July 27, 2012

  • The Basics of The Curly Girl Method

    The cleansing routine has two parts:

    1.)    Cleansing your scalp

    2.)    Cleansing your hair

     

    Cleansing 

    The amount you cleanse and condition depends on your hair type.  Now, if you’re a shampoo junkie you may want to wean yourself off the shampoo.  To do this stick to your regular cleansing schedule but switch to a sulfate-free shampoo (and preferably one free of silicones like Moisture Milk VO5 shampoo) or a botanical conditioner (like Tresseme Naturals).  As your hair becomes more hydrated you’ll be able to cleanse (cowash less often) and just be able to wet and go to the conditioning step for your curl pattern.  The amount of product you use will probably change over time as your hair becomes healthier.  The tighter your curl, the more conditioner/product you will need.  Damaged hair will also need more conditioner/product.  Most find that they will be able to (after a while) co-wash 2 to 3 times a week and wet-n-go the rest of the week.

     

    Conditioning 

    With the conditioning it is suggested to leave some or all of the silicone-free conditioner (regular conditioner, not leave-in) in your hair.  The method highly suggests gliding the conditioner in a downward motion throughout your hair using your fingers (no combs or brushes).  If your hair is longer follow this method with scrunching the hair up towards your scalp which helps the curl pattern in your hair.  Your hair should feel slippery at this point (sort of like a jellyfish).  You will hear a squishy sound as you do this.  Allow the milky conditioner to flow through your fingers as you squish.  With dryer hair you will hear a less of a squishing sound because most of the conditioner is soaked into the dry hair.  Leave no curl left behind.

     

    Scrunching 

    You should never dry your hair with a towel with this method.  Towels have fibers that can rip the delicate strands of curly hair and cause frizz.  The method suggests using a microfiber towel, a paper towel, or an old cotton t-shirt.  You can actually use anything that is smooth and will absorb water such as a pillowcase.  You should gently blot the hair without twisting the hair strands.  The method calls it “scrunch-squeeze” because you scrunch with an upward motion towards the scalp.

     

     

    Styling 

    The method suggests you use a clear gel that is alcohol-free and silicone-free (remember silicones are those ingredients ending with –cone, -conol, or –xane; xano)such as Ecostyler gel (highly recommended by YouTube users).  The method to use the gel is different based on your curl type (which I will describe in my next post).