Di Dumbs It Down

A clump happens when your individual hairs and curls form and flow together into one big curl. They look like thick, juicy ropes. There are many benefits to creating clumps, especially for Type 2 (Wavy) and Type 3 (Curly) curls. Clumps give you thicker curls, and less frizz. Clumped curls look healthier and shinier. Plus, it stays more still while drying. Unclumpped curls can look stringy or frizzy. Think angel hair pasta versus fusili. How to Create Clumps After you have washed and conditioned your hair, keep it flipped over your head. Make sure it's soaking wet. Use your fingers, a wide toothed comb, a Curl Keeper Flexy Brush or a Denman Brush to separate your hair into sections (I aim for 5-10) While your hair is still wet, put your product (gel/cream/mousse) in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together and coat each clump from root to tip. Kind of like milking a cow. Squeeze and squish each clump (we will talk about these techniques in future

Plopping is just a gross term for an effective way to get excess moisture out of your hair. We don't use traditional terry cloth towels (you know, the only ones you really see out there) when we follow the Curly Girl Method. Did you know that towels can break your hair, causing frizz? So, instead we "plop" our hair by wrapping it on top of our heads with a cotton tshirt, cotton leggings or a microfiber towel. How to Plop in a Cotton Tshirt 1. Do this after you wash your hair. you may squeeze out excess water first. You may add product first, or after your plop. Try each way to see what works best for you. \2. Lay tshirt onto your bed. 3. Flip your hair upside down. 4. Lower your hair onto the shirt. 5. Roll the bottom of the shirt up toward your forehead. Then wrap it around the nape of your neck. 6. Wrap the top part of the tshirt around the top of your head and hold both sleeves. 7. Stand up, wrap sleeves around your head and tie them together.

Feeling greasy? Sulfate is silicone's partner in crime. Many shampoos have it, which makes cowashing/using a low-poo an easy choice for me. So, silicone has coated your hair, preventing moisture from getting it. Sulfate removes silicone, but... What else does sulfate remove? Your scalp's natural oils. Then, your scalp works on overdrive to replace the oils - often, overproducing! This is why you may feel you need to wash your hair every day ( grease) It's a vicious cycle. Shampoo to beat the grease... when shampooing creates  the grease. Other than your final wash, steer clear of sulfates. Avoid SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) like the plague for a healthy scalp! Conditioners have cleansing ingredients. Sulfate-free shampoos exist too (known as low-poos)

Silicone is an ingredient found in many conditioners and hair products to coat your hair shaft. Giving it shine, smoothing frizz and providing a protective barrier from heat (hair dryers, curling and flat irons, etc). So, why is it bad? Because silicone forms a barrier on your hair, it actually locks moisture out. Your thirsty hair is trapped in the silicone barrier, and the only way to wash it out is with sulfate. Curly hair needs hydration. Silicone prevents hydration.  I can't stress enough that curlies need to kick silicone to the curb. Silicone is a substance that coats your hair and protects it from heat styling. It also gives a false impression of healthy, shiny hair. But the hair trapped under the silicone barrier is thirsty and dehydrated. Once you remove the silicone, you can bring hydration back to your hair and optimize your curls. Avoid ingredients that look like this: methicone, phenyltrimethicone, dimethicone, cyclomethicone, dimethiconol.... and an

The Final Wash is NOT the last time you'll ever wash your hair. It's the last time you'll wash your hair with sulfates . Sulfates (particularly Sodium Lauryl Sulfate / SLS) is a nasty bugger - which I'll talk about in a future post. But, you will need it for your final wash before you start the CGM. This will clear your hair of any particle sticking to it so you can bring hydration and health back to your thirsty curly locks. Why do we do this? The products that you've been using until now are loaded with silicones, waxes and other nasties. And once you go Curly Girl (CG), the cleansers you will use will not be strong enough to remove them. So, a strong sulfate wash will strip them all away! Here are some popular ones: Suave Essentials Strawberry Shampoo Herbal Essences Naked Volume Shampoo Tressmé Perfectly Undone Weightless Shampoo Dish soap (I used Blue Dawn) Look for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) in the ingredients. And give yourself a go

Cowashing is short for Conditioner Washing Which means... washing your hair with conditioner! That's right. You can use a Curly Girl (CG) approved conditioner (no sulfates or silicones!) to wash you scalp and hair. Why is that? There are cleaning agents in your conditioner. Really! But even though conditioner has cleansing agents in it, you can't just suds it up with a few quick rubs as you would with a sulfate-rich shampoo. To clean your hair, you gotta work! The cleansing ingredients, plus your manual labour, work in tandem to clean your hair without stripping your scalp of its natural oils. Step One Apply a generous amount of conditioner to your scalp Step Two Rub and scrub every square inch of your scalp. Rub your fingers in circles all over your scalp for at least two minutes - ideally, five. Rub your scalp until your arms hurt! Run your down your hair as well. Step Three Rinse completely and continue to rub your scalp and your hair as you rinse. This gets i

These are the steps you follow when you follow the CGM.... Step One: Final Wash This step is very important! Your hair may be full of silicones, waxes and other nasty fellows that don't allow moisture to penetrate into your hair. We want to get rid of them so we can rehydrate your very thirsty hair. For this, we need to use a shampoo with sulfate in it (sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS is the main one). Check the ingredients of your current shampoo. If it has SLS and is silicone-free, go for it. Many baby shampoos also work well. Once again, check the ingredients list for sulfate if you're not sure. * Controversial * Dish soap is easy as you already have it at home. Dilute it with water as it's super harsh. Dish soap (I used Blue Dawn) is a contentious issue in the hair community. Whatever you use, RINSE! Step Two: Condition the Heck Out of Your Hair You know how the label on the conditioner bottle always says, "use a small amount?" Forget that. Apply a