The Curly Girl Method. What is it? Why do I follow it? How do I manage it with a college lifestyle? Fear not, I’m here to answer all of those questions! From a Curly Girl, here’s everything you need to know:
What is it?
Based on Lorraine Massey’s book, Curly Girl: The Handbook, the Curly Girl Method.
Disclaimer: I haven’t actually read this book yet, but I have read many reviews and summaries of it and I’ve heard about it from the Curly Girl community.
The book is the Bible for the Curly Girl method as it details different types of curls, healthy products, and tips and tricks.
For years most women with curly hair have been told that having curls is either nerdy or unprofessional. Or, they don’t know how to take care of it properly and end up straightening their hair often. I would know — this used to be me. Any time I had a special event or wanted to look nice, I straightened my hair. I didn’t like my curls and didn’t think my hair looked as nice curly as it did straight. I wished for straight hair for most of my childhood but, as a young woman, I’m learning to embrace the curls with both arms.
So what is the Curly Girl Method exactly? Best said by Curly Cailin, “The curly girl method is a set of do’s, don’ts and ingredients to avoid and embrace.”
The Curly Girl Method calls for:
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Fewer washes on your hair (some curlies even give up shampoo altogether!)
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No heat (this includes super hot water which I never realized before)
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No sulfates in your products
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No drying alcohols in your products
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No brushing your hair with a traditional brush. Either finger-comb your hair or get a wide-tooth comb! This helps prevent your hair from breaking and supports your natural curl pattern
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Use a microfiber towel
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Don’t color your hair
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Scrunch products in
Does this seem like a lot? I thought so too when I first discovered the Curly Girl Method.
So why do I do it?
I started it because a lot of the rules made sense to me. Being more conscious about the products I put in my hair and the chemicals they contain made sense. Not using heat that damages my hair made sense. Not ripping a brush through the knots in my hair and having huge clumps fall out made sense.
So I started the Curly Girl Method in August and have kept doing it because I can see a difference. A lot of the photos people post are incredible transformations, and while my hair transformation hasn’t been ~quite~ to that level, I have seen a difference. And so have my friends and family! My mom and some of my friends have seen my hair recently and said, “Your curls look good. Curly Girl Method?” The fact that they asked if it was as a result of the Curly Girl Method probably means that I talk about it too much, but hey, I have to keep myself accountable.
There are days when it’s exhausting to be this conscious of my hair. The best advice I got about overcoming this came from one of my favorite Curly Girl YouTubers, Swavy Curly Courtney. She said that some days she just doesn’t put any product in her hair. She lets it be more straight or wavy and gives herself and her hair a break from mousse, gel, leave-in conditioner and all the scrunching. When I’m not feeling up to the whole method, I just let my hair be without adding anything after my wash.
How do I manage it with a college lifestyle?
While the Curly Girl Method may be amazing, a lot of the products they recommend are expensive. As a college girl trying to get by, I can’t afford many of the products recommended by the YouTubers and bloggers I follow. I’ve taken to Googling “drugstore curly girl approved products” and moving from there. These are the products I use:
Garnier Pure Clean shampoo and conditioner, which is about $4 each
The LA Sport Hair Gel that’s about $2-6
Suave Clarifying Shampoo, which is $2.50 at Target
I live by myself at college which helps in terms of sink time. I spent a couple of minutes styling my hair each morning and it helps to not have to share the mirror with a roommate.
If you think that having communal showers justifies you skipping parts of the method, it doesn’t. I deep condition my hair every other week, which means that I take a normal shower, put deep conditioner in, tie my hair up, go back to my room and let the conditioner sit for 30 minutes, and then I get back in the shower. Yes, you heard me, I head back to the shower to rinse it out. It’s a pain, for sure, especially with communal showers, but it can be done. So the Curly Girl Method is college-friendly, you just have to put in a little extra work.
The Curly Girl Method might not be for everyone, but I’ve seen real changes in my hair and have found a system that works for me. If you’re curious about it, I suggest you try it for a month and see what happens. You might be surprised.