I havenʻt written a post in a long time in the Curly Girl Series and a lot has changed for me. Today I am going to talk about the CG Method and how I re-defined it to fit my own life.
I was a Curly Girl for at least four years ( I am going to say, I still am one). I kept myself extremely strict with this process as well. Here is a link to my Curly Girl Series category, (youʻll find a lot of links in this post for your convenience as well) if you wanted to read up further on it, because itʻs still a great method to taking care of your curls!
About six months ago, I decided I need to re-define what the CG method was to me. I believe it to be a great starting point for those wishing to go back natural after many years of straightening and heavy products. It can get you to a point where your curls are much more defined and healthier.
Donʻt get me wrong, my curls are so much prettier now than they were before I first started. You know that stringy curly look you get when you decide today isnʻt the day to straighten it? Yes, my hair was like that too.
However, I tried so hard to stay within the Curly Girl Method and battle a never-ending issue with my scalp. It was dry and extremely flaky – every day I wore a bun to work to cover any issues that would absolutely show if my hair were down.
CG method calls for only sulfate free, paraben free, and silicone free hair care products. My curls thrived on this, but my scalp did not! I would go through bouts of bad scalp months and good scalp months. During my bad scalp months, I did natural olive oil scrubs, sugar scrubs, longer rubbing of the scalp in shower, silicone hair scrubbers etc. I even had to break the rules, by using medicated shampoo every now and again to get my scalp back under control.
I ended up finding Manes by Mell on Youtube, who does not follow all the rules of CG Method, and omg, her curls are so super pretty. She is also a professional stylist that specializes in curly and textured hair, so I mean I would say she definitely has merit to be giving us information on how to take care of our curls.
My realization of not needing to follow everything the CG Method called for came after binge watching her channel. Here are the things I have changed and what I continue to do to help my scalp and my routine:
- I brush my hair now! (but only in the shower and when it is wet). I use a specific brush meant for the shower and the teeth of it are kind of spread apart like a comb, which I previously used for detangling. I canʻt tell you how much quicker detangling my hair has become. Itʻs very practical. I absolutely recommend. But, continue to be gentle with your hair please.
- I use sulfate shampoo. I truly believe that my scalp dryness had to do with product buildup, that all of my CG treatments were not removing. I think it also has to do with the amount of oil my skin produces and the products mixing in with all of that, you know? Like I said, good stepping stone, but doesnʻt always work for everyone. Can I just tell you how much this has made a huge difference on my scalp again?! My curls are still just as pretty when I do the full routine. I am currently using Head and Shoulders and Herbal Essences Shine Collection Brilliance interchangeably.
- Although I use sulfate shampoo, I still use silicone free conditioner. The reason for this is because, I enjoy the slip of my current conditioner, it makes it easier for me to detangle, I didnʻt want to waste the stockpile I had of this in my bathroom, and I didnʻt want to add any extra weight to my curls since I am essentially stripping it every time I wash my hair now. I get the moisture back in using my conditioner. I am currently using Cantu Hydrating Conditioner for detangling and Yes to Tea Tree and Sage Oil conditioner for leave-in.
- I put on a silicone curl cream over my silicone-free leave in conditioner. I donʻt know if this idea has any merit to it, but with my limited knowledge of how silicones generally work: I put the moisture in with my conditioner/leave-in conditioner, but, curls lose moisture really quickly. So, I figured how about sealing in the moisture with a silicone (the curl cream)? And, because I am using a sulfate shampoo, it will take the buildup right out when I wash my hair again. I am currently using the Herbal Essence Aloe and Mango Curl Cream.
- I continue to use a microfiber towel to dry my hair. Curly hair frizzes very easily. Regular old bath towels (terrycloth, Terry cotton etc) donʻt work really well (honestly, for anyone). What you want to use is microfiber. My hair is really long (one of these days, I want to measure it), so I need a large microfiber towel, big enough to cover someoneʻs body.
- I still use Eco Style Gel! This is CG friendly, and is not super expensive. The best part about it, is there are so many choices, one with argan oil, one with olive oil, etc. You get so many to pick from. Oh, and it does not flake at all.
I learned that it was time to break the rules for my own sanity. My hair still feels the same and looks the same. Again, I wanna say, CG Method is a great starting point and awesome method to use. But, it wasnʻt working for my scalp. I made my own changes and re-defined what CG Method was to me and it still works!
If you are curious in getting back to your own natural hair journey or are wanting to know more about the CG Method you can read my other posts in the Curly Girl Series as well as check out this website.
Happy Curl, Happy Girl
Signing off,
Curly Island Girl
Tales of A Curly Island Girl 