Hello everyone! Today I'm going to talk about the most important topic, that is, What exactly is curly girl method? We, curly girl's life revolves around it.

 Also, the first and foremost thing to note is, it is not restricted to girls. There are many guys following the curly girl method! They've got amazing results too.


The Curly Girl Method is from Lorraine Massey’s book “Curly girl: The hand book, in which she has described how to take care of curly hair without the use of shampoo and only co-washing or conditioner wash instead. She discourages the use of shampoo which is harsh to rather already dry hair.

The Don'ts of a curly girl method:-

Avoid using Sulphate shampoo:- Instead switch to a mild shampoo which does not contain Sulphates. Using sulphates causes our hair to lose it's natural oils and hair only gets more dry and frizzy.  Sulphates are used in soaps and detergents to later up, which you definitely do not need in your hair care routine. These are mostly present in your regular shampoos. Stop using them immediately!


Avoid products which contain Silicones:-
Many straight haired people do use conditioners do use silicone based products, what's the deal for us?

Well, when we use Silicones which are present in most of the Conditioners, Leave in, serums, etc. It builds up on your hair overtime, like plastic, literally. It might give you some shine but it is not good in long term for your hair's health. After that build up, no matter how many products you try on they will stop working, because the silicones won't allow the product to go in.


Do not brush/comb your hair DRY:- 
Please don't! I know we were taught to comb/brush them. By brushing/ combing your hair when it's dry will only lead to frizz and your curls will loose their pattern (also cause so much pain). Finger detangle your hair after applying conditioner.

Brush/comb your hair when you're in shower after applying the Conditioner as it will be easier and cause less breakage compared to when it's dry, also helping the conditioner to distribute evenly. Use a denman brush or any wide toothed comb to brush out your hair.


Stop heat damaging your hair:- Say no to heat stylers and blow dryers, get a diffuser attachment for your blow dryer instead. By using heating stylers, your hair will eventually be so damaged that it will be difficult to return it to it's original state.


Say NO to toxic chemicals:-
We were taught to idealize straight hair but, Stay away from chemically straightened, smoothened, relaxed hair. These chemicals not only damage your hair but destroy it! You'll face hair fall problems.

Don't wash your hair too often:-
Once or twice a week is enough. Washing your hair too often can strip out the essential oils from our scalp and make it even more dry.

Do not colour your hair:-
Colouring your hair means chemicals, and ingredients that are on to avoid list, but I've seen many curly hair girls maintaining their curls even after colouring. Natural hair is best for anyone but at the end, it's up to you.

Do not use your regular towel:-
Regular towels absorb all the moisture you just locked in will all those products, it also causes friction which makes your hair dry, dull and frizzy.

Don't use drying alcohols:- There are many types of drying alcohols present in hair products, although all alcohols are not drying.

Dos of Curly Girl Method:-

Co-wash:-
Instead of shampooing your hair wash your hair and scalp with a conditioner with cleansing properties. This ensures that your hair and scalp is not drained out of moisture and natural oils.

Use a T-shirt or Microfiber towel instead of the regular one:-
Regular towels dry out your hair more than need, using a microfiber towel or a t-shirt ensures that all the product you just applied is not going in waste, as the regular towel soaks in all the moisture that you just put on.

Also, instead of rubbing your hair with it, Scrunch up your hair with the same t-shirt or microfiber towel to enhance your curls. Then plop your hair.

Preserve your curls:- Preserve your curls while sleeping at night with a silk/satin bonnet/scarf. Use a satin/silk pillowcase to sleep on. It protects your hair against the frizz until morning.

Simply do a pineapple bun and cover your hair with the satin bonnet, also use the satin pillow case for added protection.

How to follow Curly Girl Method?

Clarify (Final wash):-  First things first, To start your CGM you need to clarify your hair with a sulfate shampoo which doesn't contain silicones. What this will do is it will give you a clean slate to start over. It helps in removing all the buildup from your hair and gives you a fresh start.

You have to clarify once every month to clean up the build up even though you have CGM friendly products.


There's this one shampoo that almost every curly girl in India uses to Clarify their hair because it is budget friendly and it does the job:- Pantene Lively Clean.


Cleanse:-
Co-wash:- Conditioner wash your hair with a conditioner that has cleaning properties, specifically designed for co-washing or any cg approved conditioner.

                         OR


Shampoo:-  If you find that co-washing doesn't suit you and causes flakes you may switch to a mild shampoo which doesn't have sulphates; a low-poo or a no-poo.

Low-poo doesn't lathers a bit but doesn't have sulphates where as no poos don't lather at all.



Leave in:- Use a leave in conditioner to retain the moisture. It is light, compared with normal conditioner. You can get a special leave in conditioner or you can just use your usual conditioner with water.


Style:- A hair cream, gel, mousse can be used to style your hair. Apply any curl defining cream/mousse rake it in and Scrunch it up.

 Gel is the last step of your routine.


Plopping:- Plop your hair with the help of a micro fiber towel or a t-shirt. It helps the products to sit in better.


Drying: You can air dry or diffuse your hair instead of blow-drying. It is less damaging and it gives some more volume, less frizz and speeds up the drying process.

Bonus tips:-

Massage your hair on daily basis:- Massaging your scalp will help to remove any build up caused by products or oils and even help reduce the flakiness. It keeps your scalp healthy and also improve the blood circulation.

You may massage your hair with a oil or in the shower after applying the shampoo, with your fingertips or a scalp massage. You can even dry massage your scalp if you feel like at any time of the day.


Weekly deep conditioning/ hair mask:- This helps keep your hair more moisturized. You can do protein and moisture deep conditioning treatments as you like. It is like a hot oil treatment. You can make your DIY deep conditioners/hair masks too.

Who can follow CGM? 

To be honest, anyone can. Yes! Even straight haired people too. Because we're removing all the harmful chemicals out of our hair care routine. It is best for the curly hair and wavy hair people as it will only enhance your curls and waves. What bad can happen? You can always modify CGM as per your liking, remember?

Don't forget to be patient as this process takes time.

Well, this process takes a bit time, depending from individual to individual. Some people even see results in a few weeks itself but many people get the results after months or even years to get the hair to it's full potential. Be patient and give all the love your hair requires.

Learn new techniques and unlearn the harmful ones, it is so much fun when you finally see the results speaking for you.

This was all I follow! So it'll be better if you experiment with the products, techniques, etc. You will get better at it, trust me. All you need is patience.


Also, do comment if you like this blog.💕