The Curly Girl Method is a great way to improve your hair health and have more moisturized curls. It can help you to prevent frizz and have softer hair. In this blog, we will discuss every detail about the Curly Girl Method and suggest suitable products for this routine.
What Is Curly Girl Method?
The Curly Girl Method promotes healthy curly hair regimens with just conditioner and gel instead of damaging habits (like shampooing and heat styling). The Curly Girl method is a great way to improve your hair health and have more moisturized curls. It can help you to prevent frizz and have softer hair. This method originated from Lorraine Massey’s book “Curly Girl: The Handbook.”
How To Do The Curly Girl Method?
Preparation Step:
The preparation step for starting the Curly Girl Method is changing harmful and damaging habits. You should change your destructive hair routine into a hair-friendly routine. These are everyday hair care practices and products that many of us have been using all of our lives. The below list contains damaging factors for curly hair, which you should be avoiding or reducing consumption before starting this method.
- Shampoo
- Heat (hot water & heat styling tools)
- Combs & brushes
- Sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate & ammonium laureth sulfate)
- Non-water soluble silicones
- Alcohol
- Fragrance
- Parabens
- Synthetic Colors
Note that the purpose is not to quit all of these factors simultaneously. Step by step, you can reduce shampoo consumption by cutting down over time, or you can switch to a sulfate-free shampoo. When curlies first experiment with this method, they find that giving up shampoo leaves their hair feeling greasy, but later on, they find that the hair and scalp eventually balance out. It is all about finding a routine that works for your specific hair type and lifestyle, and there is no force to avoid all of the above factors, but you should try and analyze the results to build the best routine for yourself.
Step 0 – Reset Wash
Start by cleansing your strands to remove product buildup. You can use an exfoliating cleanser such as Bounce Curl Gentle Clarifying Shampoo. Although this product doesn’t contain any sulphates, it contains black seed oil, which gently scrubs away buildup on the scalp and hair.
Bounce Curl Gentle Clarifying Shampoo
Step 1 – Cleanse:
Wash your hair with a co-wash conditioner or a low-poo, sulfate-free shampoo. We recommend tgin Sulfate Free Shampoo & tgin Rose Water Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo; these are Curly Girl Method approved products that gently cleanse your curls without stripping them. Massage your scalp for about one minute before rinsing for better results. You can also use a Scalp Massage Brush with soft bristles. The Scalp Massage Brush makes cleansing curls so easy and feels amazing. Rinse out thoroughly, allowing the foam to wash over the rest of your hair.
tgin Sulfate Free Shampoo
tgin Rose Water Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo
Step 2 – Condition & Detangle:
Next, apply a good amount of silicone-free conditioner to your curls. Make sure you saturate your hair with conditioner. You should coat your hair with conditioner, then gently detangle your curls with your fingers. Finally, rinse most (but not all) of the conditioner from your hair. We recommend Alikay Naturals Caribbean Coconut Milk Conditioner, Bounce Curl Super Smooth Cream Conditioner, and Bounce Curl Deep Ayurvedic Conditioner. These three products are perfect CG approved conditioners for this step. Note that you can use these Curly Girl approved products for conditioning and co-washing your hair.
Alikay Naturals Caribbean Coconut Milk Conditioner
Bounce Curl Super Smooth Cream Conditioner
Bounce Curl Deep Ayurvedic Conditioner
Step 3 – Dry & Style:
Once your hair is detangled and clean, it’s time to apply your styling products. Many Curly Girl Method fans suggest hair gel, but you can also use creams if you want. When styling your hair with Curly Girl Method products, rake them through your damp hair or smooth them over curls. To define your curls, scrunch as you go. Check Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Styling Gel & Alikay Naturals Hold It Styling Gel if you’re looking for curl friendly styling products.
Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Styling Gel
Alikay Naturals Hold It Styling Gel
If you would like to keep your hair wrapped while applying makeup to remove excess moisture, you can wrap it in an old cotton shirt or use the “plop” method. Wrap your hair towel around the base of your head while your head is upside down. Tie your curls in the front, and flip them over to “plop” them. If you’re looking for a suitable towel for your curls, check Flora & Curl Gentle Curl Towel.
Flora & Curl Gentle Curl Towel
The Curly Girl Method FAQs:
How often should I Shampoo my curls?
Your hair type, scalp, and the kinds of styling products you use will affect how often you co-wash and shampoo.
Here are some general guidelines to get you started:
- Cleanse your hair every other day with a low-poo shampoo if you have fine waves or curls. Try co-washing your hair if you must wet your hair more frequently (for example, if your hair gets sweaty from exercise). After co-washing or shampooing, you should always follow up with a conditioner.
- If your curls are medium to thick, you should use a low-poo shampoo once a week. Co-wash your hair between cleansings to refresh your curls.
- Co-wash your hair once a week with water and conditioner.
Do I need to deep condition my curls?
While the Curly Girl Method is designed to maintain hair moisture, you may still need to use a deep moisturizing treatment occasionally.
The frequency of deep conditioning depends on the type and health of your hair, just as it does with regular wash days. You can start deep conditioning once a week. You should use this in place of your usual conditioner and leave it on for five to ten minutes before continuing with the rest of your routine.
Can I go to bed with wet hair?
You should dry your hair before going to bed if you shower at night. Drying by air is the best option, but it takes a lot of time. You can also use a diffuser to dry your hair much faster if you do not have enough time to air dry it. Also, for those who prefer to wash their hair before sleeping, we recommend Silk Pillowcases. Using this pillowcase will restore moisture to your hair and skin and reduce bedhead and split ends.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Curly Girl Method:
silicones
Formaldehyde
sulfates
Fragrance
parabens
dehydrating alcohols
Salicylic Acid
It is usually possible to see the first results of the curly girl method almost immediately after starting the routine. First of all, hair becomes more voluminous, less frizzy, and moisturized. It will take approximately six weeks for the transformation to be complete.
Many women plop their hair for 10-20 minutes before diffusers or air-dryers; some even do this overnight. Find what works for you by experimenting with the duration.
Navigate to our website support team. Our websites have 24/7 support so you can tell us the product’s ingredients to determine if they’re curly girl approved.
Your hair doesn’t “get curlier”; however, through the curly girl method, your hair reaches the maximum moisture level, and you know this has been achieved because your curls are more defined. This more defined condition lets you feel that your hair is curlier.
Curly hair textures should be washed every 10 days with a weekly co-wash. Also, co-washes are recommended for coily hair textures. and we recommend cleansing as little as possible.
Brushing and combing your hair will remove the natural curl pattern from your hair. Most curly girls now use a modified Denman brush or large tooth comb in the shower to apply conditioner to their hair.
It is possible to plop hair overnight. Observe how your hair reacts to being slept on when wet. If your hair dries quickly, you may not want to leave your hair plopped for as long as you’re asleep.
The point that you should focus on is that your shampoo should be sulfate-free. Therefore, as mentioned above, we recommend tgin Sulfate Free Shampoo and tgin Rose Water Sulfate Free Hydrating Shampoo; these are Curly Girl Method approved products that gently cleanse your curls without stripping them.
If you have found any method that works for your hair, please share them in the comments. This can be very useful for those who have your hair type. Are you trying the Curly Girl Method? Do you usually get the result you are looking for? What products do you use in your method? Please share your experience with us in the comments.