Hey, curl friends! Have you ever heard of the curly girl method? Neither had I until about a year ago when my friend asked me to try it with her. It came at the perfect time since I was completely frustrated with how unhealthy my hair was and how it would never seem to behave. For the past couple of years, my hair was always frizzy, always falling out, getting greasy after just a day, and would never cooperate without the hairdryer or iron. But now it looks like this!
My challenge was to do the method completely zero waste. And a challenge it was finding the right products and routine to keep my hair healthy and happy. But I have succeeded! See my post about my zero waste curly girl hair care routine here.
The Method
I have joined the Curly Girl cult as I like to refer to it. I’ve unleashed my curls! The curly girl method is based on the practice by Lorainne Massey who published the Curly Girl Handbook. The tone of the book is celebratory since it’s all about not being afraid of having curly hair. It encourages you to love and embrace your curls. I mean come on, the tag line is even “more than just hair… it’s an attitude.”
To be fair, this book was written and published in the early 2000s so the mood is hilarious and amusing to read now (at least for me). It even calls itself a manifesto. I think it is overly sentimental for a book about hair… But the method is sound and the practice been proven over and over again that it works.
Now, I understand it’s called the curly “girl” method. But Lorraine chose to call it (and her book) “curly girl” to reflect the importance of hair care for women and girls because of societal norms (pressures) and expectations. Which makes more since after reading the book and the curly girl confessions. But this method can be used by anyone with curly hair.
I found the ‘curly girl confessions’ interesting. Even I have been told by my own mother: “Brush your hair,” “You need to blow dry it,” and “Why don’t you ever straighten your hair? I love it straight.” It might be hard for some people to understand this prejudice but it is there. Especially against women of color.
I have not ever hated my own curls, I’ve just never known how to take care of them. No one in my entire family has curly hair (except my grandfather who keeps his short). Hence, this guidebook. There is real study behind the method so the why/how of it actually working is explained.
For anyone wanting to go ‘curly girl’ or ‘no-poo,’ it’s best to start here. The reason I wanted to go ‘no-poo’ was to reduce waste and maybe save money. I attempted to go ‘no-poo’ before with disastrous results because the method I was using was for girls with straight hair! The internet deceived me. Then a friend told me about this method and Lorraine Massey’s book. There are, of course, piles of videos and blog posts on the internet but none of them, in my opinion, explain it quite as well as the book. It was easy to read and it was available at my local library.
Reading the Curly Girl: The Handbook* is the first step for anyone who wants to “celebrate their curls and set them free!” Ha! Sappy! But it’s the first step for healthy hair. The book has even been updated and includes a lot more diverse info.
Okay but this isn’t a book review. (You can follow me on Goodreads to see what I’m reading and some book reviews. Like seriously, not that many reviews.) Let’s get into the method.
The “Rules”
Lorraine Massey outlines detailed routines for three curly hair types: wavy (2ABC), curly (3ABC), and kinky (4ABC). Above all she advocated avoiding these chemicals in your products:
- sulfates
- silicones
- drying alcohols
She also suggests avoiding the use of any heat and dying your hair, embracing your natural hair texture. She recommends using lots of deep conditioning treatments, going ‘loo poo’ (no shampoo or chemical-free shampoo), and ‘co-washing,’ washing with a cleansing conditioner.
And yes, it really does work! The proof is in the pictures. I’ve compiled photos of myself (humble much) over the course of the year that I was using the curly girl method so you can see how my hair transformed over the months.
A Fresh Start
The fact was, I found my hair was getting truly unmanageable. It was always falling out and I would get split ends like nobodies business. It was often frizzy and would get greasy in a day. I wanted to be able to have truly healthy hair and be able to extend time between washes. So I started following the curly girl method in July 2018 but I knew if I truly wanted to be successful, I needed a ‘reset’ on my hair. So I decided to cut it short and donate it.
Before
I started transitioning the week before I was scheduled to get my hair cut when I had long hair. Here I am at the hairdressers about to get my hair chopped:
You can see that I have naturally wavy hair but I was curious to see if I could harness my curls. I always had long hair and I was excited about this change to get it short. I wash and dried it before going to the hairdressers so that I could donate it. It must be dried when donated! (Plus I used zero waste products at home.) I ended up donating ten inches of hair!
After
I had never had my hair this short in my entire life! The shortest I ever had it was to just below my shoulders. My head felt so light! And without all the weight, it started to curl almost instantly.
Now that’s some healthy hair that was ready to curl from day one. This was about the beginning of August when I had my hair cut. Curly hair loves humidity and I live in one the most humid places, where the humidity is regularly 100 percent. Yet, the book reassured me that I would no longer have frizzy hair!
Curly Girl Method Journey
I did not “plan” a curly hair transformation blog post so all my pictures are quite random. But you can see how my hair really does get curlier as the months go on.
Month 1
My hair was still relatively wavy at this stage. But some curls started to take shape. Especially around my face. I just loved this stage of short hair! It was so fun and light. Not to mention easy to take care of!
Month 3
To be honest, I got a trim about a week after this was taken. But I didn’t think about taking a picture of my hair/I have no good selfies of me. Still, I had some good defined waves forming.
Month 5
These curls and this volume! I was seriously starting to see some results by this stage. Navigating the winter months with the curly girl method was a challenge. I think I will try and make my own curl cream for next winter. My hair was still quite frizzy but I’ve never minded frizz. I think it adds some volume and frames the face.
Month 7
Just look at the curl definition at the bottom of my hair! I was still struggling with some frizz because I never used enough gel (see my homemade flaxseed hair gel post here) to tame the whisps. But my hair was so silky and smooth, and even though it was curly, it was free of knots! The bottom line is that my hair was hydrated for the first time in its entire life.
Month 9
At last, I see the curly girl light? This was my second time traveling with the curly girl method and I was much more successful! The picture above was taken in May during my trip to Disney to see my college BFF. The thing is, it rained about an hour before this was taken and I got absolutely drenched. Like head to toe soaked. And my hair curled this nice even after surviving a rainstorm and no hairdryer or towel.
Month 11
Did I finally manage to use gel correctly? Yes, yes I did. All the curls with less frizz. My hair was really taking shape.
Transformation after One Year
Here you can see how my hair used to look. On the left, completely dry and waves that were not very defined. On the right, one year later! You can see how much my hair grew over the course of the year since cutting it short eleven months before (in August 2018).
Overall
I’m a believer. Like I said from the beginning, the method is sound. And it’s encouraging that I can do the method more sustainably, naturally (mostly chemical-free), completely plastic-free, and zero waste. Again, see my zero waste curly girl routine here in this post.
The curly girl community can be quite… strict. But I hope the message I can give you today is that it doesn’t have to be. I think the true message overall should be one of acceptance of yourself. Learning to love your hair and embrace what you were born with. Who getting sappy now? 😉
I learned a great deal over the course of the year and I’d thought I’d share a list of pros and cons.
Pros
- Super healthy hair! I never get split ends anymore and my hair is silky, shiny, and tangle-free despite it being more curly.
- All the curls and definition. Who run the world? Curls!
- No static! I was super surprised to discover this little perk. Because my hair is ultra moisturized.
- Helps you fall in love with your natural hair texture.
- Discourages dying hair which is good in terms of sustainability. Chemicals from dying your hair leak into our water system and cause damage to aquatic life. If you dye your hair, you do you! Try seeking safe alternatives that are good for your health, your hair health, and the health of the environment.
Cons
- It took time to come up with a routine that truly worked for my hair.
- Some routines are complicated.
- Less versatile. There are strict “rules” to the curly girl method and not using heat is one of them. I like to shower with hot water and sometimes use a curling iron to give a stylized curl. I even straighten my hair every once and a while for fun and this would be frowned upon.
- Almost impossible to accomplish with hard water.
- Advocates a ton of products containing lots of chemicals (even if it doesn’t have silicones) that are usually all bottled and packaged in plastic.
Telling people what to do with their hair can be a loaded topic. I’m not here to tell you what to do! Seriously, it’s your hair and you can do whatever you want with it. Often times, hair can be the only thing one has control over. You should do whatever you want with your hair. I’m just here to share my experience with this method and to share how I navigate beauty routines from a zero-waste perspective.
Every time I see successful curly girl transformations on YouTube or Pinterest, I drool. Some bloggers have three or four years of the method under their belt and it only gets better with time! I’m excited to see how my hair will shape up in the upcoming months and the upcoming years. Are you convinced to try it?
Happy Styling-
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