Curly hair!

[Drawmelikeoneofyourfrenchgirls]

I have naturally curly hair but I have blow dried and straightened it for years. I want to let the curls come back but how do you do this? If I let it dry naturally the curls come but it’s also really frizzy. Anyone with natural curls who can talk me thru how they do their hair and the products they use? Thank you

Have you looked into the curly girl method?

I straightened my curls for years as otherwise I looked like a cross between earth years hermione and Hagrid! During lockdown 1 I stared on the curly girl method and I now mainly get lovely curls, still a little frizzy at times but nothing like the horror show before. It took a while before the curls settled properly, and I had a few throw back into a bun days.

There's not really a one size fits all approach to it, it's a bit find what works for you. But in my case I use:
as I am coconut cowash
either imbue conditioner or xhc ginger conditioner.
Then style with:
Imbue leave in conditioner
Cantu curl cream
Gels (different types depending on what I've grabbed!)
I either air dry completely or start of with a diffuser for a bit then leave to dry - I'm too lazy to diffuse all the way.

Hope that helps

Don’t blow dry it, don’t brush it, wash it only infrequently!! Put Cantu crime on it when it’s wet, comb it with a wide tooth comb and leave it to dry naturally.

Definitely Curly Girl method. Join "United Curls" group on Facebook for loads of tips and product recommendations.

Might be worth joining this FB group? They're really friendly and helpful and don't stick rigidly to the curly girl method which doesn't seem to suit everyone.

Sensible Curly People UK

Sorry can't do links but if you search that it should come up

Thank you so much, I’ve heard the curly girl method mentioned so will read up on that. Yes to the Hagrid reference, that is exactly how I look when I try it at the moment!

Curly girl method. Leave in some conditioner to give your hair moisture.

These are roughly 3 years apart. Left is entirely natural, pre CG method. Right is a good wash day using some curl jelly and gel for setting, then diffused.

My hair definitely needs moisture. I'm not strict either when it comes to following the method.

acat oh wow, your curls are lovely. I'm hoping mine will end up looking as healthy and natural as yours.

This is my before and after about 8m apart. The after isn't one of my best days but an ok one!

@acatcalledjohn and @OhLookHeKickedTheBall both of you have gorgeous hair!! I hope I end up with results like you both tho I know it will take some practice

Thanks for the love!

So many things to consider. I use a CG friendly shampoo frequently because my hair is fine and shows build up very quickly. Start cheap to find some decent products, then experiment occasionally with something more expensive if you need to. Some affordable products I like:

Sainsbury's apple conditioner
Tesco strong gel
Noughty shampoo/conditioner

I also use more expensive brands like MooGoo, AsIAm & Bounce Curl because I like them, but they last me. Suppliers like Naturalistic Products are great, but even Superdrug & Boots cater more and more to curly hair.

The Curly Rebels UK group on FB is good as it's not strict like others. I also find that following IG accounts with similar hair types and/or curl patterns are very helpful for washing / styling hints and tips. Most of them aren't strict followers of the original CG method either, they've just used it as a starting point.

What I will say is that my fine hair absolutely hates Cantu, I think it's better suited to thicker hair. I gave some product to my North African colleague whose hair is much closer to Afro style in terms of thickness and curl pattern, and she loved it.

I have fine curly hair. I find CGM unsuitable as I do a lot of exercise. I was with shampoo, condition but don’t rinse. I then either use Boots curl crepe or L’Oréal curl mousse (in a gold bottle) on wet hair and leave to air dry or diffuse if I’m in a rush. I used to straighten my hair and after I’d been wearing it curly for a while I went to a hairdresser who specialised in curly hair and got about 4 inches of heat damaged hair cut off the bottom which was a bit shocking at first but did it good!

Sorry about the typos!

Thanks drawme

I agree with acat on not necessarily going for the expensive products. I alternate between Imbue which is £7 in Superdrug for a bottle and XHC ginger which is £1 in savers. At the start I paid out for some more expensive things like Boucleme gel and I still have most of it because I didn't found it worked as well as Boots own 90p one. As I Am products can be expensive but I find them very good and last a long time too. Garnier Hair Foods Masks get a lot of love and are usually on offer somewhere so are very cheap.

My hair has a bit of a love hate thing with cantu. Nothing quite worked as well but it sat heavy. It's taken me ages to work out the best way for me to use it is to put it into a pot and take a very small amount and water it down on my hands into a milk type consistency before applying. The good thing is it's cheap and is going to last ages!

Curly Girl can sound somewhat like needing a science degree but really it's about how your hair works and what works for you.

Thank you folks, lots of good suggestions and tips here. My hair is really thick and quite coarse, I picked up some curl activating mousse when I was in Tesco today (L’Oréal) so I will see how I go with that and take it from there! Will report back

Curly Girl can sound somewhat like needing a science degree but really it's about how your hair works and what works for you.

This. In spades.

My hair is really thick and quite coarse

Maybe try the following instagrammers to start with:

https://instagram.com/curlyandkind?igshid=fni2q5oezh2p Curly and Kind]
https://instagram.com/curly_saroja?igshid=1msj3b64qjqmv Curly Saroja]

Curly girl never worked for me, the groups are weird and cultish and they soon get fed up if you have frizz as you have to wait 3 years until it works apparently 🙄. I gave up after 7 months of looking shit and feeling depressed every time I looked in the mirror!

I'm looking for other ways to get my curls under control but haven't found it so am back to straightening again

Good luck on your curly hair journey.

I would take a look at curly girl sub on reddit. Really useful.

Another tip would be to avoid thinking that you have to follow a strict set of rules like curly girl method. There are lots of people with great curls who use shampoo, or who use a hair brush to help style. Experiment with bits of different routines.

I’m trying to get my curls back too. For those who’ve posted photos how long was it before you saw progress (i feel stuck at the moment but it’s only been a few weeks).

Second question. My hair is around bra length. Would a chop help move things along do you think?

Sorry for crashing the thread OP

Just chiming in to say cgm worked immediately for me - no transition period and I keep it simple. I co-wash (scrub my hair clean with conditioner) once a week, rinse then apply a tiny bit of curl cream and some gel to soaking wet hair, still in the shower. When i get out, I remove excess water by scrunching gently with a sports towel.

Applying the products to soaking wet hair was an absolute game changer for me - it really does seem to trap the moisture into my hair and give amazing curls.

You've already had loads of product recommendations, so there's plenty to choose from. What i would say is you shouldn't need much - it doesn't have to be complicated so you can get away with a 99p alberto balsam conditioner from home bargains and a gel like one from asiam, boucleme or the blue LA Looks gel from amazon which is good value.

Personally, I find the CurlFlo products to be amazing and have now switched from Boucleme. They smell fabulous and i get zero build up on my hair with them, even after a week my hair still feels light and fresh.

Good luck!

@GemmeFatale

I’m trying to get my curls back too. For those who’ve posted photos how long was it before you saw progress (i feel stuck at the moment but it’s only been a few weeks).

Second question. My hair is around bra length. Would a chop help move things along do you think?

Sorry for crashing the thread OP

I thought I saw instant change and no transition, but looking back at photos I clearly had a journey although straight off it was better iyswim.

Would second the curly girl and curly girl uk subreddit suggestions too. Both subreddits avoid the cliquiness that a pp mentioned, even putting down the curl types being key thing. They helped me out when I'd over moisturised my hair (never realised you could do that!). Very supportive if you want to low poo/no poo/poo/cowash/etc or even if you use silicones.

To be fair, I was just rubbish at applying but I've been getting consistently good results for 2.5 years. I just picked a long hair equivalent because I cut my hair short very early in to CG.

Less is more. Either conditioner/curl cream or jelly/mousse + gel is plenty, certainly on fine hair.

I find that using a brush (either a CG brush or something like a tangle teaser) is helpful with the product application on wet hair. It really does help me to spread product much more evenly.

I don’t really understand curly girl. If you’ve got proper curly hair then you’ve got proper curly hair.

I straighten mine mostly but if I leave it to dry naturally with a bit a mouse then it just dries curly (and massive). I think it’s more about the product. I’m 40 and I’ve always known not to brush it when curly, my mum has curly hair and always had a spray bottle of water and an Afro comb for her hair when I was a kid.

Use a spay leave in conditioner sparingly and mouse, don’t mess with.

Don’t over think it.

I have long naturally curly hair, and lots of it so it looks really thick but the actual hair itself is quite fine. Its taken me a few years of trial & error but I feel I now have found the best routine that works for me. I don't do CG, I've researched it a bit and decided its not for me (I really don't like gel & it seems to feature a lot) but I have taken a couple of things away & incorporated them into my routine. I only brush my hair just before I wash it, then I wash & condition as normal, I use some CG friendly products but not exclusively. I comb it through whilst it has conditioner on & then I don't comb/brush again until I am about to wash it (usually every 3 days but atm its more like once a week, it never gets greasy). I rinse the conditioner out carefully so it doesn't get tangled, then gently squeeze the excess water out. I sort of style it & move it into place & check the parting's in the right place with my fingers then put a generous amount of frizz ease extra strength serum through it. I scrunch some Tigi foxy curls cream into it & use my fingers to ruffle up the roots otherwise they dry too flat. Then I just leave it for about 90-120 minutes to dry. When its almost dry I smooth some product into the ends, either a bit more serum or a finishing cream - I like frizz ease secret agent cream or the loreal oil cream. If the roots look a bit flat I sprinkle some root volume powder through. I've tried a number of different products but this seems to be the perfect combination for me. I get really nice soft shiny curls (a mix of ringlets & some bigger looser ones) with very little frizz. It also seems to thrive better the less I handle or mess with it so I pretty much never blow dry it.

@fireplaceburning

Curly girl never worked for me, the groups are weird and cultish and they soon get fed up if you have frizz as you have to wait 3 years until it works apparently 🙄. I gave up after 7 months of looking shit and feeling depressed every time I looked in the mirror!

I'm looking for other ways to get my curls under control but haven't found it so am back to straightening again

I tried curly girl for a year, I’ve fine 2cish waves and everything, absolutely everything gave me horrible build up.

So after finding a curly hairdresser, I’m back on shampoo... but, I do follow most of the styling stuff and it works pretty well for me.

So I’d say, it’s not curly girl or straightening.

Get a good hairdresser, lol.

@tabulahrasa I think your right and it's about how products are used, that's why the best results are those who do it instantly as it's what their hair would do whatever method they used. Lots of people experience hair breakage using this method so it isn't the gold treatment some make out.

It also made me laugh when people with shoulder length hair or shorter say it'll take ages to transition as I've been using straighteners for 20 years- well your hair isn't 20 years old is it 🙄.

Then you've got the more product v less product people. My hair always felt awful and dirty even with a little amount of product. Some people need more to hold their curls than others.

The weirdest thing is, how long can I go without washing 🤷🏼‍♀️ and all the strange things to ensure that they have their producty smelly hair dirty for as long as possible.

I am curly, although my curls are loose and soft and don't take to definition.

however, I always PREFER the 'before' pictures on threads like these. the reason being I like the more natural sit of a curl, even if there is a touch of frizz. it looks more carefree and less 'office style' iyswim?

big defined curls often seem a bit manufactured to me, a little USA romcom. I'm sorry! I wish more women and girls could give in to the undefined, swishiness. it always looks more healthy, youthful and pretty, to me (not that we have any obligation to look pretty, etc).

still, we are all different, but I do think we have been brainwashed to strive to look 'tidy' when in fact the 'before' pics are not untidy in my opinion. it's like we've been trained to perceive it as 'un-done'.

I also can't do the curly girl method, it makes my hair look like a rat's ass. I can't not brush it either, so I tend to go with the frizz until it calms down and disappears a day or so after washing. sometimes sleep in a plait, or just twist and pin to keep it in decent shape overnight.

the defined look makes it shorter looking too. I just really love the before pic by @acatcalledjohn it looks os healthy and romantic!