You have made up your mind to follow the Curly Girl Method (CGM) and are eager to start. You have grabbed your copy of Lorraine Massey’s “Curly Girl: The HandBook” or “Curly Girl: More Than Just Hair… It’s an Attitude” book and read all about the Dos/Don’ts of Curly Girl Method.
You have been excitedly reading wiki how-to’s, blog posts, articles on what’s best for curly, wavy hair and watched the YouTube videos…but it can all seem so overwhelming.
Starting CGM can be simple.
Before proceeding any further, have you read my “My Easy Guide to Wavy Hair” post to analyse your hair properties?
Yes, then read on…
Note: I have not given any product suggestions because they can vary on hair type, budget and product availability. But this post should enable you to make your own product buying decisions. So, let’s begin.
Starting CGM: Step by Step
Here’s a simplified effort to start you off on the CG journey. This comes with planning wash routines for your hair, how long to follow them and what products to use in these routines, step by step.
Step 1 – First Wash: Tabula Rasa
This is actually called the last wash. But I like to call it the ‘first wash‘ because it is a way of starting on a clean slate.
Hair should be ideally washed using a sulfate-based shampoo to remove all silicones or remnants of your chemical treatments. If your regular hair products are free from silicones, you can skip the First Wash and go to the next step.
Note: This sulfate-based shampoo is a keeper, you can use this to clarify your hair later to remove any product buildup or minerals. Remember to clarify your hair once in three washes/fortnightly depending on how greasy or producty your hair feels. This is especially required for wavy hair as it is prone to greasiness.
Step 2 – Second Wash: CG approved products
After the first wash, stick to CG-approved products that are silicone-free and sulfate-free.
| Wash Routine | Cleanse – Condition – Style – Dry |
| Products used | Shampoo – Conditioner – Styling Cream or Gel |
Cleanse twice a week at least for wavy hair. Follow this routine at least for 3-4 weeks to understand how your hair responds. Your hair will start transitioining to a healthy routine with CG-approved products. Watch for changes in your hair – less frizz, shine or better manageability. This shows that you are on the right path. 🙂
Step 3 – Start Deep Conditioning
Give your hair some nourishment. Choose a deep conditioner (DC), moisture or protein depending on your hair needs, my last post will help you. But it is best advised to opt for a protein:moisture balanced deep conditioining treatment. Let the DC sit in your hair for 20-30 minutes, before rinsing it out with water.
| Wash Routine | Cleanse – Condition – Deep Condition – Style – Dry |
| Products used | Shampoo – Conditioner – Deep Conditioner – Styling Cream or Gel |
Follow this for a month to see how your hair responds. Watch for changes – hair tends to feel softer, there will be less frizz and more manageability.
Step 4 – Plan a Wash Routine
By this time you have spent 2 months into the CG way. You should have clarified 3-4 times or more depending on how your scalp and hair feels.
It’s time to plan wash routines and stick to a regime:
| Wash Routine 1 | Cleanse – Condition – Deep Condition – Style – Dry |
| Wash Routine 2 | Cleanse – Condition – Deep Condition – Style – Dry |
| Wash Routine 3 | Clarify – Condition – Deep Condition – Style – Dry |
| Wash Routine 4 | Cleanse – Condition – Deep Condition – Style – Dry |
You get the drift here. Deep condition in every wash.
Document how your hair feels, you should be able to tell how much or how little of product your hair needs per wash routine. You should also note how your hair responds to it – whether it feels dry, whether it feels tangled, whether it loses shape by day2/day3, whether hair is dry in the front/back, whether it frizzes up at the crown area…watch & learn.
You are the best judge. You can tweak your wash routine and product applications accordingly.
Step 5 – Now comes the ‘Extras’
Since you have started tracking how your hair feels, you can look at adding a few ‘extras’, albeit at your own convenience and budgets. These could be for the following reasons:
- Hair needs extra moisture – plan for a leave-in conditioner
- Hair feels brittle and dry – prepoo hair with a little oil or pre-shampoo treatment
- Hair feels tangled after cleansing – detangle while deep conditioning, you can use a wide-tooth comb or finger detangle as necessary
- Hair feels frizzy on drying up – style on wet hair and try a stronger-hold gel
- Hair takes forever to dry – try styling on damp hair or maybe it’s time for a diffuser.
- Hair needs a little extra texture – a Curl enhancer/curl cream will do the trick
- Hair needs something to lock in the moisture – a few drops of oil can help. What’s more you can even use it to massage your scalp daily with this to enhance hair growth.
- Hair is falling flat – try adding a little protein, if you hair is up to it, try a protein mask
- Hair feels lacklustre – try tea rinses, DIY hair rinses that can add a little shine
- Hair loses shape as you toss & turn in your sleep – this is the best time to protect hair in a satin/silk bonnet, if you find that uncomfortable, opt for a satin/silk pillowcase
- And the list of ‘extras’ can go on…So EXPERIMENT!
It could also be the time for you to experiment with techniques – Praying hands, Raking, Clumping, Squish to Condish, Smasters SOTC (Scrunch out the crunch), Plopping, Wet-plopping, Diffusing, Pixie diffusing…these are topics for discussion on an other day and I will share techniques that work for my wavy hair. Wait for it. 🙂
Remember, CGM is all about embracing your natural hair, curls, waves et al. It can get difficult to stick to all CGM rules as prescribed by Lorraine Massey. Even I follow a modified version of CGM, I use shampoo and oils, which are a complete NO-NO as per her CGM code.
So, find out what works for your hair, while staying within the code. By this I mean, use CG-approved products that have no silicones, no sulfates, no parabens, no mineral oils, etc.
Embrace your natural hair, whether wavy or curly. Be proud of all that you are.
Note: For a more detailed explanation on starting CG Method on wavy hair, please head to Pallavi Juneja’s blog (@thecuriousjalebi on Insta), she is one of the best experts on curly and wavy hair in India.
Thank you for reading this post. If the above steps helped you get started on CGM easily, do let me know. Would you like to follow my wavy hair journey, please connect with me on Instagram.
Making Waves Easy 
So well written! Superb guidance!
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