So you’ve read The Curly Girl Handbook, spent ages reading blog posts, and watching countless YouTube videos on the curly girl method. Now you’re ready to purchase some curly girl approved products and get started on your curly journey. But you don’t know where to start, and you get overwhelmed. I know I did! The trick is to start off simple, and know when, and in what order, to use each product. So here’s how to build a curly girl hair routine, with some product suggestions, to simplify the whole process so it becomes less daunting, and more achievable. Lets get started!
1. Final Wash | Clarify
If you’re just starting the curly girl method, you need to do a final wash to get rid of product build up and those pesky silicones out of your hair. For this, you’ll need a silicone-free, sulfate shampoo. If you live in a hard water area, or swim in the pool or ocean regularly, hold onto your final wash shampoo, as you can also use it to clarify your hair once a month. Read this post for more information on clarifying your curls.
Product suggestions:
2. Pre-Poo | Detangle
This step is optional. It’s great for people who have really dry hair, or hair that gets easily tangled and knotted. I don’t suffer from any of those things, so I skip this step. But, if you do, you can apply an oil or deep conditioner to your hair, either the night before you wash your hair, or a few hours before. Oils will prevent your scalp and hair from becoming too dry or stripped during the cleansing process. Deep conditioner will help de-tangle, just make sure it has good slip, so you don’t break and damage your hair whilst de-tangling.
Product suggestions:
- Righteous Roots Hair RX or Pre-Poo – available from Naturalistic Products
- Matrix Biolage Hydra Source Conditioner (GVP Conditioning Balm in the U.S.)
3. Cleanse | Clarify
Avoid traditional shampoos, and anything that contains sulfates, silicones, drying alcohols and parabens. There are three types of cleansers to use when following the curly girl method. Co-wash, low-poo and no-poo. Here’s where it can get confusing and overwhelming. A co-wash is using a conditioner to “wash” your hair. However, for most people, if they use a regular conditioner to do this, their hair quickly becomes greasy, oily and weighed down. Instead, opt for a cleansing conditioner, or cleansing co-wash. If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know what product I’m going to suggest. It’s the best co-wash on the market, and there’s nothing else that compares. Not even close!
Co-wash product suggestion:
So what’s the difference between a low-poo and a no-poo? A low-poo usually lathers up slightly and uses curly girl safe (but always check) commercial, cleansing ingredients. It’s typically more suited to low porosity, fine, wavy hair. A no-poo, like a co-wash, doesn’t lather up at all and contains natural ingredients, in their natural state. Co-washes and no-poos are typically more suited to dryer, curly to kinky-coily, high porosity hair types. However, I have low porosity hair and I use the As I Am Co-wash and I love it!
Low-poo & no-poo product suggestions:
- Boulcème Curl Cleanser – no poo
- Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream – low poo , available on Naturalistic Products, or use my code CURLYCAILIN20 to get 20% off the Jessicurl website – they also do free samples!
- Bounce Curl Moisturising Shampoo – low poo – available from Naturalistic Products
I’ve got a more detailed post on clarifying, which you can read here, and I highly recommend you do. But if you don’t live in a hard water area or swim in the pool or ocean. You don’t need to use a sulfate, chelating shampoo to clarify your hair. You can use more curly girl friendly and approved products to rid your hair of dirt, oil and product build up. This is especially important for low porosity curlies like me, as our hair tends to get more easily weighed down.
Clarifying shampoo product suggestions:
- Bounce Curl Clarifying Shampoo – my favourite! – available from Naturalistic Products
- Kinky Curly Come Clean – also available from Naturalistic Products
4. Condition
This is usually wear you find silicones, so it’s really important to check the ingredients when purchasing your conditioner, deep conditioner and leave-in conditioner. Please note: you do not need all three! So don’t feel you have to rush out and buy all of them. When choosing a conditioner, go for something that has high concentrations of plant-based ingredients, as well as emollients, humectants and moisturisers. Check out this post for a quick run down on each of those ingredients.
Conditioner product suggestions:
- Matrix Biolage Hydra Source Conditioner
- Jessicurl Too Shea Conditioner
- Hairfinity Balanced Moisture Conditioner
When I don’t rinse my conditioner completely out, I don’t need a leave-in. Other times, when I completely rinse my conditioner out, or if my hair is particularly dry, I’ll use a leave-in conditioner. If you have low porosity hair, or hair that gets weighed down easily, then stay away from heavy, creamy formulas. Here are some of my favourites:
Leave-in conditioner product suggestions:
- Giovanni Weightless Moisture Direct Leave In – the most lightweight and my favourite
- Flora & Curl Leave In – available on Naturalistic Products
- As I Am Leave In
- Curls Blueberry Bliss Reparative Leave In – I’ve not tried this one yet, but it’s hugely popular for all curlies, especially low porosity! – available on Naturalistic Products
Deep conditioners are an essential step for any curly girl, or boy. These are what make the biggest difference and improvement to your hair. But again, this is where things can get a little tricky and overwhelming. Usually because some contain protein, and others don’t. But it really doesn’t need to be that complicated. Just like we all need protein in a healthy diet, we need it for our hair too. You can use your regular conditioner as a deep conditioner if you combine it with some oils, or a thermal heat cap. I hand-make and sell Curly Cailín Heat Caps for €25, and ship worldwide from €10. Fill out this form for more information.
Deep conditioner product suggestions:
- Matrix Biolage Hydra Source Conditioner (don’t get the mask, it’s not CG friendly)
- Hairfinity Strengthening Amino Mask – contains protein
- Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! – contains protein
- Jessicurl Deep Conditioning Treatment
Top Tip: use a thermal heat cap to help open up the cuticle so your deep conditioner can really penetrate the hair and give maximum benefits.
5. Enhance
Once you’ve cleansed and conditioned your hair, it’s time for the styling products. When layering products, I always start from lightest to heaviest products. For low porosity curls that get easily weighed down, mousses and foams are great curl enhancers. I nearly always use a mousse! Other options are milks, lotions and creams. None of which work particularly well on my hair, but that’s not to say it won’t work on yours.
Product suggestions:
- Pantene Defined Curls No. 5 Mousse – hands down my absolute favourite product to enhance my curls.
- Jessicurl Rockin Ringlets
- Jessicurl Confident Coils
- Bouclème Curl Cream
6. Define & Hold
The final step in a good curly hair routine is something to seal everything in, define your curls and hold them in place. For this you can use a gel, jelly or custard. I often use a custard and a gel, if I want great clumps and hold. But again, this is where some people get confused because of a tricky ingredient called glycerin. This is a humectant usually high up on the ingredients lists of many gels, but it can cause frizz in humid environments. If you’re considering buying a DevaCurl gel but not sure what one to get, their Light Defining Gel has light hold, Ultra Defining Gel has medium hold and Arc Angel Gel has strong hold.
Product suggestions:
- Bouclème Curl Defining Gel – soft hold, contains glycerin
- Jessicurl Spiralicious Gel – medium hold, glycerin-free
- Aussie Instant Freeze Gel – medium hold, glycerin-free
- Giovanni LA Natural Gel – strong hold, glycerin-free
- MopTop Curly Hair Custard – contains glycerin
- Kinky Curly Curling Custard – glycerin-free, available from Naturalistic Products
- Camille Rose Curl Maker – glycerin-free, also available from Naturalistic Products
Putting it all together
I’ve tried to list the product categories in the order that you will use them, to make it as easy as possible to understand and buy products. However, you don’t need to buy something from every category in order to build a good routine that works for you. Here are some of my favourite wash and style routines below, which you may find helpful and can adopt and adapt for your own routine.
Protein-free routine:
Option 1, also great for beginners:
- As I Am Coconut Co-Wash
- Matrix Biolage Hydra Source Conditioner (don’t fully rinse out)
- Pantene Defined Curls Mousse
- Aussie Instant Freeze or Giovanni LA Natural Gel
Option 2:
- Bouclème Curl Cleanser, Conditioner, Curl Cream (optional) and Curl Defining Gel (read my full review here)
- Jessicurl Hair Cleansing Cream, Too Shea Conditioner, Rockin Ringlets, Confident Coils and Spiralicious Gel – you don’t need to use all of those styling products. Don’t forget you can get 20% off all Jessicurl products on their website using my code CURLYCAILIN20
Protein/moisture balance routine:
Option 1:
- Bouclème Curl Cleanser
- Hairfinity Balanced Moisture Conditioner
- Giovanni Weightless Moisture Direct Leave In
- *Optional: for extra definition, apply mousse before the custard
- MopTop Curly Hair Custard
- *Optional: for extra hold, apply gel after custard
Top Tip: like most things, it’s all about balance. For best results and to avoid protein overload, always pair a product that has protein, with a product that doesn’t.
Option 2:
- Bounce Curl Clarifying/Moisturising Shampoo, Conditioner (don’t fully rinse out) and Light Creme Gel. Please note, like DevaCurl and Briogeo products, Bounce Curl contains a lot of protein.
Once you’ve got your products, you’ll want to nail your techniques. There are many different ways, combinations and methods to apply products. You can read this post for curly girl techniques to enhance curl definition and reduce frizz.
Do you use any of the products mentioned in this post? Please share your curly routine in the comments below so we can all learn from each other and different combinations that work.
Hair porosity is really important when it comes to buying products that will work for your hair and avoid wasting money. If you don’t know what hair porosity you have, read this post to find out the different ways you can test for it, and the characteristics for each type.
Thank you so much for taking time to read this post. I hope you found it helpful. Please subscribe if you haven’t already, you can follow me on Instagram, or like my Facebook page. Did you know I started a YouTube channel? I would be ever so grateful if you subscribed! You can watch my first video here, on how to finger coil curly hair. See you in my next post. Gabriella xoxo
*This post contains some affiliate links, which means I get paid (a very small) commission on products you purchase through my links. This in no way affects you, the price you pay or the way in which I write about products featured on this site. My content is not influenced by advertisers, affiliate partnerships, brands or PRs.
Charlotte Cullinan says
01/06/2018 at 9:16 pmThis is AMAZING!!!! Only today I was thinking I still feel so clueless about what order to put things on in (I’m six weeks into CG), this honestly is fantastic, thank you so so much!!!
Trish says
01/06/2018 at 11:19 pmI am 6 weeks into CGM too and was about to call it quits. I have always air dried and very rarely flat ironed so I had no heat damage. But I spent ridiculous amounts of time,money and effort for meh results. I’ve actually had some horrible hair days.
That being said, I’ve learned a lot about my hair! I’m high porosity, need more protein and have high 2 to lower 3 curls patterns on my head. Raking products through my hair made for a frizzy nightmare. Using a microfiber cloth to plop didn’t work either.
Today I tried pulsating and then using a T-shirt and for the first time, I feel like I might just stick with this after all!
Your post is one of the most well laid out, informative ones that I have read! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! I look forward to reading more from you
Maureen Bouey says
07/08/2018 at 11:44 pmHi Trish, I have hair like yours and wonder if you can tell me what pulsating is?
Gabriella says
15/08/2018 at 9:52 amHi Maureen, Pulsing, aka pulsating or scrunch and pump, is where you scrunch your hair up, usually when it’s wet and got product in, and then repeatedly pulse your fingers into a closed fist position. This is said to help and enhance curl pattern and clumps to form. I hope that helps and explains it in a way you can understand…..xoxo
Tracey Walton says
02/06/2018 at 10:56 amAnother fabulous article. I started my CG journey 6 1/2 months and struggled to find information about thick caucasian hair, yours was the first one I found and I’ve followed you ever since, occasionally referring back to your articles for articles and tips.
Thank you for this, I’m off to look at Jessicurl on your recommendation now!
Hanna says
03/06/2018 at 11:07 amHi Gabriella, I am starting my CG journey but not only for me. Also for my two boys which both have curls. I am so happy that I found your side because your descriptions totally show how I feel at the moment. All this information and all those products. But with your help I finall could choose some products to start. I’m from Germany so I have some struggles to find some products here so your hints about products that are international available are very helpful for me! But I have a question regarding holiday. Since we will be at the beach in about a month I would like to know if there is a product you could recommend that I could leave in while on the beach so my really dry hair does not suffer from sun and salt. Thanks a lot on advance! Greetings from Germany Hanna
Teresa says
03/06/2018 at 10:10 pmThis is great post,so good the way you explain,put I still finding it hard to understand about the moisture and protein balance,as I protein sensitive maybe you might explain it in a post some time,on how to get it right ,thank you,
Sara says
15/07/2018 at 12:29 amVery helpful, thank you!
I have been changing up my products the last few months as I seem to have developed an allergy to Shea (had been using Saryna Key for about 3 years, think I got a bad batch of conditioner which set off a reaction). Difficult to pinpoint an allergy, but Shea is my guess at this point as I have since tried other brands with Shea and the reaction (itchy, flaky scalp & ears) returned.
Have used travel size of Jessicurl recently with good results (Gentle Cleanser, Aloeba Cond, Rockin’ Ringlets, & Confident Coils). Also like the Oil Blend to SOTC. Use Aussie Instant Freeze sometimes as well. Still need to find a co wash (found the As I Am in a store recently, scent seemed too much, but may give it a try) and deep conditioner (Biolage Hydrasource maybe).
2c/3a low porosity.
Gabriella says
19/07/2018 at 12:04 pmYou’re welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful. I’m not familiar with Saryna Key, but all the other products you mentioned are great products!
Claire says
08/12/2018 at 2:18 pmHi, the matrix conditioner contains methylparabeen is this safe to use on the method?
Thanks so much love your blog x
Salma Meah says
24/07/2018 at 2:30 pmHi, I am about to start the CG method. I have very fine, low porosity, short (bobbed) 2b waves (for now) which have been straightened and blow-dried to death since I was about 15. I have all my kit, but wanted to know if I need to condition after low-poo? I have decided not to co-wash to start with…. see how I go. TIA x
Gabriella says
24/07/2018 at 7:23 pmI would say yes, absolutely! Moisture and hydration is key to having healthy curls, and healthy hair in general. A low poo is just going to cleanse your hair, not condition it. So yes, definitely condition. x
Sarah says
29/07/2018 at 7:58 pmHello, I am just beginning my CG method journey and I am so excited! I have always struggled with my curly hair as it falls prey to frizz and limp, lifeless curls. I have purchased The Curly Girl Method and I am looking to purchase my collection of products. This post was very helpful as it can be very overwhelming to figure out what will be best for my hair. My question in regards to this post is, how do I decided if I should purchase products that are protein-free or the products that follow the protein/moisture balance routine? Thank you so much for your help
Gabriella says
05/08/2018 at 8:31 amHi Sarah, welcome to the curly girl family! Most of it is purely down to trial and error, patience and persistence as everyone’s hair is different. As you described your hair as limp and lifeless, to me that sounds like your hair would benefit from some protein in your products and routine. So just make sure you find a balance and have some products in there which contain protein. Alternatively, do my modified rice water treatment every week, or other week. I hope that helps xoxo
Esther says
24/09/2018 at 4:42 pmHi Gabriella!
I’ve just found your blog and I love it!!! So glad I found it! I’ve just moved to Ireland and I find so hard to take care of my very frizzy and wavy hair with all this humidity (I’m Spanish, btw). I also find difficult to get some curly products here, it seems that Irish don’t have curly hair ???
I’ve read your reviews of some Giovanni products, have you ever tried the shampoos? I have a very complicated scalp, with seborrheic dermatitis, so I think I need to use a shampoo intead of only cowash. I tried to cowash once (using As I Am Coconut Cowash) and on the second day my scalp was really itchy and oily. So was thinking that maybe the shampoos were alright.
I’m really stuck with the CG method, as I’ve been avoiding silicones and sulphates for almost 2 years but my hair doesn’t look good. If I use less styling products it gets very frizzy, but if I use more it gets very oily in just 12 hours or so. Any recommendation? I think that my hair is low porosity because of the glass test, and because it tends to build up.
Sorry for my English, i’m still learning. And thank you for all the information, I think I’ll be really useful for most curlies!!
Gabriella says
27/09/2018 at 11:46 amHi Esther, welcome to Ireland! I’ve got some Spanish blood in me, and your English is perfect. The Irish do indeed have curly hair, we just don’t have many products readily available. Have you checked out “My Favourite Products” post as that has many places to buy products, as well as my “Where I Shop.” I haven’t tried any of the Giovanni shampoos, but I now the Tea Tree Triple Treat one is meant to be very good, especially for those with a sensitive scalp. I’m surprised the As I Am Co Wash gave you an itchy and oily scalp, I’ve never had that problem. Have you tried Boucleme? They have great products (link in my Where I Shop tab). Rice water rinses would also be great for you as they help alleviate itchy and irritated scalps. Check out my post on that too. As for your styling products, I would be inclined to say it may be due to using cheap products with poor quality ingredients so take a look at them. Hope that helps, if you want to talk more in depth, feel free to email me or use the form on my Contact page. Gabriella xoxo
Esther says
02/10/2018 at 5:35 pmHi Gabriella!!
Thanks for your answer! I thought I was using good products but not so sure now.. I was using Cantu shampoo and eco styler, both of them have good reviews o the CG world… I will ask for some samples of Giovanni products (shampoo, conditioner and gel) to see id they work on my hair.
I was so happy when I read the pantene mousse is CG friendly! I’ve been using it for years but I stop using it because I thought the ingredients were not really good!
Thank you for your answer and your blog, I think is really nice!
Regards,
Esther
Gabriella says
03/10/2018 at 9:58 amNo worries at all Esther, you’re very welcome. I would ditch the Cantu and Eco Styler stuff personally. And yes, I’ve been using Pantene Mousse for years and years, like, at least 15 years and was relieved when I found out it was CG friendly – I still use it now! Take care xoxo
Esther says
03/10/2018 at 12:02 pmYeah, Pantene Mousse is so convenient! Easy to find everywhere and cheap!
Do you know if there is any place in Ireland where you can exchange or sell products that are already started? My Cantu deep treatment is almost new, but it’s too heavy for me…
And the last question… I’m not deep conditioning at all, is that so important? If so, I’m not sure if I’ll need a deep treatment with protein or not. how can I know that? Is there any DIY mask I can do at home? I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a deep treatment that contains protein and then later find out that my hair doesn’t like protein at all…
Sorry for all the questions… but everything seems so confusing!
Esther
claire sweetman says
30/09/2018 at 12:14 pmHi Gabriella,
I’d love to see a video on how to do your cg method and to show how much product you use. Loving your website and you make the cg method so clear and easy to follow. Xx
Gabriella says
01/10/2018 at 6:04 pmHi Claire, thank you so much! I have a video on my YouTube channel of how I finger coil, which also includes how much product I use in my hair. I must do an updated routine video though as I no longer need to finger coil my hair. Make sure you check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel though! The link is in the sidebar if you’re viewing on a desktop, or scroll down if viewing this on a mobile. xx
Kristina says
05/04/2019 at 3:42 amYes! PLEASE do a video about how you apply your usual daily products. I’ve been having such a hard time finding the right products and application methods for my hair, and I’m so glad to have found your website because my hair is very similar to yours. Thanks for all the info! I would just love to see how you apply the products without finger coiling!
Gabriella says
05/04/2019 at 3:11 pmWill do Kristina! Especially as I have my own application technique which I haven’t seen or heard anyone else doing. Coming soon! xoxo
PREETHI NAGARAJAN says
13/11/2018 at 3:47 amHi Gabriella,
Your blog is super informative!! I have low porosity hair too and cant seem to figure out a routine that works!! Can you please tell me if you apply your styling products to wet hair or damp? And how do you refresh your hair and maintain it through the week? I saw your video on finger coiling but seems like u r not washing off all the conditioner..if I ever tried that I easily get itchy scalp the very next day!! Any tips? TIA!!
Gabriella says
14/11/2018 at 6:39 pmHi Preethi, thank you! I’m glad you’ve found my content helpful. I apply my products to soaking wet hair, often while I’m still in the shower. Depending on the products I use and how successful my wash day was, I often don’t refresh. But when I do, my favourite refresh combo is gel and ky jelly (yes, lube!), I will spray my hair down or use handfuls of water to wet it, if it’s particularly dry I’ll use some leave in conditioner, then apply my gel and ky jelly mix to my hair, using glazing and praying hands, then scrunch and diffuse or air dry. The reason I don’t get an itchy scalp (in the finger coiling video) is because I’m only applying conditioner to my ends of my hair, not my roots or scalp. Hope that helps! xoxo
Jackeline Ramirez says
12/01/2019 at 9:41 pmHey I was wondering if you’d be willing to try a new brand of hair products. I heard of RizosCurls that was created by a curly girl who says it’s for all types of hair. I have been looking into new products because I just recently decided to try new products. I have a lot of hair but it’s low porosity and gets tangled easily.
Gabriella says
14/01/2019 at 6:32 pmHi Jackeline, I’m always trying new products. I recommend using them consistently for at least 2-3 weeks before deciding if they work for you or not. I personally use a product/line of products exclusively for 1 month before I pass judgement. FYI, Rizos Curls, a few of those products aren’t curly girl friendly because they contain beeswax. I have a lot of hair too, and low porosity, although thankfully I don’t suffer that bad from knots or tangles.
Erin says
31/03/2019 at 2:49 amLove your blog! I’m new to the curly girl method and it’s been so helpful! I saw on amazon a few oils to help with strengthening & hair growth. Are there any articles I’m missing with details? Thanks so much. -Erin
Gabriella says
31/03/2019 at 6:31 pmI haven’t published any articles on oils yet, but will do soon. x
Krissy says
01/04/2019 at 4:51 pmHow often should we be cleansing/conditioning? I’ve read things that say to only do it once a week, but then others that say it doesn’t matter as long as they are CG approved products!
Gabriella says
02/04/2019 at 8:15 pmwhatever works best for you, however, I would say no more than 3 times a week. Washing your hair every day, no matter what kind of hair you have, I don’t think is best for the health of your hair. I wash my hair twice a week, and have done for as long as I can remember. Hope that helps xoxo
Kim says
16/05/2019 at 5:30 pmIf you shower every day, do you put your hair in a shower cap or do you just rinse your hair with water? I find I need to shower every day but unsure what to do with my hair while I start the curly girl method.
Gabriella says
17/05/2019 at 10:09 pmI usually put my buff on over my hair, similar to how I wear it at night to protect my curls. You can always leave it loose and let the steam from the shower rehydrate your hair for the day. Or, like you said, put on a plastic shower cap. Hope that helps xoxo
Hanna B says
12/04/2019 at 5:21 pmHello! I have curly hair and have been using CG approved products regularly but there have been times that I have used sulfate/silicone products. So basically, I never did a final wash before going onto strictly only cg products. If I have been using CG for awhile now without doing a final wash do I need to restart and do a final wash? Or continue on with CG products without a final wash? Thanks so much!!!
Gabriella says
14/04/2019 at 1:07 pmPersonally I would recommend doing a final wash again xoxo
Hayley says
24/04/2019 at 3:56 pmHi, there,
I’m just starting this journey and trying to buy products now (in the US). I’m confused about co-washing and conditioning: do most people do both? Or is a co-wash enough to condition? Or do you co-wash twice with the same product?
Thank you for your help!
Gabriella says
25/04/2019 at 7:38 amHi Hayley, if you think of a co-wash as taking the place of shampoo, that should make it easier to understand. You need to look for a cleansing co-wash, such as the ones from Bounce Curl (use code CURLYCAILIN10 for $$ off), As I Am or MopTop. And then follow up with a conditioner, if your hair needs it and feels dry or frizzy after you’ve rinsed the co-wash. Does that help?