Curly Girl Method, My Experience, and Awesome Results!

What is the curly girl method, and what are its secrets? The curly girl method will pique your interest if you have ever had curls throughout your life. We're going to show you its mysteries so that you may learn how to manage them!

We'll explain the curly girl technique, how it's done, and what factors you should consider before attempting it.

In 2019, the curly girl method became a strong practice. It is so much that thousands of girls have been joining groups on social networks to talk about their experiences, procedures, secrets, and natural products for wavy or curly hair.

If you don't know about it, keep reading to find out about it.

What is the curly girl method?

The curly girl technique is a three-step process that uses multiple strategies to help you get natural, frizz-free curls.

Lorraine Massey, the creator of Deva Curl and author of 'Curly Girl: The Handbook,' created this technique in her book.

Lorraine Massey is the creator of Devachan salons, which are well-known worldwide.

How does the curly girl method work?

The process is made up of several stages:

Lorraine advises that you clean away any hair residue with a clarifying shampoo before beginning the process. Then, to prevent the strands from breaking to the roots, clip the split ends.

Related: "Should you wash your hair before a haircut?"

Use the sulfate-free shampoo Low Poo.

Once you decide to start, you'll leave out shampoo with sulfates. Instead, you'll use Low Poo distributed on the scalp and applied when your hair needs deep cleansing.

Place conditioner on the ends

The rest of the time, you put conditioner on your hair. Then, you can spread it to your roots if you want. That is the same as the co-washing technique.

Related: "Can you leave the conditioner in your hair overnight?"

Detangle and rinse with cold water

The hair is then detangled and rinsed with cold water to seal the cuticle, which helps prevent drying. Depending on how much moisture you need, you may leave 10% conditioner in the hair.

Apply the styling products

Then apply the styling products like cream or gel to each strand of hair. Then dry it with gentle touches of the towel. Make sure that you use microfiber or cotton cloth, not rough fabric.

Let it dry in the open air.

The rest is relatively simple: allow it to dry in the open air or, at the most, with a diffuser set to a low temperature.

When you have finished, the curls should be arranged so that they appear "soft," and it's crucial to get into the habit of sleeping with silk hats or pillows to prevent frizz and keep the curls longer.

Related: "What causes frizz in hair? 6 Treatments to get rid of it!"

Things to consider during the curly girl method

Use this technique for at least three weeks

Massey suggests that you use the technique for at least three weeks in a row to start seeing outcomes.

Use "clean" products.

You have to use only clean items on your healthy curly hair regimen, which does not include alcohol, parabens, sulfates, or silicones, as well as some of their derivatives. They'll be listed on the label.

You can't just use any "clean" product on your hair. Instead, you'll choose it based on its porosity: if it's low, you'll want a conditioner with more moisture.

Choose the right moisturizer.

If it's medium, use half moisturizing and half nourishing moisturizers. If it's excessive, you'll need to heal it with protein-rich treatments.

Don't use brushes or heat tools.

Brushes are not an option. Instead, you'll use your fingers or wide bristle combs and space, always with wet hair, to untangle yourself.

You don't have to use heat tools, period.

Change the routine according to your curl.

It's worth noting that each procedure will vary based on the curl, such as if it's incredibly tight or just wavy curly hair. The essential thing is to figure out your hair type and adapt the treatment (and products) to your mane's change.

Can the hair be colored during the method?

Yes! Chemical-free dyes, such as peroxide, are regularly applied along with ultra-moisturizing post-treatments. They make it look nicer and also give it a pleasant smell.

My curly hair journey. Review of the curly girl method

I will share my experience with the curly girl method over the last several months, including how I came up with it. I decided to try out the curly girl method a few months ago.

I began to go natural, and I noticed that my hair was curling, but I had a lot of frizz. There was no volume as if it were straight hair.

I've always wanted to wear my hair naturally curly, so I decided to give it a try. It's something that I've always desired. However, I was chemically straightening my hair for many years, getting keratin treatments, and coloring my hair.

At the age of 33, I've decided to accept my curly hair for the first time in my life. So I'm wearing my natural head of curls.

What I have learned

A few things I've learned about being on the curly girl method have affected how my hair looks.

First, we don't want to employ harsh alcohols, sulfates, or parabens since they cause additional frizz in the hair.

When your hair is moist and full of water, it resembles a ringlet. So then, we want our curls to dry in that form.

In the Curly Girl Method, it is important not to disrupt your curls. You don't want to straighten or blow-dry your hair in a way that might change the curl in it.

It's not simply the products that make a difference; different items may benefit others. It's all about how you apply the product in the proper sequence.

How long does it take to get the optimal result?

It's a lot of trial and error. That's why when people say it might take 6 to 12 months, I believe that is true. The porosity of your hair has a significant impact on your curls.

Porosity refers to how much water your hair retains. So, for example, if you picture someone with the same color-damaged hair as you, the hair might absorb a lot of water.

But, on the other hand, somebody has thick, curly, coarse hair; they don't soak up as much water. So different products are going to work differently for different people. For example, I've been having trouble with the water droplets on my neck.

My first thoughts

I wasn't sure at first. I had a few adverse outcomes that I couldn't live with. However, by adjusting my routine slightly each time, I've been able to get accustomed to a much better condition with my hair.

I'm a firm believer in letting girls be who they are and embrace their natural hair. So I adore it when a trend encourages young ladies to accept and love their genuine selves.

There are so many fads out there that encourage you to alter your identity. Finally, there's a movement to improve what you have rather than change it.

It turns out I've had this hair all of my life, but I didn't realize it. So it's been a long road. It's been trial and error, with many different products and methods.

My first time doing the curly girl method

I used two shampoos

I did two sorts of good shampoo. The first one was at the roots of my hair, and the other was for my hair ends. Then I used Mr. Smith's Hydrating Conditioner, which made my hair have lots of moisture in it.

I removed the shampoo in the shower.

To remove all the extra hair from my hair, I washed it in the shower. And then I caught these stray drips with an old T-shirt.

Wearing a T-shirt instead of a towel is ideal because you don't want to dry your hair overly. However, you also want the hair to be quite wet.

I applied conditioner

So, based on the label attached to the product I used, it was Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Priming Leave-In Conditioner. It's a spray that smells good.

When I was spraying it, I was scrunching at the same time. You want your hair to be wet with water and the product.

Then I applied Be Curly from Aveda.

The following product was the Be Curly curl enhancer from Aveda. (hair squishing) That's some excellent squishing!

Please don't put the product directly into the roots since it might weigh them down and cause them to become flat and greasy.

Turn the hair and scrunch it into the roots.

Turn the hair and then scrunch it into the roots to evenly distribute the product. So I could see the curls were beginning to form. I could leave it like that. My hair was almost dry at that moment.

I got some great curl; it was a little frizzy. I don't care for it, and it is relatively flat. On the other hand, some of the curls hadn't turned out as I had imagined them to; however, others have beautiful ends.

I'm not sure if it was because I dried my hair too much, but maybe that's the problem. Perhaps I took too much of the water out. I'll have to do it again with improved living conditions and a less-constrained situation to resolve my application, not the product, as the source of the problem.

My second time

So if I do it differently next time and get a different result, I'll know the products are fine. Next time, I might try other products if I don't get a great result. So I'm going to try again today, just using more of the product.

First, I wet my hair and applied a conditioner.

I just stepped out of the shower, but I didn't reapply my shampoo. I wet my hair and applied conditioner. (hair spraying) Now it's time for me to use Aveda Be Curly.

I was already seeing a difference in the curl definition right now. That's something I was striving for: bigger, more prominent curls. But, of course, that sort of thing will frizz up. I've also straightened all of my hair. This time, I didn't want to wear a T-shirt on myself.

I let my hair dry

I was not sure if I was pleased with the result, but it could help me get a little more volume in the roots, at least so they weren't drenched, and then I was taking it out. So my hair was dry at that moment. So I didn't know if I was ecstatic with this outcome.

Outcome

I already had some excellent curl. But it was pretty sort of stringy and pretty frizzy, and I felt like the roots were just flat and a little bit oily.

Okay, so I just washed my hair. I thought the shampoo was relatively clean and had a strong cleansing effect; however, the conditioner was relatively light due to my hair's propensity to become oily.

The third day using the curly girl method

I wet my hair and applied the conditioner.

So I had to wring out all the water in my hair while in the shower and then applied the conditioner and left it in for three to five minutes.

I used the diffuser

And I was going to try a different way to dry my hair, and I was going to use the diffuser. The last time I used this, I applied it to dripping wet hair I applied at this point.

I tried applying it when my hair was half dry. And I was going to use the Be Curly first. I knew the trick with diffusing is not to move the hair around too much.

I had a good feeling about this. Then I put on the weaving conditioner. That's very doable. So my wavy hair was dry.

I was pretty happy it got some perfect curls. And I think that is because of the cut. I had layers where I wanted, and I didn't have layers anywhere else.

Hopefully, when I get my hair cut, that will make a big difference to the whole look. That is nice and bouncy. But then, at the back, there's not much going on there.

I applied Aveda Nutriplenish Multi-Use Hair Oil.

Then I tried the Aveda Nutriplenish Multi-Use Hair Oil. I hadn't used it before to give a little shine to my hair and hopefully remove some frizz.

So, to avoid pulling the curls too far apart, it was critical not to do so. It's incredible how similar the exact product I used previously is; I wasn't pleased with the results. But, using them differently gave a different result, and I'm so much more comfortable.

Fourth day with the method

So I was up for another chance on the fourth day. But, unfortunately, I only had a shower and didn't wash my hair.

What I did is what's called the "bowl method." I put conditioner in my hair, then rinse it with water. So it was only distributing conditioner throughout my hair because it had conditioner in it.

It was also wetting it down to form nice, big curl clumps. So we would take Be Curly because I would've said so.

Some individuals wrap their hair in a shower cap, which I didn't have. So I would get one since I wanted to give it a shot. But because I didn't have one, I diffused it once more without the plastic shower cap on.

I had the hairdryer on a low setting and warm airflow if it blew out too rapidly.

It made the hair curly, strong, and not too blowy. In addition, it adds more volume to the roots by flipping it and doing it this way.

Okay, so my hair was mostly dry, it was still a little damp, but I also had a lot of frizzy hair. I mean, freeze is a part of having curly hair.

Yes, I had to get my head around the notion of having frizz, and the freeze was acceptable. So it just took a few of those wavy, and there was still some conditioner in that bowl.

So I brushed it and then re-scrunched it. Finally, I added more Be Curly to the mix.

I got pretty good curls. Those were the wettest, not great curl formation. It was somewhat stringy, and surprisingly, it's not that oily.

I thought it would be more oily. So that's good, but it was just pretty shapeless; it could be better.

Fifth day

So I had another go, doing my hair the way I did the last few times I've shown you. And I was going to cut my hair that day.

I don't appreciate the semi-wetness on my neck. So I was going to utilize an old silk pillowcase. I put a new silk pillowcase on my bed. Now my hair does not get frizzy when I sleep on it.

There are lots of different ways you can do this. And what I was going to do was flip my head over with the pillowcase open. I was plopping all my hair through the hole.

I would use a bulldog clip in the front, then leave that down the back.

If you wrap it with a hair tie, you risk getting dents in your hair or clips marring the curl pattern.

The following morning, I had some serious curls. So I was pretty happy with that.

The second time I washed my hair after my haircut

That was the second time I washed and dried my hair since cutting it myself. The haircut made a difference. I didn't recommend cutting your hair yourself unless you know what you're doing. I'm a trained hairdresser, so I was comfortable cutting my hair.

Also, cutting wavy hair is kind of like cutting a hedge. Don't try it at home; I don't recommend it. I don't endorse people cutting their hair.

I love my haircut. I couldn't be happier with it. Before, when I was wearing my hair straight down, it would be there (at the length where I like), but now that I'm wearing it curly, it's much shorter. But that doesn't bother me because now it is easier to style!

My thoughts

I love the products. I'm a total convert hadn't used any of the products in my hair care routine before. So I started this journey, and I love them.

I'll continue with my curly girl method. Many people say it can take months to get it right, so I feel like I'm doing well for only two months in, so who knows where I'll be in another six months or 12 months.

The bottom line

In the end, the curly girl method is a more natural way to have well-defined and moisturized curls (and without as many chemicals that damage the hair.)

But it's also an astringent technique that requires a lot of dedication, time, effort and searching for the right products. Remember that this method doesn't change your natural hair texture.

Would you dare to try the method?