I have always had some sort of texture to my hair. I would describe my hair as a mixture of curls, waves, and frizz.
Like most early 2000’s teens, the straightener was my best friend. I straightened my hair for YEARS. I would scrunch my hair some and try to embrace my curls every now and then. But my loyalty was to my straightener.
After I had my son in June 2019, I ended up having postpartum hair loss. At its worse, I was losing chunks of hair at a time. I would spend an extra ten minutes in the shower trying to get all the hair off of me.
Losing all that hair was a tough experience. I dreaded showering, my hair felt thin, and I felt unmotivated to try anything with my hair. I remember my hair stylist told me that she wished doctors told women more about postpartum hair loss.
While losing that hair was hard, it does usually grow back. Slowly… but it does.
Around the one year postpartum mark, my hair started growing back. Growing back WITH curls. I had little small curls sticking up all over my head.
I decided to embrace the curls and try the curly girl hair method. I began at the end of June 2020.
CLICK HERE to watch my video review!
At first, I did not follow all the rules. I used some Tresemme shampoo and conditioner. The only real rule I followed was no heat.
My first few weeks I had some actual very good curly days. I was visiting my parents some in Tennessee during the summer. They have city water. At my home, I have well water. I do believe my hair did somewhat better with the city water. I am not a scientist, so I can not explain the difference very well, but I did want to note that I noticed a difference.
I believe I have 2b-3a hair if you look at the curly wavy pattern charts.
I would like to share with you:
- Products I tried
- Facebook groups I found helpful
- Reasons I don’t like curly girl method
- Why I straighten my hair after 6 months
- My curly cut
- My current routine
- Amazon Recommendations
- My curly wavy plans
Products I tried:
-Herbal Essence Totally Twisted Curly Mouse – it was okay, nothing magical.
-Curls Blue Berry Bliss leave-in conditioner – at first it was okay, then it made my hair not feel so good. I do not think my types of waves and curls like leave-in.
-Curls Blueberry Bliss reparative mask- it was good, I would not go out of my way to buy it again.
-Cantu Curl Activator Cream – I was told by the curly girl stylist that this was too heavy for my hair.
-Moptop Gentle Shampoo – one of the best no sulfate/ paraben shampoos I’ve tried
-Moptop Daily Conditioner – nice, left my hair soft.
-Moptop curly hair custard – it has a nice smell, and seems to do fine with my hair. Nothing magical.
-Glazed Argan oil Silkener – I have not tried enough. Slightly regret buying.
-Aussie Instant Freeze Gel – works fine with my hair but not by itself.
-Redken Hair Cleansing Cream – I’ve used this for years. Recommend – NOT CGM approved.
-Tresemme Botanique Nourish and Replenish Shampoo – currently using NOT CGM approved.
-Tresemme Botanique Conditioner Nourish & Replenish Coconut & Aloe Vera – currently using and I like it.
-Suave Kid Purely Fun detangler – currently using, NOT CGM approved.
-Aveda Be Curly Curl Enhancer – LOVE! My hair seems to like this. NOT CGM approved.
Facebook groups:
Curly Girl Method – Keeping it Simple & How to make it work
Curly Girl Method Rejects – For those who dare to be curly but not CGM
Reasons I don’t like the Curly Girl Method
- Too many rules. I began to feel stressed and not enjoying doing my hair. I was getting tired of trying product after product with no magical success.
- Every curly head is different. I watched some of this interview (which I will link here!) with a Trichologist. A Trichologist studies the scalp and hair. She mentions how some silicones are okay! Silicones aren’t the same they were years ago.
Due to a list of rules and a never ending list of product recommendations, I decided I didn’t really like the curly girl method. That is when I found the Facebook group, the curly rejects.
I straightened my hair!?!
After I realized I didn’t really like what the curly girl method was doing to my hair, I decided to straighten it. I went from the end of June 2020 to Thanksgiving 2020 without putting any heat on my hair.
I let my sister straighten my hair. My sister did notice that my hair seemed harder to straighten than before.
I ended up not liking my hair straightened at first. All my layers had grown out and I felt it did not compliment me. So I decided to try a curly cut.
My curl cut experience:
I found a place in Indianapolis that did curly cuts. They taught you how to wash and style curly hair. They also cut your hair dry.
I ended up not liking my experience. I felt they put too much product in my hair. I also did not like the cut. The cut style seemed to just be cutting my ends into one layer.
I decided to go back to where I normally get my haircut and got my haircut again. The hairstylist added layers into my hair and introduced me to the Aveda Be Curly curl enhancer, which I love!
Not long after I got layers put into my hair, I tried to straighten it. I ended up loving it straightened and my husband said it was nice to see something different.
I noticed that by straightening it, my hair did much better blending in my baby hairs with the rest of my hair. I know for some hair that might have an opposite effect of making the baby hairs stand out worse.
My current routine:
- Tresemme Botanique Nourish and Replenish Shampoo
- Tresemme Botanique Conditioner Nourish & Replenish Coconut & Aloe Vera -Brush the conditioner in
- Squish squish while still wet in shower with Aveda Be Curly curl enhancer
- Wrap my hair up for 20 minutes using Turbie Twist Hair Towel
- Let it air dry – don’t brush!
Amazon Recommendations:
My Curly Wavy Plans:
I have noticed over the past few months my curls are a bit more defined and start higher up on my roots than before. I have also noticed my hair loves less product. I get some of my best curls when I have the least amount of products on my hair. Also, I sadly still have quite a bit of frizz. Due to having frizz and baby hairs regrowing sometimes the diffuser makes my frizz worse, so I embrace air dry.
I plan to embrace my natural God given waves and curls. But I also plan that if I want to straighten my hair, it is okay. I talked to my stylist and my hair is healthy! As long as my hair is healthy, I can try and experiment as much as I want. You don’t have to follow a set of rules. Do what makes you happy and is good for your hair!