wavy hair – The Greenwich Mummy

UPDATED: My type 2A wavy hair care routine & favourites

May 19, 2020June 22, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged Curl Type 2A, Curly Girl Method, hair, hair journey, haircare, wavy hairLeave a comment

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Wavy 2A Haircare Routine

Hello wavies!

I wrote my original wavy haircare routine back in 2018 and after two years+, constant chops and colour changes I wanted to write this post to show you how my hair is looking post-CGM, almost two and a half years (29 months) on.

In my opinion the Curly Girl Method is quite a lengthy hair journey to follow and if you follow it strictly, it can be very difficult. It’s also incredibly varied when it comes to results – some people start CGM and see beautiful transformations as little as three months into it. For others, it takes them a year plus – then there’s others like me that are still on the journey of discovering what works. I started off following it so strictly – no hair brushing, no clarifying but I eventually ended up with stringy waves and product build-up on my roots.

Summer 2019

After a year, I started getting used to the products more. Then by 18 months I kind of figured out that gel really works for my hair and the styling technique also makes a big difference. However I started bleaching my hair and my 2A waves regressed to 1C straight-but-bendy hair. Here are some photos of my hair back in July & August 2019. I used a strong-hold gel, applied with lots of scrunching and wet plopping then scrunched out the crunch (SOTC) after fully air dried:

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Hair wash day routine week 3

July 2019

July 2019 (L)

July 2019 (R)

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Hair & Beauty

August 2019

Aug 2019 (L)

Aug 2019 (R)

You can see July’s hair looks more straighter but by August, the waves tried to come back. It looks wavy but also more stringy as I put in more colours. Sometimes chemical processing can bring out the hair’s curl pattern but at the expense of drying out the hair. The result is stringy waves like mine but I loved my unicorn colours too much to care! I was able to salvage my hair with regular deep conditioning and cutting out all heat styling. 🙂

Spring 2020

So what’s changed with my routine since then? A few things. My hair is back to being 2A most days and if I’m really lucky, a few strands of swirly 2B dotted around my head. I really need to stop the damage from colouring. It’s like an addiction, seriously. My hair was its healthiest 1 year post-CGM (minimal hair colouring) and the waves were well-defined. You can see a photo in my previous posts. I need to get my hair health back to then! I’m still using the same brands; Shea Moisture and Noughty but introduced a few new ones too. I also realised that my hair responds well to both low-poos and co-wash and I need to clarify my hair every now and then.

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | London Family and Lifestyle Blogger — April week 1: day 1 post-wash, my 2A waves looking good (low-poo & air-dried)

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | My type 2A Swavy Wavy haircare routine UPDATE — April week 2: Another semi-colour and hair looks slightly stringy (low-poo & air-dried)

I mentioned in a recent blog post about sulfate-free cleansers that wavy hair will experience build-up more quickly than type 3+ curly-haired girls. For me, my hair needs to be clarified with a sulfate-based shampoo to ‘reset’ as a sulfate-free cleanser just doesn’t cut it. However, when I use a sulfate-based shampoo I always follow with deep conditioner for 20-30 mins straight after and apply a leave-in conditioner or curl cream as my final styling products. I only do this type of clarifying when my hair really feels like it needs it (usually after 3 months). The last time I clarified my hair was in March 2020.

Note: Only think about clarifying with a sulfate-based shampoo if you’re NOT strictly following CGM. If you are then try looking into rinse techniques ie. Rice Water Rinse (coloured-hair friendly) or Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse.

My updated type 2a wavy hair routine

[I will make sure I update this routine section whenever I change up my routine instead of creating a new post unless it’s really necessary.]

Cleanser: I wash with a low-poo cleanser once or twice (max!) a week. I swap my low-poo for a co-wash every three weeks or whenever my hair feels like it’s lacking moisture. I apply the product in my hands and concentrate on the roots, massaging firmly onto the scalp, I don’t dig in or scratch the scalp then with any left-over residue I try to scrunch it into the mid-lengths and ends. Currently using Shea Moisture’s JBCO Strengthen and Restore Shampoo (low poo) and Noughty’s One- Hit Wonder conditioning co-wash (wasn’t sure with this one at first but it has helped my hair to clump better). If I haven’t washed my hair for 8-10 days, I prefer using the Manuka Honey & Yoghurt low-poo as it seems to cleanse better because it lathers more.

Conditioner: I always use conditioner after cleansing and apply with the ‘squish to condish’ technique. I apply the product when my hair is dripping wet using prayer hands. I de-tangle my hair with my fingers and rake hair away from my head to ensure my hair doesn’t stick to my head for when I apply my leave-in and stylers. Currently using: Noughty Colour Bomb conditioner

Leave-in Conditioner: I’ve been skipping this step as I’ve not bought myself a new leave-in cream and my daughter’s leave-in is too heavy for my hair. My previous go-to choices were As I Am leave-in conditioner for more hydration (very lightweight) or Shea Moisture JBCO leave-in cream for more moisture. Currently using: Noughty Thirst Aid conditioning & detangling spray which I recently purchased to try out – it seems to work nicely on wet/damp hair and I guess it counts as a leave-in conditioner in a spray form.

Gel: Gel works a real treat on my hair, it always gives me the best definition and hold if I get the right one. I apply my gel when my hair is still wet and rub a big amount into my hands (if it’s a thick gel, I add extra water in my hands) and apply using the prayer hands method and gently scrunch in. I scrunch enough to squeeze out a a little excess water but not too much. I tend to use A LOT of gel to get a super solid cast which I scrunch out when it’s fully dried. I’ve found that when I add a small amount of gel I don’t really get a cast and then my waves don’t hold past the first day. Currently using: Twisted Sistas amazing dream curl gel or ECO Styler black castor & flaxseed gel. I refresh my waves using Boucleme’s curl defining gel and water. I apply using prayer hands but gently.

Styling finish: I usually leave my hair to air dry however I recently tried using a diffuser again and it really brought out my waves. I diffused until my hair was 80% dry but I think I could get away with just diffusing 50% dry then leave to air dry. I really don’t like adding heat to my hair but it seems to work really well. I diffuse by alternating the hot and cold settings and will continue to style this way when I’m short for time.

My haircare favourites!

Here’s a list of my favourite products that I’ve used over the years. The ones I’m currently using are listed in my haircare routine above but I’ll put an asterisk (*) beside so you can see here too. I’ve used a fair amount of other products from same or similar ranges too but as I didn’t enjoy them as much as I thought I would, they haven’t made it onto this list. I will also add to this list as I find more products I enjoy using and find works. Enjoy!

Cleansers:

As I Am Co-wash Conditioning Cleanser (co-wash)
Noughty One- Hit Wonder Cleansing Conditioner (co-wash)*
Noughty Wave Hello Curl Defining Shampoo (low poo)
Shea Moisture JBCO Strengthen and Restore Shampoo (low poo)*
Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Shampoo (low poo)
Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Yoghurt Hydrate & Repair Shampoo (low poo)*

Conditioners:

Noughty Colour Bomb Colour Protecting Conditioner*
Noughty Wave Hello Curl Defining Conditioner
Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Conditioner
Maui Moisture Hydration Hibiscus Water Conditioner
Maui Moisture Smooth Revive Vanilla Bean Conditioner

Hair Masks:

Noughty To The Rescue Moisturising Hair Mask*
Garnier Silicone-free argan hair mask

Curl Enhancers & Leave-in Creams:

Shea Moisture JBCO Leave-in Conditioner
As I Am Leave-in Conditioner
Noughty Thirst-Aid Conditioning & Detangling Spray*
Cantu Moisturising Curl Activator Cream (curl cream)
Boucleme Curl Cream

Stylers (Gels):

Boucleme Super Hold Styler*
Boucleme Curl Defining Gel*
Twisted Sistas Amazing Dream Curl Gel*
Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly Scrunching Jelly
ECO Style Professional Styling Black Castor & Flaxseed Gel (black lid)*
ECO Styler Olive Oil Gel (green lid)
DevaCurl Wave Maker – not a gel, more like a creamy ‘whip’ texture

My TOP 5 sulfate-free shampoos (low-poo cleansers) for wavy hair

May 7, 2020June 17, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged All In A Dads Work, british curlies, Curl Type 2A, Curly Girl Method, hair, haircare, low-poo cleansers, sulfate-free, vegan friendly, wavy hair1 Comment

Straight, Swavy and Wavy…

Type 1A hair is classed as poker-straight hair, 1B is straight hair with a few bends and kinks and 1C is straight-ish hair with a slight wave – this used to be called ‘swavy’ at one point. Type 2A hair is the ‘breakthrough start’ of wavy hair – hair looks loosely wavy and/or with a loose but visible S-curl pattern. When I started CGM ‘swavy’ was a curly girl term but it seems to have died out as I guess it’s more recognised as wavy hair now.

If the explanation above doesn’t help, I hope the image below does:

The Greenwich Mummy Blog - Curly Girl Method Hair Journey — Type 1-2 / Source: Rebloggy

Most people’s wavy hair will be made up of a combination of straight, swavy, wavy, even curly hair so don’t be disheartened if your locks look like mermaid waves one day and then straight with kinks the next day – it’s completely normal.

Over the two years, I’ve now come to terms that my hair falls between type 1C swavy and 2A wavy. When I was following the CGM very strictly I did find that I was getting better wave definition and I was even getting 2B and a few 2C wavy strands. Unfortunately that didn’t last long as I continued to bleach and colour my hair like crazy. 🙂

It is an expensive learning curve as my hair doesn’t have any specific curl direction nor does it clump well. I think that may be due to all the colouring. The only way I would probably get better results is if I stopped the hair processing altogether… I might end up doing so but not yet.

I love that I’ve learnt so much about natural hair care and since CGM I am happy to say that sulfate-free shampoos, or low-poo cleansers for curl-talk terms, are really fantastic products and should be the way forward for everyone who wants healthier hair.

So what are sulfates?

Sulfates are lathering agents in shampoos that are responsible for that “squeaky-clean” hair feeling after each use. Sulfates are known as ‘surfactants’ (a detergent-like foaming agents) and removes dirt, oils and debris from the hair surface. However prolonged or excessive use ie. shampooing daily can actually clean the hair too well and end up stripping the hair of its natural oils. What this eventually does is cause your hair to go into overdrive and produce more oils leaving you with greasier hair quicker. So what do you do? You reach for the shampoo again thinking you are making it better but you’re actually making it worse. The scalp needs to re-balance.

This same process happens to our skin, when the skin ie. on our face becomes dehydrated, it produces excess oil as it needs to re-balance – but you think you now have combination or oily skin so you reach for astringent alcohol-based products that strip your skin and leaving it even more dehydrated. The result? A never ending battle of dehydrated skin that leads to excessive oil production and possible acne. It’s a personal battle of mine too and I only found out a couple years ago.

Shampoo.. Low-poo… No-poo… Say what?

The lingo for the Curly Girl Method takes some getting used to but I’ll break down these curl-talk words in layman’s terms:

Shampoo – lots of lather, contains sulfates (gentle ones, harsh ones, or both)
Low-poo – minimal or little lather, gel or fluid consistency, sulfate-free
No-poo – no lather, rich and creamy, sulfate-free, also known as ‘co-wash’ which is just short for conditioning wash

In addition to sulfate-free shampooing cleansers, I also make sure that my haircare is free from parabens, silicones and any other petrochemicals or nasties. Easiest way I found is to look for vegan-friendly products or botanical products. A lot of ‘natural’ products are not always that natural… always read the ingredients list!

Is a sulfate free shampoo (low-poo cleanser) right for me?

Personally, I think everyone can benefit from a sulfate-free cleanser, especially people who do not use a lot of additional products in their hair. Many of the low-poos (gentle cleansing shampoos) cleanses the hair well. The only downside is that you won’t always get much of a lather but you’ll get used to that. For straight or swavy/wavy (type 1-2A) hair girls, and guys, that do use a lot of product in their hair ie hairspray, gels, creams, hair oil, leave-in treatments, it might be a good idea to still use a sulfate-based shampoo every now and then to thoroughly clarify the hair.

However, make sure your conditioner is silicone free! It’s fine and dandy using a sulfate-free cleansing shampoo but if you’re following that with a silicone-based conditioner you are not achieving anything apart from perhaps greasier-looking hair. The reason for this is because as good as a low-poo is, it will not be enough to remove silicone build-up. So if your other hair products contain silicones, you’ll need to clarify your hair. There are also clarifying methods you can look at ie. Apple Cider Vinegar rinse and Rice Water rinse – the latter is recommended for coloured hair.

I wash my hair once (twice max) a week with a low-poo but when my hair feels a little more dehydrated I like using a conditioning cleanser, also known as a ‘co-wash‘ or ‘no-poo‘ as these shampoo/cleansers have NO LATHER. (As I am co-wash conditioning cleanser is my go-to product). Once every few months, I switch out my low-poo for a sulfate-based shampoo and follow with a deep condition or protein treatment for 15-20 mins. I’ve found that this routine works well for my hair but you can read more about that in my other posts.

What else should I avoid if I am following the Curly Girl Method and/or want to look after my hair better?

If you’re new to the curl game or just want to avoid haircare nasties, here’s a list of what to look out for and avoid: https://www.curlsbot.com/curly-girl-ingredient-list/

You can also take a look at this article on the top 5 mistakes wavies make when starting CGM here on NaturallyCurly.com. It explains more about what I’ve mentioned in this post in regards to clarifying and more.

Top 5 sulfate-free cleansers for swavy & wavy hair

I have personally used all of the cleansers below so it’s been tried and tested on my type swavy wavy hair. All cleansers are lightweight so I’d say they’d work better on fine to medium density hair. If you have medium-high or high density hair, you might need something richer/moisturising like a co-wash.

Hair porosity also comes into play – if you have low hair porosity, try a lightweight low-poo cleansers as your hair will be more susceptible to build-up. You can always layer up on moisturising styling products ie leave-in conditioners, creams, mousse or gels after. For high porosity hair, you might want to try a co-wash first or the Shea Moisture JBCO and Manuka Honey shampoos which contains shea butter for that extra moisture boost. Curly Cailín wrote a post on her favourite low-porosity haircare products and listed some really good products that I love too including the As I Am co-wash I mentioned earlier!

1. Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Shampoo

I really loved using this low-poo cleanser. It lathers up nicely and a little goes a long way when using it. The coconut water hydrates the hair but as it’s so lightweight it’s cleanses well and doesn’t leave my hair feeling weighed down. I love using it in the summer as I get really hot and sweaty so this is a good one to keep my hair light and fresh. My waves also looked fab from wash day up to three days after – with a little refresh in between but fab nevertheless. It is one of my summer staples. It smells nice and fruity too.

Wash Rating: 5/5

2. Noughty Wave Hello Shampoo

This was one of the first wavy hair products I used and I enjoyed using it. I wasn’t a massive fan at first as it doesn’t lather much for a low-poo cleanser however if you’re already used to non-lather cleansers, you’ll like this one. It smells herbal which I love but some might not be a fan of the scent. As it doesn’t really lather, there’s not much slip so I always ended up using probably a lot more than I needed but I didn’t mind. As it was so gentle, I could do a double cleanse and rinse to really clarify my hair without it feeling stripped. I also love them because they are a British brand!

I wrote a review before on the Noughty Wave Hello collection here if you fancy another read.

Wash Rating: 4/5

3. Bouclème Hydrating Hair Cleanser

Another great British brand that I really love – the packaging is great, it smells delicious like sweet lemons or sherbets and is packed with glycerine. The hydrating cleanser lathers nicely and is very lightweight. It cleanses my hair well.

I usually have to use a refresher or curl cream with water to revive my waves after using this for my wash day as the air at home is really dry and it can leaves my hair feeling so light that I can feel the static – I don’t know if that even makes sense or it’s only me that experiences this static behaviour but it’s something I’ve noticed with my hair. It’s a little sad because I adore the rest of their line, especially their curl cream and curl defining gel. All of their products are also available in travel sizes so if you’re keen to give them a go without committing full, try the smaller bottle.

Wash Rating: 3/5

4. Shea Moisture JBCO strengthen & restore shampoo

I really love this low-poo and think it will always have a space on my bathroom shelf whilst I have my bleached hair. It really helps to nourish my hair but also cleanses deeply at the same time. It smells amazing, the peppermint with shea butter makes it smells like butter mints. Yummy.

Wash Rating: 4/5

5. Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Yoghurt Hydrate and Repair Shampoo

I really like the Shea Moisture range (it’s one of the first brands I tried) and decided to give another shampoo from their brand a try. I picked this one originally for my daughter who has fine type 3A/B curls and found that all of the other shampoos I’ve used for her before just didn’t do her curls any justice – even the beloved Shea Moisture JBCO shampoo! I used this on her and it worked a treat! It cleanses well but the lather is so silky smooth, it made her hair feel so soft after rinsing that it felt like it could skip conditioner… obviously we didn’t but you know what I mean.

I used it and it made my hair feel silky smooth too, I really liked using it. It also had a really good lather, more lather than all the other low-poos listed above. A little really goes a long way with this one. It cleanses well too so win-win all around!

Wash Rating: 5/5

BONUS: Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo

This is a product that I am waiting to try out. I got a small tester in my recent Look Fantastic purchase so I will give it a try on my next wash day. I’ve heard nothing but great reviews. All have said it cleanses brilliantly but leaves hair feeling soft and waves in check. The price range is also very affordable so a great product to try if you’re starting out your CGM journey. If your hair is glycerine sensitive, this is the perfect one for you to try as it’s glycerine-free unlike the others listed above.

NB. This post contains some affiliate links

My Curly Girl Method 18 months update: progression and regression photos

July 8, 2019May 16, 2020Posted in Family, Hair & BeautyTagged CGM, Curly Girl Method, hair, hair journey, hair journey regression, haircare, Non permanent hair colour, wavy 2a hair, wavy hair2 Comments

Can you believe it’s already been 18m (that’s 1 year and 6 months!) since I started my CGM journey and created my original Curly Girl post! So what are my thoughts on CGM after a year and a half of plopping, squish to condish-ing and scrunching?

Well what can I say really? I still see myself as a newbie; still learning every day and still finding it hard to work out my hair. Just when I think I’ve got the hang of it – BAM! Back to square one but then again it’s self-inflicted as I am to blame for that. I constant colour my hair and lighten it; just a last month I processed the hell out of it with bleach to lift it light enough to go pinky/peach.

I thought I’d create this post so you can see the highlights and the struggles of my wavy hair journey. It’s not always been rainbows and sparkles but can if you stick at it (unlike me and avoid chemical damage which is just as bad as heat damage) and really take the time to learn about your hair, you will yield much more. Now enough of the hair lecture, here are my progress/regress photos for you to feast your eyes on:

December 2017 – Pre-CGM

The photo below was taken pre-CGM by a week or two. WOW. As you can see it’s pretty much straight but there’s a few slight waves in the middle section at the back of my head.

January 2018

A month into my Curly Girl Method hair journey…

May 2018 – 6 months Post-CGM

My waves began looking more wavy but also stringy which was prob due to the colour processing. My hair doesn’t seem to clump as much as when I started but the waves have more of a squiggly pattern than a loose S pattern.

August 2018

I’ve gone pink! In this photo my hair is a little more undone but those are waves after being out all day. More clumping happened that day and I had a better curl pattern. The more frequently I deep conditioned my hair the better it looked.

October 2018

Had my first wavy cut at Jones & Payne Shoreditch but a fellow wavy called Lisa. She cut my hair really well and my hair felt much lighter. Unfortunately because she had to comb and brush it so much the waves were almost gone and she styled it by twisting strands to encourage clumping. I actually loved this technique and it helped my wavy hair look more defined, healthy and has a good loose waves/tousled look.

Once the pink colour faded I threw on a teal (semi-permanent) colour followed by intense deep conditioning to save it as much as I could. Here’s a photo of my hair wet and dry so you can see how different it looks. When my hairs wet, my waves always look good but by the time it’s dried (usually air dry) it looks a little more fluffy and wavy with a curly twists.

The two photos below are from one of my best hair days; I had the most curl clumps this day and cannot for the life of me remembered what I used or what I did because I didn’t keep a record! Argh! It looked amazing from the back and there was so many chunky, twisty waves I loved it. I do remember applying the Cantu curl activating cream but that’s about it. :’-(

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | My complete wavy hair care routine — The BEST clumping I ever had!

November 2018

Colour has faded but waves are curling slightly more. The photo below is actually around day 2 refresh and it looks good. Slightly fluffy but overall, okay. I find that my hair always looks good on refresh days; days 2 and 3 are usually the best.

December 2018: 1 year post-CGM

So I went back to dark hair and that marked a year since I went CGM. The condition is not bad and a slight change since I started. Not bad but a lot of other CGM wavies have had much better transformations than I but I’m not too sad about it. I put in as much effort, time and money as I could and this was the result. With two children, it’s not always easy to even spend 15mins on my hair let alone longer.

The photos below are from one of my rare best hair day. The waves looked amazing! It was one day post-wash day and I started off my wetting the hair with water, scrunching in mousse but then the waves were too hard but had beautiful definition so I did a light prayer hand over the top of the hair with some leave-in conditioner and lightly scrunched.

BEST hair day: what the waves look like from the back

March 2019

I decided to do a DIY chop at home to see if it would help my hair wave a little more and it did a little but not much. My hair did feel much healthier and all the dry ends were gone. I stopped deep conditioning regularly and only did it when I felt like my hair needed it and felt too dry.

If you like, I would say my wavy hair regression started from here – when I started to bleach my hair. Usually I would have my hair lightened in the salon but I was really broke so opted for a box job, which even though it looked nice, it really dried out my hair. I went back to deep conditioning my hair on a bi-monthly basis.

June 2019: 18 months post-CGM

Then went blonde in May and kept the blonde from becoming brassy with a regular treatment of silver semi-colour and silver shampoo which unfortunately contains sulfates. It really dried out my hair so each time I used the silver shampoo I would always follow with a deep conditioner. Last month (June) I added a pink semi-colour to my hair which is fading to a lovely peach over the weeks. I continue to deep condition and used a protein pack for the first time which worked really well for my high porosity, chemically-damaged hair. It left my hair feel UBER soft!

So, to summarise…

Let’s just say my hair journey became LESS CGM and more about processing the F*** out of it but hey! I get bored of my hair so quickly and couldn’t help it. Because it’s been processed, the condition and texture of the hair is no longer the same as when I started. It’s now more drier and coarse due to the chemical processing and damaged (a lot of deep conditioning helps!) and the curl pattern is less wavy than before but I’m slowly getting it back on track. I recently used a protein pack hair treatment which my hair loved so much, I was surprised how well it worked. As my hair is highly porous due to the damage the protein is necessary to help the hair repair.

To get the best results from doing the Curly Girl Method;

Avoid chemical processes to your hair ie. bleaching, dyeing, colour stripping
Deep condition your hair at least once a month or once a week/two weeks if you have damaged hair with a suitable hair masque
Keep a record of ALL the products you used on your hair each time you wash it or style it and take a photo to make a visual note of how your hair looks and responded to the products
IF you need to change a product from your current routine, change one product at a time so you can pinpoint exactly whether that product works/doesn’t work for your hair
Be patient. Getting the best results from CGM takes time… I’m still learning and I’m 18 months post-CGM!

Like living a healthy lifestyle, following CGM is not about getting to the end, it’s about the journey and the processes in between – learning what works, what doesn’t and how you can do it better. I don’t think I will ever stop colouring my hair so I have to learn to adapt CGM to a way that suits my hair best. The only time I had been really strict with CGM IS when I first started but right now, my modified way works. So the take-away lesson here is to not be afraid to adapt CGM to make it work for your hair. There is so much information out there on the web that you’re sure to find another wavy/curly girl in a similar situation to you so don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Read the articles on NaturallyCurly.com and BritishCurlies.co.uk because they are so helpful and on BC you can even sign up and chat on the forum with other wavies and curlies.

July 2019 – Slowly getting my waves back to a better condition

August 2019

Aug 2019 (R)

Aug 2019 (L)

Aug 2019 Back

Hair: Wash day routine + products list Wk3

June 17, 2019May 16, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged As I Am coconut cowash conditioning cleanser, CGM, Curly Girl Method, hair, hair journey, haircare, Wash Day series, wavy hairLeave a comment

So this post is a little late as I wanted to wash my hair twice last week. Last wash day Thursday and I washed it again last night Sunday. I’ve also purchased a new product – As I Am conditioning cleanser, £9.99 from Look Fantastic. It’s a gentle co-wash and apparently great for wavy hair as it’s really lightweight but still cleanses well. If you’ve never used a conditioning cleanser or know what it is, it’s basically a conditioner that has been formulated to cleanse and condition the hair without stripping it of natural oils. It’s great for curly girls but for wavies, it can be hit and miss as a lot of conditioning cleansers are too heavy for fine waves.

My hair is 2A but very ‘sensitive’ as the wind can blow my waves away and leave me looking a hot mess. I also find that my hair usually looks its best on refresh days, compared to wash days. I think that’s because my hair’s had time to ‘settle in’ and the gel has had time to work in the hair and the reviving mist of water just creates something beautiful.

My day 2 refresh hair always looks better than wash days

The cleansing conditioner worked really nicely on my hair and I felt like it did feel a little bit more moisturised than when I just normally cleanse with a low-poo. After rinsing out the co-wash, I still carried out my normal routine: conditioner, leave-in, and gel.

I thought to include photos of my hair immediately post-wash after styling this time so you can see how it looks when it’s wet and dry. Below, my hair is about 70% air dried after scrunching in gel with an old tshirt. My hair still looks quite stringy because my hair still doesn’t clump very well. My clumps are very thin and I still need practice with getting larger sections to clump together. I think I need to leave more water in my hair for when it dries, that will also help with the moisture but I need to figure out a way to lock that moisture in without weighing down my hair. I think I also need to switch back to my old gel; I love my Bouclème gel but it’s not giving me that super strong hold like my ECO olive oil gel did. It’s also a lot cheaper so I’ll have to give it a try again.

And here’s my hair the next morning after wash day. As I usually wash my hair the night before, when I’ve gone to bed with damp hair I tend to accidentally alter the wave pattern as I probably lie on it and squish my waves flat. I always consciously plop my hair to the top of my head but don’t use anything to cover it when sleeping. I’ll wash my hair during the day next week so you can see how it looks after air-drying… minus the squished waves!

See week 2’s hair wash day photos here

List of products used this wash day:

Cleanser: As I Am Coconut Cowash conditioning cleanser

Conditioner: Noughty Wave Hello conditioner

Leave-in: As I Am leave-in conditioner

Gel: Bouclème curl defining gel

Styling: ‘scrunch out the crunch’ technique

_
NB. this post contains affiliate links

My Noughty Wave Hello Haircare Review

December 1, 2018May 29, 2019Posted in Hair & Beauty, ReviewsTagged ad/sponsored post, Brand Collaboration, british curlies, Curly Girl Method, curly hair, haircare, natural products, Noughty, Reviews, wavy 2a hair, wavy hair1 Comment

…so Noughty it’s good!

I LOVE British brands when it comes to beauty. Especially now that we’ve been able to step up our game in offering high quality, natural products that actually work! I’ve become a convert with my skincare and have left a lot of my beloved Dermalogica products behind, swapping it for more natural brands like Neal’s Yard Remedies and Australian skincare brand, A’Kin because I also really like Aussie skincare and haircare brands.

I recently got my hands on some lovely samples of the Noughty Wave Hello range. I’m no newbie to the products, I’ve used them before and fell in love with some instantly but then moved away to try others, so it was nice to give them a go again. There’s also a vlog review which you can watch at the end of this post.

Check out my vlog at the end of this post!

I love experimenting with products but there are a few ranges that I really can’t be without and these definitely include the Noughty Hair care products. So without further ado, here’s my review on Noughty’s Wave Hello haircare range. If you don’t fancy reading, you can watch the video review instead. 🙂

My Noughty Wave Hello Haircare review…

For my loose wavy type 2A hair, I really love it! It’s nice and lightweight, cleanses my hair properly but still remains gentle and smells lovely and fresh. I used the Wave Hello shampoo, conditioner and curl creme in a number of different variations and can say after two weeks, I prefer using just the shampoo and conditioner as I found the curl creme just too heavy for my hair.

Wave Hello Shampoo/Low-poo
Enriched with sea kelp (to help soothe the scalp) and avocado oil (locks in moisture, strengthens hair), this low-poo gently cleanses the scalp to leave it fresh and clean without stripping it of natural oils.

As I only wash my hair twice a week maximum, I tend to get oil buildup on my scalp but just one application (sometimes two if it’s VERY OILY) and my scalp is squeaky clean. I feel like the shampoo lathers up much more than when I first tried out the range but that might be due to my hair now being used to non-sulfate/non-silicone cleansers. When I first used this range my hair was still getting used to changing over to the natural products so maybe it was more greasy then making it seem like there was less lather during each wash.

Post-washed hair (left) and 1st day after washing (right)

I cleanse my hair either in the bath if I’m having a soak or over it if it’s just a hair-wash day. I run warm water down the hair and lather up with this low-poo once or twice depending on how much buildup I’ve got. I concentrate the low-poo on my roots and spread the lather to the ends to keep them from being over-cleansed. I then rinse and always follow up with conditioner. When I am doing a clarifying wash, I would follow up with an intensive hair treatment/deep conditioner instead.

Wave Hello Conditioner
Definitely one of my favourite conditioners. The conditioner contains the same active ingredients as the shampoo. The two that I think really comes out in this product is something called ‘Quinoxy’ which somehow reminds me of ‘quinoa’. It’s similar – quinoxy is Noughty’s “blend of wheat extract, camellia oil and linoleic acid to blitz flyaways, decrease volume, boost smoothness and retain shape”. My fine to medium hair always seems less frizzy with the shampoo and when I mix it with water as part of my 2nd day hair refresh mist (1 part water, 1 part conditioner) it really revives my waves and keeps it as frizz-free as possible…

2nd day hair: near enough frizz-free!

I also really like Shea Moisture’s weightless coconut-fusion range and find it a great alternative to my Noughty Wave Hello collection. I alternate between these two as Shea Moisture products contain protein-based ingredients, Noughty doesn’t.

Wave Hello Curl Taming Creme
As much as I wanted to love it, it wasn’t for me. It made my hair feel heavy and just weighed down my sensitive, loose waves. From the video, you can see that my waves will literally straighten out if you brush them with your fingers. I think curlier hair or wavies with a tighter pattern will benefit from this cream, especially curlier hair as it’s a rich cream. It’s just too heavy for my fine and sensitive waves. My daughter’s 3A/3B curls really loves this cream and so I use it for her instead.

I use the Noughty curl taming creme on Ame’s 3A/3B curly hair

**Get a third off all Noughty hair care products on Boots.com**
shop here

So… do I recommend Noughty?

Hell yes! If you’re based in UK and following CGM, you will love this brand. It’s curly girl friendly and whether you have fine, loose waves like me or super curly hair like my daughter, there’s going to be a product that you will love. And with most products priced at £6.99 what’s not to love?! They have just launched their Christmas gift sets so you can even try a whole range for less. There’s also a promo on at Boots (see above link) and if we’re lucky we might see a half price promo on their website like we did on Black Friday! 🙂

What’s the ONE Noughty product I can’t live without?

This one I can answer hands down, without a doubt.. the To The Rescue intensive conditioning mask. O. M. G. I have not had anything like it! Super weightless but super hydrating and moisturising! The closest consistency I could measure it to would be the Shea Moisture JBCO leave-in conditioner; super creamy but super light like a whip.

It’s definitely going to stay on my shelf for many more years. A little goes a long way so I don’t need more than a scoop for my long hair. I love using the deep conditioning mask straight after a clarifying cleanse or whenever my hair seems a little dehydrated.

My #1 ultimate favourite Noughty product: To The Rescue intensive conditioning mask

… et voila!

And that’s my Noughty Wave Hello haircare review done!

If you’re planning to give Noughty a try, go for it. They’re an affordable range (all around £6.99 per 250ml bottle), 97% natural which is pretty damn good, cruelty-free (no testing on animals), vegan-based ingredients, and free from all those chemical nasties ie. silicones, sulfates and parabens.

–
Watch the vlog review:

NB. I received a sample of Noughty Wave Hello haircare collection (shampoo, conditioner and curl creme) in exchange for an unbiased review on this blog and vlog post. All opinions, photos and content are my own and shouldn’t be used without my consent.

My type 2A wavy hair care routine (CGM friendly)

October 3, 2018June 22, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged Curly Girl Method, hair journey, haircare, Noughty, Shea Moisture, squish to condish, wavy hair3 Comments

The Greenwich Mummy | My complete wavy hair care routine

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.

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.

update 04/05/2020
Since this post I have updated some of my products so I will create a new post that will link to this one. That way you can still see the brilliant products I used back in 2018 when this post was published and now in 2020.

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 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 Cream Activator) because if I use a leave-in because I don’t feel like my hair always needs the extra moisture. However, if i skip a leave-in, I’ll use a little curl cream before finishing off with a styler (gel). I scrunch-dry 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!

I will eventually get round to writing a review on the actual products as well as writing my review on the popular DevaCurl range. I have recently bought the DevaCurl Wavy hair mini kit so will be excited to give that a try as so many wavies and curlies swear by this US brand. I purchased it on a UK website called NaturalisticProducts which I think are one of the only UK stockists of the brand.

**updated 04/05/2020 – I’ve realised that I never reviewed this kit. It was really nice to give it a try but for me, the shampoo and conditioner didn’t really live up to the hype but I really liked the wave maker styling product. Personally, I thought it was a little bit too ‘chemical’ – not sure if that is the right word but it felt a little too cleansing for me. Lots of wavies and curlies swear by DevaCurl so don’t knock it until you try it.**

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

6 months update: My Curly Girl Method hair journey…

May 31, 2018June 17, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged CG Approved, CGM, Curl Type 2A, Curl Type 2B, Curly Girl Method, hair journey, haircare, Noughty, Reviews, Shea Moisture, straight hair, wavy hair3 Comments

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Curly Girl Method: Straight to Wavy Hair Journey

From straight hair to wavy hair…

Last year, December to be exact, I decided to start a hair journey called the Curly Girl Method (CGM). This method is known by many hair bloggers as the technique to really bring out your natural waves and curls. The method encourages using natural hair products that contain no parabens, SLS, sulfates, silicones, alcohol denat and other chemical nasties. It’s said that by eliminating these ingredients, wavies and curlies will be able to unleash their hair’s full potential.

My hair has always been – what I thought – was pretty much straight hair (fine/medium density) with a few kinks. It wasn’t until I started looking back at some of my photos that I noticed I did have a wave halfway-down my hair and thought I might as well give the Curly Girl Method a try…

Here’s a pic of my before and afters. Wow oh wow! What a difference right?! I’m telling you, no matter how much I tried to scrunch my hair before going CG, there were no waves were coming through. Now I can even get my waves to come through with a quick spritz of water on the second day!

My hair type:
Curl Type – a combination of 2A/2B
Density – fine/medium
Porosity – high as it’s coloured
Length – long

Here’s what I was using/am using now:

Shampoo: I used Noughty Wave Hello until March when it ran out and switched over to Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion as I bought it when it was on sale for half-price on Look Fantastic.
Conditioner: I used Noughty’s Wave Hello conditioner and also switched over to Shea Moisture’s Fruit Fusion weightless conditioner in March.
Deep conditioning hair mask: I didn’t use one to start with as I couldn’t find one that was good and cheap but then found Garnier’s new argan silicone-free mask in February and was using that once a week. I now use Noughty’s Hair To The Rescue mask once a week.
Styling: for styling I was using a CGM favourite, Umberto Giannini Curl Jelly which smelt amazing and worked well however I got tired of scrunching out the gel cast and moved over to my new fave styling product, the ECO Styler olive oil gel (green one) which I got from the African/Asian hair shop. I still use both. When I prefer to have a natural, softer wave I opt for my daughter’s leave-in product, ORS anti-breakage monoi oil curling creme however it’s too heavy for my hair so I’ve been thinking about purchasing the Noughty Hydrate & Shine serum. As my hair is fine/medium it needs really light products and I’ve found Noughty is great for this (more below)… 🙂

My favourite products/brands

There’s no doubt about it, the two brands I really love is new UK brand, Noughty and popular US brand, Shea Moisture.

I first heard about the Shea Moisture brand from my friend who is mixed (Jamaican/Chinese) and she has coily hair (roughly 4B curl type) and she recommended the castor oil range for my children’s hair. When they launched their weightless Fruit Fusion I decided I had to give it a try. Unlike Noughty, Shea Moisture’s shampoo still lathers up quite well without SLS and sulfates. For people who are just starting out on CGM and feel like their hair might not be able to handle the little/no lather and have fine to medium hair will love the Fruit Fusion range. It smells really nice too and the coconut water in the Fruit Fusion range seems to help my hair stay a little more hydrated.

Noughty is a brilliant UK brand and I can’t recommend it enough for curlies and especially wavies. The products are always weightless and smell amazing too! Every product is 97% and vegan-friendly – they never test on animals. I was sent the ‘to the rescue’ hair mask by Noughty to try and I was a little skeptical at first because I tried the Garnier argan range and as lovely as it smells and feels on my hair in the bath (the only silicone-free range by Garnier), it tends to weight it down – it’s great for Baby Girl’s curl type 3A/3B hair though! Noughty’s hair mask is extremely lightweight, easy to apply and smells absolutely delicious – think sweet, sweet almonds! The mask was light enough to not even fully rinse out. I really loved it and it definitely offers my hair more moisture without weighing it down. On the Noughty website, they offer free delivery for orders over £10 – happy days!

Another brand I’d like to try is Boucleme, I’ve heard lots of good things about their products so might try them out once my Shea Moisture products have finished.

6 months on…

I started off with straight hair that had a few kinks in it here and there. After six months of going CGM, I would say my wavy hair curl type is a combination of 2A/2B. There’s few good clumps of 2B but it’s mainly type 2A. I’m really excited to see how my hair journey progresses in a few month’s time, and eventually in a year’s time.

It’s been a difficult six months as I loved dying my hair and now it’s so tricky as each time I dye it, it gets damaged. Hair masks with protein does help but my hair eventually feels weighed down by it so I’m still looking for a protein-based hair mask that doesn’t do that… still searching! If you know if any, please comment and let me know asap. Plus if it’s available in the UK that’ll help as US products are really expensive to ship over. I would love to try out the Deva Curl range but it’s expensive to ship and I’ve read reviews about it being watered down from Amazon purchases… yeah I’ll pass on that one.

My top tips and advice for fellow wavies…

Squish to condish is one of the most important steps in our hair washing routine. After adding conditioner, I comb through my hair with my fingers to detangle then squish to condish from there to rinse and finish.
Don’t fully rinse out all of the conditioner – stop rinsing one cycle short to leave a little conditioner in, I find it helps with the flyaway hairs. If you find this too ‘greasy’ you can run water over the top of your head and cradle your hair to prevent the waves from stretching out.
Scrunch scrunch and scrunch! When towel-drying use an old cotton or jersey tshirt as it’s much softer and prevents frizz. Stop scrunching halfway to add your styling product however I found with gel it’s best to add it to the hair when it’s wet then add in again when it’s halfway dry.
Plopping works great unless your hair is very long. A quick blast with a diffuser will help cut drying time and helps prevent the waves from stretching out, I usually switch from a blast of the hot setting to 5 secs of the cold setting then wait 3-5 secs before taking the diffuser away to do other sections.
Regularly trim your ends to keep your hair healthy.
A weekly hair mask is vital especially if you have coloured hair like me. Experiment between products with and without protein (if your hair is low porosity, it won’t like the protein).

The Curly Girl Method does really work but it is definitely NOT a quick hair fix. You do really have to work hard for your waves and watch out for the products that are not CGM-approved. British Curlies can help with their extensive list of ingredients to avoid if you get stuck.. there’s lots to remember! Learning more about my hair has also made me realise how much I need to teach Baby Girl about her hair when she gets older. Unfortunately our products are different and she requires a little more care than I but it’s a good learning curve. She loves her curls and I’m so glad that she does! 🙂

If you haven’t had a chance to read my first Curly Girl Method blog post, you can do so here: https://thegreenwichmummy.com/2017/12/22/curly-girl-method-for-wavy-hair-my-haircare-journey-and-routine/ – there’s some pretty useful links on there too and good to know hair tips and advice for wavies and curlies starting out their hair journey.

I was kindly sent a sample of Noughty’s ‘to the rescue’ hair mask to try in exchange for a product review. All words, photos and opinions are my own content. This post also contains affiliate links.

The Curly Girl Method: from straight hair to wavy hair

December 22, 2017May 7, 2020Posted in Hair & BeautyTagged Curly Girl Method, hair hacks, haircare, Lifestyle, natural products, straight hair, wavy hair8 Comments

As long as I can remember, I’ve always considered myself as having straight hair. It was only until two years ago when I had my hair cut by my favourite stylist at my previous workplace, she told me that my hair was wavy. I’ve always had bends and kinks in my hair – it’s not dead straight so I should’ve thought about it more before and researched it. However, all of my family members have straight hair plus I’m Asian and there’s not many of us who are naturally curly girls.

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | How to make straight hair wavy! — Dreamy waves / Credit: Averie Woodard on Unsplash

As I’ve been looking after Baby Girl’s hair better and researching the different types of curl types, hair density and porosity, I think I’ve worked out her hair type and mine. The articles on British Curlies and Natural Barnet have helped me out a lot. They are UK sites and feature more products that we can get our hands on. For the US, I love NaturallyCurly.com, Hairstylehub.com and All Things Hair.

I would say that I have ‘swavy’ (straight-wavy) to wavy hair as my curl pattern falls between type 1C and 2A which is great but I really do have to work hard to get my waves to stay defined once dried. My hair density is fine and has low-medium porosity. 🙂

The night before: beautiful, defined waves, 60% dry

The morning after: waves dropped and the frizz had set in

I always a slight wave/bend in my hair which I never really took notice of before. I always thought my hair was just a little thicker than normal and hard to manage because of the frizz. It responds really well to heat but I try to avoid heating tools because of the damage. I colour my hair a lot so I have to try and reduce the damage by cutting certain things out.

So with my new-found waves, I began researching more into the Curly Girl Method. It’s a method of hair maintenance using sulfate-free and silicone-free products and conditioning as these ingredients can really damage and weigh down curly hair types. Silicones can build up in the hair and are known to prevent natural curls from unleashing their full potential. As my hair is fine/medium density, I am choosing to not co-wash but using a low-poo (sulfate-free shampoo) instead.

What is the Curly Girl Method?

If you’ve been looking into the Curly Girl method and not sure where to start, here’s what you should be doing… Do not use conventional hair care products, all hair care products must be free from silicones and sulfates!

Cleansing – choose to either wash your hair with a low-poo (sulfate-free shampoo) or no-poo/co-wash (conditioning cleanser)

Condition – use a conditioner that is right for your hair density and porosity, if your hair is fine-medium use a lightweight conditioner, if your hair is medium-thick/coarse, use a very moisturising and nourishing conditioner

Treatment – use a hair masque once or twice a week to treat the hair to extra moisture. Just like the conditioner, use a product that is ideal for your hair condition (curl type, density, porosity)

Styling – choose your weapon! If you have waves to loose curls, use something lightweight like a gel or mousse to define the waves. If you prefer a softer look, use a lightweight cream, lotion or milk. If you have tight curls or coily hair you will need a more moisturising product to control frizz and manage your curls. A leave-in conditioner or cream would work best on your hair.

Which curl type are you?

Check out the illustrations below to help you identify your curl type. I started off with hair type 1B with odd kinks and now have 1C and 2A hair type with the odd 2B strands.

Product ingredients to avoid…

British Curlies which has become my ingredients list bible – it displays all the product nasties you’ll need to avoid: https://www.curlsbot.com/curly-girl-ingredient-list/ – it explains the difference between insoluble and soluble silicones and alcohols to avoid.

I really want to purchase some of the hair care products that are a CGM (Curly Girl Method) staple but 1. I can’t afford it, or 2. it’s just available in the US – boo! So I tracked down a few UK brands that specialise in wavy hair to try out and hopefully bring out my new waves/curls. 🙂

Brands that free from sulfates, silicones, parabens and other nasties:

Cantu
Noughty
Shea Moisture
Boucleme
Kind Natured

Liz Earle is a British brand that I really love – they are a botanical product company with hair care products that are free from all the nasties above. The only thing is they don’t have a specialised range for wavy/curly hair but it’s a brand I’ve tried before (pre-CGM) but would love to try again once my waves have come into full swing.

My CGM routine

Right now, this is my Curly Girl Method routine which I do about twice a week. I’m a month into CG and have not looked back! Apparently it’s said to take around 6-8 weeks before my natural curl pattern will start coming through however I can already feel my hair texture is changing. The curls are becoming more visible week by week (I’m now in week 4) and I am loving it!

Here are the products I’m using:

Cleansing/Low-poo – Noughty Wave Hello shampoo (I don’t co-wash)
Conditioner – Noughty Wave Hello conditioner
Treatment – I’m not using a deep weekly treatment but I recommend Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Weightless Masque (once weekly) for wavy hair
Styling – Umberto Giannini Scrunching Jelly (a CGM staple product) which I am totally in love with! I also use Giovanni GNV styling mousse which is so lightweight. Both products are fantastic and do not leave a sticky feel.

I took a photo once every week to see how my hair has progressed so far and it’s really come a long way! When my hair is wet it curls much more but the hair underneath the head feels more thicker and heavier so it still doesn’t curl much but there’s a few kinks coming along so hopefully in a few month’s time, that will improve.

The Greenwich Mummy Blog | Curly Girl Method: My wavy hair journey — Week 1

1 year update post-CGM

One year on… here’s a before and after photo for you. Now, I have to mention that the after photo was taken post-wash and styled so well as I can NEVER get my hair to look like that daily. It was a combo of using mousse to scrunch and then gentle prayer hands over the top mid-lengths with leave-in conditioner to tame the strays.

Left: before CGM, type: 1B / Right: 1 year post-CGM, type: 2A

Products used in the right photo:
Cleansing/Low-poo – Shea Moisture weightless shampoo
Conditioner – Noughty Wave Hello conditioner
Leave-in conditioner – Shea Moisture JBCO
Styling – Boucleme curl defining gel post-wash, Giovanni GNV styling mousse the next day