CG Method, from a knitter

As a curly haired gal, who really never had another tangible hair role model (if only I knew Carrie Bradshaw) to tell me what to do, I've been lost for a long time. In the last few weeks I finally got fed up with my rats-nest-esque hair, and started to do some research. And I found this wonderful website: naturallycurly.com and also the book "Curly Girl" by Lorraine Massey. After a little reading I've come to the conclusion that I don't know anything about curly hair.

The book in particular (though the website has lots of helpful hints and products I want to try!), focuses on one strategy: The Curly Girl Method (CG for short). Basically it means:

-Don't brush your hair, ever
-Don't towel dry (use paper towels or a cotton t-shirt)
-Stop using products with silicone, and sulfate
-Pretty much stop shampooing
-Use Conditioner to wash hair instead, and even then, not everyday
-Put down the blow dry/flat iron forever

Now, this may seem shocking. Give up shampoo??? Uh, gross!! But tons of curly haired girls do it, or they do a modified version and use a sulfate free shampoo when they need it (low-poo, if you will). I'm planning on doing a low-poo version, I'm still too wary to give it up all together. It really clicked though when they described it in terms that a knitter could appreciate. Hair on your head is basically an animal fiber, like wool. And the sulfates in shampoo are basically the same thing as dish soap, which I would never use on wool. Curly hair is even more dry and porous than straight hair, so should be treated more gently. I wouldn't agitate wool all the time when it's wet, and don't wring it out, so why do it to my hair?

So, now I'm on the CG method. I'm only on day 2, but it's already looking a little better. Instead of using shampoo, I wash my hair with sulfate free conditioner (which also has some cleanser in it, as most conditioners do). The action of rubbing the scalp and rinsing is what cleans the hair. I'm a little nervous, but willing to give it a try after looking at all the before and after pictures on the site.

In other news, I finished my February Lady Sweater, finally! I'll put pictures up later this week.

Oh, and I got the best hair cut ever today. I guess that is what I get for going to someone that actually has and specializes in curly hair. Sorry that this post is all about hair, I've got CG method on the brain.