curly hair method

[mommy2one05]

I have seen several posts mention this but cant seem to find anything about it. Does anybody have any info on this?

[Xanthippe]

Do you mean the Curly Girl method? That's from this book (http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Lorraine-Massey/dp/0761123008) I think. I'm sure someone who knows more than I will come along and explain more. :flower:

[Tangles]

Basically, the CG method is conditioner-only washing daily and occasional clarifying. And no cones. But it only works if you are really a curly. Wavies need to shampoo sometimes.

[snowbird]

It's a good book, and not fantastically expensive (and short enough if you took a notepad to the bookstore with you, you could just jot down the essential information and forego buying the book altogether)

It isn't how I take care of my hair, but a lot of people find success with the methods.

[Euphony]

Basically, the CG method is conditioner-only washing daily and occasional clarifying. And no cones. But it only works if you are really a curly. Wavies need to shampoo sometimes.
Hmmmm I don't know if it's required for a wavy to shampoo sometimes. I did CO for a while (3 or 4 weeks) and had wonderful results and didn't touch shampoo during the time I was doing it. It oddly made my scalp extremely sensitive though so I stopped.

[rhosyn_du]

Hmmmm I don't know if it's required for a wavy to shampoo sometimes. I did CO for a while (3 or 4 weeks) and had wonderful results and didn't touch shampoo during the time I was doing it. It oddly made my scalp extremely sensitive though so I stopped.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing. I did CO for almost nine months, and it worked fantastically for me until I started using henna. Even now, I have to be very careful with shampoo (no SLS, serious dilution, only occasional use) or my hair turns into frizz city.

The Curly Girl book does assert that wavies need shampoo, though. I sometimes wonder if curly hair experts aren't making a mistake in trying to treat wavy hair like a type of curly hair the same way that "traditional" hair experts treat wavy and curly hair as though it were straight. :ponder:

[tmmycat]

Basically, the CG method is conditioner-only washing daily and occasional clarifying. And no cones. But it only works if you are really a curly. Wavies need to shampoo sometimes.

I have wavy hair and it's working great for me! I don't see any need for me to use shampoo. I wash with conditioner at least twice a week, or sometimes every other day ... with water-only washes on the other days.

[icydove]

The CG method of COing (based on the book) is to use a small amount of conditioner and wash it out immediately after scrubbing your scalp. The LHC method is to use a whole load of conditioner and leave it on for an amount of time (usually 15 minutes to 1 hour).

CG recommends that curlies wet down and apply conditioner to their hair on a daily basis, with scalp washing with conditioner once a week. It calls for CWC on wavy hair once a week.

[Flaxen]

Here (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=310381&#post310381) is a summary of the Curly Girl method, and here (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=309373#post309373) is the Wavy Curly Girl method. :smile:

[Nynaeve]

Basically, the CG method is conditioner-only washing daily and occasional clarifying. And no cones. But it only works if you are really a curly. Wavies need to shampoo sometimes.


Hmmmm I don't know if it's required for a wavy to shampoo sometimes. I did CO for a while (3 or 4 weeks) and had wonderful results and didn't touch shampoo during the time I was doing it. It oddly made my scalp extremely sensitive though so I stopped.

Shampooing with any shampoo, regardless of the ingredients dries out my hair and makes it do unhappy stick-outy things. And I'm a wurly. I went for a long time with CO and my hair was much happier for it. Not right now because I'm trying out catnip.

ETA: Oooo, GJ on the links, Flaxen, didn't even realize those were up on the archives!

[mommyofatoz]

I was going to say pretty much the same thing. I did CO for almost nine months, and it worked fantastically for me until I started using henna. Even now, I have to be very careful with shampoo (no SLS, serious dilution, only occasional use) or my hair turns into frizz city.



Hmmm...perhaps this is something I need to check...I was doing CO just fine for a while and I have recently hennad and now my hair hasn't been the same...it's more frizzy...guess I need to recheck my products again.

[Riot Crrl]

Yeah, what is in your conditioners?

The more I hennaed, the less protein I seem to need. I still don't receive horror from using protein, but I've always had hair that I can pile up with protein and if I didn't need it it just has no result. So yeah, who wants no result?

I bumped an h4h thread about this in the past week. Basically, henna is not a protein treatment, but the tannins in it can prevent protein loss, and/or have an affinity for and grab proteins.

(IMO this is good news for my own hair, it was once a mushy, proteinless mess that would stretch for inches and inches. Now it only seems to want moisture, so I am actually pleased with it needing "less stuff.")

[lookingglass]

Many of us do a "Modified CG" routine where we load down our hair with cheapie condish to detangle (otherwise, there is no hope!) in the shower, do our shower duties, rinse, and then use a thicker condish or leave in.

[CurlyOne]

This is really interesting, my hair always seems dry or too oily. I think I need to give this a shot, all though the no brushing thing will take some getting used to.

Curly hair is a beast all it's own.

[Cinnamon Hair]

Many of us do a "Modified CG" routine where we load down our hair with cheapie condish to detangle (otherwise, there is no hope!) in the shower, do our shower duties, rinse, and then use a thicker condish or leave in.

This is what I do, except I make it all one step by using cheap VO5 condish on the scalp and good conditioner on the length. Put it all into a showercap while you do your thing and rinse out/detangle at the end of your shower. I don't leave it on even 15 mins.. more like 5-10 at most, but I wash every day so it doesn't have to be super powerful. The more spread out your washing days, the longer it needs to soak in to work.

Almost every CO'er has a slightly different routine they prefer.

[mommyofatoz]

Yeah, what is in your conditioners?

The more I hennaed, the less protein I seem to need. I still don't receive horror from using protein, but I've always had hair that I can pile up with protein and if I didn't need it it just has no result. So yeah, who wants no result?

I bumped an h4h thread about this in the past week. Basically, henna is not a protein treatment, but the tannins in it can prevent protein loss, and/or have an affinity for and grab proteins.

(IMO this is good news for my own hair, it was once a mushy, proteinless mess that would stretch for inches and inches. Now it only seems to want moisture, so I am actually pleased with it needing "less stuff.")

I am mostly using VO5 stuff, but I think the ones I have been using are protein ones and maybe that is it...too much protein. :shrug:

[CurlyOne]

Well I tried it today with some of my natural conditioner but I don't think it was strong enough to clean. My hair was pretty gunky and I ended up having to do a second wash with shampoo later. I think I need some VO5.

[rhubarbarin]

Hmmmm I don't know if it's required for a wavy to shampoo sometimes. I did CO for a while (3 or 4 weeks) and had wonderful results and didn't touch shampoo during the time I was doing it. It oddly made my scalp extremely sensitive though so I stopped.

Yeah, I haven't used shampoo for about 6 years now, and while I was a 3a when shorter, now I'm more in 2 territory. I use a modified CG method - I wash my scalp every 2-3 days with cone and protein free conditioner, and follow with a vinegar rinse. Then I use a different cone and protein free conditioner as my leave-in.

I also do a deep treatment, or heavy oiling, once a week or so.

[CurlyOne]

So what kind of conditioner does everyone use? I would love to find something that didn't have cones or harsh chemicals in it but I can't find one that is affordable and not so think it would leave my hair gunky.

[Dulci]

So what kind of conditioner does everyone use? I would love to find something that didn't have cones or harsh chemicals in it but I can't find one that is affordable and not so think it would leave my hair gunky.

My favorite is VO5 Extra Body conditioner, it detangles my hair like a dream and rinses completely and easily. So cheap too!

[Faepirate]

Shampooing with any shampoo, regardless of the ingredients dries out my hair and makes it do unhappy stick-outy things. And I'm a wurly.

Ditto.
My hair can't decide whether it's wavy or curly (it's wavy down to about APL and then it goes crazy spirally) but CO is really good for my hair. I had been despairing over how horribly dry and frizzy the ends were. Not a nice contrast to my greasy scalp. ALL shampoo seemed to have the same drying effect... I stopped shampooing, started COing and my hair is so much better for it. Less dry at the ends AND less greasy at the scalp. Usually my scalp is a little itchy but I seem to have got on top of that with herbal rinses (ACV didn't really help). Hopefully that will continue to work...



As for conditioners, my favourites are VO5 Free-Me Freesia, Superdrug Aloe Vera and Tesco's Cirus Conditioner. Basically all the cheap, cone-free ones I've tried my hair has done well with. :)

[CurlyOne]

My favorite is VO5 Extra Body conditioner, it detangles my hair like a dream and rinses completely and easily. So cheap too!
I love finding cheap stuff that works. And your hair looks beautiful!

[Dulci]

Thank you! :flower: I hope you find your perfect products, good luck!

[florenonite]

As for conditioners, my favourites are VO5 Free-Me Freesia, Superdrug Aloe Vera and Tesco's Cirus Conditioner. Basically all the cheap, cone-free ones I've tried my hair has done well with. :)

I love Tesco conditioner ^_^. A large bottle for less than 50p. That's the student way to do things xD. I'm only really slightly wavy, so I use diluted shampoo in a CWC routine, but go through far more conditioner than shampoo.

[starry]

yay for the wavy hair method- That's is what Ill try I reckon!

[CurlyCurves]

I'm not following the CurlyGirl method as I don't leave anything in my hair and I use cones, but I do co-wash. I shampoo once a week, always following up with a deep conditioning :)

My routine is on my page, if you're interested.

[cldunzie0215]

as a 3a/3b teen, I read the book (from my local library) and loved it. It is CWC, using either a conditioning shampoo, or just a cleansing conditioner then a deep conditioner, once or twice a week. But that's not the important part. the important part is that you leave the conditioner in, then deeply comb(or finger rake for looser curls, comb for type 4's)through and seal all the curls individually by running your fingers through them. The good thing is, she has this whole section listing many different cleansing conditioners, conditioning shampoos, and deep conditioners that work, or don't work(range from affordable to expensive) and mabny step by step tutorials and personal stories, also protective hairstyle tutorials! I love this method, it protects my hair from the sun and gets rid of ALL friz.literally, no friz ever if you follow this method exactly. The onyk downside is that your hair can feel kind of gross if you don't comb/rake and seal off the hair EXACTLY, thus leaving ctoo much conditioner in which can feel kind of gross. Makes your hair shiny, frizz free, and weather proof. Also includes night time routines and stuff for camping, trips, etc. I loved this book, and suggest you read it!(: (note: it is meant for african american hair, but it works great for anyone with type 3 hair or curlier. there are notes in the book for people with looser curls how to alter the directions, etc.)