Over the past 6 months I have switched my haircare over to curly girl method products. I never considered myself to have curly hair, just some waves in the back that I didn’t really like or embrace. I started to look into curly girl method because the premise is to nourish hair with hydrating ingredients- exactly what I want. Curly girl method typically involves about a week between washes, which is my usual routine as well. Before looking at “CGM” approved products, I had already been using Carol’s Daughter products at the store, aiming to protect my hair color and limit my use of sulfates and silicones. My hair gets extremely dried out and after switching to cgm shampoo & conditioner, I haven’t been getting my usual split ends.
The CGM community wouldn’t consider my routine fully approved though. There are days when I want to add some loose curls to my hair for a more styled/ structured look so I don’t use gel or mousse to lock in the natural waves.
I’m not strict with the leave in products so I’m more following a lazy version of CGM. Here’s my hair washing routine that I do in the evening once a week:
Wash / Not Your Mother’s Tahitian Shampoo & Conditioner
Turbie Twist towel, wide toothed comb
It’s a 10 Keratin & Paul Mitchell Skinny serum (generic versions)
Air dry
Flip hair over and do a loose braid – this gives me some waves on the top of my hair to match the ones I have on the bottom and protects my hair while I sleep. It’s a bit damp when I braid it so the waves really take!
In the morning, let waves out and apply argan oil, comb with wide toothed comb.
Dry shampoo / I like to dry shampoo my roots when they’re freshly clean to keep them that way longer! Sounds weird but it works.
Bumble & Bumble beach spray
I’m aware that this isn’t fully CGM and I’m okay with it for now. I love that my hair feels healthy and I’ve found affordable products that are actually GOOD for my hair.
-Kim
Resources from r/curlygirlmethod:
A list of curly girl approved products can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dlc52yoWdMo4p7RWcVERJS_Lo5NSeDCtV2gWyTBllAw/edit
Here’s a doc of FAQ about CGM from reddit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q6Dj9WAZxlfBhJSyS5on2rw3-if5cOV3oV-dQ3B0AHA/edit#
Helpful beginner guide pictorial: https://i.imgur.com/FA7kPST.png
