Mariia blogs on Sumilayi's blog about curly hair methods, care, products and experiences, sharing her best tips.
The journey continues! I'll open the "alphabet" of the method and tell you about them my own observations from this two-year curling journey. I will also tell you how you can get started with a new way of caring for your hair.
Regardless of what your starting situation is when you start to implement the method, I think the most important thing is to remember and remind yourself that it is something completely different than a race or any other performance. As in life, we easily go after some big goal (which in itself is not bad!) and in the hustle and bustle we forget the importance of the whole journey. That's why I named my own Instagram profile journey in my mind (mariiascurlyjourney) and that's what this is, an exciting journey to yourself through new routines and insights. For me, the curls are a wonderful bonus and what I have already gained from the first two years of cg is something much bigger.
Since the CG method originates from the United States, the terminology is in English. Even though many words have got Finnish equivalents, it is worth learning the vocabulary in any case or keeping it visible even on the refrigerator door, so you will find much more comprehensible information that will make learning your routine easier.
Vocabulary
- Final Wash , i.e. the last wash when switching to products according to the method. Means a shampoo with sulfates but no drying alcohol or silicones. Washes away silicone residues and you can start from a clean table
- No-poo washing without shampoo. The most committed do not use any kind of shampoo after starting with the method.
- Low-poo shampoo without sulfates, silicones and drying alcohols. You can use these
- Co-wash hair washing with a conditioner: either with a product developed for the purpose or with some other suitable conditioner
- Conditioning conditioner use
- Deep conditioning deep treatment with a hair mask as needed or e.g. in the sauna
- Squish to condish, i.e. squeezing the STC conditioner into wet hair, "squeezing" so that the curls absorb as much water as possible along with the conditioner, so as the condition of the hair improves, this also follows:
- Curl clumps , i.e. clumps that are plump curl/wave sections with a lot of moisture and conditioning agents
- FSG or PSG Flax seed gel in Finnish. Mostly self-cooked gel that helps the curls/waves stay in shape during drying. It can also give nice shine and softness
- Plopping, wrapping a t-shirt over your head after washing to help gently absorb excess water and set the curl/wave
- Cast a hard shell that the gel becomes on the hair as it dries. Does not always form for everyone and not with all gels.
- Diffusing drying with a diffuser nozzle dryer that prevents frizz
- SOTC scrunch out the crunch, squeezing out the gel shell from dry hair by hand, with a t-shirt or microfiber towel, with or without oil
- Wavy, curly, kinky, coily wave shape
- 1A-4C wave/curl type. I have e.g. 2C-3B, i.e. in some parts of my hair I have a snappy wave 2C and in some part 3A and sometimes a 3B curl, the latter of which is tighter and which also goes more easily with a corkscrew
- High, low, medium porosity , i.e. the porosity of the hair. The low-pore one gets wet and dries slowly, does not absorb substances so easily, but holds well what you get there. High porosity gets wet and dries quickly, absorbs substances well, but the permanence of the substances in the hair is weak.
- Protein/moisture balance balance of protein and moisture, thanks to which waves or curls are flexible, shiny and elastic
- Build-up accumulations in the hair. Some accumulate more, others less, depending at least on the quality of the hair, the products used and the hardness of the water.
- Clarifying is a deep cleaning of the hair, but without sulfate shampoo, i.e. final wash shampoo is not suitable for this. Low-poo shampoo won't work either, it's too mild. You may need this deep cleansing shampoo if you have the build-up mentioned above.
"Who are we?"
"Curly Girl types!"
"What do we want?"
"Curls!! Waves!!"
"What are we willing to do!"
"To spend the rest of my life in the bathroom with 20 different cans, slurping lotion and applying PSG, drying my hair endlessly, getting excited about the end result and starting all over again!"
Oh my God!! You might be thinking that what the hell, it doesn't seem like a very good sales pitch for a method, rather the opposite. I don't wonder about your thoughts, but I still assure you that I love everything about this method, I loved it at the beginning and I still love it. However, with the things I've already told you, I hope you'll notice that the method is definitely not a shortcut to waves or curls. It can be that very quickly if your hair is unprocessed (history without harsh products, coloring, straightening) and basically strong and in good condition and if you have the patience to learn the basics beforehand and along the way and if your hair already has some kind of wave or curl-like texture.Often, despite all the good tips, the beginning is "I'm really excited about this and I already bought all the ingredients and I have the feeling that I'm about to have curls" VS. "What the hell is going on here, a hideous cow, the whole bathroom in conditioner, the man moved in with his brother and ran away, the dog is out of exercise and really, who has time for this!!??"
These hair things evoke emotions. I know.
Now you know the vocabulary, next the products.
The most important advice; keep things simple! The simplest a.
Get a sulfate shampoo for the last wash that does not contain drying alcohols (this can often be found at home if you do a little digging, e.g. many shower gels work), shampoo and conditioner for future washes, a hair mask and some curling cream/leave-in conditioner if your hair is dry, colored or otherwise treated, and flax seed gel for cooking or some ready-made gel or foam. A good-sized t-shirt should also be ready immediately. If you feel that you are lazy to do anything other than what is necessary or if your goal is not perfect waves or curls, you can skip the products after the conditioner. That's it! Therefore:
Final Wash shampoo
Low-poo or sulfate-free shampoo and/or
Conditioner
Hair mask
Leave-in conditioner
Gel
T-shirt
Oh yes, you should also get a satin pillowcase!
Since it is very likely that the first item on the list can already be found at home, you can get started with a few product purchases. Financially, a couple of tens is enough. If you want products of higher quality right from the start and/or ecology, veganism and animal cruelty are definitely the most important things for you, you can prepare for a slightly larger investment, but as you probably know, such products are usually also clearly more sufficient, so you can't talk about an expensive start.
I myself have criteria for products, but I have not been slavish about it. However, for the most part, I have chosen organic products without animal testing along my journey. Now I have used almost exclusively Sumilayi's product line (domestic, vegan, animal-free) for a long time and I am so satisfied with it that the threshold to test others is high.
As I myself am a supporter of recycling, I prefer product changers and testing before buying the whole jar. So if you also know someone who is already using the method and whose hair has some similarities to yours, ask if you could get small amounts for the test. This way you can avoid a large number of unnecessary product purchases. Feel free to pass on products that you don't like.
Suitable products can be found in larger and smaller markets, health food stores, hair salons, eco stores, ethnic stores and online stores (including Sumilayi with its own domestic product line) both in Finland and abroad. There really is starting to be a choice! When shopping, pay attention to the product's original target group, i.e. if you buy a conditioner for your liry elovena waves from an online store aimed at African Americans, you will probably be disappointed.Otherwise, getting to know your own hair is really important because everything affects the quality and condition of your hair, so even if the curly girl you follow has the same look and the same size curls as you, e.g. a different wash water can have such an effect that the products she uses don't work on your hair at all.
Also, the techniques and routines are rarely mastered from the first wash, simply because the products used behave in a completely different way on the hair than the old familiar alcohol, silicone and sulfates. So give yourself time. How many times did I myself open different product folders on Face and videos on YouTube before I started to feel confident with certain routines.
All in all, although extremely frustrating at times, it's really interesting to learn more about your hair and see how products, techniques, seasons and many other things affect it. And hey, that reward, i.e. healthy hair, is really so great that I can at least warmly recommend the method to anyone!
I will continue writing from now on, focusing on any topic. There is at least vegetable dyeing and a longer formula washing routine in pictures and text from start to finish. I will also talk about hair type in more detail and protein-moisture balance things to consider, as well as go over different techniques in hair care.Wonderful day!
Maria