Agnès tries the Curly Girl Method: an update after 2.5 months

2.5 months Curly Girl Method

As mentioned, I started the Curly Girl Method about two and a half months ago. After the Final Wash, I immediately noticed a difference. My hair had more volume, was less frizzy, felt softer, and had a bit more curl at the front than usual. But that was nothing compared to how my hair looks now! Beautifully defined curls from root to tip, and hardly any frizz. See the difference after two and a half months:

 

I highly recommend taking before and after photos of your curls, because then you can really see the results.

My current CGM hair routine

I usually wash my hair once a week now, which wasn’t great at first because of the greasiness. Luckily, my hair has gotten used to it now and gets greasy much less quickly. Because I still find it quite time-consuming, I’ve turned it into a comprehensive weekly self-care routine. It goes like this.

In the shower, I co-wash twice; I feel like my hair is really clean then. Then I get out of the shower and into the bath, apply a deep conditioner , and then cover it with a shower cap and towel. The cap and towel trap the natural heat of my scalp, allowing the product to penetrate more effectively. After soaking for half an hour, allowing the deep conditioner to soak in, I get out of the bath and into the shower again. I rinse the conditioner thoroughly, tilt my head forward, rinse my hair upside down with cold water, and turn off the faucet.

Then it’s time for styling! I squeeze a tiny bit of water out of my hair, but leave it nice and wet. First, I apply leave-in conditioner—still upside down—using the praying hands technique, and scrunch it thoroughly. Then I apply a generous amount of gel using the same technique, and scrunch it again. Finally, I grab a cotton T-shirt and plop my hair down. I find this really relaxing because it keeps your hair up for a bit, making it easy to dry and get dressed, and the T-shirt absorbs a lot of the moisture.

After twenty minutes, I take off the T-shirt and usually let my hair air-dry. If I don’t have time for that—it takes ages to completely dry—I grab a diffuser and blow-dry my hair on a cool setting. Once my hair is dry, it’s time to scrunch out the crunch , and ta-da: there are my beautiful curls!

The vegan products I use are still as follows:

• Co-wash: Love Beauty and the Planet coconut water & mimosa flower conditioner
• Deep conditioner: Dr. Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Hair Treatment Conditioner
• Leave-in conditioner: Bouclème Curls Defining Cream
• Gel: Bouclème Curl Defining Gel

 

Also read: The most important techniques of the Curly Girl Method

My hair struggles

I often read that other people who use the Curly Girl Method find their curls look their best on day two. For me, that’s definitely the first day, after washing. Then my hair has lots of volume, shine, is soft, and the curls are bouncy and beautifully defined. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as good on the second day or the days afterward, despite sleeping with a pineapple and refreshing my hair in the morning .

I also find it takes a really long time for my hair to dry completely after washing. Now that it’s summer, I often sit in the sun to speed it up. But I don’t want to think about winter just yet – riding my bike with wet hair? Brrr!

Also read: The most important techniques of the Curly Girl Method

My hair wishlist

Since I’ve been using the same hair products for a while now, I’ve become curious about what other products can do for my hair. I’ll be doing some research on that in the near future.

I’ve also become very curious about a few other tools to solve my hair struggles. For example, I’m looking into a hooded dryer or a Dyson hairdryer so I can dry my hair faster. Many curly girls are very enthusiastic about both of these tools. A satin pillowcase is also on my wishlist. This is because your hair glides along with it while you sleep, instead of rubbing against each other like it does on a cotton pillowcase. This reduces frizz , tangles, and split ends.

I’m also going to a curl specialist soon to get a cut specifically for curls. Previously, I always went to a hairdresser who specialized in straight hair, and who also blow-dried my hair straight after cutting it. It was beautiful, but my hair wasn’t exactly thrilled with it.

So there’s still plenty to discover! How’s your CGM routine going? Let us know on Instagram , and if you have any questions.