Welcome to day two of this Curly Girl Method quick start series! Today we’re going to talk about how to actually start the Curly Girl Method!
If you missed the first post in this series, you can find it here.
This post will consist of “the final wash” and how to create a simple Curly Girl Method routine.
Final Wash
Before you can really start the Curly Girl Method, you’ll need to wash your hair with sulfates one final time.
Ideally, you’ll be able to use that sulfate shampoo you saved from the last post. If it turned out you didn’t have any sulfate shampoo, see if anyone else you live with does. If that’s not an option, grab some dish soap. This is going to be pretty harsh on your hair, but it’s not worth buying a sulfate shampoo for one wash.
This step is really important! This final wash will help ensure that your hair is free of silicones and other heavy products before you switch to a sulfate-free life.
This is not a step to skip. I
t can result in silicone and product build-up on your hair, which can make your hair frizzy, weighed down, and ultimately lead to damage. (Seriously, I tried to skip this step. It wasn’t a good call.)
Once your in the shower and your hair is washed, it’s time for a new simple hair care routine!
Simple Routine
The goal here is to make things as simple as possible. You’ll likely have to add to this or modify it to meet your unique needs and hair, but this should give you an easy, accessible place to start.
Before you even get in the shower, consider turning down the temperature. Remember, we’re trying to avoid heat, so if you take a hot shower this is going to work against you. Your shower can be warmer, though–you don’t want to be uncomfortable.
1) Sulfate-Free shampoo (if you want to ease into things) or cowash (if you don’t)
Naturally, you won’t need this after your final wash, but this step is something to consider for washes going forward.
The Curly Girl Handbook advocates Co-Washing only (i.e. “washing” your scalp with only conditioner). If you want to dive right in and co-wash, go for it!
But if you’re someone who can’t quite get behind abandoning shampoo completely, or you’re looking to ease into the Curly Girl Method and work up to a no-poo life, you can wash your scalp with a sulfate free shampoo. (Again, you can find some options in this post with some starter products.)
2) Condition, detangle, and scrunch
Once your scalp is clean, it’s time to condition!
Take a healthy palmful of your sulfate/silicone/drying alcohol free conditioner and spread it over the surface of your hair.
Then, gently work your fingers through your hair from the bottom up, detangling as you go. Add more conditioner as needed.
Your hair should be fairly saturated. It’s commonly said that if your hair feels like seaweed, you know you have enough conditioner.
When your hair is detangled, tip your head to the side or upside down, cup your curls in your palms, and scrunch them toward your scalp a few times to encourage the curl pattern.
3) Let it sit in your hair while you shower. Rinse.
Let your hair soak up the conditioner while you finish the rest of your shower. Rinse the conditioner out at the end.
Side note: Some curly girls benefit from leaving some of the conditioner in their hair, instead of rinsing completely. If you find your hair ends up on the drier side, you can give this a shot.
4) Dry with a t-shirt (not a towel)
We’re going to spend some of the next post talking all about drying options, but for now we’ll keep things simple.
Ditch your towel, and use a t-shirt instead. Towels create too much friction and remove too much moisture from curly hair, which is why t-shirts are a better option.
Tip your head forward or to the side, then gather your curls in the t-shirt and scrunch up (just like you did when you were conditioning). You can do this a few times to remove excess water so your hair isn’t dripping wet.
5) Style with gel
Next, it’s time to style!
Take a palmful of your new silicone and alcohol free gel and smooth it over your hands. Then, tip your head upside down, and scrunch the gel upward through your hair, just like you did in the shower.
If you found your hair was fairly frizzy with this approach, you may want to smooth the gel over your hair from top to bottom with your hands sandwiching your hair (as if your hands are in prayer) before you scrunch.
And just as a reminder: This is a basic starter routine, but you may need to modify/add products as you learn your hair better. Here’s a link to one of my early curly girl routines to give you an idea of changes you might want to make.
A lot of Curly Girls only wash and wet their hair a few times a week, and refresh their hair in between washes.
Personally, I didn’t have a lot of success refreshing until I was farther into the process, so I co-washed (or at least wet and conditioned my hair) every day.
But you may want to try refreshing early on, which is why I’m mentioning it here.
We’re going to talk about drying options in the next post, but for now, I’d recommend air drying.
However, if you’re someone who used to blow dry, you can still use your blow dryer on a cooler setting as long as you use a diffuser. (But again, we’ll get more into this in the next post.)
Looking for more guidance on your curly hair journey?
For beginners
If you’re new to curly hair care and looking for some help, you should check out the No-Stress Guide to Curly Hair Care!
After spending two years learning and caring for my curly hair, I wanted to create my own, in-depth guide to help fellow curlies create incredible curls in the easiest way possible.
It took me a while, but I eventually found an approach that helped me create a curly hair routine that fits into my life in the simplest way possible. And now I want to help you do the same!
For more intermediate/advanced guidance
If you’ve been on your curly hair journey for a while but still have some struggles, check out Curly Hair Problems!
After spending hours scouring the internet looking for solutions to my own curly hair problems, I found myself wishing for an easier, more comprehensive guide to the most common problems.
So that’s what I created!
Curly Hair Problems offers you 78 total solutions to the five most common curly hair care problems, including frizz, curl clumps, limp curls, product issues, and scalp issues.
Sound off: How did your final wash and first styling go? Tell us about it in the comments. And be sure to tell us a little about your hair type!