Wavy hair products Archives

How Much Gel To Use On Wavy Hair

May 8, 2024 by Emily Evert Leave a Comment

A really common question I get from people who are relatively new to the curly girl method or embracing their wavy hair, is how much gel should I use? Also, how to tell if you’re using too much gel or not enough!

It’s a really great question to be asking, and it has a little bit of a complex answer. I recently did my hair with too much gel, and then again with not enough gel, so that I could show you through images what each of those look like.

How much hair humans have REALLY varies

First though, I wanted to give a visual for why it is so challenging to know how much gel to use on wavy hair. It’s because how much hair you have on your head can be VASTLY different from how much hair another person has on their head, even if their hair is the same length as yours and even if neither of you are experiencing hair thinning or baldness at all. I’ve read that people with dense hair can have 6x as many hairs on their head as someone with low-density hair. That sounds a little hard to believe, but the tiktok embedded below helps illustrate this fact.

@ciera.hamilton No wonder people always confuse us for twins 🥰 #braid #twins #fyp #foryoupage #thickhair ♬ Ice Age – B

What If My Wavy Hair Really Likes Silicones?

April 25, 2024 by Emily Evert Leave a Comment

When people with wavy hair first start embracing their waves, it’s often because they’ve stumbled across the curly girl method online. They were taught that they needed to throw out any hair products that contain silicones, and start using a gentler shampoo, among other changes.

For some people, maybe even many, it works fine! I was able to find curly girl approved products that worked well for me with very little problem. However, not everyone is so lucky. Some of them eventually come to ask me or others the following question…

“What If My Hair Just Seems To Really Like Silicones?”

Others would give you a different answer, but I personally say – then use them! Are they curly girl method approved? No, they aren’t. However, if they work well for you then that’s what should matter in my opinion.

For some, they might appreciate learning that the curly girl handbook does not list any research or cite any sources. It is not a method or theory that is based in any science. Or at least, if there is any related science, they did not bother to explain it or cite it…which would be really strange.

What Do Silicones Do For My Wavy Hair?

Silicones create a very thin coat or film over your hair strands. This helps smooth the exterior which is wonderful for damaged or higher porosity hair which may be rough or uneven on the outside due to cuticle damage. This also smooths the hair and reduces the appearance of frizz. When hair is smoothed in this way, it makes hair feel better, align better, and can reduce tangling.

Silicones got popular in haircare for a reason – they help hair look good and act more manageable, especially if your hair is damaged or higher porosity. There are natural ingredients that do the same thing. You might think of these as curly girlmethod silicone alternatives. When I say that they ‘do the same thing’ I mean they coat the exterior of the hair to make it less frizzy and more manageable. However, the natural alternatives are ingredients like plant oils which tend to be heavy. Heavy ingredients often weigh-down wavy hair, while silicones are often designed to be lightweight. This can result in silicones being a really effective ingredient for damaged wavy hair.

What’s The Difference Detween Water-Soluable Silicones and Non-Water Soluble Silicones?

Even those who follow the curly girl method and dislike some silicones, may admit that they don’t see all silicones as equally ‘bad’. Some see water-soluable silicones as just fine, and they only dislike non-water soluble silicones. What does that mean?

The main reason why the curly girl method suggests avoiding silicones is because they claim that you need a really strong shampoo to remove the buildup from silicones. However, some silicones are water soluble, meaning they will dissolve in water without any cleanser being needed at all! These silicones can be used and can be removed from the hair without the use of strong shampoos.

So, some say that water-soluable silicones are safe to use while abiding by the curly girl method. As a result, if you’d like to stick with part of the curly girl method but feel your hair needs some silicones, you might choose to use water-soluable ones but continue to avoid non-water soluble ones. The science-y hair blog has an article sharing which silicones are water soluble.

Special-Case Non-Water Soluble Silicones

Also, some silicones are not water soluble, but behave in really specific ways that lead some to see them as ‘better’ silicones. A popular example would be Amodimethicone. This silicone is not water soluble but it does not attach to or coat all of your hair. Instead, it specifically attaches to damaged portions of your hair. So if you have sections of your hair cuticle that are damaged and that has left a ‘hole’ in your hair’s surface, and you use a product with Amodimethicone, the Amodimethicone will specifically stick to that gap in your hair, creating a smooth surface. However, it will not bind to the healthy or undamaged portion fo your hair, so buildup should not occur.

What if I Get Build up From Using Hair Products With Silicone Ingredients?

You can remove build-up by using a clarifying shampoo. Even when avoiding silicones, most people will find that they get some buildup over time. As a result, I suggest that everyone use a clarifying shampoo periodically. If you find that using silicones seems to require you to use clarifying shampoos too frequently and that is harsh on your hair…then you may have to choose which is more important to you. However, others will find that they can use clarifying shampoos pretty frequently without it drying out their hair. It may depend on how naturally moisturized your hair stays.

Under $20 Simple Wavy Girl Method Starter Routine From Walmart

November 28, 2020 by Emily Evert 20 Comments

There are affiliate links in this post.

I’ve received a couple of emails asking me to share a starter routine. I considered sharing my own wavy girl method routine, and probably still will eventually. However, I know that this blog has been getting a lot of people who are brand new to the curly girl method and/or brand new to embracing their naturally wavy hair.

The method I currently use is not how I would recommend most others start out because it’s customized to my exact hair type. If you are more interested in my specific routine, you can see my drugstore CGM wavy hair routine in that blog post by clicking the link.

I thought I’d share an affordable, super simple starter routine that is more likely to work for most people than my specific routine is. I did use this routine n myself to show you guys that it does work for me. Here is my results from the routine that I share in this post:

Wavy Hair & Hair Oils

August 4, 2023 by Emily Evert 1 Comment

There are affiliate links in this post.

Do I Have To Use Hair Oil When Following The Curly Girl Method?

Using hair oil is not required in the curly girl method. Many oils are permitted in the curly girl method though. So, they’re an option, but not a requirement.

What Is The Purpose Of Using Hair Oils?

Hair oils are used to condition/soften the hair, add shine, lock moisture in and block out humidity out, or help break a gel cast.

Hair oils have two main purposes. One is to help soften the hair and make it more manageable. Many people think of this as ‘moisturizing’ the hair, but oils don’t actually hydrate the hair. They do make it feel softer and more manageable though. This can assist with making detangling easier, and it can just make your hair physically feel better to the touch. They sometimes also produce a slightly shiny look which people like for aesthetic reasons.

The other reason for using oils is to lock moisture in, and humidity out. Many hair oils create a really fine seal over the hair, which can help keep water and conditioning ingredients inside of the hair to keep it from getting dry or feeling rough. They also can lock humidity and other things out of your hair strands. If you live in an area with really high humidity, you may notice that your hair gets really frizzy if you go outside when its humid. This is because high humidity conditions can cause your hair to try to pull in too much water from the air, which results in frizz. Using a hair oil can help stop humidity from entering your hair, and help avoid that frizz.

Important note: Using hair oils on their own will not make your hair more moisturized and in most cases, will actually dry your hair out more! It’s a common mistake for people to use hair oils on their dry hair to try to moisturize it.

A third reason within the curly girl method world in particular, is to break a gel cast.