others will say use sparingly . You have to have the patience for a few months of trial and error for everything but the results are so worth it .

* How much and what type* of product you use will vary so much and there is a lot of testing involved but suddenly you hit gold and never look back , learning so much about your hair in the process . There's soo much to try - custards , curl creams , gels of varying strengths , mousses , curl activators , etc . And then there's variation in the method . Apply to wet hair or damp ? Air dry or diffuse ? Diffuse on warm , cold or both ? Diffuse instantly or let curls set ? Plop on towel or not ? Finger coil or not ? Finger coil in natural hair direction or set a pattern ? Etc ..... yes it's a minefield . But once you find what works for you well worth it and the fact that I only need a few inexpensive , easy to find products , will never need to straighten my hair again and have healthy , shiny , mainly frizz free ringlets is worth it

I guess it really depends on how curly your hair is.
I wash with shampoo weekly (currently using up a basic shampoo) conditioner is fancy sulfate and silicone free. Then the key product is the curl lotion, I do really well with Marc Anthony stuff.
I’ve not noticed a difference based on shampoo or conditioner product but yes the curl cream took some trial and error.
But! No weeks of trying my curls curl up right from day 1.
I’m even able to comb through the curl cream.
So 6 days a week it’s wet, wash with conditioner, rinse, towel dry, curl cream rubbed on,then combed through. Fluff and air dry.

I guess it really depends on how curly your hair is.

there are so many more variable? Does it need protein or does it need moisture? do you have high or low porosity hair? How thin/think/coarse it is. There are so many variables. It really is just trial an error.

Think 3b. Very curly/ringletty. Even when I use curlers to tame it, it stills tries to revert back to its own way.

Fine and porous, coloured although about an inch of grey/white at front and dark roots at back.

Lovely eh?

There are so many variables. It really is just trial an error

Absolutely . My sister and I have really similar looking curls but what works for her doesn't work for me and vice versa. For me I do
Weekly wash with twisted sisters clarifying shampoo
Fortnightly Shea moisture mask
Palmers coconut conditioner
Smooth all products in
Squish to condish
Rinse by squeezing in water and then squeezing it out , maintaining curl pattern
As I am leave in conditioner - praying hands
Pantene curl mousse - praying hands
Twisted sister gel- praying hands
Finger coil
Scrunch
Squeeze out water with towel , squeezing over finger coils
Leave for half hour then diffuse on alternating cool and warm with hair upside down or leave to air dry and go
then scrunch out with an oil
Subsequent days/m - refresh with spraying water and applying a diluted gel if needed . That's all!

If you actually style your hair sometimes but still follow the silicone free regime, what heat spray/finishing products do you use?

not much use in lockdown - but I have really curly frizzy hair which I have always detested. The annual straightening session in the hairdressers not only makes it look a lot better, but removes all this faff. Get up, comb hair, job done. Also get some shine on it and people remember you for something other than a massive mop on your head.

it isn't due until about August and is lasting well - after washing it is only 10 mins with the straighteners and that could be just 5. There are a few bendy bits but 10 mins is my maximum time, far too boring a chore.

it's wellastrate, and loreal xtenso also does the trick. Life is too short for spending ages on your hair. Even in lockdown.

I am also using lockdown to embrace the curly girl method. I've managed to get it right once so far, and got complimented on a euro video call!

I wound be interested to hear tips from those with fine, thin probe to grease and frizzy hair.

Does anyone know if boots mango and papaya conditioner is approved, can't find ingredients to check

All fantastic. I'll let you know how it goes!

I use Cantu products then Togo's Catwalk Curls serum. I don't blow dry at all, just dry naturally. You have to put the serum in when the hair is soaking wet otherwise it goes crispy.