Curly Girl Method Questions, and Advice needed

[disneyjr77]

I've been reading about the curly girl method and had some questions. My hair is naturally curly, I lighten it, straighten it, and get the Brazilian Blowout split ends treatment every 8 weeks. This is to cut down on the frizz and make it look nice after damaging it so much lol

Unfortunately, i don't have the time to straighten and do my hair every morning so i will let it air dry and my curls look like crap. I plop my hair in a cotton tee, use curl cream when it's sopping wet and it still looks bleh. After doing some research, i came across the curly girl method and the deva curl products. I think it sounds great but i have questions and i'm still kinda like huh? about steps and all that fun stuff. I've read blogs about it and watched videos, and the results seem awesome but i'm still a touch skeptical and I figured you guys would give me honest reviews and advice.

1. Does the no sulfate/silicone thing make that much of a difference?
2. How long is the transition period? Will my hair look that bad during it?
3. Will i still be able to straighten my hair once i start the curly girl method?
4. Did it improve the health of your hair?
5. Most important...what do you guys do in Disney? Do you keep your routine the same? What about chlorine from swimming?

My next hair appt is Thursday, and i'm cancelling the split ends treatment part of it (silicone in the stuff they put on my hair) and will have a fresh cut and color so i thought it would be a good time to start.

 

[Marchand63]

Omg I envy you. As a really thin straight haired girl would kill for any curl

 

[Wishing on a star]

I would avoid sulfates, like sodium laurel(th) sulfate, for any hair.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I definitely see a difference with products that don’t contain sulfates.

I don’t care for the Deva Curl products. I think I’m allergic or something because it made my scalp so itchy. I use Miss Jessie’s Pillow Soft Curls and an oil on the ends(currently It’s a 10 but generally just whatever good oils are on sale).

Good luck! It’s a journey but once you find out what works it’s so nice!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Omg I envy you. As a really thin straight haired girl would kill for any curl

And I would kill for hair that I can wash/dry/go! The grass is always greener...

 

[smiths02]

I don't have curly hair (or straight hair for that matter), but my daughter does. I also have to say that it helps if your stylist knows what to do with curly hair and how to cut it to help it lay properly.

 

[disneyjr77]

Omg I envy you. As a really thin straight haired girl would kill for any curl

And I would kill for hair that I can wash/dry/go! The grass is always greener...

I was thinking the same thing Brunettes want to be blondes, curlies want to be straight...i'm tired of fighting it, and have actually thought of going darker but can't bring myself to do it (that and my hair is a dark blonde, so i'd still have the maintenance becasue my roots would be too light)

 

[OneOftheB's]

I have curly hair and did not like the Deva curl products. I tried their no poo "shampoo" and it made my scalp break out. I prefer the Redken no foam conditioning cleanser, but I also use a traditional shampoo/conditioner every other or third wash (I like Pureology for my color treated hair, expensive, but it lasts forever). The Redken products also work well for defining my curls and keeping frizz at bay. Two things I have learned over the years is that using a tshirt to dry your hair is great and once you have distributed the product in your hair don't touch it again.

My hair is just below shoulder length, so at WDW I'm typically a ponytail girl because about 90% of the time you will get caught in a rain shower. As far as chlorine, the best way to protect your hair is to wet it before getting in the pool.

I cannot answer your questions about the curly girl method specifically, as I have not tried it. Good luck!

 

[disneyjr77]

I have curly hair and did not like the Deva curl products. I tried their no poo "shampoo" and it made my scalp break out. I prefer the Redken no foam conditioning cleanser, but I also use a traditional shampoo/conditioner every other or third wash (I like Pureology for my color treated hair, expensive, but it lasts forever). The Redken products also work well for defining my curls and keeping frizz at bay. Two things I have learned over the years is that using a tshirt to dry your hair is great and once you have distributed the product in your hair don't touch it again.

My hair is just below shoulder length, so at WDW I'm typically a ponytail girl because about 90% of the time you will get caught in a rain shower. As far as chlorine, the best way to protect your hair is to wet it before getting in the pool.

I cannot answer your questions about the curly girl method specifically, as I have not tried it. Good luck!

Do you use Redken's curly line? I have super sensitive skin and a tree nut allergy and am now a little worried about the deva curl breaking me out. You wouldn't think a tree nut allergy would matter, but apparently argan oil is tree nut based and i learned it the hard way. Everytime i used it my face would be on fire and red until i pulled my hair up.

I usually do a pony as well, it def makes life easier. I never worried about it before because i always got the full Brazilian Blowout the day before we left and my hair was virtually frizz free and i just put the serum in before we went swimming. Now that i'm getting rid of that option, i'm clueless lol

 

[OneOftheB's]

Redken’s curly shampoo/conditioner are not moisturizing enough for my hair, so do not use them. I prefer the smoothing line from Pureology for shampoo/conditioner, it helps me with frizz control and color retention.

 

[VandVsmama]

I swear by a product called Swim Spray to get chlorine out of hair. It really does work.

 

[prprincess]

Have you visited the CurlTalk message boards? Everyone there is so knowledgeable and you'll get some really good advice there.

I don't have a tight curl, so my results are probably different than yours would be. For me the sulfate/silicone thing doesn't make a huge difference. I've tried all of the higher end products, only to settle on Garnier Fructis. As for transition, when I tried the no-poo, it took bout two weeks. And yes, my hair didn't look quite right...not bad, just uneven curls in certain areas. I also have an oily scalp and oily hair, so it felt quite gross. Thankfully, I can easily go from straightening to going natural but my hair does have to "retrain" itself going back and forth. And yes, when I go natural it 100% improves the health of my hair - I go natural in the summer, and straighten in the winter and can definitely tell the difference. When I go to Disney I just go natural because of the humidity and I just don't want to waste my vacation time on straightening. I rarely go underneath the water, so chlorine isn't an issue, but if anything, put some leave in conditioner in to protect it.

 

[Marchand63]

And I would kill for hair that I can wash/dry/go! The grass is always greener...

I would too. Mine is so thin I have to use tons of product to get any body.

I was thinking the same thing Brunettes want to be blondes, curlies want to be straight...i'm tired of fighting it, and have actually thought of going darker but can't bring myself to do it (that and my hair is a dark blonde, so i'd still have the maintenance becasue my roots would be too light)

Go for it. I was blonde naturally now I am a "natural" red head

 

[disneyjr77]

Have you visited the CurlTalk message boards? Everyone there is so knowledgeable and you'll get some really good advice there.

Thanks! I didn't know about this site, it never came up when i was trying to figure out what to do...of course, i could have just overlooked it.

 

[PrincessV]

I naturally have loose, frizzy curls and used to do the Brazilian Blowout/blow-dry/straighten routine. I've been exclusively using DevaCurl products for years now and will never go back!

1. Does the no sulfate/silicone thing make that much of a difference?

YES! It's not just sulfates and silicone, but that's a huge part of it. They dry hair out and dry hair doesn't curl well. I haven't used a traditional shampoo in years and my hair has never looked better. (I use NoPoo, but they make a Low Poo, too, for those with oily scalps.)

2. How long is the transition period? Will my hair look that bad during it?

Hard to say, as it depends a lot on how much damage there is to start. I was also growing out a short haircut when I started with Deva, so it's really hard for me to say - maybe a month or two? My curls didn't look bad all that time, just not as good as now.

3. Will i still be able to straighten my hair once i start the curly girl method?

I do not recommend it! Part of the process is letting your hair "remember" its curl pattern and settle into it. If you keep straightening it, it's like starting over again.

4. Did it improve the health of your hair?

Absolutely, yes! No heat = no damage = healthy hair.

5. Most important...what do you guys do in Disney? Do you keep your routine the same? What about chlorine from swimming?

I live in FL, so that's every day lol! Yep, same routine year-round. Most pools here use salt instead of chlorine, but both can dry hair out, as can our hard water, which is probably why No Poo works best for me. My hair winds up back in a ponytail or bun most days - I just let it air dry after putting product in for a while before putting it up, so it has time to settle into the curls.

A couple other things to know:
~ Just switching to Deva (or any other curly hair) products isn't enough - you really have to have your hair cut properly to accommodate your curls. Not every stylist can do this right, so it's worth taking the time to ask and do some research.
~Deva makes a gazillion different kinds of products - if you want to go that route, take the time to learn about what they have, what they do, and what's most likely to work for you particular hair. Deva's Facebook page is a wealth of info! It took me some time to figure out the right cocktail of products for my hair - I suggest trying travel/sample sizes of things until you figure it out.
~No brushing! Some like to use a wide-toothed comb, but I don't use that, either. I finger-comb product into soaking-wet hair, scrunch, and then try hard not to touch it until dry.
~With Deva, it's critical that your hair be soaking wet when you put styling products in. Seriously. No towel drying first - product goes right into wet hair, then you can gently scrunch with a T-shirt or microfiber towel. Otherwise you'll just have sticky, frizzy hair.

Good luck!

 

[usnuzuloose]

You can have all my curly hair. It looks like a perm if I don't blow dry it. I had to train my hair to go straight from blow drying it.

 

[disneyjr77]

Thanks everyone!! I've been on the curl talk message boards reading and learning and bought trial sizes of some Deva stuff to start. Now i guess the fun begins, the trial and error part lol

I've been going to the same stylist, she's also a friend now, for 20 yrs (no joke, started almost out of high school) and they had the deva products in the salon for a while but then switched to all paul mitchell (not a giant fan)...anywho, when i mentioned a cut for curly hair she was kinda like yeah that cut is if they see a hair out of place when it's dry they just cut it off and then if you ever have a reason to straighten it, your hair looks stupid. Because of this, i 1. don't want to ask about a curly cut, and 2. am afraid on the super rare occasion i straighten it for a night, it will look dumb. I have no plans on straightening my hair, and understand that it will screw up my curl pattern, but just in case....

i'm super excited to get my curl back and to see how it transforms...when i was little i had ringlets, now it's just frizzy waves. I took the texture quiz and i'm a 2b

ETA: my hair is almost down to my bra strap, and has long layers. I've been watching diff curly videos about haircuts most of the day and it seems like as far as cuts go, i'm good.