What is the Curly Girl Method?

The Curly Girl Method is a method of caring for your wavy, curly and coily hair to enhance your hair's texture and accentuate its natural curl pattern.

The Method is rooted in Lorraine Massey's book called Curly Girl: The Handbook. As a hairstylist with curly hair, Lorraine understood that generally accepted haircare practices do not cater to the needs of curly hair. In fact, many acceptable practices like towel drying your hair with a bath towel after washing it can lead to unnecessary damage to curly hair! In her book, she details the principles which she discovered by working with her clients, as well as her own curly hair. She knew these practices went against the grain of popular haircare but she also understood that the principles she had gathered held the key to unlock the beauty of textured hair. These principals became the basis of the Curly Girl Method.

Wavy, curly and coily hair is generally drier than straight hair – mainly because the natural oils from the scalp (sebum) are not able to travel past the bends or kinks of textured hair. This leads to hair that requires a more gentle approach to ensure that it is sufficiently moisturised and kept that way.

“Frizz is a curl waiting to happen” is one of Lorraine's famous sayings. Frizz might be part of having curly hair but when you provide for the needs of your curly hair, you are effectively caring for your hair in such a way that the frizz becomes curls.

Basic principals of the Curly Girl Method:

Avoid sulfates, which strips curly hair of the much-needed moisture it requires.

Avoid anything that requires sulfates for its removals, like silicones, mineral oils and wax

Avoid anything that dries the hair out further, like direct heat, chemical treatments, or drying alcohols.

Avoid anything that causes unnecessary damage like bath (or terry cloth) towels or brushes. Without the protection of sebum, the cuticle or outside layer of curly hair is particularly vulnerable to damage. Practices that have very little impact on straight hair can actually cause frizz and damage curly hair.  With the Curly Girl Method, the aim is to avoid damage whenever possible.

IntrinsiCurly Me magiCURL formulas are based on the principles of The Curly Girl Method. Unlike many products available on the market, which inadvertently dries out and damages curly hair, each IntrinsiCurly Me product has been formulated specifically for the needs of Curly hair.