Curly hair is beautiful. It’s exquisite. It’s majestic. And it’s HIGH MAINTENANCE.
I’ve always had somewhat curly hair. As a young child, my mom kept it super short so it wouldn’t get tangled, because I would never let her touch it or put it in a pony tail. Over time, my hair became wavy and lost any semblance of ringlets, so I grew it longer.
But then, one fateful day in the 6th grade, I got my hair chopped short. And my curls came out to play once again (thanks puberty!). I was HORRIFIED. I had never seen my hair like that and had no idea how to take care of it! (See brushed out frizz ball below). And, to make matters worse, the next day at school just so happened to be wacky hair day. As soon as I walked into my first period class, a male classmate asked me: “what up with the perm?”
I turned to curly haired family members for help and tried out various products that they recommended and eventually landed on a routine that worked for me. I kept it very low maintenance – shampoo every few days, condition every day, apply a couple of products by raking them through my hair with my fingers, then air dry.
I kept that routine for the next 10+ years! And it worked fine, until recently. I would always have some frizz, and I often wound up putting my hair up halfway through the day when it began to bother me, but overall my hair behaved. Toward the end of 2019, my trusty products didn’t seem to be cutting it anymore. My hair just seemed dull and lacking. I wanted a change, so I started doing some internet research on curly hair.
Enter: the curly girl method.
The curly girl method is a method for caring for curly hair that was originally created by Lorraine Massey in her book Curly Girl: The Handbook. I, however, have learned about it through many, many blog posts, articles, and YouTube videos. It is rather intensive and seemed super overwhelming at first, but I implemented different techniques one at a time until eventually I was fully following the method!
Here are some of the major tenets of the curly girl method:
- Avoid these ingredients in products: sulfates, silicones, drying alcohols
- No brushing
- No drying with regular towels (can use microfiber or a cotton t-shirt)
- No heat styling or dying
- Don’t shampoo every day
- Wash hair and apply products upside down (optional)
- Apply products to soaking wet hair
- Don’t touch hair while drying
- Often recommended to sleep on silk pillowcase
Beyond these rules, there are a TON of other nuances. If you’re new to the method, I’d only worry about the basic tips above. For many people, that is a big enough change. The tips below can then be gradually added in!
Everything else I’ve learned about the curly girl method:
- Shampooing:
- No-poo – this means using no dedicated shampoo! Instead, you’d use an alternative like apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, or even just water to clean your hair.
- Low-poo – this means using a sulfate free shampoo, but sparingly (ideally only a couple of times per week).
- Claryfing shampoo – this is a more heavy duty shampoo that removes product buildup. It should only be used every few weeks!
- Co-washing – stands for conditioner washing (or can be done with a dedicated co-wash). This is a way to clean hair between shampoos.
- Conditioning:
- Conditioner – you should condition your hair every time you wash it. Use your fingers to detangle hair only when it is saturated with conditioner. Let it sit for a few minutes before washing it out. It should feel like silky seaweed when it is fully conditioned.
- One popular method for applying conditioner is called “squish to condish,” where you basically scrunch the conditioner into wet hair.
- Deep conditioner – a deep conditioner is a treatment or mask that is left on hair for a longer period of time to fully moisturize it. You should use one every week or two!
- Conditioner – you should condition your hair every time you wash it. Use your fingers to detangle hair only when it is saturated with conditioner. Let it sit for a few minutes before washing it out. It should feel like silky seaweed when it is fully conditioned.
- Styling products – you can use any mixture of leave-in conditioner, curl cream/custard, mousse and gel (usually applied in that order).
- Product application – products can be applied by by raking, roping, scrunching, smoothing, or praying hands.
- Raking = raking product through hair with fingers.
- Roping = separating hair into sections and cupping hand around one section at a time, squeezing downward to work in product.
- Smoothing = running open palms over hair to glaze product on.
- Praying hands = putting one hand on either side of hair, pressing hands together, and pulling gently down to work in product.
- Scrunching = gathering hair in open palms from the bottom, pushing up to roots and squeezing (usually you would use one of the techniques above followed by scrunching).
- Drying techniques:
- Plopping – involves wrapping hair up in something to allow products to sink in and reduce drying time. There are 3 types:
- Dry plopping = flip head over above cotton t-shirt or microfiber towel, gently accordion curls onto it and tie up.
- Wet plopping = do the same as above, but into a shower cap (will not dry hair, but will allow products to sink in).
- Micro plopping = scrunch with microfiber towel or cotton t-shirt.
- Air drying – you can let curls air dry right after applying products or after any form of plopping.
- Diffuser drying – using a diffuser attachment on a hair dryer. You can diffuse right after applying products, but most like to wait until after plopping or air drying for a bit. There are a few different diffusing techniques:
- Hover diffusing – allowing the diffuser to hover over sections of hair.
- Pixie diffusing – placing diffuser over a section of hair at the base of the curls and pushing it up to the roots (kind of like you’re scrunching with the diffuser).
- Hammock diffusing – hover diffusing while hair is flipped over and partly accordioned (like when its plopped).
- Diffuser should be kept on low heat and speed for all techniques!!!
- Plopping – involves wrapping hair up in something to allow products to sink in and reduce drying time. There are 3 types:
- Protecting hair overnight
- Since the curly girl method discourages washing your hair every day, many people try to preserve their curls overnight!
- Pineapple – a loose ponytail or bun on the top of your head.
- Buff or bonnett – securing hair in a buff or bonnet.
- Silk scarf or pillowcase – hair can be tied up in a silk scarf, and a silk pillowcase is always recommended in case any of the above styles fall out.
- Since the curly girl method discourages washing your hair every day, many people try to preserve their curls overnight!
- Refreshing curls
- Oftentimes, curls need to be refreshed after you have slept on them overnight. When you take out the pineapple or remove the buff/bonnet/scarf, you should give your hair a few minutes to settle before adding some more water and/or product.
- Light refresh – a light refresh means simply using a bit of water (oftentimes in a spray bottle) and small amounts of product to bring curls back to life.
- Wet refresh – this is a full refresh that involves saturating the hair with water and co-washing, then re-applying all products.
- Oftentimes, curls need to be refreshed after you have slept on them overnight. When you take out the pineapple or remove the buff/bonnet/scarf, you should give your hair a few minutes to settle before adding some more water and/or product.
- Other techniques:
- If you use a gel or mousse and hair gets crunchy, you can “scrunch out the crunch” once it is 100% dry by scrunching with your hands, a cotton t-shirt, or microfiber towel.
- Apple cider vinegar rinses are sometimes used to remove product buildup.
- Protein treatments should be used in addition to deep conditioning treatments, but not as often for most people.
And I’m sure there’s more, but these are the basics (overwhelmed yet?). Don’t worry – you can take the process slowly, try one new thing at a time, and see what works for you! The most important thing is to have fun and stay curious and open to new possibilities.
As it turns out, I had been unknowingly following many parts of the curly girl method for years before I actually learned about it! I haven’t shampooed every day for a long time, I hadn’t been using a regular brush (just a wide toothed comb) and hadn’t been towel drying my hair. Since I switched over to natural products years ago, I’ve been using CG approved, sulfate and silicone free products.
The missing piece for me was really the application techniques. The things that I believe have made the biggest difference in styling my hair since starting the method are: washing upside down, scrunching product in, using a gel, and diffusing with a hair dryer.
Here’s what my hair looks like now using this method:
And below is the routine I use to get this look!
The links below are affiliate links. If you purchase anything through them, I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, that helps me continue to bring you free blog content!
Clean & Curly Girl Hair Routine:
- Shampoo – currently using Evolvh SmartCurl Shampoo and Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo
- I shampoo every 3-ish days, and use a clarifying conditioner about once a month.
- I scrub in shampoo with my fingers and then a scalp scrubber.
I only use shampoo on the roots & top of my head and rinse it out right away.
- Condition – currently using Evolvh SmartCurl Conditioner
- I flip my head upside down to apply conditioner. I rake it into my hair and detangle with my fingers, then “squish to condish” by scrunching conditioner into hair.
- I let the conditioner sit for 3-5 minutes.
- I keep my head upside down and turn toward the water, turning the temperature down to cool before placing my head under the stream and washing out the conditioner.
- Products – currently using Evolvh SmartCurl leave-in conditioner, Evolvh SuperCurl Defining Cream, Giovanni LA Hold Gel
- Still upside down and still in the shower, I apply my products to soaking wet hair.
- I spritz the leave-in conditioner onto my hair and scrunch a couple of times to disperse the product.
- Then I get a dollop of curl cream on my hand, rub my hands together, and smooth/use praying hands to apply it. Then I scrunch that in!
- Finally, I apply a dollop of gel to my hand, add some water and rub my hands together, then smooth and use praying hands to apply that, followed by scrunching.
- Dry – currently using Xtava hair dryer & black orchid diffuser
- I like to plop my hair right away in a cotton t-shirt for about 20 minutes to reduce drying time. During the time I get dressed and do my make-up!
- Then I will let my hair air dry for 20-30 minutes while I eat breakfast.
- Finally, I diffuse my hair until it is almost dry. I like to use the pixie diffusing method for defined, bouncy curls. With the dryer off, I cup a section of curls into the diffuser and scrunch them up to my head, turn the dryer on for 30-60 seconds, turn it off, then lower it away from my head.
- Treatments – currently using Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque & Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate & Repair Protein Treatment
- I try to do a hair treatment each weekend (when I have time!).
- I deep condition once a week and do a protein treatment about once a month (mine is also moisturizing). In a month with 4 weeks, I’d deep condition 3 times and use protein 1 time (most people need much more moisture than protein).
*Use my code “blissful15” for 15% off Evolvh products!*
December, 2020 Update
I have been doing the curly girl method for almost one year now! I began it at the start of the year, and the pandemic hitting in March gave me lots of time to try out new techniques.
Over time, I’ve simplified my routine and changed products as I figured out what suited my hair. I feel like just in the last month, I’ve finally achieved a routine that’s simple enough for my everyday routine, but achieves consistently great results!
The 2 big changes I’ve made are:
- Products with protein – I loved my Evolvh products and still 100% stand by that brand, but eventually I found my curls falling flat and I realized it’s because my pre-curly girl products had protein, and the new ones didn’t. So I switched to:
- Giovanni Smooth As Silk Shampoo
- Giovanni Smooth As Silk Conditioner
- Pacifica Beauty Pineapple Swirl Curl Defining Cream
- Jessicurl Spiralicious Gel (doesn’t contain protein, bur leaves my hair feeling less product-y than the Giovanni gel did)
- Denman brush – this was the key for me. It helps distribute product evenly and create more uniform curl clumps.
My routine now looks like:
- Shampoo – currently using Giovanni Smooth As Silk Shampoo and Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo
- I shampoo every 3-ish days, and use a clarifying conditioner about once a month.
- I scrub in shampoo with my fingers & only use shampoo on the roots & top of my head and rinse it out right away.
- Condition – currently using Giovanni Smooth As Silk Conditioner
- I flip my head upside down to apply conditioner. I rake it into my hair and detangle with my fingers, then “squish to condish” by scrunching conditioner into hair.
- I let the conditioner sit for 3-5 minutes.
- I flip my head back upright to rinse out conditioner and detangle a little more.
- Curl cream – currently using Pacifica Beauty Pineapple Swirl Curl Defining Cream
- I apply my products to soaking wet hair.
- I get a small dollop of curl cream on my hand, rub my hands together, and rake it through my hair with my fingers.
- Denman brush – while my hair is slick with water and curl cream, I divide it into sections and use the Denman brush to style it. You can see the technique I use in the second video below!
- Gel – currently using Jessicurl Spiralicious Gel
- One my curl clumps have been formed with the Denman brush, I gently flip my head over and apply gel with praying hands and then do a bit of scrunching.
- Dry – I plop my hair for about 5 minutes while I get dressed and then just air dry!
- Plop – While my hair is still flipped over, I plop it in a cotton t-shirt
- Air dry – right now I’m just air drying! In the warmer months I didn’t care about going out with wet hair, and I’m rarely going out anyway due to the pandemic. If I was still commenting to work everyday, I would probably diffuse again now that it’s colder.
- Treatments – I use Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque about once a week. My hair usually looks the best on these days 🙂
Here is my original routine in video form:
Here’s my routine now (December, 2020) that includes the denman brush:
I’m truly having so much fun experimenting with this method and learning new ways to care for my curly hair! There’s no one right way to take care of curls, so I recommend doing some research into different methods and techniques and implementing new ones one at a time to see how they affect your hair.
If you have a great curly hair routine or any favorite products or techniques, let me know below!
