The Curly Girl Method, Simplified. This is definitely worth a shot if your hair has lost its curl over the years.
Did you have curly hair once? I did.
I begged my mum for a perm when I was 12 (circa 1992), ended up looking like poodle, cried and blamed her for 10 days straight. As punishment for my behaviour, karma made my hair curly ever after, which I used to hate.
That was my hair story for years until after I had a couple of kids. My hair started turning grey at 17 but went on overdrive after my first was born. I started dying it every month, which went on for a long time, and eventually my curls just completely disappeared.
Now I miss them and I want them back.
Over the last few years, a new trend has been sweeping the internet, The Curly Girl Method.
It has become impossible to ignore the videos and images of absolutely unbelievable curl results using this method, and I had to try it for myself.
The Curly Girl Method is already bringing back soft curls after only one week, and I’m excited to find out if my old hair pattern will eventually return.
Can the Curly Girl Method work for your hair?
Short answer…YES.
Long answer… It’s all about technique and Curly Girl Method approved Shampoo, conditioner and gel.
The Curly Girl Method – Simplified
The Curly Girl Method discourages the use of products that contain the following ingredients, as they are too harsh and damaging for curls:
- Alcohol
- Silicone
- Dimethicone
- Sulphates
- Mineral Oil
- Some waxes
- Soap
- Parabens
- Witch Hazel
Lucky for us, our award-winning and 100% biodegradable low-poo shampoo and conditioner are Curly Girl Method approved, meaning that they are free from the ingredients above and gentle on your hair. (Run your hair products through the CurlsBot to see how they rank)
Strictly speaking, shampooing is not part of the Curly Girl Method. For many that is a terrifying prospect, so thankfully you can still shampoo once or twice a week with a low-poo shampoo like our 100% natural Caffeine & Rosemary Shampoo, which is alcohol, silicone and sulphate free.
If you like the idea of skipping shampoo altogether, you can use a Curly Girl Method approved conditioner to both wash and conditioner your hair. This is called co-washing and can work well for very curly hair types that need much more moisture. Our natural Coconut & Sesame Conditioner is perfect for this method as it’s light-weight and has great slip and moisturising properties without added silicones.
Use your fingers to gently untangle your hair, working from the bottom up. You need to use conditioner here, let it absorb a few minutes and then add in water to “Squish” it together. This is sometimes called Sea Weed hair or Squish to Condish. Hair should be really wet and saturated as you finger-comb and squish in the product. You’ll be surprised but you don’t need quite as much conditioner when you use water to squish it in.
Next, a Curly Girl Method approved styling product is added to wet hair, using wet hands. Gel is the most popular but some people like a curl cream. Something with hold is what you need to get those curls to keep their shape. Scrunch the product into wet hair from the bottom upwards toward the head, saving the top layer for last. You might also want to have a bit of conditioner squished in first, before you apply the styling product.
Towel-drying is a sin. Only use a micro-fibre towel or old cotton T-shirt to dry your hair. Personally, I prefer an old, soft T-shirt over the micro-fibre towels. Again, use the squish technique to scrunch up curls. Plopping is another way to set up your hair for curl success.
Finally, use a diffuser to gently dry your curls on low heat. This is the most recommended method unless you have time to let your hair air-dry (which is the best for obvious reasons). Curly hair will get better definition if you fluff the bottom layer with a diffuser while bending forward; just try to avoid messing around with the top part too much, this will only create frizz.
Once hair is 100% dry, gently scrunch out your hair to break the crunchiness of the gel. Don’t brush out your curls or touch them too much. In fact, just add a bit of hair oil or serum gently on the ends if you need a bit of extra definition.