If you have curly or wavy hair, this is a post for you! I was recently introduced to a potentially life-changing method, and I feel an obligation to share it with you!
A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my friends about the little crisis me and my hair were having. It wasn’t quite wavy, it wasn’t quite straight… just a bit of a confused mess. She told me about a method called the Curly Girl Method, which she had found through a Facebook group. Intrigued, I went home and read through every file on that Facebook group, looked through a LOT of before and after photos, and decided to give it a go.
Now that I’ve spent the past few weeks doing the Curly Girl Method, learning all the terminology (there’s a lot!) and trying out different products, I wanted to write this post to explain what it all involves and maybe even persuade some of you to join me!
This method is not exclusively for people with very curly curls – my hair is definitely more wavy than curly. However, as the health of your hair improves, there’s a good chance that it will get curlier/wavier than it was at the beginning! Here is a picture of my hair before I started, and my hair a few weeks in. I can already see a bit of a difference!
The CG (curly girl) method was developed by Lorraine Massey, who wrote a book called Curly Girl The Handbook. The basics of the method include not using shampoo, not using a brush, and most importantly, staying clear of certain ingredients. However, there are a LOT of little extra techniques and tips which I have found through the Facebook group, which I will explain here too!
My hair wash routine at the moment is this:
1. Cowash (XHC conditioner)
Cowashing means washing your hair with conditioner, rather than shampoo. This definitely sounds off-putting at first, but bear with and I’ll explain! Some of the ingredients in shampoo are harsh on your hair, and almost ‘over-clean’ it by stripping away all the good oils. The good news is that by washing with conditioner, you can still clean out all the dirt, grease etc. from your hair, it just takes a bit more time and scrubbing.
Think of it like washing trainers in the washing machine vs. by hand: the washing machine cleans them quickly and easily but damages them in the long run, whereas washing them by hand takes more scrubbing, but leaves them in better condition!
2. Condition (Ultimate Blends conditioner)
This part is simple: just condition your hair like you usually do. You can either use the same conditioner as you did to cowash, or a different one.
Here is where the rare exception to the ‘no brushing’ rule is, where you can comb your hair either with your fingers or with a wide-tooth comb, when your hair is covered in conditioner!
You can also use a method here called ‘squish to condish’ (cute little method name), which is basically just scrunching your hair once you’ve put in the conditioner.
3. Apply gel (V05 Mega Hold gel)
Applying gel on soaking wet hair usually leads to better curls with less frizz, so I scrunch in my gel (mousse can be used instead if it works better for you) as soon as I get out the shower.
4. Plopping
To be honest, I’m not sure what the person who named this technique was thinking! Plopping involves putting your hair on a T-shirt or microfibre towel, and then wrapping it up to absorb water and set the curl pattern.
5. Diffuse with a sieve
Yes, as in the kitchen utensil! If you don’t have a diffuser attachment for your hairdryer, a metal sieve is the perfect alternative… who would have thought?!
After I have taken my hair out of the T-shirt, I gather it all in the sieve and, pointing the hairdryer towards the underneath of the sieve, dry it on a low or medium heat. I do this until it feels 80-90% dry, and then let it air-dry for the rest!
6. SOTC (Scrunch Out The Crunch)
Again, another piece of CG vocabulary. When your hair starts to dry, you will probably notice that it feels pretty crispy, which means that it has formed a ‘cast’. The cast holds the curl pattern in place whilst the hair inside it dries.
Once your hair is completely dry (although it is tempting to do it before), scrunch your hair, which will break the cast. You can do this just with your hands, but I find that it helps to have a tiny bit of conditioner in the palms of my hands when I SOTC. And that’s the end of my routine!
Which products to use?
When it comes to choosing your conditioner and styling product, you have to make sure it is CG approved! This means that it can’t contain sulphates, silicones, and a few other damaging ingredients.
The easiest way to check which products are CG approved is to look through the photo albums in the Facebook group, or even just type the name of the product into the search bar in the group – chances are, someone else has already asked about it!
The main thing to know about the Curly Girl Method is that it is SO adaptable, both with the products and the techniques. There isn’t really a ‘best’ product – it just completely depends on your own hair! The method definitely involves a lot of trial and error to find what works best for you.
Moisture or protein?
There is a good chance your hair is either lacking moisture or protein, unless it is perfectly balanced, in which case you are a hair goddess who I can only aspire to be. If your hair feels limp and mushy, you are probably lacking protein. If it feels dry and brittle, you are probably lacking moisture.
If you are still not sure which category you fall into, then try out a conditioner that contains protein (such as the XHC conditioner) and a moisturising conditioner (such as the Garnier Ultimate Blends conditioner), and see which makes your hair look and feel better!
Rinses
There are a few rinses you can do to improve the condition of your hair, depending on what it needs. These should not be done more than once a week!
Lemonaid: This nice little pun means adding two tablespoons of lemon juice to your conditioner when you cowash. It clarifies your hair and removes build up!
ACV: This stands for apple cider vinegar. Personally, I haven’t tried this out, but it has the same effect as the Lemonaid rinse – it clarifies. Dilute the ACV with water, scrub it into your hair, and then cowash!
Rice water: This rinse is good if your hair needs more protein. Mix one cup of rice with three cups of water, and leave it for at least 15 minutes. The longer you leave it mixing (up to 24 hours), the more of the good stuff from the rice gets into the water! Put it in your hair after cowashing, leave it for five minutes, and then rinse it out.
The extras
Refresh spray: In the morning, to ‘reawaken’ my waves, I spray in some of this Cantu Comeback Curl spray. Alternatively, you can mix a bit of conditioner with water in a spray bottle and use that!
Deep conditioning: Around once a week, I use the Garnier Hair Food as a deep conditioning mask for about three minutes. A mask can be really good if your hair is lacking moisture!
Scalp brush: Because cowashing requires a lot of scrubbing, a scalp brush can really help! It can also promote hair growth, as massaging your head increases blood flow to the hair follicles (I’ve had some good science lessons from the CGM too!)
Pineapple: This means gathering all of your hair on the top of your head in a loose bun/ponytail for bed, making you look like… a pineapple. It can stop your hair from getting tangled or frizzy whilst you sleep!
Silk pillowcase: Ok, I’ll admit, this one does make me feel VERY extra. However, silk pillowcases cause less friction than cotton and therefore reduce frizz and hair breakage! As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also much better for your skin! What a win-win.
There are probably lots more ‘extras’ that I haven’t tried or discovered yet, but if you are just starting the method, my advice would be to keep it simple! Just try cowashing, conditioning, and styling. Once you get the hang of it, start to incorporate any of the extras that work for you!
Transition period
The only downside to the CGM is the potential transition period. For some people, this can last a few weeks (and some people have no transition period at all!), whereas for others it can be a few months.
This is a period where your hair is adjusting to the change in routine and products, and it can sometimes look a bit worse before it gets better. Whilst you were using shampoo, your scalp will have been overproducing oils to make up for the oils that were being stripped out by the shampoo. It can take a minute for your scalp to realise you’re not using shampoo anymore, so you might go through a bit of a greasier phase for a bit!
Don’t give up during this stage, your hair will thank you for it!
So, in a (very big) nutshell, that is what I have learnt about the Curly Girl Method so far. In a few months, or whenever I start to see even more of a difference, I will definitely do another blog post to update you on how the CG method has worked for me! And if any of you are tempted to give it a go, let me know!
Hi Margot! Thank you so much for reading!
I cowash every 2-3 days, but there is no rule for it, just wash as often as you feel you need to!
To refresh using the comeback curl, I start by using a spray bottle filled with water and a bit of conditioner to spray my hair until it's damp. I then spray the comeback curl into my hands and scrunch it through sections of my hair. I have also started using the cantu curl activator (small amounts is best) instead of the comeback curl sometimes and I really like that one too! I find it helps with frizz quite well! xx
Hi Rebecca
Thanks for all your CGM tips 🤗
Really love the fact that you have supplied pictures of all the products you use - makes it much easier to identify them in the shops.
I have a mix of type 3C & 4A hair. I've been co-washing for about a year now, but normally heat tame my hair post washing to acquire a sleeker controlled look. My son - a curly guy -introduced me to this method but his process is a bit haphazard and he's fine with a bit of 'bedhead'. I've only tried it once myself.
Day 1 my hair looked fantastic. Day 2 my hair was a disaster! - lost all control and went wild by…
I would love to have a curly hair. Mine is so straight.
Thanks for the tips..