Curly Girl Method - Before and After

I started using DevaCurl a couple years ago when I also learned how to do my curly hair correctly. After changing to no poo & conditioner I realized that my hair is no longer frizzy. I don't use any gel. I no longer wrap my hair in a towel but instead scrunch with a microfiber towel. After I've get my curls the way I want I scrunch with the towel again then scrunch with a little conditioner on my hands & let dry. After it's almost dry I turn over & shake. My hair is now the softest & frizz free than it's been since I was a kid.

I have had the privelege of having two completely different hair types in one lifetime. I used to have straight, smooth hair that I still miss. Now, 8 months after chemo, I have extremely curly, frizzy hair. After reading the Curly Girl book and trying a bunch of products, I have the curly girl technique down. I use a generic WEN conditioning cleanser from Sally called Hair One for curly hair and condition with Kinky Curly Knot Today(the scent is wonerful). After blotting my wet hair with a t-shirt, I run a dime size amount of 100% pure argan oil and use a small amount of Kinky Curly Custard gel and air dry. In the morning I revive my curls with Ouidad Botanical Boost spray (a wonderful product). I have tried numerous gels and Kinky Curly Custard is definately the best for me. It is all natural. It is concentrated so one small jar will last me for a year.

May I also recommend Jessicurl.com? They have a great shampoo that doesn't strip the oils from your hair, but helps scalp feel CLEAN! Using it, and the Curly Girl book, I love my curls for the first time in my life!

I have VERY frizzy and thick hair, and my hair is like half curly and half crimped, the way I look at it. I consider my hair "its own entity", due to how much it almost seems to break through ANY frizz pruduct I use. Let alone it's only about at my shoulders length since I cut it: ( I can honestly say I've tried EVERYTHING, except this. I'm nervous to leave my straightener, but I'm going to attempt this, possibly starting Saturday. Wish me luck!!

I am so happy I found this blog! Now I have a question for all of you! I have straight hair but my 2 year old daughter has beautiful curly hair and I have no clue what to do with it! I recently started putting some conditioner in her hair after shampooing with Aveno baby shampoo. After her bath I lightly towel dry and comb using a wide toothed comb. Just recently I starting putting Avedas be curly on after I comb it and while it is still wet which really helps with the frizzynss. Then ijust let her hair airdry and it always looks beautiful. But my question for everyone is how can I help keep the curls as she gets older? I love her hair and I don't want the curls to go away as she gets older! Any tricks or things I should avoid to help the curls stay? Please let me know if you guys have any suggestions for me! Thank you!

Hi!

Just wondering what the result of using your flat iron was? Did your hair bounce back the next day...or did it take a few days to recover?

my daughter has natural curly hair and we use basically the same method. once you get your hair growing back curly it will continue to grow in spirals until you become bored and dumb and try to wear it straight for a week. We also are firm believers in Rave Hairspray and LA Looks, but also olive oil protein treatments (VO5) and the VO5 stuff your grandpa uses for frizzy days. One other thing we do (her hair is to her waist) at night she does the conditioner thing like you and uses scrunchies, sections her hair on top of her head and scruches it into balls then puts a sock over it. In the morning before she takes it down she uses a hair dryer on low to heat it up and make sure it's dry. Lastly on days when she's in a hurry and has to wash that day, scrunch it up and dry with the dryer for 5-10 minutes, then drop them carefully, flip head over put a cloth in your hand or better get one of those hot gloves for the oven and scrunch with your hand holding the dryer (with a diffuser if you have it) on low until each section is dry, spray lightly with hairspray, and then scrunch/squeeze until dry. do this for 6 months and you will have perfect tight spirals.

I used The Curly Girl Handbook for probably 5 years. My hair was much better than it had been through high school and college, but then I found Ouidad  (www.ouidad.com). How you wash and condition your hair if very similar to the Curly Girl Method, but how you finish/style your hair is completely different. I used the product for close to two years before there was a Ouidad certified hairstylist in my area. The carve and slice cut along with a professional demonstration of the Rake and Shake styling method CHANGED my hair's life. It has never looked better! I get compliments every time I'm out. There is something about curly hair that makes complete strangers want to touch it. It's very strange, but I just have to remember that it's a compliment, I think. Definitely check it out!

Love the post. I have naturally curly as well. I never ever blow dry my curls. If I find that I am in a rush and need my hair dry then I turn on the heat in car and turn the vents so they are pointed at my head. I have tried many products to control frizz. The product that I find maintains the shape of my curls and controls frizz is Aveda's Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade. Plus it doesn't have the stiffness of a gel. I put it on my hair once I have towel dried it and brushed out the knots (so many knots). I turn my head upside down. I put the pomade on the tips of my fingers/palm and individually wrap the curls around my fingers. Once I have do all my curls then scrunch.

This is a great post! Thanks for sharing your experiment. My sister has recently switched to washing her hair with baking soda and not using shampoo as well. I may have to give it a try! Your hair is beautiful, btw! :)

I'm also working on my curls - thanks for the post and comments.

And your inspiration photo is of Seane Corn - she's a well-known yoga instructor. I've been in one workshop with her and she was fantastic, and obviously also has amazing hair.

I have ridiculously long thick curly hair. I also swear by LA Looks and have been using it for 10 years now. BUT I only use a very small amount of gel, because I use Tresemme mousse - the flawless curls extra hold. I do my hair starting from the bottom up, in sections, putting mousse in each section. Once I have pretty much lathered it, then I go back over sections with a little bit of gel - helps with the frizzyness. Using mousse - particularly Tresmme (it is the best hands down) - gives my hair a softer feel yet very defined look without the gel crunchy feeling. Then I set my hair with a small amount of hairspray. I find the cheaper, most generic, hair sprays works the best. Lastly I diffuse my hair, upside down (it adds volume) for about 10 mins. And then I, hair spray or mousse, any fly away or frizzy hair, and finish blow drying without the diffuser. Finishing without the diffuser gives a more natural look, you know, not perfectly perfect curls and adds volume for a more fierce look.

I only wash my hair 2-3 time a week. I know it sounds terrible, but it's not. I style it like this and then leave it alone, every morning I don't wash I re-style with a spritz water bottle to reactivate the hair product already in my hair and hair spray and do like a quick 5 mins of blow drying to re-set the look. I get compliments and request on how I do my hair practically every day. And I really don't spend that much time on it. If you have curly hair try this, I promise it will work.

If I was on a stranded island I would only need bottles of water and Tresemme to survive.

I hope this helps someone! :)

I've had naturally CURLY hair since I was 13 (puberty is a mysterious thing) but I've noticed my hair goes through phases of being wavy vs curly. I did a LOT of research looking for a truly sulfate free shampoo and found that there are honestly only about 3 of them out there and that a lot of the products that say they are sulfate free really aren't. Including the sulfate shampoos from Loreal...they contain sulfoacetate which is a sulfate. Just consider that if it starts with sul...and ends in ate...it's not good for the hair.

I thought I would share the products that I have found to be totally natural and curly hair safe/friendly. I use Hugo Naturals Vanilla and Sweet Orange Shampoo (truly no sulfates only a lot of extracts, oils and a little bit of glycerin to make this shampoo). I only shampoo every third evening as well (pony tails are my friend on day three). I do not use conditioner...instead after shampooing I use Pooka Pure and Simple Nectar Hair Oil and Treatment. I scrunch a very small amount into my hair as soon as I rinse the shampoo out then I gently squeeze the excess water from my hair and then use a towel or tshirt to wrap my hair in. The heat from your hair after the shower will work nearly like a hot oil treatment on the curls. I release the hair then after 20 minutes of drying or so and then scrunch with fingers and air dry from there. You want to be careful to not use anything with alcohol in it as it can actually dry the hair out more. Most gels have alcohol in them. If you are willing to try something else...I highly recommend these. I found both of the items at our Whole Foods market and the great thing about their company is if you don't like the products after using them, return to Whole Foods for a refund.

I get tons of compliments any time I fix my hair curly and oddly have people asking to touch it because it comes out looking so silky and soft.

Can I just say Thank you for finally someone having an awesome curly hair blog post! It was nice to read about someone who has hair just like mine but needed some help because the normal process just isn't cutting it anymore!
Thank You!

It took me 30 years to stop fighting my curl and just let it be. When I fight it, it gets angry! LOL I'm 41 now, and here's what has helped me the last 10+ years:

• sleep on a satin pillow case: cotton dries out your hair but satin doesn't
• I do shampoo once or twice a week, but otherwise just condition--basically following the method you describe (combing while conditioner is still in my hair, with a wide tooth comb)
• I apply gel when my hair is still dripping wet, then scrunch, then wrap in a MICROFIBER towel

I think your curls are beautiful! Thanks for sharing your experiment.

I've been no-poo for about a year, I have no issues running my fingers through my hair. In fact, it's hard for me NOT to,because my curls are so soft and smooth. You mention at the beginning to go "cold turkey" pretty much immediately, but that's not true. I'm wondering if this is why you had issues with greasiness and buildup.

The first thing you're supposed to do is a final wash with the shampoo. The reason is because most people wash with sulfate shampoo and use silicone-based conditioner to put back the stuff the sulfates stripped away. The bad thing is, the only way you can remove the silicones (and thus, the potential buildup) is by using sulfate shampoo, thus beginning a cycle.

So you wash one final time with the sulfate shampoo, and DO NOT use the silicone based conditioner. It sounds like you didn't do that. (basically, because if you didn't, you'd have the issues you mentioned: greasiness,itchy scalp, "dandruff" that's not really dandruff, because you didn't get rid of the 'cones)

You also might want to go to YouTube and look up some videos on "plopping", which makes the "squeezing out the water" issue dead-easy. I never squeeze out water...curly hair LOVES moisture. I retain as much as I can by plopping.

Hope that helps!

Try using WEN conditioning shampoo. When I want to wear my hair curly, I use WEN, comb out while in shower and do not comb again. Hair is cleaned, conditioned and curly.

Excellent tutorial. I would add: Yes, sulfates are bad for curls, but there are several sulfate-free shampoos out there. Look for one for curly hair. And get a diffuser with 'fingers'. That will save you all the scrunching. Your hair look beautiful! :) I didn't read all of the posts (my 1.5 year old is tugging on my pant leg as I type) but wanted to make sure you knew about the curly hair shampoos available! I use TiGi's. It used to be called Foxy Curls and they've changed it... I think it's HiDef curls now. Thanks! : )

I didn't get a chance to read all the posts on the site. But I did want to add my two cents in. :) I have wavy hair, not curly. However, I've always idolized the girl in the Michael Jackson video, The Way You Make Me Feel, for her beautiful curly hair. Anyhow, I experimented in high school and found that using gel and hairspray with a diffuser works best in making my hair super curly. Now, I typically spray gel evenly into my hair and spray with a little hairspray before diffusing. When dry, I scrunch it with a little water and add a little more gel and hairspray. Especially on the sections that didn't get enough product before. I like doing it twice because I noticed it makes my hair pretty curly. I typically don't wash it for a few days but revamp it up by scrunching with water and adding a little more gel. I straighten my hair in between and found that it doesn't really affect my curl. I think it's because the diffuser really helps in bringing out or creating a curl. Anyhow, I hope this helps someone. I've been doing this for so many years now and think it's a pretty effective method. Enjoy!

So I also have REALLY curly hair and am addicted to my flat iron. But owning the curls is something that I have to do all summer long due to the humidity as well. I have done some research on different styling products that are paraben, silicone, and dye free. (These are the things that destroy curls!) I used to spend TONS of money on salon products. Then Garnier Frutis saved my wallet. They have an entire line of earth/wallet friendly products that are designed for curly hair. I swear by their styling cream. It leaves my curls bouncy, soft and most importantly NOT CRUNCHY! There is no product build-up because it doesn't have the parabens or silicone.
I shampoo my hair every other day. I use a brush, flat iron and blow dryer. Though when I scrunch in the curl cream into to wet hair you would never guess the torture that my hair goes through. I figure if we are going to rock the curls we were given we might as well do it as gently to our head and the environment as possible.

You are right in the statement that Sulfates in your shampoos are not good for curly hair, but there are sulfate FREE shampoos that are amazing and ideal for curly hair.

Your curls did improve in the pictures, but but you saying you had itchy scalps and your head felt icky, that is because conditioners are oils, and they over produce when you apply them directly to the scalp.

I would defiantly recommend trying a sulfate free shampoo. If you're still doing this process try it maybe once a week, once ever two weeks. I can guarantee that you will feel an improvement in your scalp and hair.

-a Paul Mitchell Hairstylist, and a girl with lots of natural curls of her own.

I found the curly girl book about six or seven years ago and had a similar shocked reaction about no shampoo and I'm selective about whom I tell that to since some people have given me REALLY funny looks, including my husband. I do think your curls look GREAT. I am anti-flat iron for many of the same reasons as the Curly Girl book, but also just don't want to take the time. :)

This was great info and I thank you for sharing your experiment!

Amanda

Hi - LOVE your curls!!! Another great product line to try for beautiful curls is MOP TOP "unruly haircare"... www.moptophair.com. A good friend of mine happens to be the creator, and she has gorgeous curls (you'll see her pics on the site, and I think she just started selling it on amazon too).

LA Looks is the only way to go! I have incredibly curly hair and LA Looks is a KEY component to keeping it tame. I had never heard of this book, but found your post on Pinterest. I am definitely going to look into it, my curls have been disappointing me lately! Thank you for this great experiment!