Devina Divecha's Journals

I’m a planner. When I’m jumping into doing something absolutely new, I plan. I research. I read. I obsess.

I wrote about how to start your journey into the Curly Girl (CG) method, and have recently received many questions about it, so I thought I’d pen down some information I found useful as I started my journey and things I discovered along the way.

I almost didn’t start looking after my hair this way; the amount of information out there was overwhelming. But it was in the summer of 2020, during the pandemic and the lockdowns and the curfews, that I started looking at this more seriously.

But please remember: your hair is unique to you. We all enter the CG world in different situations, so your hair will react to the transition differently, it will react to products differently, and the time it takes to blossom will be different for everyone.

OK, here’s what I want to share:

• There’s ALWAYS a transition period
  Essentially, your hair isn’t going to throw out glossy curls and waves from the start. I’m still not sure I’m even there yet! I do want to highlight this: one of the things around CG is not using heat on your hair, and I have read that it’s the removal of this element that can make the transition tough for many. I rarely used heat on my hair even before I switched to the CG method… maybe once a month or once every two months? Plus, when lockdown began in March or April last year, I took the opportunity to cut down on how often I washed my hair. So my hair was already getting used to this, albeit with non-CG approved products. Essentially, if your hair feels greasy or weird during transition, don’t worry too much, it gets better, I promise.

• Don’t stress about washing your hair less
  Absolutely don’t be afraid of this. I know it’s scary; the first time I resolved not to wash my hair around 3 times a week, and cut it down to 2, it was nerve-wracking. Once you switch to CG-approved products and start washing your hair maybe once or twice a week, there will be less product in your hair, and that means less build-up in your hair that would normally make it greasy.
  Pro tip: if you do have tangles or knots, which can happen, use a Tangle Teezer brush in the shower to distribute your co-wash or conditioner, or use a leave-in detangler. Plus – and this can be tough – but when you’re co-washing or squishing to condish, try and use cool water on your hair. It should not be boiling hot.

• If possible, don’t buy full-size products, and test as much as you can
  At the beginning, you’re going to be figuring out what works for your hair, what products are available in your area, and what is affordable for you. Once you work out roughly what your hair type is, you can narrow down the kind of products you should be using. I thought, for example, I found a good combination for my hair until I tried ASP Kitoko and Flora & Curl, which are great for my hair type. And I’m still trying! I’ve just bought a mini set of Rizos Curls to experiment with; let’s see how that goes!

• Experiment and take loads of photos!
  It’s so helpful to track the progress of your hair and the best way to do that is to take photos of it. From day 1 until today, it’s been quite a journey – and you will notice it when you compare Day 1 with Day 94, for example. There’s also another goal with taking photos. At the start of your CG journey, I’d recommend experimenting a bit with your wash routine, and every time you wash your hair, just change one element of your routine. Take a photo after your hair is dry and you’ve scrunched out the crunch and note exactly what you did. You’ll eventually figure out what works best for your hair.

• If you notice more hair fall, don’t stress either!
  Obviously it’s scary when you see a lot of hair fall when you’re washing your hair. I was super lucky that I was warned about this from the start, and then did a lot more reading about it. I soon realised that my hair stopped falling as much through the week, and it was only when I washed my hair that I noticed hair fall – and only in the shower. So your hair fall isn’t actually increasing, it just happens once when you shower and that’s pretty much it until your next wash. So please, please don’t be discouraged when you shower and see hair fall that seems more than usual. And in time, this reduces as well!

• And to end… Pineappling doesn’t look hot, I’m so sorry.
  I really don’t know how some women look so absolutely gorgeous even with their hair pineapple’d at night. This is how I look haha:

Enjoy the Curly Girl journey, and let me know if you have any questions!