➿ Fantastic Haircare: Making Sense and Science of the Curly Girl Method

[botemp]

Offshoot from the Fantastic Skincare threads to document the trials and tribulations in order to make sense and science of the curly girl method. We don't necessarily follow it to the letter and are even critical of it in places. Nor are we especially knowledgeable at this point but we're learning as we go. Feel free to join in (especially if you have superior knowledge) as we attempt to approach this with an interest in ingredients and try to not buy everything that promises us magical things…

Useful blogs:

Curly Cailín
Science-y Hair Blog

SophieLion, I used to get on with co washing well. A mixture of stopping the dye and hormonal changes have meant my hair products have needed readjusting. Actually my hair feels much less sticky now, as if it has absorbed the product, so not so disastrous.

What it looks like now, less wispy.

Big contrast between Friday's flash drying and today's return to cantu cleanser followed by banana hair food as a conditioner and leave in followed by my aussie gel that I can never remember the name of. Both photos taken a couple of hours after washing and still very wet. The one with the spider plant growing out of my head is now :o

And my hair is not the easiest to photograph, being so dark and streaked with white!

Today, after just water spray and boots curl creme (I would usually add Cantu LIC and then curl creme). Much better, less sticky and wispy, also one less product to put on in the morning as I already put on LIC after washing anyway. So no change in styling products, just when I use them.

PickAChew, wow quite a difference in curl between the two.

I caved and ordered innersense samples. I have lift, volume and hold to try

@quirkychick

Today, after just water spray and boots curl creme (I would usually add Cantu LIC and then curl creme). Much better, less sticky and wispy, also one less product to put on in the morning as I already put on LIC after washing anyway. So no change in styling products, just when I use them.

PickAChew, wow quite a difference in curl between the two.

Of course, I slept badly and woke up with some crushed bits, then went out in the breeze and totally trashed it! Doesn't help that it needs a cut, for shaping more than for condition. The top layers Re getting very heavy. In fact, the whole lot is getting very heavy. I put it in a ponytail for a shower, about an hour ago, and my neck, which is already sore from cleaning windows, this afternoon, is grumbling about it.

Yours seems to get better day by day, quirky. Love the steely colour, too.

Struggling to get a good pic but I was hoping to hate the innersense stuff given it's pricey
I love it
I used the volume, lift and hold and much as I strongly dislike my haircut, the volume the products have given is amazing and it's so soft. If this holds up, it's my holy grail of products

Thanks PickAChew, I thought my hair might go really dry without so much LIC, but sealing it in with gel then creme on wash days seems to work. I think the mixture of Malibu C chelating shampoo and then alternating between the grey pepper shampoo and Osmo purple mask seems to be keeping a good d colour

Queen, I really like the innersense conditioner I have. I bought a sample size and it's lasted well, as a little seems to go a long way, despite me having a lot of hair.

bo, I have ordered the Gallinee prebiotic hair cream to try. I did look at the Curlsmith one too, but I liked the idea of something between a low poo and co wash as atm, the co wash is just adding to build up, but I need something gentle and not too drying. The idea of helping the scalp microbiome appeals to me too, I know it's a big factor in eczema/dermatitis.

Looks good with the Innersense Queen, did a little go a long way with you as well? What order did you use it in?

Yes, my hair was looking similar to yours with the flash drying Pick, like the hair sort of shrink wraps around your head. The scienc-y blog post did mention that LIC is usually not that great or necessary for low porosity and the ones with protein in particular to be avoided. I have a protein free one from Kiehl's that I've used for years that does a decent job and it left me puzzled why everyone loved things like the blueberry bliss LIC or the Innersense but it makes more sense now.

Hair is looking good quirky, is the bathroom all done now? I'll be looking forward to hearing about the Gallinee. It's definitely one I think has a lot of potential for me as it's not CGM marketed so I suspect while being extremely mild and nourishing it'll still have a decent surfactant/cleansing action which is what I'm on the lookout for.

Similarly, the scalp health focus appeals to me, I've been losing more hair than normal with the curly girl experimentation phase, not enough to concern me and I do think it was down to polyquat buildup on my scalp.

Anecdotally, I do find the rice rinses are helping with holding onto my hair, whenever that's part of my routine I shed way less during washing than without.

I didn't need to end up refreshing after the flash drying incident. I added a bit of the Christophe Robin daily moistuiser and it's a bit French girl messy hair and I like that fine, the curl clumps are still really defined (down to rice rinse and finger coiling, I think) and then there's just a bit of frizz, more than I'm used to but absolutely fine.

Yes I didn't need much! I raked the volume through then praying hands, praying hands and scrunch for the foam and same for the gel

I think the wind in the park has made me French girl messy hair today too .

Our ensuite is finished except for a corner storage unit, which we're waiting to be delivered. The huge shower head makes washing hair so much easier!

I end up stiff, afterwards, but find easiest to wash my hair over the side of the bath.

My hair salon has those basins that you lay down horizontally and just rest your head. They are so, so comfortable. It's a shame I can't replicate them at home!

Everyones hair is looking great!
I'm currently trying not to buy any non essentials as corona has hit my bank balance so i've just been playing with different techniques and the products I have.
Learning that how I allow my hair to dry makes a big difference, diffusing with the sieve is ok but not as good as when I allow it to just air dry. Surprisingly my best wash day was last week when I washed it early morning then drove for 4 hours with the windows down while it dried. Sadly that is not a practical hair drying method.
Yesterday I tried out putting it into a pineapple to dry and 18 hours later it is still slightly damp.
Thinking I will brave a rice water rinse as my better days are definitely after using products with protein and my current 2 in 1 treatment is much more moisture heavy than the cantu one which my hair loved.

My hair isn't looking great. Had an ecoslay try out. Packaging failures with both the minty wash and the orange marmalade. Had to scrunch on lots of extra water with the orange marmalade because my hair felt on the verge of flash drying again. Barely any cast and today I have my most expensive ponytail day to date. It's just grey and frizzy.

PickAChew, it doesn't look that frizzy to me, just more wavy and less curly. It's quite windy and humid here, so I ended up using water spray and curl creme again, when I got in after an early appointment. It was definitely not French girl messy, just wild and frizzy.

I have less hair shedding on the days when I use the olaplex. I think the shedding notices more in the shower if I've had it up, because I think it just sheds generally when it's down, whereas if it's been up the shedding all appears to happen in one go. Having said that I did have a couple of washes (pre olaplex) where I not only had usual shedding throughout my head, but a couple of small clumps came out from the longest length hair. I couldn't see where they had come from, but my hair is mostly quite dense underneath, so it probably looked worse than it was. However, that hasn't happened at all since I have used the olaplex.

The biggest take for me so far has been to stop over moisturising (with heavy oils, butters) my dry hair and focus on balancing cleansing, protein and moisture (hydration and oils).

I find the ecoslay orange marmalade hard work as well pick, I do find it useful to mix into another gel to get a better cast but on its own it's too challenging. It doesn't look that bad to me though

Quirky, yeah I'm surprised how people can use the very restrictive CGM without running into trouble at some point. Although I often get the sense that you have to persevere through a lot of crap hair for promises of better hair which lets small things accumulate. Hair and scalp health seems a better thing to focus on. has the Gallinee arrived yet?

It's hot and humid here today too and will be for the next week and a half 🥵, so slightly frizzier than normal but I'm overall very pleased with today's wash day. I did a few finger coils at the top, love the clumpier definition but I lost some body at the top. I'll attempt a full head at some point as I think that will be less flat at the roots as there's a bit of a support structure underneath.

I also think I need to do it after gel not mousse, so either skip mousse or apply that over the finger coils. I'll have to experiment a bit.

Innersense shampoo still seems to hold up better than other sulfate-free shampoos I've tried but I'm feeling a bit of buildup (of the not properly washed sort rather than product) at the bottom in the back. I'd usually clarify next wash but I don't really feel the need for it, a double shampoo may be better.

Your hair looks really long there, bo. I used to do finger coiling all the time and ended up with lots of ringlets in bigger clumpd. Maybe, I ought to try it again. No Gallinnee yet, I haven't even had an email to say it's dispatched yet When I first did CGM my hair had gone wild during pg and it did take a while to calm down. I used to co wash and loo poo. I used to use a soothing scalp loo poo from my hairdresser too, which probably helped.

It was already massive with lots of halo, at the start of the day, @quirkychick - no way was it going to get better as the day went along as it's been damp and windy!

I will try again with the orange marmalade, @botemp - hopefully the pump will work properly, this time. With wet hands and my glasses off, I couldn't see or feel what I was doing to try and fathom out what had gone wrong. Even if it ends up being useless for me. I love the deep conditioner and will probably keep using that up.

The innersense routines seem to really suit your hair. Lovely and soft looking but still well defined.

Quite glad I didn't get the orange marmalade now as it seems a little tricky to use. Although generally it seems to be a product that everyone raves about. *
*
And nice to hear you liked the innersense Queen - excited for my innersense products to arrive.

I think you hair looks good pickachew. It has some nice waves.

Bo, your hair looks fab. Also excited for my bounce curl to arrive.

Interesting less shedding with olaplex Quirky. I've been shedding a bit too recently but not sure if it's the weather or because I'm
Going quite a few days without washing (feeling lazy) and obviously don't brush it so I get the shedding builds up. How often do you use olaplex Quirky?

Regarding strict CGM, although Lorraine Massey is all about moisture and co-washing etc., all the deva curl products are very protein heavy so i think that is supposed to bring the balance.

I've been studying techniques a lot. Tried wet plopping again and it worked out well. Everything seems to be getting clearer and I'm starting to understand more about what works for different hair types and what might work for me.

I'm going to try the innersense again tomorrow as I've got a photo shoot Saturday! I need to use a bit more of the gel I think but apart from that I really liked it. It might be a full bottle worthy purchase
Got a sample of the new trepadora glaze gel, will report back when I've tried it but don't want to risk it before the shoot as it could all go wrong

This conditioner is v good BTW
https://www.creightons.com/Mobile/en/Creightons-Micellar-Detox-and-Hydrate-Conditioner-250ml/m-m-1435.aspx

I liked the look of that gel Queen as I've been on the lookout for bamboo as an ingredient and it sounds good for wavy hair but while the sample wasn't bankrupting, the gel is twice the price of Innersense in the full size (here anyhow) it has to be really amazing at that price

I watched/listened to this this morning, it was scienc-y but not overly complex, difficult concepts were explained well and it really helped focus things to what is important and what isn't for overall hair health. It's reinforced my thoughts on prioritising the scalp, so now I'm even more impatient to know if the Gallinee is any good, not helped by a lookfantastic basket currently containing it and I need other things in it...

The Gallinee is on its way, due this weekend. Just as well, as my hair needs extra washing in this sticky heat. Today it has gone extra curly but flatter .

I think my hair is pretty well balanced (protein/moisture) but that I need to do some reading around dew points/glycerin. Does anyone change their routine/products around different dew points? Not sure I can be bothered tbh.

Dew points/humidity made little sense to me until I started reading (unrelated) about hydration.

Humidity is really only of impact geographically, I'm not convinced it's that drastic here unless you go out with wet hair (especially in winter).

The dew points are of interest if you're on the more porous side, it's a bit like dehydrated skin, if your barrier has gone to shit it's going to try to get moisture (water) from outside and the barrier is therefore more permeable (and more sensitive to environmental aggressors as well as poorly holding onto existing moisture), hair similarly opens up cuticles if it's thirsty but if you're high porosity those are already quite open.

The dew points bring it to an extreme, like now with the very hot water being frizz free is an achievement that few will manage but I don't think it's worth changing up products for when it occurs so rarely, different to when you live in the dessert or somewhere hot and humid. I think a hack is to not scrunch out the crunch completely, especially in the parts where you tend to frizz up the most.