I asked a Facebook Group if anyone was still following the Curly Girl Method

Does the Curly Girl Method Work?

Yes I believe it can absolutely work! Any method that is backed by science and the goal is to improve hair health is very likely going to have a positive result. Just go onto Instagram or YouTube for 2 minutes and you’ll find millions of examples where this method has shown amazing hair results.

However, only 4% of voters still follow the CGM tips and tools. So it turns out my suspicions were correct, and it’s not just me who’s gone cold on this routine. So what’s happened and what from this popular method have people stopped doing?

Here are the top 6 things Curly Guys & Girls have stopped following in the Curly Girl Method (according to my Facebook Poll):

1. Using a T-Shirt or micro towel to dry their hair

Turns out this is still really popular & not many people have given up this CGM habit. This makes sense as swapping out your towel for something gentler on your hair will really do wonders to minimise hair damage and frizz. Your hair is at its most fragile when wet and using micro towels and t-shirts are substantially gentler than a towel.

2. Plopping

There are many benefits to plopping hair, and I know so many wavy’s, curly’s and coily’s who swear by this technique. I stopped plopping my hair a few months back as I preferred styling it upright and air drying, and it’s nice to know I’m not alone, although definitely in the minority with 6% of votes.

3. Doing everything Upside down

Turns out, if you wash or style your hair standing up, there are others out there who do too! I cut my hair shorter a few months back and was struggling to style my hair nicely upside down, so if you are struggling too, why not try style your hair upright and see how it turns out?

4. Worrying so much about CGM friendly ingredients

This is something that I can totally understand – I gave up on this after a couple of years of not understanding labels, warnings and spending way too much time and money trying to find the perfect CGM friendly products. Focussing on what works and less on ingredients makes total sense. Understanding when to deep condition, increase or decrease protein and when to clarify your hair means there’s not as much risk of using the wrong products without being able to rectify a healthy hair and scalp balance.

5. Using shampoo and not co-washing

Turns out shampoo is pretty popular despite the Curly Girl Method generally advocating for ditching this product for washing your hair with conditioner (co-washing). 23% of the votes were for the use of shampoo. Voters added in another poll statement for co-washing, which recieved 11% of the votes. I definitely believe shampoo could and should be a product in any hair care routine to prevent product, dirt and oil build-up and promote a hygenic scalp. It seems many other curlies do to.

While co-washing can do a fairly good job a washing your hair and scalp, using conditioner in your hair in place of a shampoo can lead to too much moisturizing products being used, and this can lead to limp, frizzy, mushy hair due to hygral fatigue.It’s also not going to help remove any build up you may be experiencing from any of your styling products or hard water.

6. Striving for perfectly defined hair

I love that this got the most votes! Instead of admiring the perfect head of hip-length ringlets in Instagram, the CGM seems to have turned into a ‘hair appreciation’ movement rather than a strict set of rules to follow.

Takeaway

I do not believe the Curly Hair Method is as popular as it once was, but the amount of people looking after and appreciating their curls / coils / waves seems to have stuck around. So for all its rules, tricks, time-consuming scrunching, crunching, squishing and conditioning, we can definitely thank the Curly Girl Method for its thought provoking education into the world of curly hair care, but for the time being, I will stick to my own hair care routine that seems to be working just fine.