Curly Girl Update

Many of you have asked me how to use the Curly Girl method on your own hair. At first I followed the "Curly Girl" rules to the letter. Now that I've been using the method for a while I have adapted it to fit my needs. I will happily share my method with anyone willing to listen.  You may have to adjust this advice to suit your own hair's needs.

Washing:
I have to shampoo about twice a week - usually Sunday and Wednesday.  Any other day I just use conditioner. This is because my hair is more wavy than curly and it isn't curly to the root.
I don't dread wash days anymore. I actually like them.
When using shampoo just use it on the roots, not the ends. After rinsing use conditioner like you normally would. On non-shampoo days use conditioner like you would shampoo. Rub it into your scalp with your finger tips (not your nails) detangle your hair with your fingers and rinse well.

Drying:
Immediately after turning off the shower bend at the waist so your hair hangs down. Scrunch the water out of your hair. Then rub a little gel between your hands and scrunch it into your hair. I use Garnier Fructis Brilliant Shine because that's what I happed to have, but they also have a curl shaping gel which works well.

Then scrunch with a t-shirt - DO NOT use a textured towel or you will break up your natural curl pattern. Then stand back up and let the water run from your scalp down your hair a while. After about five minutes, flip back over and scrunch again with a towel and scrunch mousse into your hair. I like TRESemme Flawless Curls.

 This sounds like a lot of product, and it does produce a bit of a stiff curl. If you prefer softer curls don’t use gel, just mousse. Here’s the hardest part: DON’T touch your hair till it’s completely dry. This will cause your hair to frizz. Frizz is curly hair’s biggest enemy.  

Detangling:
Only detangle in the shower while your hair is wet. Do not use a brush. Sometimes I still want straight hair so I use my brush when I plan to straighten my hair. 

If you are interested in trying out this method there are two ways to go about it.

1.      Cold turkey. This is how I did it. I stopped shampooing completely. I didn’t shampoo for three straight weeks. By the third week my hair was so greasy it needed a good shampooing.  Then I slowly introduced shampoo again until I found the frequency that worked for me – which is twice a week. You may never need it, but I do.

2.      Gradually. Slowly cut back on shampooing. If you shampoo twice a day, cut back to once. If you shampoo every day, go to ever other. If you are shampooing every other day cut it back to every third. You probably won’t like it at first, but put your hair up on your non-wash days and grin and bear it. Your hair will thank you for it.

I love this method. I don’t think I’ll ever go back… I mean, just check out these curls!

"It's taking the curl out of my naturally curly hair!"

Remember Frieda from Peanuts?

 She was always complaining about things taking the curl out of her naturally curly hair.
 I feel like Frieda...Since high school my hair and I have battled between straight and curly.

Here I am in highschool, curls like crazy:

And in College, more like wavy:

And recently loose waves:

 (this was taken at a play last year with our friend and housemate, Stephanie)  

So my hair and I have been in an ongoing battle and I have felt utterly helpless - usually letting it do whatever it wants. I always washed every other day and loved my hair on non-wash days and hated it on wash days. It was so frizzy and dry and always ended up in a ponytail, therefore destroying any chance of curl. 

But I have discovered a new method that I think I'm falling in love with called Curly Girl. (A big thanks to Stacy Leigh Hutchens for introducing me to the idea on her blog.) The method dictates that no shampoo should be used for curly and wavy hair because it's more porous than straight hair and therefore it's harder to get all the shampoo out of our hair. It dries the hair out and makes it frizzy and hard to cope with. The solution? Just use conditioner to clean and moisturize. I admit, I was skeptical. But I shared it with Reeve and he encouraged me to go for it. So I did. It's now been one week since I've used shampoo and I have to say, I LOVE it. I think it's wonderful! My hair is so healthy and so shiny! And so curly! Granted, it's too thick at the moment and needs a good cut, but I am loving my hair right now. I will post photos as soon as I get it cut. I was thinking about washing once a week, but I don't want to go back to the frizz of wash day. 

I'm getting pretty good feedback in general. My friend Ashley Martin says she's totally for the idea and has a friend who hasn't washed her hair with shampoo in almost six years! And my coworkers admit my hair looks healthy, shiny and not the least bit greasy.

So, ready to let your naturally curly or wavy hair shine? Start here when you have a little time. Read what they have to say or follow these instructions for a shampoo free wash:

1. After wetting your hair thoroughly, pour a dime-sized amount of conditioner in your hand and, using the pads of your fingertips, apply to one spot of your scalp and massage well, just as you would with shampoo.
2. Repeat until you’ve scrubbed all over.
3. Rinse all the conditioner off with plenty of warm water, still gently massaging with your fingertips so the friction will dissolve any residue.
4. Pour more conditioner into your hand (sometimes another richer conditioner is necessary for this step), rub your palms together and apply over the length as you normally did in the past.
5. Try to detangle with your fingers or a very wide-toothed comb.
6. For extra moisturizing, clip your hair up and continue with your shower. When you’re done, set the water as cool as is comfortable to you, rinse for just a second or two, and gently squeeze the excess water off.

To style use your tried-and-true routine or try these tips. I was so shocked by some of these - especially the part about not brushing and not touching your hair while it dries.

• Choose a gel—must be silicone-free and preferably clear to allow the natural shine to come through.
• Don’t ever brush your hair.
• Detangle only when your hair is soaking wet. Use a wide-tooth comb, or better yet, just your fingers.
• Never rub your hair with a towel. Instead, gently blot the water using scrunching motions.
• Gently apply product, preferably by scrunching.
• Air dry your hair whenever possible or diffuse only partially to avoid frizz.
• Don’t touch your hair while it’s drying.

Have you used the Curly Girl method? Got any feedback? We'd love to hear about it!