WHAT IS THE
CURLY GIRL METHOD?

The Curly Girl Method (CGM) is comprised of a set of rules which people follow to enhance their natrual wave, curl, or coil patternm reduce frizz, damage, breakage and dryness. In simple terms, the CMG cetnres around avoiding ingredients that can negatively affect curls, and adding ingredients that can hydrate, condition, repair and enhance.

The method revolves around a few key pillars, which drive the
exclusion of those ingredients:

Not using ingredients that build up on the hair, or require 'harsh' soaps or surfactants to remove them. This brings to mind the typical silicones that can build up on the hair, but can also include a range of other ingredients, such as waxes and mineral oils, that individuals may avoid based on the degree to which they follow this method. These are avoided as CMG does not use Sulfates to remove these products.
Not over cleansing the hair with traditional shampoos that can dry out or strip the hair, via surfactants such as Sulfates. Thsi can also include avoiding the use of surfactants that are traditionally labeled as gentle in the hair care community. The reasoning behind this difference of opinion comes from the basis that Curly Girls do not apply any products that build up on the hair, so only need very gentle cleansing to wash and refresh the hair, rather than cleansing agents that aim ro remove products build up, styling agents, silicones, waxex etc.
Hydration, hydration, hydration! This method praises the scalps natural oils, and focuses heavily on hydrating hair that is textured or dry inherently. This is yet another reason that drying ingredients, such as drying alcohols and cleansing agents, are strictly avoided.

Important Informations

Origins of the Curly Girl Method

The CGM was created by hair stylist and curl expert Lorrain Massey. In her book Curly Girld: The Handbook she details the intricacies of this method, why certainproducts and actions are bad for the hair, and what you can do to get the absolute most out of your curls. As this was publised in 2011, curlty girls around the wrold have taken this method and tweaked it to suit their own needs, lifestyle and desired outcomes. There any many, many iterations of the CGM, but this book is commonly seen as strating point for most, and curly-bible for some.

Not All Alcohols Are Created Equal.

While the avoided drying alcohols, often found in styling products, aerosols etc, can dehydrate the hair, there are also a range of fatty alcohols, such as Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol & Stearyl Alcohol, that condition and hydrate the hair.

Minimising Drying and Damaging Factors

The original CGM (as detaied by Lorraine Massey) also prohibits the use of any thermal tools, such as blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons etc, as well as potentially mechanically damaging actions usch as brushing or coming dry hair, and towel drying.

Many Curly Girl ranges denote products being best suide to one of the main 12 curlt types (ranging from 1A-4C); as none of t our products are particularly specialised, they are all recommended for all curl types. For a visual of different curl types - you may want to familiarise yourself with this as curly girls often refe to their hair type when searching for product etc.

Curly Types

If you or your customers have any questions about the CGM or our products, please don't hesitate to as us; it can be a very overwhelming topic to wrap your head around so we want to esure we are passing on the correct information.