I’ve always struggled with frizzy hair. For years I’ve tried endless products hoping to find the right one to tame my frizz. Then last year I came across the curly girl method. I just couldn’t believe that I had never heard of it before and I was excited to find out that there were products out there that would make my curls look healthy.
Discovering the curly girl method has been a bit of a game changer and I can truly say it has transformed my hair. You can read my first post here. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a work in progress, the long drizzly winter in the UK hasn’t been great and I’m still trying to find the right combination of products, but so far so good.
The concept behind the curly hair method is very simple. There is no need to use shampoo – although I’m still using it – and you co-wash your hair with sulphate and silicon free conditioner. Easy right?
Amazingly, a lot of hair products contain sulphates and silicons. Sulphates can be found in detergents and house hold cleaners, they lift grease and dirt and they are a foaming agent hence being used in shampoos. Unfortunately they they are so aggressive they strip the hair from oil.
Silicons build up in the hair leaving it dull and wearing it down. They are not easy to wash out leaving the hair straw-like. Curly hair is usually dry anyway, silicons make it even drier. There are some silicons however that are water soluble – usually prefixed with PEG – that are therefore suitable to use.
There is a lot of information out there about the curly girl method and it can feel overwhelming to start with. You read about your hair having high porosity, low porosity, in need of protein, etc. I’d say for those of you that are looking into following the method just start with the basics. No silicons, sulphates and drying alcohols. There is no need to spend a lot of money in products, in fact a lot of the CG friendly conditioners out there are supermarkets own brand. Keep your routine simple and stick to the same products for a few months to see they work. It’s a case of trial an error and whatever works for one person might not work for another.
I try keep my routine really simple and these are the products that are working for me. I cowash my hair with either Garnier Ultimate Blends Almond Milk Conditioner or with Shea Moisture Raw Shea conditioner. So far the latter has been the most amazing conditioner for my hair, but unfortunately it seems to be out of stock everywhere at the moment and in the meantime I’m using this alternative from the same range Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & shine conditioner .
I use a lot of conditioner and spend a bit of time scrunching it out to make sure it’s all soaked in by the hair. This is what the curly girl method calls “squish to condish”. I then either rinse it completely or leave a little bit of in and wrap my hair in a microfiber towel. I then add John Frieda Frizz Ease Curl Reviver Mousse and dry it upside down using a diffuser on low heat and scrunching it.
Whenever I want to refresh my curls I use a bit of water and conditioner and the hair stays looking good for a few days. I used to refresh using mousse but the conditioner seems to be much better, not leaving too much residue.
Since following the curly girl method, not only have I got less frizz, but my hair feels healthier and thicker. It’s taken me years of struggling with frizz and it’s by no means it’s perfect, but I feel like I’m on the right path.
You can read my other curly girl method posts here, here , here and here
