What is the Curly Girl Method and how I adapted it for me!

**AS A DISCLAIMER** I am not a hair stylist, I am not a pro, I just have curly hair and I know what works best for MY hair.  I am not saying that any one product is bad or that you should all jump on the band wagon- I am just sharing my opinion and experience.




OK, So I have referenced the Curly Girl Method before in previous posts and I have had many questions about it so I thought that I would touch on what it is and how I have adapted and modified it for me.  First of all, The Curly Girl Method is a book written all about curly hair, what its special needs are and how to properly take care and manage curly hair.  I mainly heard about it from my sisters of color who choose to wear their hair natural rather than relaxing or weaving their hair.  I wont be going into details of the book itself but I will tell you about my hair care regimine.  


I have black brown dry scalp, dry hair that is thick, thick, thick and very wavy and quite curly in spots.  (Duncan calls it fuzzy hair)  I decided to start wearing my hair in its natural state because I decided to grow it out.  It takes a LOT of effort for me to straighten my hair out on a regular basis.  I have dry scalp so I was using a dandruff shampoo, then my hair would get SUPER dried out from the harsh detergents, so I would slather it in a silicone based conditioner.  I would slather straightening serum and tons of heat protectant on it, blow dry the crud out of it over a round brush and then follow up with a flat iron.  Phew, I'm exhausted just typing that out.  It would take me well over an hour from start to finish and if the humidity rose or if I worked out, my results were all for not.  


The theory behind Curly Girl as I understand it is to keep the hair super moisturized and to really baby the heck out of it.  You want to stop using anything drying which includes shampoo.  Shampoo strips your hair- which is its purpose- to cleanse the hair.  You can choose what works best for you.  Some people use only sulfate free shampoo, some only co-wash (wash only with conditioner) some only use baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  You can also use products like WEN that are cleansing with essential oils.  They are pricey though...be warned. 


It takes some time for your hair to get used to any new routine.  I would say to expect it to take about two to three weeks for your hair to respond positively and to feel like you know what you are doing.  I experimented A LOT at the beginning to find out what my hair likes and doesn't like.  My hair hates silicon, sulfates and protein.  Silicon builds up and needs a detergent to remove it from the hair shaft.  If you use silicon and no sulfate, your hair will feel weighed down.  If you have waves and not tight curl, you don't want your hair weighed down- or it wont look curly, which is the point of this right?!


Sulfates are excellent cleaners.  That's what they were designed to do.  My scalp is very dry and because I cant comb my hair out when its curly, the hair gets dry on the ends because natural oils cant travel down the shaft.  I eliminated all sulfates and within a week my scalp was healed.  No more flakes.  Like EVER.  It was a MIRACLE.  My curls were formed better and the ends weren't nearly as hashed.


Protein is amazing for strengthening your hair.  I know a LOT of people who swear by protein and have AMAZING results from it.  My hair doesn't care for it.  It gets almost brittle and coarse when I use it.  I have used soy proteins primarily and never had good results so I just quit using it.  You may want to try it out- maybe you will have awesome results with it.  I hope you do!  I want strong hair...


So for ME, I stocked up on a silicone free conditioner (which is becoming harder and harder to find).  I did some research and found that the two most commonly recommended are VO5 and Suave!  I can do that, they are typically under a $1 a bottle!  (and you really want to stock up on like 3 bottles- you will FLY through this stuff)  I also bought a wide tooth comb, alcohol free gel, leave in conditioner, Moroccan Oil and Aveda Anti Humecant Pomade.  I also purchased one SMALL bottle of clarifying shampoo and one bottle of sulfate free shampoo.


I started the process by using my clarifying shampoo.  I really scrubbed the heck out of it.  I wanted to make sure all product build up was gone.  I HATED this part.  My hair felt like straw.  I then put on about 1/5th a bottle of VO5 conditioner (I think that it was the strawberry one) and rubbed it in like shampoo, root to tip.  I massaged the crud out of it and made sure that the ends were super saturated.  I was SHOCKED and worried about this conditioner.  I had always used a quarter size of SUPER thick heavy conditioner.  This is WATERY.  I was really concerned that I was not going to get results with it.    I then took my wide tooth comb and GENTLY combed out all tangles.  This is the only time my hair touches a brush or a comb.


Rinse out ALL of the conditioner and then the final step that I had to learn on my own is to do the final rinse with your head flipped over.  Gently squeeze out the bulk of the water and then wrap your hair in a turban.  I get out of the shower and get all dressed and then return to my hair care routine.  I flip my head back over to remove my turban.  Finger comb through the curls and kind of shake them out.  I then spray on leave in conditioner and then use some gel to scrunch- all while my head is upside down.  Make sure to scrunch the gel in really well and DON'T BRUSH or COMB your hair!!  You will have a frizz ball.  Your fingers are your only styling tool at this point.  


Flip your head over and gently move your curls to where you want them.  You can then air dry or you can diffuse at this point.  It depends on the weather and how much time on my hands.  If I have to run, air dry is best- if I have 10 extra minutes, I will diffuse.  If I diffuse, I ALWAYS spray heat protectant just in case.  I turn on my drier to medium heat on low and I don't touch my hair.  I use the bowl of the diffuser.  I gently pile as much as I can in and then let the drier do its work.  I only let it sit on my hair until my scalp feels warm.  I do four sections.  The top of my head, each side and then a back section.  After I have done heat, I turn the heat off and have a cool drier on low and go back over the same sections.  That LOCKS my curls in SO SO SO much better.  I then kind of place stray hairs away and then the key- DON'T TOUCH IT.  When you break up the curl structure, you create frizz.  About 20 minutes later, when my hair is completely dry, I lightly scrunch one last time to ensure that the gel doesn't look hard or crusty.  AND THATS IT!


My maintenance routine from there is conditioner only.  I know people are confused how my hair is clean without shampoo- but it works I tell you!  I co- wash unless I feel like I may have put too much oil or pomade in- then I will a bit of sulfate free shampoo.  That is SUPER seldom....like once every two or three weeks.  The key is to use a generous amount of conditioner each and every time.  You might feel like your hair feels worse before it feels better- but within a week- you should really start to FEEL and SEE the difference.  Within a week, my scalp was flake free and my hair was easier to handle.  


BE WARNED- if you choose to straighten out your hair, it will be a little harder than it once was.  You hair will get trained to stay in its natural state after a while, and straightening it out may be a little more difficult.  It just encourages me to keep it curly- and it takes a 10th of the time to do too!!  The added benefit is that my hair has NEVER been this healthy.  I am still growing my hair out and I probably have two more years to go.  I can easily go four to six MONTHS between cuts because my hair isn't fried and my ends aren't split.  I'm not brushing, using heat and drying it out- so it stays pristine.  




OH!  And find a stylist that is specially trained in curly hair.  That is probably the most important thing for having a good shape.  You cant cut curly hair wet!  It is TOTALLY different wet than dry- and it will shrink up considerably once its been dried.  So take your time to find someone who is trained specially on curly hair.  Don't be afraid to ask questions BEFORE you make an appointment.  Ask them how they cut curly hair, do THEY have curly hair, have they had any specialty training like Diva Curl Training?  You will also get a feel for their personality and their professionalism at the same time.  Expect to pay more for a good curly hair cut.  Its a LOT more work than a straight cut.  The benefit is if you are taking great care of your hair, you wont need to go in every six to eight weeks- so your really stretching your dollar.


Phew, there you have it mon cheri!  My curly hair manifesto.  I hope its answered any questions you might have had.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!  I LOVE my curly hair!  I constantly get asked how I got my hair to look the way it does.  When I tell them its my natural hair, they are shocked. It's very bohemian, very beachy, very natural....and very easy!  

What I regret buying :( *womp womp*

So I thought that I would just let you all know a few products that I regret buying.  Some just weren't as awesome as I was expecting and others were a disaster and completely disappointing.  Here we go-


#1 Cover Girl Aqua Smoothers

So I have used other Cover Girl foundations before and they have been ok.  Not phenomenal, but OK.  So I was perusing and I stumbled across this little guy.  It was 5ish dollars and looked harmless.  Well, maybe I should have thought about it a little more.  AQUA= water= not really awesome coverage or staying power.  Not my thing but if you are a teenager and looking for something light and to last just a few hours, try it out.  I think you can find better products for your money though.




#2 Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

First of all, ALL of their colors are pink based.  ALL OF THEM.  Even their Ivory was REALLY pink.  I have olive/yellow undertone skin but I am pretty fair- so yeah- strike one.  These were really watery, but still managed to sink into wrinkles under my eyes, strike two.  These didn't conceal ANYTHING.  Wait a second, wasn't this called CONCEAL-er??  I'm confused.  These should just be chucked.  NOW.










#3 L'Oreal Souffle Foundation

OK, so I didn't actually buy this one (thank heavens!), I received a sample pack in a mailer.  IT. WAS. HORRIBLE.  First of all, they are REALLY silicone-y.   Just rubbing them on my hand, it was GROSS.  First, when you are rubbing it in, it pills up and makes little balls that are tough to blend in.  Once you get the balls rubbed in, the coverage is spotty- seriously- like a leopard.  You have little dots that are covered and others that aren't.  Third, the color pay off is horrible- and it oxidizes- which means an hour or two later you have an orangier face than you started out with.  PASS, PASS, PASS on this one.


#4 Maybelline Superstay 24 Hour lipstick

So I was REALLY hopeful for this one.  I have big lips.  So I tend to be a "lippy".  I like lip stuff alot.  I HATE touching up your makeup and I hate the mess of traditional lip stick.  Its on my teeth, its on my cups its on my kids....you get the picture.  Well I picked this bad boy up thinking that this would solve all my lippy problemos.  Nope.  first of all, it is SUPER drying.  It comes with a gloss, but I felt like I had to put it on every ten minutes and mush and mush it to get it to absorb.  When you mush so hard, the product pills up and flakes off.  What the ?!  And then there are holes where the product used to live- so you have bare holes of flesh peeking through color?!  Useless. 




It takes a while for me to actually have enough products that I am not crazy about to do these kinds of posts.  I also have a LUST list.  Its products that I am drooling and coveting.  Maybe I should do one of those too.  What are product fails you have encountered?

Whats in my purse??

OK, so WHAT is it that I tote with me when I am out and about?  As I have children, I tend to over pack just about everywhere I go.  I have a cosmetic/emergency kit with me that is the size of most women's normal cosmetic bags....its true.  So I thought that it might be fun to tell you all of the crap I haul around with me.  Now that I write that, it doesnt sound as fun as I thought it would- oh well- here goes!


-A bottle of dermacil lotion
-A tooth brush and mini toothpaste (Crest Pro-health compliments of my dentist)
-A travel bottle of Opti-Free Replish Contact lens solution
-A contact lens case
-A spool of floss
-Secret powder fresh deoderant
-Lyson Disinfectant Spray (mini bottle)
-Opcon-A Allergy eye drops
-Two cotton balls
-Two cotton swabs
-Chapstick brand chapstick
-Revlon lip butter in Berry Smoothie
-Fingernail clippers
-MAC Turquatic perfume
-Sephora mirror
-Bare Escentuals flawless face brush
-Maybelline Fit Me Powder
-Two size 2 Huggies Diapers
-Full size baby wipes- I seriously go through them like CRAZY
-2 pens, one black, one green
-Checkbook/Wallet
-random receipts, crumbs and lollipop sticks


Phew, what do you carry in your bag?  Is mine out of control??  What am I missing but the kitchen sink?

Revlon haul!

Ok, I am REALLY excited about all the new Revlon stuff that is coming out.  Revlon has REALLY stepped up their game in my eyes and really is becoming one of my GO TO brands.  I have LOVED their Color Stay Foundation in my Pro kit for years BUT- I have dry skin.  The original Color Stay is awesome for oily or combination skin- yucky for dry skin.  Revlon just produced a Color Stay for DRY SKIN!   I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.  Seriously- I love it better than Mac Studio Fix liquid foundation.  It runs about $10 at Walmart and it's my Holy Grail, go to foundation.  


So when I hear that they are coming out with a Photo Ready line- my heart skips a beat.  The hot thing right now is foundation that is good under HD photography.  HD photography is NOT forgiving.  Seriously- ever watch the news under HD and realize how different they look?  Yeah, not forgiving at all.  If anything- it can accentuate things you don't want accentuated.  SO- cosmetic companies have been more than happy to find a formula that gives you that airbrushed, flawless finish that you NEED under HD.  My favorite HD formula is Make Up For Ever HD.  The only thing that sucks is that I have to refinance my house to afford it.  It's $40 a bottle.  Yup- $40!  That's more than a box of Huggies Diapers at Costco!


I went to Walmart to pick up a bottle of this Revlon Photo Ready and guess what- SOLD OUT.  I went to Walgreens, SOLD OUT.  I went to Smiths (Kroger) SOLD OUT.  This stuff was HARD to find.  I ended up getting it from Ulta for BOGO 1/2 off- so I picked up the foundation AND the finishing powder.  

I got the color Shell since I am a fair olive toned beige

I can already tell you, I'm THRILLED with the packaging of the liquid foundation.  A PUMP!  That is the thing I have been wishing and hoping and praying for with the Color Stay foundation.  (Color Stay you have to pour out and I always get worried about bacteria growth)  The packaging for the powder is not my favorite.  I like that there is a clear lid so you can see what color you are grabbing, but the mirror inside is TINY!!  You need to see your FACE when you are putting on powder and a mirror barely the size of your lips does not suffice.  It also has one of those dumb brushes.  Those are HORRIBLE.  I wish cosmetic companies would just save their money and quit putting them in their packaging.  

I swatched these on my hand as I already have my "face on" (I sound like my mother) for the day.  I was a bit surprised with the fact that the droplet I put on my hand seemed a little watery.  Once I started to blend though, it was really nice and velvety smooth.  It also has a dewier finish than the Color Stay- so I think it looks more like your SKIN than makeup on your skin.  That's awesome!  

The powder I'm on the fence about.  I will need to wear it for a while to see if I really like it.   Its actually quite comparable to Mac Studio Fix Powder.  It's more a light foundation powder than a setting powder.  I can see this getting cakey throughout the day if you touch up quite a bit.  I personally don't touch up much at all- but that's me.  It definitely gives a really flawless finish on top of the foundation though.  REALLY flawless. You can tell it has some minerals in it too.  It has that nice mineral reflection in the finish.

The other thing that I am completely in LOVE with right now are the Revlon Lip Butters.  I have talked about the new pigmented lip balms in the past- but the Revlon ones are the Cadillac of them all.  20 shades and in my opinion best hydration and all around best product.  My favorite day to day is the Pink Parfait.  Its ALWAYS in my purse/diaper bag.  This one is another tough find.  I went to three places looking for this shade before I found it at Target.  

Do you have a product that is tough to track down and that you hunt for?  What is your go-to foundation?

All for you....

OK, so I did something tonight that I don't do.  I just dont do it.  I did it for you.  Yes, you.  Sitting here reading these words right now.  I. washed. my. hair.  Yup- I used shampoo.  *shiver*  OK, now that the dramatics are out of the way, let me explain.  I promised myself that I would try things outside of my comfort zone and give an honest opinion for my blog- For you.  I don't want to be recommending things just willy nilly.  I really truly believe in the stuff that I recommend.  SO- I received some trials in a package this week and one of them was for the L'Oreal Ever Sleek system.  I received shampoo, conditioner and the leave in.  

As I have explained before- I am in the midst of the grow out process.  I think I have about two more years left.  Because I am growing my hair out, I am avoiding using heat products as much as possible to reduce damage.  I have totally wavy hair that I have learned to embrace and love.  I have learned what works best for me to have the waves I want and to have the moisture that I need.  I don't shampoo my hair.  Ever.  I adhere to the Curly Girl Method pretty diligently.  I have a post all about that if you are wondering what that is....ANYWAY

I gave the system an honest go of it tonight.  Because I used a system aimed at sleeking out my hair, I blow dried using a 2 inch boar bristle round brush to straighten.  SO- I don't shampoo anymore and I HATE how my hair feels in the shower now when I use shampoo.  This shampoo was no exception.  As I rinsed my hair out, it felt like straw.  Then I used the conditioner.  You can feel how much silicone is in it just by rubbing it in your hands.  I put it on my ends and about 2/3rds the way up my hair.  I left it on for about 5 minutes.

After I rinsed my hair completely out, I used the leave in treatment.  That was the deal breaker for me.  I'm not a big shampoo and conditioner person but this one wasn't all that bad.  The leave in that I put in made my hair feel...coated.  I only put it on the bottom half and you can feel a difference between the top part of my hair and the bottom.  icky....  I don't feel like my hair is any smoother now than it is using my normal routine...just more coated.  I wonder if I would have liked it without the leave in...

It wasn't horrible shampoo and conditioner- actually pretty run of the mill.  Its sulfate free for my colored haired ladies....and its supposed to be very gentle.  If I were to go back to shampoo-ing, I would stay with a sulfate free one since my hair is so dry.  I would take the shampoo and conditioner but bag the leave in.  I really didn't care for it at all.  Over all- I would give it a B- without the leave in, and a C- with the leave in.  I wouldn't rush out and pick up a bottle but if it were on sale I might consider it.  Honestly- I think that there are much better options out there for comparable money....Now how do I wear my hair straight for the next couple days?