Beauty

[Ms tyrion2]

Indeed, all curly hair is different.  I have about three different curl patterns on my own head!

I use two products to style. A creme or flaxseed curl enhancer and a gel to set the curl. One of these alone doesn't do the job. Some people need more. Some less. That is what all the YouTube videos talk about. What works best for your own particular,  unique hair.

I hardly think someone watches them and tries to buy everything and do everything they suggest. Why would I try to copy someone who has a completely different curl type than me?

Caveat emptor applies here just like everywhere else!

[Icegoddess]

@Shanus if you were wearing your hair curly all along and not using damaging flat irons and such on it, then the change in products might not make much of a difference for you.  

I have never read THE Book and pretty much only do what I feel makes sense to me and doesn't require me to do weird things in the shower.  Basically, I avoid all sulfates, silicones, and drying alcohols.  I have managed to eliminate all but the drying alcohols because I insist on some hairspray.  I apply my products to "towel" dried hair because I just can't abide dripping hair and plopping doesn't work for me.  It only exacerbates issues with parts/cowlicks.  Also, I use my Hairmax on clean hair after washing.  I use a diffuser to dry.  That's it.  I feel it's the most healthy choice for my hair which, btw, is permed.  So, I'm not naturally curly, but with the permed hair it has to be damaged and I experience some of the same problems naturally curly girls do, like frizz.  

I will say I have seen some amazing transformations though using the method, so I don't think it's any sort of hoax.  But, I have also seen people work for months and still be terribly frustrated and say they want to give up, and I have to say maybe they should.  They/you need to do what makes you feel good about yourself.  That's so much more important than spending hours on end and lots of $$$ trying to get the perfect head of curls.

[SahmIam]

I have the book and the cd; I also visited a DevaCurl salon. What I didn't know (and now do) was the correct use of conditioner, the application of product and how to use a diffuser correctly to dry my hair. Those three things made the biggest difference for my hair. I had already eliminated sulfates due to my color (thought that didn't make a difference in the long run).

I think the book offers some excellent advice for anyone with curly hair who is lost regarding care and wants to start at square 1.

[GenXmuse]

This “movement” is just a gimmick to make money similar to Wen. Embrace your curls and join our “tribe” and buy all our stuff. 

I have curly haired friends that go to the specialized salons for that and honestly, none of the hairdresser’s curls look good and ny friend’s hair just look crunchy and balled up. 

If it works for you great, but don’t let yourself be talked into because you like the message or the person behind it though. 

[Witchy Woman]

@Shanus 

We've had this discussion before...or a similar one.

As you may remember, I'm trying to go back to my naturally curly hair after years of smoothing. 

I won't go on and on, but we've had nothing but rain here for weeks off and on and my hair is so frizzy, I cannot do anything but wet it down and start over every day.

There are curls in there, but, yikes.

In my youth, my hair was beautifully curly and no work at all.  I washed it and shook it out and it was perfectly lovely.  Cut it every 8 weeks.

Fast forward to my hair today.

Seems it has forgotten all that and just wants to explode into undefined fuzz.

I've bought more products than I care to admit and my last ditch effort is some moisturizing conditioner by devacurl.  

If this doesn't make a difference, I'm back to smoothing.

While I don't think the CG method is a myth, I don't think everybody is going to find beautiful curls just by using certain products.

[Ms tyrion2]

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@GenXmuse wrote:

This “movement” is just a gimmick to make money similar to Wen. Embrace your curls and join our “tribe” and buy all our stuff. 

I have curly haired friends that go to the specialized salons for that and honestly, none of the hairdresser’s curls look good and ny friend’s hair just look crunchy and balled up. 

If it works for you great, but don’t let yourself be talked into because you like the message or the person behind it though. 

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We will just have to disagree that it is a "gimmick"

It sounds like your friends (all of them?) Need to find another salon. balled up crunchy hair has never been my experience .

[x Hedge]

I don't care if some product is or isn't Curly Girl "approved". That phrase sounds arrogant just writing it out.

I'm capable of approving it, or not, for my hair.

I'm more concerned with how I use a product. Method of application, refreshing hair, protecting curls at night, and such.

[Icegoddess]

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@x Hedge wrote:

I don't care if some product is or isn't Curly Girl "approved". That phrase sounds arrogant just writing it out.

I'm capable of approving it, or not, for my hair.

I'm more concerned with how I use a product. Method of application, refreshing hair, protecting curls at night, and such.

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@x Hedge "Curly Girl Approved" just means that it doesn't contain the ingredients we want to avoid.  We avoid them because we feel that in the long run they are unhealthy for the hair and unhealthy hair doesn't curl well.  For example, once the beauty industry discovered silicones would make hair sleek and shiny they put them in everything.  The problem is, most silicones are not water soluble and need a sulfate shampoo to remove or they just build up on the hair and won't let moisturizers to do their job.  

[suzyQ3]

A "myth"???

It's just recommendations for people who have traditionally not known what to do with their type of hair.

[LexaMom]

I have naturally curly hair which I have been fighting all my life (well at least since junior high)..  and I decided to learn to love it (along with my greys).   I found CGM, was one of the fools who started watching a gazillion Youtube videos and was pulled into buying whatever the person I watched was using. 

Didn't take long for me to gather a lot of different products.  Then I heard about the Curl Ninja  who convinced me that simpler was better,  that many of the YouTubers benefitted from people trying their products and the most important thing was a non-sulfate shampoo.   No need for cold showers.   I returned (it was still early) many of the items I had bought on Amazon.   Now I use a few DevaCurl products and I'm very happy with them.  I think it is a good system but I think people get too product-crazy.