When I left American for Ireland, I had sort of wavy hair that I wished was either straight or actually curly.
Well, somewhere along the way I had to accept that my hair turned... curly. Like, doesn't want to be anything else, will freak out if you brush it curly. Once I accepted this, I realised I needed to figure out a whole new way of doing my hair. So that's when my research started in earnest. And here's my hair today, after being air dried. See what I mean?
Now that I've done the research, read all the blogs, and watched all the youtube videos, I'm going to pass on what I learned with you.
This lady, Curly Susie, has some good videos for beginners, like this one on how to start using the curly girl method:
Some people think that the Curly Girl method means you don't wash your hair. THAT IS NOT TRUE. I wash my hair! It's really about finding the right products. The first thing is to make sure that your shampoo and conditioner is sulfate and silicone free -- you'd be surprised which ones are/aren't 'curly girl approved' -- for example, most of the LUSH shampoos have a sulfate as the first ingredient!
The second thing is to use an old t-shirt or microfiber towel instead of your regular towel. And always plop! Don't twist the hair in a turban. Here's how to do the plop:
Basically the idea behind the curly girl method is to use a gentle shampoo or cleanser ('no poo'), a good moisturising conditioner, and then two products: a leave-in conditioner and then a curly-girl approved gel or mousse. The leave-in conditioner just adds that bit of moisture, and then the gel/mousse locks it in and gives the hair a shine and eliminates frizz. In the old days, you'd have that spaghetti hair gel look, but nowadays gels don't leave that shine.
Now, what I've found is do not be afraid of product. I have really fine hair, and some products weigh my hair down. However, I can use loads of the right products, and in fact going heavier has lead to great results for me. I really like the method used in this video:
The trick is often called 'scrunch the crunch' -- once your hair is dry and your curls are nice and frizz-free, you just scrunch the hair a little and it releases the gel cast on them, so they feel soft again.
How to create a gel cast:
So I shower, squeeze the excess water out of my hair, put my leave-in conditioner in, then the gel, and then plop my hair. I leave the towel on for about 15 minutes.
Then, I just take the towel off, part my hair where I want it with my fingers, and then go. I try not to touch my hair again until it's basically dry. Then I scrunch the crunch with my head upside down, give it a little shake, and voila!
A lot of people swear by the co-wash method ('washing' with conditioner instead of shampoo) and I think it's great, but even if you go down that route, you should still wash with proper shampoo every couple of weeks. For me, I co-wash every other time that I am wetting my hair in the shower, alternating with a gentle shampoo. So it goes co-wash, skip a day or two, shampoo, skip a day or two, co-wash, and so on. I just find that I enjoy shampooing and my hair gets filmy and weighed down if I don't shampoo once a week or so.
If you live in an area with hard water like I do, there are also clarifying or "chelating" shampoos that get rid of mineral buildup. Here's a blog post from curly cailin about when to use one of those.
Oh also the best thing to avoid frizz is DON'T BRUSH YOUR HAIR. This one was hardest for me, especially because often my hair is only wavy and not curly. I'd think surely I can brush it a wee bit. NO. It gets super frizzy and then I have to wet it down again to get rid of the frizz.
I hope that's helpful to you on your hair journey!
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Now that I've done the research, read all the blogs, and watched all the youtube videos, I'm going to pass on what I learned with you.
OK SO! It's very easy to sort of get caught in a black hole of curly youtube videos - there are so many youtubers talking about their methods. LUCKY FOR YOU I have watched a million of them and I can tell you some which I think are helpful.
This lady, Curly Susie, has some good videos for beginners, like this one on how to start using the curly girl method:
EASY/OVERSIMPLIFIED Curly Girl Method for Newbies
Some people think that the Curly Girl method means you don't wash your hair. THAT IS NOT TRUE. I wash my hair! It's really about finding the right products. The first thing is to make sure that your shampoo and conditioner is sulfate and silicone free -- you'd be surprised which ones are/aren't 'curly girl approved' -- for example, most of the LUSH shampoos have a sulfate as the first ingredient!
You don't have to spend a tonne of money, though you easily can. Here is a list of products that should be easier to find here in Ireland (well, UK, but you know...some of the same shops) It turns out that this gel from boots is curly girl approved and is super cheap at 1.50. I used it for a couple of weeks and I thought it worked great! I did have to use a little bit more than some other thicker gels, but I really liked it and you can't beat the price. (It turned out that I was massively allergic to it, sadly.) I use Giovanni shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and gel.
BEWARE: A brand might have some 'curly girl approved' products, and some NOT approved products, so check ingredients with a website like Curlsbot or IsItCG.
BEWARE: A brand might have some 'curly girl approved' products, and some NOT approved products, so check ingredients with a website like Curlsbot or IsItCG.
The second thing is to use an old t-shirt or microfiber towel instead of your regular towel. And always plop! Don't twist the hair in a turban. Here's how to do the plop:
Basically the idea behind the curly girl method is to use a gentle shampoo or cleanser ('no poo'), a good moisturising conditioner, and then two products: a leave-in conditioner and then a curly-girl approved gel or mousse. The leave-in conditioner just adds that bit of moisture, and then the gel/mousse locks it in and gives the hair a shine and eliminates frizz. In the old days, you'd have that spaghetti hair gel look, but nowadays gels don't leave that shine.
Now, what I've found is do not be afraid of product. I have really fine hair, and some products weigh my hair down. However, I can use loads of the right products, and in fact going heavier has lead to great results for me. I really like the method used in this video:
The trick is often called 'scrunch the crunch' -- once your hair is dry and your curls are nice and frizz-free, you just scrunch the hair a little and it releases the gel cast on them, so they feel soft again.
How to create a gel cast:
So I shower, squeeze the excess water out of my hair, put my leave-in conditioner in, then the gel, and then plop my hair. I leave the towel on for about 15 minutes.
Then, I just take the towel off, part my hair where I want it with my fingers, and then go. I try not to touch my hair again until it's basically dry. Then I scrunch the crunch with my head upside down, give it a little shake, and voila!
A lot of people swear by the co-wash method ('washing' with conditioner instead of shampoo) and I think it's great, but even if you go down that route, you should still wash with proper shampoo every couple of weeks. For me, I co-wash every other time that I am wetting my hair in the shower, alternating with a gentle shampoo. So it goes co-wash, skip a day or two, shampoo, skip a day or two, co-wash, and so on. I just find that I enjoy shampooing and my hair gets filmy and weighed down if I don't shampoo once a week or so.
If you live in an area with hard water like I do, there are also clarifying or "chelating" shampoos that get rid of mineral buildup. Here's a blog post from curly cailin about when to use one of those.
Oh also the best thing to avoid frizz is DON'T BRUSH YOUR HAIR. This one was hardest for me, especially because often my hair is only wavy and not curly. I'd think surely I can brush it a wee bit. NO. It gets super frizzy and then I have to wet it down again to get rid of the frizz.
I hope that's helpful to you on your hair journey!
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