If you have curly hair and use social media, you may have come across information about The Curly Girl Method and how to best unfurl and nurture your curls, coils, spirals, and waves.
The CG method has become very popular among curly and natural hair communities across the globe. From North America to Brazil, Egypt to Europe, there are many online hair forums scattered around the web, with some boasting 200k+ members.
As widespread as the Curly Girl Method is, many people don’t realize it started as a grassroots movement. It’s important to note that with increased attention and popularity, misinformation naturally spreads. Whether you are new to the method or a long-term follower, this blog post has been specifically created to relay essential tips and reminders to ensure your curl routine is based on original and authentic information.
Have You Heard of Curly Girl: The Handbook?
This may come as a surprise for some readers, but The Curly Girl Method did not start on the internet.
Written by hairstylist and creator Lorraine Massey in 1999, Curly Girl: The Handbook is a minimalist guide meant to help all genders, ages, and curl types fully engage and understand their hair’s true texture. The CG method follows three simple steps: cleanse (preserve), condition (organize curls), and style (maintain). The book invites you to unlearn, learn, and relearn how to care for and celebrate your hair in its most natural form.
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Since the first edition hit shelves in 1999, a lot has changed in our society. The current relationship we have with the internet has reshaped the way we interact and consume, including how we read and analyze books. Fragments of the book have been taken out of context, thus turning the once simplistic approach into ‘social media noise.’ As a result, the minimalist approach that made the CG method popular has been replaced by a culture of influencers and product junkies, who have coined the problematic term ‘Modified CG Method.’ Problematic in the sense that many are recommending a barrage of unnecessary and archaic applications, products, and methods that go against the very nature of what made the Curly Girl Method so popular in the first place.
As hairstylists, we see fatigued and over manipulated hair replacing what was once a head of naturally bouncy, healthy curls. As we address our clients’ issues and concerns, they often admit they have fallen prey to the disinformation spreading on social media.
Experimenting with various products is fine, but if it sends you into a tailspin, continually searching for the next genie in the bottle, there will inevitably be build-up that no amount of clarifying shamPOO can remove. The continuum and domino effect will only further calcify and confirm the buildup. In many cases, the only way out is to allow the hair to grow out or be cut out.
Instead of calling it CGM Modified, we encourage you to call it something entirely different that can be your own. Now is the time to introduce new methods to the curly world. Modify as much as you’d like, just not under the guise of the Curly Girl Method. We encourage everyone to follow their own hair journey; however, when influencers use CGM as click-bait, it distorts and complicates the original Curly Girl Method’s unequivocal simplicity. It causes a stream of confusion for a hair type that is already vulnerable to begin with. Curls are not a trend; they are a lifestyle.
What Do You Need To Know?
During a live conversation on Instagram, we had the opportunity to troubleshoot some key topics about the current Curly Girl Method climate online. Lorraine highlighted the challenges of sourcing information online – especially as it pertains to newbies and long-term followers.
Look out for those who are continually posting various products without the integrity and knowledge of testing them properly for quality control. To really understand if a product works for you, you need to test it out for more than a week. Remember that influencers are often paid to push products (sometimes products they don’t even use). You are the consumer, and it’s up to you to weed out the noise. Go directly to the source, aka certified curly hair stylists.
As stated earlier, curl stylists behind the chair constantly observe the high quantities of gummy hair, scalp build-up, and strong synthetic fragrances emitting from their client’s hair. Watch out for the word FRAGRANCE on your hair product labels. Many stylists have shared that the synthetic odor sometimes lingers on their hands and in the salon for days. Artificial fragrance can hide up to 170 ingredients not disclosed on the packaging. To understand how toxic ingredients end up in our daily lives, we recommend watching the documentary, Stink.
As stylists, we find it very difficult to deliver proper hydration to hair that has been impacted this way. Getting your hair back to its natural fauna and flora may take some time, as it needs to detox and rebalance. Stay consistent and exclusive with a product you know is worthy, and you will see a difference. If you are using too many products, you can’t possibly know which ones are actually working for your hair. There is really not much that is needed to make curls happen aside from true hydration.
We have collectively come to understand that this is a result of a profit-motivated approach to haircare, widely perpetuated by non-haircare professionals and influencers who tend to use their voices to encourage unsustainable consumption. We have to remember with influence comes great responsibility. If influencers were curly hairdressers and could feel and observe what we see daily, they would think twice about recommending or using many of the products they push to their followers.
Taking 3 Steps Back To Go Forward
When you are face to face with a CG (Curly Girl/ Curly Guy) behind the chair, you get to see the person behind the curl. Each individual has a hair story, and many have experienced personal curl trauma in their lifetime.
As stylists, we do not take for granted that you are trusting us with your crown. It shows you are ready to allow us to help guide you to love your curls for life. No matter how many years you are in the craft, one must always recognize you are only as good as the last service you provided. Try to stay away from self-proclaiming as a guru, expert, or specialist in curly hair as it implies you know everything. Accept the learning and unlearning process that comes with the ever-changing and expanding curl landscape.
Key Takeaway
The Curly Girl Method is not a product. CGM is a lifestyle and a way of living with a simple 3-step curly hair routine, using a maximum of 3 to 4 products that must be plant-based, botanically infused, fully water-soluble, and rich in natural emollients that deliver true hydration when coupled with water.
If you’ve ever used the terminology ‘dirty, greasy, gross, or built-up’ to describe your hair before a cleanse, reconsider the type of products you are using. This shouldn’t be your excuse to reach for the sulfate clarifying shampoo because this will only further embed the very substances you are trying to remove, and the cycle will continue.
Your next hair cleanse should NOT be because you feel product build-up, but instead, because you are simply ready for a cleanse or co-wash. Whatever goes into your hair should dissipate and evaporate naturally. The goal is to be on autopilot with your hair — you understand it, accept it, and love it. Anything else is just exhausting.
Covid-19 has brought a very somber and sad time for us. This current curl confusion is nothing in comparison, but it’s allowed for many things to surface: both good and bad. If there is ever a time and opportunity to simplify, it’s now!
If you missed our Live Conversation on Instagram, you can catch it HERE
Stay safe, and please post responsibly.
Written in collaboration with:
Lorraine Massey of Spiral (x,y,z) in NYC
Saulo O’Deoraín of The Curly Look in Dublin, Ireland
Wafaya Abdallah of Curly Oasis in Washington, DC
Lindsay Wilson of Curls Only in Australia
Edited by Shey Aponte