WEN PRODUCTS OK FOR CURLY GIRL METHOD

I use mostly Wen and I have curly hair. I don't use heat or color. I use some silicone since the Wen CCs have some in them. I quit using silicones because they tend to dry my hair out but the Wen doesn't have that effect.

I used to alternate between devacurl cleanser/conditioner and Wen but I have slowly converted to using just Wen. I use the seasonals and love FTP,SHP, and WCM. I also like FAS but it weighs my hair down if I use it often.

I use the oils too but the styling products don't work well for me. I use the Devacurl styling cream but such a small amount that I now wonder if I need it. I don't know if I will repurchase it when I run out.

I also use Living Proof silicone free serum. I use half a pump after my hair dries and it gives it great shine.

I get a lot of compliments on my hair, I have even had people ask to touch it. I have turned a lot of people onto Wen because of my curls.

I have yet to find a product lines where every product can be used with the strict "CG" (Curly Girl Handbook) method. I have 3B, coarse curls.Basically, the only products given the green light in that book are the original formulas of Lorraine Massey's first formulations for DevaCurl. DevaCurl is part of a huge corporation now, and the ingredients change all the time. (But boy was it brilliant marketing while it lasted!)

To answer to your question, if you mean "CG" as absolutely 0 non-water soluble silicones, then hardly any of the WEN products fit the bill. (Maybe the treatment spray?) WEN's cleansing conditioners have amodimethicone, which is not water-soluble, the styling creams have Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclotetrasiloxane, and Dimethiconal; the shine serum has Cyclopentasiloxane and Dimethiconol; and the mousse has dimethicone.

The thing is, The Curly Girl Handbook was published in 2002, and Lorraine Massey is now a multimillionairre. Despite the fact that CG self-proclaims itself to be the only solution to curly hair troubles, hair care for curly hair has expanded like crazy over the last 13 years, and Massey's original product line is practically the only one that had, or has ever had, the "proper" ingredients.

The CG handbook changed my life (I'm not kidding), but I've learned that mostly it changed how I feel about my curly hair. I let it do what it wants, for the most part, now, and when I stopped trying to fight it, it got 100% healthier. I also learned that I should cleanse my hair only a couple times a week, I need to use a leave-in conditioner, and I need to stay away from flat-irons because my hair wasn't made to be straight.

All this Curly Girl "stuff" is making me crazy. FrizzEase claims to be alcohol free (it is), but has silicone that is not water soluable....same w/ most lines that claim to be for curly hair. Even OUIDAD doesn't have "curl sensitive" products! I tried Devacurl, but found it very expensive and the styling products weighed down my fine hair. Ready to trash all my WEN w/ its silicone build up since I can't use a sulfate shampoo to remove it w/ color treated hair & just purchase any sulfate free s & c, styling products like I used before all this curly hair hype began about 10 yrs. ago. Anyone else w/ curls fed up with reading labels, purchasing products that don't work & have drawers full of styling products for curly hair that left it the same as those you used to use?

What works for me (after a bunch of trial and error) is using primarily WEN Fig CC with some CA and 613 mixed in at times, lots of Fig CC leave-in mixed with a dropper full of old WEN oil (which was mostly jojoba), a bit of DEVACurl One Condition scrunched in at the end, and DEVACurl Ultra Defining gel. My other concessions to the "curly girl" method are that I get a curly girl haircut, which I truly think is key for me, and I use an old cotton t-shirt to gently squeeze the water out of my hair and scrunch my curls. I don't find that any of the WEN styling products really work for me, and I don't like the way my hair looks or feels when I cleanse with DEVACurl cleansers.

On 2/25/2015 Feldspar said:

I have yet to find a product lines where every product can be used with the strict "CG" (Curly Girl Handbook) method. I have 3B, coarse curls.Basically, the only products given the green light in that book are the original formulas of Lorraine Massey's first formulations for DevaCurl. DevaCurl is part of a huge corporation now, and the ingredients change all the time. (But boy was it brilliant marketing while it lasted!)

To answer to your question, if you mean "CG" as absolutely 0 non-water soluble silicones, then hardly any of the WEN products fit the bill. (Maybe the treatment spray?) WEN's cleansing conditioners have amodimethicone, which is not water-soluble, the styling creams have Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclotetrasiloxane, and Dimethiconal; the shine serum has Cyclopentasiloxane and Dimethiconol; and the mousse has dimethicone.

The thing is, The Curly Girl Handbook was published in 2002, and Lorraine Massey is now a multimillionairre. Despite the fact that CG self-proclaims itself to be the only solution to curly hair troubles, hair care for curly hair has expanded like crazy over the last 13 years, and Massey's original product line is practically the only one that had, or has ever had, the "proper" ingredients.

The CG handbook changed my life (I'm not kidding), but I've learned that mostly it changed how I feel about my curly hair. I let it do what it wants, for the most part, now, and when I stopped trying to fight it, it got 100% healthier. I also learned that I should cleanse my hair only a couple times a week, I need to use a leave-in conditioner, and I need to stay away from flat-irons because my hair wasn't made to be straight.

Feldspar, there are several lines that contain no sulfates, silicones, or problematic polyquats. Curl Junkie on the expensive end, and Shea Moisture on the inexpensive end are just two examples.

What other ingredients are you suggesting should not be present?