I am so very happy to share my tips and tricks on How to start Curly Girl Method! I've been doing CGM for a little over 9 weeks and during this time I found my products and routine. Now I am here to share with you how to get started. Products are where it's at. I have an updated post here: Curly Girl How To after 1 year of CGM.
First, a little about me: I am not new to curly hair. I have never straightened my hair but I have always used heat to dry and LOTS of products full of chemicals. My hair is a little over 17″ long with some layers throughout. The 1st thing you need to do is learn your curl type and porosity. Learn this by taking the test below. I am a 3a high porosity.
How to start Curly Girl Method
Second, You have to Strip! No no, not your clothes, the silicones, and sulfates from your hair. There are a few ways to do this but I just grabbed a bottle of Dawn liquid soap and got to scrubbing.
Helpful Hint: buy this drain protector to gather all your hair up after each wash. It's cheap, effective and easy to use. Your significant other & your pipes will thank you!!!
Third, choose your no poo shampoo & conditioner (cleansing products) based on your curly type and porosity. This part confused me a lot so I tested a few before falling in love. Now, being on this side, I recommend you start with DevaCurl. It's a great beginner's product that has high success results with many curl types. It is pricey so I recommend buying this DevaCurl set to start things. These are smaller bottles so you can test the products AND it includes the drying towel I recommend.
I use a pre-shampoo, something like Shea Moisture's Coconut & Hibiscus Shampoo is great, this is an approved product. It helps clean my scalp and roots before I dive into the DevaCurl. I also use this is the wide, long tooth comb to comb out all the tangles in my hair in the shower.
My Curly Girl Method Products
Conair Curly Hair Comb Shea Moisture Curl & Shine Shampoo DevaCurl starters kit
Fourth, choose your styling products. This one is a bit more tricky. CLICK HERE TO SEE MY CURRENT LINE UP AFTER 1 YEAR CURLY GIRL. But at the beginning, I bought a few and the jury is still out on some. What I know I do love is Blueberry Bliss Leave In Conditioner, followed with Kinky Curl Original Curling Custard, my pink silk shower cap, 6 tiny clips, and 2 medium clips or a handful of these alligator clips. Click on any of the names here to go straight to this product on Amazon and have it shipped to you. UPDATE – 1 year later I still love all these products.
Other products I am trying but I am not sure about yet are Aussie Instant Freeze Gel, Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk (which smells amazing), and Witch I Love Your Hair. UPDATE – 1 year later, I use none of these products below.
Blueberry Bliss Leave In Conditioner Kinky Curly Custard Custard Aussie Instant Freeze hair gel Goody Mini Clips Hair Clips Witch I Love Your Hair
Curly Girl Products
Fifth, how to sleep with the curly girl method. This I figured out really quickly and it's been great since the beginning. I use a spray bottle with water and lightly spray my hair. Next, I spray Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Moisture Spray or Carol's Daughter's Milk Refresher Spray throughout. Then I flip upside down and I tie my hair up in a satin scarf or place my hair in a hair cap. Here are the large scarfs I love. And then I sleep with an eye mask, satin of course, and this is the sleep mask I highly recommend that is curl friendly and nice to your eyelashes. It's like a soft bra for your eyes.
Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Carols Daughter's Milk Refresher Spray Satin Eye Mask Satin Scarf
Lastly, morning routine. Mine is very very simple. Take out my scarf. Scratch scalp with hair and root lifting massage comb. Clip back crazy pieces or pin back to style and be done.
These are the Curly Girl Method products I use. If you are interested in learning my processes on how I wash my hair 1 year later click here: Curly Hair How To. In the mean time please visit my Instagram Saved Stories for a thorough and complete How to Wash Curly Girl Method. And How to Dry and Style Curly Girl Method. Check out my Curly Girl Method Before and After below.
Before CGM After CGM – Front After CGM – Back
To see how I washed and dried my hair for nearly 20 years click below. It served me well but it was time for a change! Thank you How to Start the Curly Girl Method.
Hi,
I am very interested in learning the curly girl method