Curly girl method

[Freshair1]

Is this really, honestly a thing. And not a swindle?! I had a go out of curiosity, did a wash and then scrunched before letting air dry. Had thick wavy partly curly hair but god the frizz. Is this real curly hair or just a result of scrunching if you see what I mean? I usually blow dry and straighten my hair. I never usually let it air dry cos it looks awful and puffy.

My hair is naturally (loosely) wavy. I've tried CG many times but ultimately I get frizz and stringiness no matter what I do or don't do. So these days I dry it straight, however a bit of rain or humidity makes it curl beautifully. I've reached the conclusion that it's the hard water that messes mine up. I have a friend who went to live in a soft water area for a couple of years and she developed beautiful waves. Now she's back here and has the same issue is me. If I had a garden I'd collect the rainwater for spritzing!

You can modify it though
I have wavy hair and need hold from a strong hold gel or my hair is just a ball of fluff!

See, this is what I struggle to get. I can 'plop', scrunch and put mousse in and I will have thick curls for days. Yet my hair is naturally straight. It dries straight and I've never used straightening products in my life. So where do the curls come from, and how can they be natural?!

Thank you so much!

It is incredibly difficult to find fragrance free curly products!

Thank you 💐

You have wavy hair that just wants to be set free.

I have hair that either dries dead straight with a blow dryer or with a v slight wave left natural.

If I use a deep conditioner and a diffuser there are curls.

@AnnaMagnani thats interesting. How can I have got to my age without thinking or knowing I have wavy hair?! My mum used to complain it was straight as string as a kid 😆

If you do curly girl how often do you wash your hair?

If I don't use a gel or mousse then I'll get frizz especially if it's humid. It's about keeping the moisture in/out of your hair shaft.

There's loads a cheap mousse and gels you can try out OP. I like only curls but I wouldn't call it cheap.

I'm always surprised when people say about it being a faff to style curly hair, it takes me less than 5 mins scrunch some curl cream then some gel, a curl towel to squeeze out the excess water, then obviously longer if I diffuse it.

I can't see how it would be any longer than blow drying it straight, I think it's just whatever you are used to seems easier!

I usually wash 2-3 times a week
Translates to I aim for 3 and manage 2

I'm about the same use a shower cap to protect my hair when I shower. I find my scalp prefers not to often and low or no sulphate.

Pretty much my whole life I had poker straight hair with a slight turn up at the end. In rainy weather I developed a halo of frizz, and, if my hair was in an updo, the short hairs that would not go up would curl unless they were glued down with mousse. But my hair was straight. I even had perms in the 80s.

But my hair was also bobbed. Long or short, but always bobbed. One length.

Then an autoimmune disorder turned my life upside down and thinned my hair to half what it had been. So I got a layered cut to make it look a bit less thin and miserable.

Lo and behold, when the weight was taken off of my hair it sprang up into curls and waves (and even more frizz). So they had been there all along. I might have saved myself a fortune in perms if I had had the right cut and the right products.

This is mine with no product and air dry vs using a product with hold and diffused. So I can see how people just think their hair is thick/puffy. Mine is actually really fine (it's not coloured, just changes colour when it feels like it)

Thanks @christmaspawpaws . I wash once a week and I’m coming to the conclusion it’s not enough, by day 4 it is very dry and frizzy especially in this weather.
I also live in a hard water area and I find that if I use filtered water to rinse my hair is softer.
I foolishly chucked my diffuser attachment out so I’m going to hunt for a replacement on eBay as I think that does make a difference.

Right. I’ve Co washed and scrunched in some aloe Vera. Air dry.
Will see what happens.

Does anyone use castor oil?

Castor oil is very thick so personally I wouldn’t use it. I understand women of African origin sometimes use it as apparently it’s good for Afro hair.
I do an oil bath about once a month and tend to use olive oil or almond oil. Just warm up some oil, comb through, then cover with a bonnet and leave for up to 6 hours. Wash through with loads of conditioner, rinse and apply conditioner, rinse again. Sounds a faff but makes a big difference to shine and elasticity.

I have curly hair and after years of straightening I tried the CGM method and ended up with terrible dandruff although the curls looked fab!! I came to realise my hair needs sulfates. I have fine hair but a lot of it and the CGM method was too heavy for my hair. I now clarify once a week and add curlsmith cream and ouidad gel when it is soaking wet then hover diffuse. I have never been happier with my hair. It’s thicker and healthier and it suits me. I still get frizz but that’s part and parcel of being a curly haired curl. The beauty industry can kiss my curly arse telling me frizz is damage, it’s inevitable when you have curls. One side of my hair pictured for reference.

I can’t work out when to use crème and gel. You seem to use both, but which order?

It's a bit of an experiment.

I skip the cream and just use leave in conditioner and gel.

There are a lot of curly hair bloggers and it helps finding one with similar hair to you. Or picking a curly hair brand and playing about with the products.

But why does adding the product make my hair curly??? I'm so confused. Why does scrunching make it curly??? It can't be naturally curly surely if you're having to scrunch and whatever?

Hi! I use curlsmith weightless air dry cream when my hair is soaking wet. Then I use ouidad gel and comb through using a denman brush so all the hair is has got product in. Then I scrunch my hair to encourage the natural curl to form then I hover diffuse. After I have dried it I scrunch the product out and voila the curls are released. I look a bit like Lionel Richie before I break the gel cast. I would get yourself on YouTube and follow some curly routines. It’s how I learnt. It is a bit trial and error so try and find a curly person who has hair that most resembles yours.

My hair is very curly but if I leave it to dry without product I look like a mad woman. The products help to limit the frizz and define and separate the curls. The most important part is leaving the hair soaking wet and not touching it until it’s dry.

The most important part is leaving the hair soaking wet and not touching it until it’s dry.

The problem I had is that it would take all day and half the night to dry especially with product in. And if I left the flat before it was 110% dry it would become a frizzy mess within moments.

Hover diffuse @VictorianBigot. You aren’t touching the hair but is still dries.

I've been loosely doing curly girl for a few years and it's still hit and miss.

I like the faith in nature shampoo and conditioner, my hair is awful if I don't shampoo so I do use it.

I use the cantu leave in conditioner and gel.

I can finger coil my hair into ringlets which will look nice for a day but it always looks a mess thereafter so I normally then tie it up.

I have very thick, heavy hair which really doesn't like being told what to do!

@biscuitnut even diffusing took forever and I could never get it 100% dry before I had to leave the house. This was when it was short bob-length, too. I think my hair must be very absorbent or something.