Curly Girl Book

[Silverbrumby]

I just bought it and I'm wondering if the issues I'm having with frizz and difficult moody hair are more to do with the fact I might be a curly girl in denial?

First Question:
Anyway I did have a question from the book. She didn't mention much about up do's but I love putting my hair in a bun for protection and work. Do you think it effects the curl? I do have to brush it to get it up in the bun and she did say that brushes were a no no. I use a BBB and sometimes my Tangle Teaster. A comb and finger combing doesn't seem to be enough for up do's.

Second question:
Gel? She mentions gel but doesn't give any brand name recommendations. I've never used gel or mosse before so any help here would be appreciated. I have fine/med hair that frizzes but can look lank if I put too much product in.

Thanks in advance.

[misspriss]

Well, for the first question, putting your hair up usually straightens it out to a looser wave/curl, depending on how curly your hair is to start out with. But when you get it wet again, it will curl right back. For the second question, I don't use gel, so no advice, sorry!

Oh and I rarely use a brush, only when my hair is relatively straight (from bunning). I don't even use a comb, just my fingers. Since you are noticing a lot of frizz and feel the need to use a full brush to get your hair to behave for updos, you might be a curly in disguise! A lot of people think they have "moody" hair and "frizz" and when they start caring for their hair and paying attention to it they find out that it is actually quite wavy/curly!

[manderly]

Part of the charm of a curly updo is that it isn't smooth. I love peacock twist which show off my curls (i think girlcats avatar is a good representation iirc). For any buns I just pull my hair up with no smoothing our finger combing.

Bunning will loosen the curl, and brushing before breaks up curls into frizz and defeats the purpose of curly girl.

I do not own a brush ;)

Many curlies like LA Looks gel - I think the sport one. I was not a fan, personally. I use Deva Curl's Angel

[koala]

Well, for the first question, putting your hair up usually straightens it out to a looser wave/curl, depending on how curly your hair is to start out with. But when you get it wet again, it will curl right back. For the second question, I don't use gel, so no advice, sorry!

Oh and I rarely use a brush, only when my hair is relatively straight (from bunning). I don't even use a comb, just my fingers. Since you are noticing a lot of frizz and feel the need to use a full brush to get your hair to behave for updos, you might be a curly in disguise! A lot of people think they have "moody" hair and "frizz" and when they start caring for their hair and paying attention to it they find out that it is actually quite wavy/curly!

I was one of those people who thought my hair was just frizzy! As a kid, everyone told me my hair was straight with "just a little wave" and I thought I was just doomed to have frizz for my whole life. But after going through a grungy phase in high school and not brushing my hair for 6 months, I started to see my real waves coming out. Changing the way I took care of it made a huge difference.

[sarahbrownie]

NaturallyCurly.com (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlproducts/search) has a great product search to find the product that's best for you. Personally, I bought into the hype around Kinky Curly Custard and it's my favorite curly gel of all time.

I bun all the time. Just twist and clip. I don't brush my hair back unless I know it will be up until the next wash or else I have super frizzy hair.

[Silverbrumby]

Thank you all so much! I also found the wavy and curly thread. Happy girl here sitting with wet curling hair already.

[GRU]

Brushing takes out the curl *at the moment* but as was stated earlier, the curl comes back the next time you wet your hair.

I can't stand putting my hair up with tangles in it, so I brush it out with my Tangle Teezer before bunning. (Finger-combing out my tangles would literally take an entire day.) But on the days that I CO-wash my hair and leave it down (anywhere from 2-4 times a week), it's just as curly as ever.

Honestly, I was disappointed with the second edition of the CG book... she really went overboard with the whole "damaging your curl pattern" thing. I think the whole "baptism sprinkling" to rinse your hair is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life.

Brushes aren't evil.... it's just that brushing your hair and expecting it to still be in nice formed curly clumps is unrealistic. Brush and bun, or wet and curl -- life goes on!

[afu]

could you maybe try using an oil instead of a gel? i find that using coconut oil sets my curls nicely without any need for more product.

My advice would be to stop using the bbb, they are really not aimed at us curlies and are likely to result in frizz. I use my tangle teezer on damp hair before scrunching and air drying, it gets rid of any tangles and seem to distribute oils enough for me. If i get tangles in dry hair i only finger comb the lengths. i can get away with using the tangle teezer to smooth back the hair on my crown for a bun.

buns are likely to make your curls looser, but as people have said this is temporary and only lasts until you get your hair wet again

[misspriss]

Honestly, I was disappointed with the second edition of the CG book... she really went overboard with the whole "damaging your curl pattern" thing. I think the whole "baptism sprinkling" to rinse your hair is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life.

:confused: I guess I have the first edition! Don't remember that being in mine.

[GRU]

:confused: I guess I have the first edition! Don't remember that being in mine.

I didn't remember it in the first edition, but in the one I have (which is currently out on loan so I can't look it up) she actually talks about using your hands to "sprinkle" water over your "delicate curls" rather than putting them directly into the shower stream to rinse. :crazyq:

[lapushka]

I didn't remember it in the first edition, but in the one I have (which is currently out on loan so I can't look it up) she actually talks about using your hands to "sprinkle" water over your "delicate curls" rather than putting them directly into the shower stream to rinse. :crazyq:

I think the whole idea for the baptism rinse was so you could leave some product in, not rinse it all out. I don't think it has anything to do with preserving the curl pattern.

[Silverbrumby]

Brushing takes out the curl *at the moment* but as was stated earlier, the curl comes back the next time you wet your hair.

I can't stand putting my hair up with tangles in it, so I brush it out with my Tangle Teezer before bunning. (Finger-combing out my tangles would literally take an entire day.) But on the days that I CO-wash my hair and leave it down (anywhere from 2-4 times a week), it's just as curly as ever.

Honestly, I was disappointed with the second edition of the CG book... she really went overboard with the whole "damaging your curl pattern" thing. I think the whole "baptism sprinkling" to rinse your hair is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life.

Brushes aren't evil.... it's just that brushing your hair and expecting it to still be in nice formed curly clumps is unrealistic. Brush and bun, or wet and curl -- life goes on!

Great advice there. I was afraid I was destroying my curls because I like to tangle tease before bunning. Thats a relief.

[Georgies]

Second question:
Gel? She mentions gel but doesn't give any brand name recommendations. I've never used gel or mosse before so any help here would be appreciated. I have fine/med hair that frizzes but can look lank if I put too much product in.

I love the CG book - I haven't read the second edition but the first edition did change my hair life years ago! One quibble I have though is the obsession with gel - I must have tried a dozen different gels by now, but for my hair at least, coconut oil and a few other lighter oils are much, much better. Just a teeny bit - it's super easy to get the lank look with too much oil but after some experimentation I ditched gel forever.

[marykatz]

I only have the second edition book. She has a chapter devoted to updos. They are all curly, and not smooth at the scalp. This is problematic for me since my hair isn't especially curly at the roots so if I just finger comb it back, it has all these splits and parts in it. But if I brush it, my "peacock" is all frizz :rolleyes:

She does talk a lot about not letting the stream of water ruin your curl pattern. I followed her advice on cupping my hair and not letting the water run on it and honestly it didn't make any difference. I am glad though because it wasn't very enjoyable taking a shower, worrying that the stream of water was ruining my curls ;)

LA Looks gel works great for making my hair really curly. Without it I would definitely be considered wavy. It is a little hard to get rid of the crunchy look though. It also does not contain alcohol. I have been soooo tempted to buy her line of Angel gel but it is a bit costly.