Whether you’re new and trying to save some money on the investment or just trying to look for ways to be more economical, this post is for you! Note: Not all of these hacks are truly Curly Girl Method approved- but they would be fine for modified CG.
Cleansers
You need to do a final wash when you start the CGM which involves washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo that won’t leave another non-CG product on your hair, like silicones. Most of those shampoos are extremely stripping (think Suave Daily Clarifying and Trader Joe’s Spa Nourish Shampoos.) So I have two ways for you to use it without as much damage:
— Anjana dilutes her shampoo in a mug and pours it over her hair, making it much less stripping. This hack is perfect even for clarifying to get product buildup off. When I clarify, I dilute the harsh sulfate shampoo to the strength I need it to be able to cleanse to the desired level- usually that is around 50%. I use the Skip-Hop Whale that we used to use bathe our daughter (pictured above) rather than bringing a separate mug into the bathroom.
— Mix it with some conditioner to make a much milder shampoo. Some people struggle with strictly co-washing, whether it be because they are early in their journey and haven’t adjusted to it or because their hair just doesn’t need that much moisture. Rather than trying to buy a separate co-washing product, try mixing some shampoo with your conditioner to make your own.
Conditioners
— Don’t want to buy a separate leave in conditioner and regular conditioner? No problem. As long as your conditioner is CG approved, you can leave some in as your leave in! The old rule of needing to wash out your conditioner entirely is because of people using conditioners with “non-CG” ingredients. If you have finer hair that gets weighed down easily, just get a leave in that you use as your regular conditioner as well! Giovanni Direct Leave-In and Kinky Curly Knot Today are examples of leave ins that can be used as a rinse out.
— As mentioned on my other uses for conditioners post, you can dilute some conditioner as a refresh spray, detangler, or as a leave in.
— Dirty deep condition. Don’t have time to deep condition as often as you like? I often deep condition on dirty hair, especially while working out- the heat from working out helps the conditioner penetrate the strands. Then just wash as usual! Only time you can’t do this is if you want to clarify. Then please make sure to DC after so that it restores the moisture in your hair.
Towels
— One of the common hacks is to use a t-shirt instead of a towel to dry your hair, especially if you don’t own a t-shirt towel or a microfiber towel.
— Less common hack? Use paper towels! I hear it’s one of the things that Lorraine Massey uses.
Hair Dryer
Easiest trick? Air dry. Haha! But if you want to diffuse, here are some options.
— See my hair dryer hack for how to get a too big diffuser to work on your drier.
— Ruby has a hack on her instagram on how to get the Xtava Black Orchid onto a Dyson hair dryer.
— No diffuser? Try a kitchen strainer! Lulu is known for using this hack, check it out on her instagram page.
I hope this helps! Do you have any favorite hacks? Be sure to comment them below!
