Curly Girl Part Deux

As a continuation of my informative rant on curly hair...

How does one reduce or eliminate sulfates and silicone from their hair routine and yet still clean and condition her hair?

First of all, train yourself to read ingredient labels. There are some shampoos out there that either have no, or at least less harsh, sulfates. These shampoos still clean your hair, I promise! They just don't strip your hair dry and that's a good thing. There are also conditioners that do not contain silicone (or other -cones). These conditioners still give you that lovely slippery feeling in your hair and guess what! Its actually moisturizing your hair as opposed to coating it in an impenetrable force-field! Excellent.

Second, you do not need to wash your hair everyday. You know the old instructions of 'lather, rinse, repeat?' Yeah, that gets you a one-way ticket to rats' nest city. Remember, curly hair doesn't get the natural oils all the way down the hair shaft. Try shampooing every other day and use waaaaay less shampoo than you are used to. Focus your cleansing efforts at the scalp because that is where the oils may build up on a curly head. The ends of your hair will be sufficiently cleansed by the shampoo rinsing through it as you rinse your hair after washing. Seriously. Some curly girls only shampoo once a week and I promise you, their head/hair does not look gross and greasy.

Had to throw in a Doctor Who reference

Third, and possibly most important, moisturize, moisturize, MOISTURIZE! That's not just frizz on your head - it is desperately dry hair crying out for moisture. You need to condition every time you shower (yep, even if you aren't washing that day). Some curly girls co-wash which means they use a
conditioner as a shampoo, basically. They use the conditioner to cleanse their hair - that is how important moisture is. Again, though, you have to be certain your conditioner contains no "-cones". I myself have a rinse-out conditioner, a leave-in conditioner, and jojoba oil. And I will use all three to ensure my hair is sufficiently moisturized for the day. Yeah.

Just say NO to brushing curly hair!

Fourth, back away from the brushes, fine-toothed combs, and hot tools! No sudden moves, no funny business! Now, we're gonna throw these things away or kindly donate them to someone who really does have straight hair. You're in curly girl world now, where your only tools are a WIDE-toothed comb and a hairdryer with a diffuser attachment. So help me, if you use a hairdryer *without* a diffuser, I will not be held responsible for how your hair punishes you! You can, of course, air dry your hair, but if you want/need to dry your hair faster, a diffuser is absolutely required. It allows the warm air to reach your hair without BLOWING IT EVERYWHERE and destroying your curl pattern.

Does this all sound complicated? I'd say its certainly easier than the on-going fight a lot of women have with their curly hair. When you stop fighting nature and just treat your curls with love, they will love you back (usually). Tending to curly hair is kind of like taking care of a cat: sometimes, out of nowhere, it bites your hand while you are petting it. For hair, the weather is often to blame for bad behavior days. For cats... Well, they're just ass holes sometimes.

I started following the Curly Girl Method in the summer of 2011 and I will NEVER go back to the old way of hair-care. My hair is so much more predictable and reliably good looking now. Before CG, I would spend 30-45 minutes on my hair every morning and I never knew what I was going to get. It might look amazing, it might look like my head had been attacked by a flock of birds. I hated that! Now, I generally know based on the weather what my issues may be for the day and I adjust my routine accordingly. 30 minutes of effort gets me a great head of hair, not a coin toss!

This is just a basic overview of the fundamentals of the Curly Girl Method. Anybody could find a wealth of information on the internet through discussion forums, social networking sites, and especially You Tube. Google is your friend. You can always tell a Curly Girl from someone who just happens to have curly hair because we tend to go all religious fanaticism about our hair care. But I wouldn't have it any other way! I may not have Taylor Swift hair, but I think my *real* curly hair is more interesting anyway :-)

Plus, curly girls get to enjoy funny stuff like this!