To be truly Curly Girl compliant, you need to avoid specific ingredients that merely sit on your strands and don’t penetrate the hair, which can cause the hair to look heavy or lank and unable to hold a bouncy curl. Ingredients and practices to avoid are: Try the Ecostyler Oil Styling Gel made with 100% pure olive oil, for example. Helping your scalp regulate its natural moisturizing system, you won’t have to worry about it drying out your curls or leaving a crunch. On the contrary: it leaves your curls with a healthy shine whilst taming the frizz. You can also experiment with the amount of gel you use. I need a lot more than I am willing to admit….but then I sometimes mix gel with mousse. If you think you need an ACV rinse, I would recommend you only do it once a week for two weeks and then do it monthly. It is to clarify any dirt, excess product and oil from your scalp. It can also help massively if you think you may be suffering from protein overload. After you do the ACV rinse, finish off with a deep conditioner. So do a deep condition weekly but only do an ACV rinse every two or four weeks. Hope this helps! 🙂 Curly– You can either rinse or leave the conditioner in at this point, depending on how much moisture you need.

Also consider your styling products. Do you use gel or mousse? I get a great cast with gel but it made my hair dry. I now switch between mousse and gel and I found this helped a lot. There are five steps to The Curly Girl Method that take commitment, dedication and hard work, but the payoff is priceless: 1. Reset At its most basic, beginner level, the Curly Girl Method involves cutting out things that hurt your curls (like anything drying or harsh), and then adding in things that heal, hydrate, and enhance (like moisturizers, proteins, and gentle cleansers). So here are some of the “don’ts” and products to avoid. ❌ AVOID ❌A third tip (which I am sometimes now very good at following), is to use cold water when you condition. I hate this bit because I love a hot shower but I have to admit that my curls always come out much better with cold water. The Curly Girl Method ‘technically’ doesn’t recommend the use of shampoo. However, many Curly Girls choose to use a clarifying shampoo once every month to get rid of build-up. I then apply Curlsmith Defining Styling Soufflé through mid to ends, then top using praying hands method. My hair is sopping so I do the scrunch method. You don't have to have tight cork-screws or bouncy ringlets to try CGM - it's actually recommended for all textured hair types including loose waves.

Having gotten the final wash out of the way you can now move on to your main go-to form of hair washing from now on, namely co-washes. Co-washing consists of using a co-wash specific conditioner only – so forget about your former two-step routine of shampooing followed by conditioning. When switching over to natural hair care, knowing how porous your hair is will make it easier for you to find the best product for your hair. There are different ways to test whether you have high or low porosity hair. I doubt my hair could now be suffering with moisture overload because I dye my hair a lot and have bleached it extensively in the past, but I guess it is an option. However, with naturally curly hair herself, Claire reveals that the book does still have relevance today. “The key CGM principles have some merit for many curl types. Promoting cleansing without sulphates is great advice – curls are naturally drier than straight hair and sulphates dry out the hair cuticle, creating a perfect environment for breakage,” she says.I have read the Curly Girl Handbook from cover to cover several times and it’s awesome! It changed the lives of many a curly-haired girl who had no idea how to make the very best out of their hair, through styling methods and a new understanding of the hair products they use. For some curly hair types, the curly girl method can be a lifesaver! The method includes helpful tips that can transform your hair and help you better understand the way that curls and natural waves need to be cared for. Coily– If you have time when conditioning, wrap your hair and apply heat for 15 minutes for a moisture boost. Rinse completely to avoid a visible film. Step 3 DRY & STYLE Now that you’re ready to embrace a whole new outlook and method to your curly hair care routine, it’s time to familiarize yourself with the “rules” of the Curly Girl Method UK. To follow the curly girl method you’ll need to understand the rules. Lorraine’s handbook contains a set of do’s and don’ts that are designed to help curly hair and wavy hair thrive. The idea is that you avoid chemical-based products and any harmful styling techniques.