Cheaper curly hair products

[Singlecrazycatlady]

I want to try the curly girl hair malarkey as hope think my hair falls into the wavy catergory.

If my hair gets damp from wet weather it does kink and left to dry naturally can have a slight fluffy 80s vibe. If I go to bed with damp hair because I’ve been too lazy to dry it does look quite wavy in the morning. Maybe I’ve slept on it in a scrunched fashion or I’m blessed with a wavy tress and it’s taken me 42 years to realise 🙄
I’m not keen on forking out £30 plus on these kits to see if I’m blessed, so am hoping you lovely lot may have a frugal alternative which works just as well (pretty please)??

Any tips 🤞🏼

…also, another tip - I started the curly girl method about 4 years ago and I learnt (very slowly!) that it is very much geared towards very curly, thick hair that tends to be dry.

My hair is not like this! It’s curly but fine and not dry - cowashing is absolutely not for me. It made my hair go limp, straight and dull. It took me absolutely ages to work out what was wrong as I never thought it was the cowashing because that is the basis of CGM, isn’t it? I discovered Welshiecurlygirl on Instagram and she had some brilliant tips which I’ve followed - number one being not all curly hair needs ALL the moisture and that actually strong shampoos (without silicone) that get rid of build up are perfect for fine, easily weighed down hair.

So I use a strong shampoo every wash, a Flora and Curl rinse out conditioner or Giovanni lightweight leave in, and either Trepadora Bamboo ginseng gel or Treluxe Hi Definition gel. And I never, ever deep condition. Honestly, my hair has never been curlier.

You beat me to it!

I’ve scanned through and was going to tell op same thing if your hair is fine go to Welshiecurly girl like you said I use that method too as mine’s fine and due to Peri I can no longer say but I’ve got loads of it so I follow her method of;

ouai sulphate free clarifying shampoo
flora and curl leave in but I use like a conditioner comb it through rinse it out

squeeze the excess water out of hair

a bit of flora and curl mousse on my roots
a tiny bit of gel smooshed with a dozen sprays of bouncecurl hairspray raked through hair and a light brush through
to make sure even distribution
my hair is pretty wet still

now I’ll scrunch the curls or brush style
then hover diffuse Welshie videos will explain this

my hair will be ideally a bit crispy from product and that’s good it’s holding the curl shape I’ll not scrunch out the crunch till I have to ie if I’ve washed at night I’ll not scrunch the crispy feeling out till the next day

Out of all the products I’ve mentioned I’d try others but the one I’ll always have is the bouncecurl hairspray it takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it’s brilliant for fine hair as it’s essentially hard hold water

@Myjobisanightmare yes, she’s fab isn’t she!

And yes, forgot to say - if you go for shampoo, choose no silicones or sulphate

I keep meaning to try that Bounce hairspray!

Ok - I did it.

I used baby ‘everything free’ shampoo

Garnier coconut hair mask (wait n rinse)
Garnier banana shampoo (thorough / rinse)
Cooler water to rinse.

Small
Amount of the coconut as a leave in. Condish n squish.

Some twisted sista dream curl gel

Plopped my hair with a tee for over 20 mins

Used a sieve as a diffuser (genius)

so… do I have wavy hair or am I a straight hair girl in denial? Not full dry yet.
Also I feel it is very tousled (birds nest🫣)

😬😬

last pic was after it had been ‘plopped’

Definitely a wave there. You can see it better on the upside down pic.
Bear in mind, not everything suits everyone. I find those garnier things really heavy, and I much prefer just using my usual pantene shampoo and conditioner, and don't bother with leave in stuff as my hair feels coated. So if you feel it's a bit weighed down, try switching out the conditioner first.

But there's a curl there! I'll see if I can find my then and now pictures but mine was definitely more birds nest than wavy at the start 😁

Now you have the pain of day 2 to deal with! I personally get the shower on it over the bath for literally 2 seconds, so it's only just wet, then scrunch gel in and diffuse again.

Oh, and I find those clips to hold back your fringe invaluable. The top layer of wave is always the worst, all the good ones are under, so I pin back the crap ones!

Oh it looks good! Definitely a lovely wave in there 😍

Alberto balsam raspberry conditioner
boots curl creme

Omg I’m literally loving you guys.

I’ve been a mumsnet lurker for years always reading and never posting lol.
so gonna save the shit out of this and try them all.
bit gutted as spent over £15 on hair stuff and prob need to try others 😂😂
it’s an investment I suppose. 42 years and I’ve always wanted wavy / curly hair FFS

DAY TWO: I just added a little mousse.

Helps if I add the pics 🫣

Your hair looks great OP!

I have curly hair, and wanted more definition in my curls so tried the CG method. I have really thick hair and loads of it, but I find that the sheer amount of product in CG is too much for my hair, and weighs it down, pulling out the curl. I tried the cheap banana conditioner everyone raves about, it felt really harsh on my hair! I have the best results from doing a light shampoo once every 14 days or so, and co-wash in between. No product other than that, just to always dry my hair in an old tshirt (microfibre towel isn't as effective for me.) My hair still becomes quite frizzy and I'd like my curls to be more defined, but CG isn't for all hair types...

Cantu products are good. Umberto gianni curl jelly

Thank you @PotatoFacedWombat
like I said first ever attempt.

Im not doing CG as too expensive and my hair is fine but loads of it.

I def need to research into more products and buy a mousse.
Before I tried this, dampening my hair and putting into buns to sleep worked wonders too. I do have a satin type hair bonnet which I will try again.

Im quite the ‘tosser’ when I sleep, prob due to my fibromyalgia so can’t sleep in one position too long, which no doubt makes my hair more ‘neat’ like. I’ve never had sleek hair.
I have to laugh tho as my hair looks very tousled and messy and it’s taken more effort to look like that. Oh the irony!

Nest not neat 🙄

👏I have created an account here SIMPLY to say THANK YOU and give full credit to @Rebel2023 for the most incredible , to-the-point list of CHEAP and AWESOME products which has made my mid-life, post children, lacklustre wavy hair into something wonderful. 😍

I had been using Aveda Be Curly for a few years, justifying the expense because I could make it last and it was the best wavy results I'd ever managed. This year when they changed the formula, apart from stinging my eyes and making my scalp itch, it caused major frizz so internet searching led me here.

And after 3 months of consistent winning, I feel I have to give my thanks. And hope that more wavies find this link. I should say, I actually don't find the UG curl jelly works here - it's the Aldi shampoo and Wella shockwaves VOLUME mousse 5 that are the winners for me. 🏆

I'm so glad they work for you!

I have that same half wave as you and I bit the bullet and got a perm. Everyone thinks it’s natural because my hair has a curly texture already, just without the proper curls. Would recommend. Looks great when fresh, i tie it back when it’s messy

I just use any cheap gel or mousse scrunch it in and diffuse it dry.
I use whatever shampoo and conditioner is in the bathroom.
I love the fact curly hair is in now - it’s literally zero effort for me.
I used to spend an absolute fortune on products and time on straightening, now I just leave it and I’m fashionable it’s amazing.