If you read my first post about starting my Curly Girl Method hair journey, you’ll be able to see how my hair has transformed so much since then. Before I started bleaching and dying my hair for the second time, my waves and curls were much more defined but they’re slowly starting to return to their lovely shape.
Not sure if you have type 2A wavy hair? Think of it like swavy (straight-wavy) hair – you will be able to see actual S-shape waves in your hair is type 2A. It’s slightly more than the straight-with-kinks-and-bends 1C hair but less wavy than the loose waves type 2B or 2C hair.
My curl pattern has changed slightly, my hair doesn’t clump well so it’s difficult to tell how it’ll look on a daily basis. Some days the waves look more defined and I even get a few loose ringlets forming. Other days I get a loose S-shaped wave, it all depends on how much I scrunch and which products I combine together. I need to keep a journal because weeks later I can never really remember what I did. Below you can see how my hair was the morning after wash day and by the afternoon when the waves had dropped, they seemed to look more clumped/defined, thick and shiny.
Since my 6 months update which you can read here, I’ve had my hair cut professionally at Jones & Payne in Shoreditch by a lovely lady (who’s also a fellow wavy) called Lisa Ind. I was my first wavy girl cut so I really didn’t know what to expect but it was fab and she styled it fabulously. She did do lots of hair combing which made me want to die inside as I haven’t combed my hair since going CGM (I only finger-comb when in the bath/shower) so I wasn’t sure there’d be any waves but she managed to really bring them out which was fantastic.
The cut set me back £80 but as I only get my hair cut once a year, it was a good investment! Here’s a photo of my hair post-cut:
As I mentioned above, my waves pretty much change on a daily basis. I usually wash my hair at night after putting the kids to bed so it gets a little squished and looks a little different the next morning. I find that by the afternoon the curls spiral more and looks a little more stretched out.
My hair still has difficulty clumping which I think is because I don’t have a specific curl pattern, it’s kind of waves, bends and curls in all directions. My hair looks shorter in the first photo but it’s not shrinkage, I think it’s just the angle of the camera and maybe because the curls are more defined and haven’t dropped yet. Personally, I prefer when my waves hang loose although sometimes I do wish they were a little tighter.
Watch the vlog of my recent hair wash day routine:
In this video I swapped my normal conditioner for the conditioning mask as my hair was more drier than usual. Apologies for the bad audio – will sort that out soon for next vlogs or will stick with the voiceovers.
So here’s my current routine for my type 2A wavy hair…
1. Cleanse & Condition (1-2x weekly)
I use a low-poo and conditioner – either the Noughty Colour Bomb* range or Shea Moisture Weightless Coconut Fruit Fusion range which smells divine. I alternate between the two as I have coloured hair but love using the Shea Moisture weightless range as it gives me just enough moisture but feels completely weightless. To my surprise, this Shea Moisture low-poo lathers up more than the Noughty Colour bomb one. My other Noughty fave is their Wave Hello range which is great for wavy hair. Noughty is cheaper too! 😉
Once the conditioner is on, I sometimes finger comb my hair to detangle it then scrunch my hair to ensure the product goes into the hair. I then move on to rinsing using the Squish to Condish method.
2. Hair Mask (fortnightly)
I use the Noughty ‘To The Rescue’ hair mask once a week but if my hair doesn’t feel like it needs the added boost that week I skip this step. The Noughty hair mask smells so good and works really well. Despite it feeling really thick to apply, once it’s on, it feels really lightweight. Very surprising but a nice surprise. 🙂
3. Leave-in Conditioner (each time after step 1)
I use the Shea Moisture JBCO leave-in conditioner* which not only smells good, it is also feels super lovely on the hair and very weightless. It’s the ideal product if you have coloured/chemically processed/damaged hair. I scoop a good amount and apply when my hair is still wet using the prayer hands method then ‘squish to condish’ again to get all the product into the hair.
Enhancer – Curl Cream (optional step)
I tend to skip the curl cream step (I use Cantu Curl Activator Cream) when I use a leave-in conditioner because I don’t feel like my hair always needs the extra moisture. However, if I skip the leave-in, then I’ll use a little dollop of the curl cream before finishing off with a styling product (gel). I scrunch my hair until it’s about 50% dry then go in with the gel.
4. Styler – Gel (each time after step 3)
I use the Eco Styler olive oil gel for a hard hold gel but I also like switching to my Umberto Giannini scrunching jelly which is a medium hold. I make sure my hands are wet with water before adding the gel to my hands. I gently rub my hands together to emulsify then apply to my hair. I apply the gel with the ‘prayer hands’ technique then cup the ends of my hair to my head without closing the fingers. I do this instead of fully scrunching because I find that I get less frizz like this. Once fully dry (the next day if I’ve washed my hair at night), I scrunch out the crunch using my hands and a microfibre towel. And there you have it!
*these products are not completely 100% CGM friendly as they contain one ingredient that is questionable for strict CGM followers. Please do your research and use the Curlsbot ingredients analyzer to learn more.
Have you tried CGM and it didn’t work for you?
Here’s an article by NaturallyCurly.com that might help: https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/regimen/curly-girl-method-letting-you-down-you-re-not-alone
Wandering.Mother 