Curly girl help

[CostaCosta]

I'm following the curly girl hair routine. I find my hair just looks greasy though can anyone offer any advice? Pic uploaded for critique! Thanks

What products are you using? Are you leaving conditioner in?

I wash with a conditioner then use the cantu define and shine custard. I use a leave in conditioner once a week

@QueenCT am i supposed to leave the conditioner in? I've been washing it out

Are you still in the transition period?
My hair was constantly greasy and limp when I was transitioning.

Now I use a low poo to combat the grease. the Green Tea XHC Shampoo is classed as low poo

It just looks like it needs a good wash .
Maybe you’re leaving too much product on the hair ?

It could be the leave in, my hair hates leave in! Maybe try a gel instead of the custard

If your hair is still transitioning off of sulphates it will look like this until it gets used to it. Does the custard leave a cast? (hard and crunchy) If it does it might be that you need to scrunch it out.

But it's probably transition if you've not been doing it very long

The United Curls Facebook page has lots of good advice. Could be product build up, you could try an apple cider vinegar rinse. Or it could be the coconut in the Cantu stuff - not all curly hair likes coconut, mine doesn't.

But I agree with the PP - if you've not been doing it for long it's probably just the transition period.

Thanks everyone, i've been doing it for a week so hopefully it's just the transition period. Impatient, much!

more than likely it’s the cantu, I know some CG people swear it’s for any curly hair, but you look wavy, not curly and you’ll want lightweight products.

I find the curly girl method only really works for proper curls which are usually quite dry. your hair doesn't look dry not curly (just a bit wavy) and the curly girl method often is an overkill in that case Your hair just looks overloaded with product. It needs a proper wash. Do you use a shampoo? I have very curly and dry curls and even I cannot manage without shampoo. CGM is a lot of trial and error... looks like you did far too much for your particular hairtype.

You also wash the conditioner out. I guess queen asked if you use a leave in conditioner.

what exactly are you doing right now?

I think it looks like it could be quite curly. Cantu probably too heavy. Use less styler as it appears overloaded.
Great thread on here for curly girls .
Good luck.

My hair is wavy and it hated the Cantu products and any leave-in conditioner. I also have to wash with low poo all the time, not co-wash or the build up is just awful. Then I do a clarifying wash at least once a fortnight. I have fair hair and too much product just shows up as dirty and I don't think it has a particular tendency to be dry, so full-on CGM method is overkill for me.

I have very curly hair but it is quite soft and limp instead of being big and wiry. I have to wash my hair at least every other day. I use Maui coconut or the vanilla bean shampoo and conditioner. Afterwards, i gently dry with a towel and then use a smallish dollop of the cantu custard. I comb through my hair after adding the custard. This is when I flip my head upside down and gently scrunch. I tried using the plopping technique with a t-shirt but it made no difference to the final look and it was too much of a faff.
Have you used a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the silicone that is probably in your hair from previous products? I used Noughty Detox Dynamo to start off and now use it every month or so which stops that heavy, greasy look.
It took about 3 weeks for me to find the routine and products that worked best for me so stick with it!

When you cowash, do you add loads of conditioner with lots on your roots and scalp (I use 2 handfuls just for roots and scalp area) and really massage it into your scalp for a couple of mins? I then add a bit of water (usually just stick my head under the shower for a second or two) and massage the watery conditioner again through the roots and scalp and then rinse really well with warm water. It helps if it's quite a thin conditioner. You may already be doing all that!

Yes, with Curly Girl you wash with a conditioner (with CG safe ingredients), rinse it out, then condition again if your hair is dry and either mostly rinse that out and add any style cream/mousse/gel etc or rinse it all out and add style cream/mousse/gel.

The Facebook United Curls group has files at the top for beginners. They can suggest products. They don't advocate oils as they mask hair and stop moisture getting in.

Transition can take a month or so, I just washed mine a lot and wore it up. Also make sure you're massaging your scalp for two minutes when you wash with the conditioner, to agitate off all the grease and dirt. It does get better I promise!

Boots curl creme is great, lightweight but still defining

You might want to try a lo poo. Co-washing doesn't work for everyone.

Thank you SO much everyone! I really appreciate all the advice. I'm going to keep going with it and see how I get on. Thanks again!

You have a lot of build up. Loads of people get this when they start curly girl. They quit shampoo at the same time as they start trying lots of new products, most of which are very heavy. The result is limp hair with , greasy roots and so people give up on CG.

You need to clean your hair! Id say use sulphate free shampoo. You can either use the sulphate free shampoo all over or just on your roots and cowash the rest of your hair.

I'd ditch the Cantu and buy a really cheapie gel, mousse and curl cream.

Then experiment with layering them in dif orders eg curl cream then mousse on damp hair, or mousse then gel on dripping wet hair, or all three products then twist your hair into ringlets.

Cantu is quite heavy.

My hair is curlier than yours , think loose corkscrew, but curly girl is too intense. I've found I get great results with an sls free shampoo mines a solid and a moisturising conditioner, I'm using Superdrug castor oil and shea conditioner. I also have a tub of the castle oil and shea curl cream but I only use it for special occasions.

I love the cantu define and shine custard but I have very different hair to you, I suspect it’s too heavy for your hair type.

I’d try mousse or a lighter gel.

@Sexnotgender

I love the cantu define and shine custard but I have very different hair to you, I suspect it’s too heavy for your hair type.

I’d try mousse or a lighter gel.

Totally agree. That cantu product is amazing for my hair but I have corkscrew curls. It's worth looking at the curl patterns charts, working out which applies to you (see picture) and googling products that work for that type. I'm 3B but it looks like you might be a 2B or 2C which will need a different routine and products.