Advice on hair, newbie

LadySuchan

Hello my fellow curlies! I am so glad to have found this site. For
years I’ve struggled to manage my curly hair. I have a short bob and
have always straightened it up until my last trip to Hawaii. I couldn’t
 keep it straight no matter what I did. I decided my goal is to learn to
 how make the best of what I’ve got. I think my hair is a 2B. But I’m
not entirely sure. This is what it like. I’d love suggestions on how to
enhance what I have. It’s pretty dry when it’s curly. Products seem to
make it hard and flaky. I also swim 3 times a week. Try to put coconut

oil in it before swimming always. Came across the curly girl method on here and decided to give ti a whirl. Right now I am using Marc Anthony Curl Conditioner, after my shower drying with tshirt and then putting in Davines OI Oil and then Davines Curl Cream. My hair feels like it has a buildup of product in it. Not sure if thats normal. Would love some suggestions on how to manage this dry mess. Thank you!

Here is my hair now:

tinksaysboo

Hello and welcome to embracing curly hair!

First off- the products you are using all have silicons.  That is the number 1 no no for curly girl method.  Silicons put a coating around your hair that can only be removed with harsh sulfates  Sulfates dry out your hair, which is why we avoid them.  Without the sulfate shampoo, all that silicon just builds up on your hair,which you are experiencing now.  It also prevents moisture and other products from penetrating into your hair. 

When going CGM there are two important first steps:

1. Do a "final wash" with a sulfate, silicone-free, shampoo.  Suave Daily Clean is a popular choice for final wash in the curly girl community as it's easy to find and only like a $1.  Some people like just using Dawn Soap.  The point of this is to strip your hair of all the silicons and waxes you have been using to give your hair a "fresh slate"
2.  Don't use any products with ingredients ending in -cone or -xane  (so unfortunately, you are going to have to replace all your products.

Do these two steps and I am sure you will see a difference and then we can troubleshoot from there.  If you want to use up the products you have before you start, pick up a sulfate shampoo as you cannot co-wash with your current conditioner and styling products. 

Hope this helps, and good luck! 

Edit: edited some bad grammar 

Guide 65

Welcome!  I agree with everything @tinksaysboo said.  Once you get rid of the build up and use the right products for you, you may be surprised at how much your hair curls up!

LadySuchan

Hey ladies!

Thank you so much for the advice. After reading what you said and downloading the curly girl guide and reading alot of it, last night I decided to experiment. I washed my hair with a sulfate shampoo for a final cleaning. Deep conditioned with Macadamia Nut Deep conditioner. Hair blot dried with towel. Then put on an all natural Aloe Vera Gel I had scrunched it in and then let it air dry completely. I pinned at the top too to create some volume. I cannot tell you how different and soft and light my hair feels. I actually feel the bounce! I am worried about what's going to happen after swimming today but time will tell! Here is my before and after picture. What do you guys think?!

tinksaysboo

It defiantly looks less weighed down and I see your curls really starting to show!  Yay!  I suggest keep going at this routine and make sure to deep condition at least once a week. 


CGM does take a while so don't expect your curls to be at the best within a couple weeks (a lot of people do and they end up disappointed).  I would say the average "transitioning" period where you trial and error to figure out your hair is about 6 months.  But don't freak out!  It sounds like, but it goes fast especially when you use communities like Naturally Curly to troubleshoot! 

I don't have any knowledge on curl care and swimming aside from investing in a swim cap.