Curly Girl Method: History and Key Facts

The Curly Girl Method is an approach to hair care designed by author Lorraine Massey for textured hair in its natural state (coils, waves, and curls) that has not been chemically relaxed. This method discourages the daily use of sulfate shampoo, which some consider to be too harsh for curly hair. Among other things, it calls for the use of a cleansing conditioner in place of shampoo (also called "conditioner washing" or "co-washing"), no silicones (used in many commercial conditioners and styling products), the use of a diffuser when blow-drying, and no combs, brushes, or terrycloth towels. However, some curly hair care routines include the occasional use of sulfate shampoos to remove heavy buildup from styling products, excess oils, or silicones that sulfate-free shampoos may not fully cleanse. People with drier hair textures are generally more likely to prefer sulfate-free products, while others may use sulfate shampoos periodically followed by deep conditioning treatments to restore moisture. The goal is to treat naturally curly hair gently, minimizing damage to the hair cuticle; to keep it moisturized, since curly hair is more prone to dryness than straight hair; and to accentuate rather than interfere with the hair's natural curl pattern.

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Curly Girl Method by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.