Curly Girl Method UK, Where To Start And Tips For Beginners

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I started following Curly Girl Method Uk around 2 years ago for a year and it was a journey! In fact following the Curly Girl Method was initially more that a journey, it was also a struggle, and I am a hairdresser! A good hairdresser, yet my own hair was the bane of my life for a month. There was a time that I nearly gave up. This post will give you tips on following all of the steps of the Curly Girl Method to get the best results.

Enjoying success with the Curly Girl Method is all about know where to start and finding the best curly girl products. There are so many posts, but tried and tested is always the best endorsement.

If you want to see me create my projects, follow me on Tik Tok and Instagram.

Fellow curlies were supportive, coaching me, telling me not to give up. Donna and Elena have not only been a huge support but have also created some great British Curlies  Tips post heck them out.

What Is The Curly Girl Method?

Curly Girl is a method of styling and drying your hair to promote your natural curls. Created by Lorraine Massey who also write The Curly Girl handbook a guide to Curly hair. As she wanted to embrace her curls and teach others do the same.

I have spent a big part of my life doing everything I can to straighten my curls, using endless products, hair straighteners and avoiding the rain which results in curls. Finally having the chance to mothball my straighteners for a while felt so freeing.

Curly girl is all about embracing your natural curls and following certain steps to allow your hair to curl into its natural state. If you have the slightest hint of a wave in your hair then its worth giving the Curly Girl method a try.

Curly Girl Method For Beginners

Firstly I wanted to share with you some curly girl method steps for beginners on how to get started. I also want to share some of my favourite UK Curly Girl Approved Products. As for me, that was the hardest part, finding Curly Girl UK Compatible hair products.

Curly girl tips UK and Curly Girl Approved Products, UK

At A Glance Step By Step Curly Girl Tips For Beginners

Here is a quick chart curly girl guide at a glance but scroll on down for detailed explanations and tips on getting started with Curly Girl.

  • Research Curly Girl approved products
  • Do A final wash, clarify the hair.
  • Plop the hair applying leave in condition and styling products
  • Diffuse your curls
  • Scrunch the crunch to soften the curls
  • Refresh your curls between washing
  • Develop your own Curly Girl cleansing routine

Research Curly Girl Approved Products In The UK

Having the correct information available when shopping makes such a difference. Also read everything you can before starting, as a result it was all make more sense.

The aim is to use hair products without sulphates in them.

What Are Sulphates?

Sulphates coat the hair and stop curls from forming. Hence by removing the sulphates from your hair, it will to start to form in its natural curl. There are many curly girl hair products without sulphates available in the UK its just about finding the right products for your hair.

Finding Curly Girl Method Approved Products In The Uk 

It’s all about research, the key is that the products must have only have certain silicon’s, no sulphates or drying alcohols. It’s a minefield. So do your research before you go shopping and use the Curlsbot. Read my CURLY GIRL PRODUCTS UK GUIDE HERE.

How Do You Find Out If A Product Is Curly Girl Friendly?

Simply Google the product you want to try cut and paste the ingredients into the Curlsbot and it will tell you if indeed that product is approved on the curly girl method uk. I have found Superdrug the best site for recording ingredients.

Curly Girl UK Product Advice And Tips For Beginners, Noughty Curly Girl Aproved Products www.extraordinarychaos.com

How To Get Started With The Curly Girl Method UK?

Do A Final Wash, Clarify The Hair.

This will Remove all sulphates from your hair before starting to promote your natural curl. A great product for your final wash is Johnsons Baby Shampoo. Additionally its all a great idea to clarify your hair once a month so remove any build up and keep your curls fresh.

After clarifying the hair follow the conditioning, plopping and styling steps below.

The Curly Girl Cleansing Routine Steps

Cleansing The Hair.

Cleanse with a recommended curly girl shampoo, these will gently cleanse and removed dirt but not strip the hair. Note that you get less lather with sulphate free products, but that’s fine, this is called low poo.

Some curly girl cleansers do not lather at all these are generally conditioning based cleansers called no-poo cleansers.

Condition The Hair.

Scrunch your conditioner into your hair to promote the curls, and if you are going to detangle the hair this is the time to do it. Use a Denman brush or tangle teaser rather than a comb and only detangle when conditioner is on the hair.

Now rinse the conditioner thoroughly from the hair and scrunch in your leave in condition and styling products when your hair is dripping wet and squish the hair to encourage those curls. You hair should feel squishy and sticky. Before plopping the hair.

What Is Plopping?

Plopping is wrapping you hair in a microfibre towel or t-shirt. Towels are too harsh for curl and pull the moisture out of the hair too quickly. Don’t stretch the curls.

Ensure you scrunch the curls, a bit like an accordion to promote and form the curl, and don’t plop for too long, 5 minutes works for me. If I leave it too long, well lets just say it’s a disaster.

Do A Regular Deep Conditioning Treatment And Leave It On.

This depends on how often you wash your hair. But doing a treatment once every couple of weeks will pack loads of moisture into your hair and curls love moisture. Leave your treatment in for half an hour before rinsing and plopping.

Curly Girl Tips For Drying Curly Hair

A Diffuser Will Help You Get The Best Result

Use a diffuser to scrunch the hair, I use the Remington Pink Lady, Retro Dryer . The dryer is light, the diffuser prongs stick above the diffuser, which help air circulate around the hair as you diffuse. Its lightweight and comes with a bag making it easy to pack up for travelling. And shall we just take a minute to appreciate how gorgeous this dryer is, it’s a work of art?

Also the bigger the diffuser the better, dry your hair on a slow speed and heat to prevent you causing frizz, place the diffuser under the curls and gently lift to support the hair and promote the curls. But be careful to to faff too much, just allow the hair to dry.

Remmington Hairdryer and Diffuser for UK Curly Girl Mathod www.extraordinarychaos.com

Whilst diffusing, if you are using the Cantu Curling Custard your hair will go through a crispy stage, don’t panic, work through it and once its dry you can gently scrunch the crunch out. This alarmed me at first, but its just part of the drying process, once its dry leave for a few minutes then scrunch through to get soft curls.

Refresh Your Curls Between Washing

To make your style last, simply scrunch in a little leave in conditioner with wet hands and lightly diffuse, ensure you don’t over wet the hair just slightly dampen. This will refresh the curls and make your style last longer.

Cantu Products for Uk Curl Girl Method

How Often Do You Wash Your Hair With The Curly Girl Method?

Once your curl pattern has formed and your hair starts to normalise and not rely on frequent washing, the longer you can leave it the better. I went from washing my hair ever other day to every 4 or 5 days. My scalp didn’t produce as much oil as a result, it felt in much better condition. As a result my curls and style lasts longer.

Curly Girl Tips For Wavy Hair

If you have wavy hair, then you may find that when you air dry your hair the weight of your hair when it is wet stretches out your waves. Scrunching the curls and setting them with the diffuser can help create a stronger curl.

Don’t over wash your hair. The less you wash it the better, I aim for once or twice a week. The aim is the keep the hair in great condition the more you wash it, the more you remove the natural oils.

Steps To Follow If The Curly Girl Method Is Not Working?

When my curls start to drop it is time for a haircut. My hair is quite thick so I find a good trim reboots my curls. When my hair gets too heavy it will not curl, however once layered out it is sooooo curly.

This is not the case for everyone, some curlies have the thickest hair and it still curls. A cut is certainly worth a try if you are not getting results.  But don’t have it thinned out in my experience thinning causes frizz and less curl formation.

Winter Slouchy Sweater from H&M and how to style curly hair

Can I Have A Break From The Curly Girl Method?

All the advice says not, however I have just had a two month break, I wanted straight hair for a while. As long as you stick to curly girl products going back to CK method is not a problem, it just takes a short while to get back into a successful routine.

Curly Girl approved products Cleansing Mask www.extraordinarychoas.com

Also Donna has created a great guide on how to get started here, check it out. And check out my guide to choosing a hairstylist.

Pin Curly Girl Uk Tips For Later

What products can you use on Curly Girl UK, The guide gives you hints and tips on how to succeed at curly girl UK

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28 thoughts on “Curly Girl Method UK, Where To Start And Tips For Beginners”

  1. Great post. I am a struggling curly girl too! Will be googling the method!
    Luckily I already have tropic products so will give it a go!
    Thank you for a great article.

    Reply
  2. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to discover the curly girl method, I wish I had found out about it years ago. I’ve tried Shea Moisture and Cantu but I haven’t tried any of the other products, will have to check them out. My curls look good on day 1 but I need to work on refreshing!

    Reply
  3. Some great tips that I may try when the kids are back at school, my favourite product in the summer is dry hair shampoo as I never get piece in the bathroom

    Reply
  4. I’ve just bought the dryer, can’t wait to try out your tips. My current favourite product for my hair is Kérastase Discipline, it’s fantastic.

    Reply
  5. I have been trying to get to grips with the curly method for a while now and now having much joy – yours is fab and gives me hope!! Have tried so many products that dont seem to work on mine 🙁 maybe the book is what I’m missing!
    But love the Cantu curl cream and currently trialing the custard but as my hair is more wavy than curly at the min
    Love garnier hair food though ( I know its hit and miss but my hair likes the banana one!) !

    Reply
  6. My favourite hair product is the Jason and the Argan oil shampoo bar from lush. No plastic bottle and my curls always form really nicely after using it.

    Reply

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