Co-wash

One of the most important steps in the Curly Girl Method is to stop washing your curls with shampoos containing sulfates. As a Curly Girl, it’s better to wash your hair with a conditioner, CG shampoo, or a co-wash: short for conditioner wash, which is gentler on your hair and scalp.

You can use a conditioner for co-washing, but there are also special co-wash conditioners available. These contain more cleansing ingredients than a regular conditioner, but less than a shampoo. This means your hair will dry out less than if you were to use a shampoo with sulfates. Just like with your other hair products, use a co-wash that’s free of silicones, parabens, and sulfates. Curious which co-wash conditioners are Curl Girl-friendly? Our list contains our recommendations. These will help define, hydrate, and soften your curls, without frizz. What more could you ask for?

If you suffer from a lot of build-up and want a deeper clean, try a  clarifying shampoo without sulfates .

The reason the  Curly Girl Method  recommends a co-wash instead of shampoo is that shampoo is often damaging to your hair. It contains harsh cleansers—like sulfates—that work a little too hard. As a result, they also strip your hair of its natural oils and can damage its structure. This can lead to, among other things, an irritated and dry scalp, frizzy hair , or hair that quickly becomes greasy. Many Curly Girls co-wash with a CG-safe conditioner, while others use a true co-wash. This contains slightly more cleansing ingredients than a regular conditioner. You use them the same way: just like you would shampoo. They just don’t foam! The list above consists of co-washes that are CG-friendly, meaning they don’t contain silicones , parabens , sulfates , mineral oils, waxes, or drying alcohols.