Question about Curly Girl Method

[Starfish83]

I’m actually aiming to be more of a ‘wavy girl’ but, for those who have tried this method, will my hair get less greasy if I commit to it for a few months? It’s early days but I can’t bear having greasy hair...

Gentle bump x

I'm wavy and loosely follow CGM. I don't get on with sulfate free shampoos and cowashing. Gentle sulphate shampoos work well for me, I see no reason to force myself through some adjustment period with some faint promise of it getting better.

Most wavies with a platform at the very least use a sulphate free shampoo and use a clarifying shampoo once or twice a month so I suggest just doing whatever feels right for your hair.

The CGM doesn't really translate as well 1:1 on wavy hair IME. I'm critical of the method as a whole though, so I'm somewhat biased, I think there are good things to cherry pick from it but the whole cult of the method I treat with suspicion.

I loosely follow the curly girl method with with caution since discovering that Lorraine Massey who founded the method also founded the company DevaCurl and if you google ‘devacurl controversy’ you’ll see why I have issues with it! In theory if you drop the sulphates you’re hair will get less greasy as it’s not being totally stripped of it’s natural oils so doesn’t need to produce as much to compensate but in practice it works well for some people and not others. The main rule that I follow is no silicones.

Your*! Sorry I think there’s a few typos there I’m a very clumsy typer!

What are you using at the moment? Have you done a clarifying wash?

I have been trying this, but think I'll end up doing a compromise version. For me, it's the styling rather than the shampoo free factor that presents difficulties.

A couple of years ago, I stopped buying bottles of shampoo and moved to shampoo bars. The one I use now is silicon and sulfate free. I struggled for weeks because my hair felt so horrible. In the end, I used a Lush bar as a halfway measure. In the end, my hair adapted and I went from washing my hair every day to every three days.

I'm co-washing now, and my hair feels clean. It really shouldn't, but it does. I'd suggest trying whatever you want to do when you're not going anywhere next day, and be prepared to take baby steps if you're not happy with the result. I do think that the less you wash your hair, the less it will need washing, but the transition period can be grim.