➿ Fantastic Haircare: Making Sense and Science of the Curly Girl Method (thread 2)

[botemp]

Offshoot thread 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 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 on the golden triangle of healthy hair
Science-y Hair Blog
The Mestiza Muse
The Beauty Brains (podcast/blog)

Understanding ingredients:

Commonly found ingredients in haircare

Useful information about cosmetic chemistry

Porosity:

(video)

Removing build up:

Shampoos which remove product build up

Cationic compounds (of interest to those with buildup prone and/or fine hair):

Cationic compounds found in cosmetics

Polyquats (of interest to those with buildup prone and/or fine hair):

Polyquat buildup

To polyquats or not

Silicones, polyquats and soap

Another cosmetic ingredient to be afraid of?

Protein/Moisture balance:

(video)

Extract and proteins in CGM, a biochemist explains

(video)

Hygral Fatigue

SPF protection of your hair:

UV protectant ingredients

UV damage of hair (pubmed)

Summers sun and your hair

Rice water rinses:

Rice Water Rinse

Elasticity:

Is it too late to improve your elasticity

Managing elasticity and porosity in hair

Hard and soft water:

(video)

Hard water and your hair

Olaplex:

How does Olaplex hair treatment work

Frizz:

Hair frizz science

What's your frizz type

How to tame your hair based on frizz type

Flash Drying:

Flash Drying

Next level nerdery:

Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair (cosmetic chemists' textbook)

Hi ShangPie, perhaps you hair needs mire water to form nice clumps? Maybe microplop less or skip it and see? Otherwise I'm not sure. It's so hard to get it right.

• more water

Hi there ShangPie. Have you tried a leave in conditioner? And do you ever clarify and deep condition? Not that I want to encourage the purchasing of products!

Thanks for the tips! Today was wash day and I’m pretty happy with the results.

Clarified, s2c, LIC (shea moisture), microplop, Giovanni mousse, plop, re-wet then Giovanni gel using wet hands and praying hands method, air dry, sotc
(Must learn the correct acronyms before posting)

So many steps, but it’s probably my best wash day yet so I’ll take it... not sure if the rainy day humidity has helped 🤷🏻‍♀️

That looks great Shangpie, quite the transformation from last time. I would warn, in case you experience this too and save you the puzzling, that I often had really good wash days after clarifying when starting out and then struggled to recreate it consistently with the same routine, turned out something was building up.

Thanks bo
Is it worth using the clarifying shampoo every wash day to prevent build up? It’s a fairly mild one - Acure brand from iherb - but will it do more harm than good? I guess it’s trial and error as with so much of this...
Also, did you figure out what specific product or element was building up when you experienced this?
I have the impression of you as quite the guru - very systematic and scientific with all your reading and research - so please forgive my assumption if you don’t have all the answers!

I'm no guru but I did read up far too much but it's still trial and error. In my case it was polyquats, I have build up prone hair anyhow, and always avoided silicones for that reason but polyquats are sort of the CGM equivalent of silicones. Most people seem to do fine with them though. I'm okay with cationic compound but some people are prone to building up to those.

Clarifying should really be once or twice a month for most people, although there are some shampoos that just say clarifying that are quite gentle and there are some really aggressively cleansing ones that aren't labeled clarifying, it's not a protected term or anything.

Looks really good shangpie. I'm using the Bounce curl clarifying shampoo every wash. I like it because it's v gentle and doesn't dry out my hair but I also feel like I'm getting a good clean and no product build up.

Lovely waves shangpie. I use the Bounce Curl clarifying shampoo every other wash and then the Bumble and Bumble Sunday shampoo once per month.

I did a moderate amount of research but I wouldn't recommend doing too much. In my experience it's mostly trial and error, knowing your hair, minimising products (most of us seem to have gone full circle on this one) and accepting there will be good wash days and not so good wash days!

Forgot to skip my curlee box (oops!) and it arrived today
I needed a clarifying shampoo so happy with that, don't tend to use creams but will give it a go instead of using a leave in

Different washday for a change
I brushed through my hair after applying all my products. Not much volume but lots of definition

I've been using the brush to apply my products too Queen. I feel it minimises frizz in my hair because at least everything starts off smooth.

I also rarely use a LIC now.

Trying to catch up, lots of shiny curls on here!

As if to prove bo's point, this is today with clarifying/chelating with Malibu C in-do-goo, Jean Paul Myne Grey Pepper for colour, Innersense Hydrating Creme conditioner, Cantu leave in and Giovanni gel.

I have in between been using the Curlsmith scalp pre-biotic slip + detox shampoo + post-biotic conditioner. At first, it seemed too drying, but my scalp has settled down. Mostly because I used more of the slip and conditioner and less of the shampoo. I have also had two lots of compliments from other mum's in the park, one asking what I used for the colour and one for the curls. Both times I had a hat and scarf on too - so not at it's best.

Ah clarifying magic 🧙‍♀️

Looking good quirky, I'm not surprised at the compliments.

I've cut some soft curtain bangs into my hair in a moment of daring. I quite like it but think I might want to go shorter (chin length now) but I have to wash it and let it dry naturally (had to cut them wet and dry then straight to finish them) and see if they're still feeling too long then.

I've also decided to start brushing my hair again, too much was misbehaving in the end instead of just falling out. But I actually quite like it, I braid it after and I have soft waves in the morning (which is what got me thinking about curtain bangs).

quirky I'm particularly liking the colour of your hair. To digress slightly into the realm of grey hair rather than curly, is the grey pepper product you mention purple?

I use a purple conditioner sometimes but I'm always a bit scared that it might leave my hair with a purple tinge!

Marmalade, the Jean Paul Myne Grey Pepper shampoo is black/grey rather than purple (bo recommended it) and I bought it from amazon. They also do a blueberry shampoo and conditioner which are purple, but I haven't tried them yet. My hair and scalp is horribly dry and a lot of purple shampoo is just too harsh, but this is quite gentle. I clarify/chelate first, we have very hard water, then grey shampoo about once a week. It does really seem to have helped any yellowing.

Thanks quirky I might give it a go

A minute of silence for me finishing my orange marmalade
I will likely repurchase but I want to get through the other stuff I have while I'm growing out my crap cut

Wash day was
Twisted sista clarifying
Shea moisture mask left on for 30 mins
Curlkeeper original
Orange marmalade
Diffused, air dried, SOTC this morning

My MIL asked me today if I'd had my hair permed (it was a wash day). Not sure what to make of that....

Your curls look lovely Queen. Nice sized clumps and very well defined. I like the subtle variety in the colour too - is it highlighted?

Wow Sophie. I guess it was a good wash day although from the picture you posted early on I think your hair is usually very curly?!

I missed a phone call from my curly salon 2 weeks ago (to rebook my November appointment) and I've not been able to get hold of them since so I probably won't get a hair cut until July which will be a year I think. Colour due in a month though thank goodness.

Just looked it up. Cut was 3rd November and was scheduled for beginning of March so not that long ago actually.

Yes it doesn't seem so long ago that you posted photos of your cut ninny. Will it be July now cos waiting list at salon so long? ** I think my last cut was September and I really need one. No idea when hair salons re-open here.

And yes I was happy with wash day yesterday and yes my hair has always been curly (although went through times when I straightened it etc etc). My MIL just says strange things sometimes. Plus how would I have done a perm if salons closed for months now?!! also made me think of 90s permed hair and Kylie In her early days not a look I'm going for.....

Well they were calling people to reschedule them in order of their appointments. So they closed end of November and my appointment was early March and I doubt I'll get hold of them until they are open (which is fine, of course) but they will have 3-4 months of rescheduled appointments by now so I definitely think it will be July/August.

@SophieLion yes but mostly grown out now!!

Ah I see ninny. But your cut looked so good that it's probably likely to hold out quite well until then I would think?