Curly Girl vs. Tightly Curly method

[HanaKuroi]

Have any of you ladies tried both? Is there a big difference between the two? Which method do you recommend?

 

[ZLUVSNEWZEE]

BUMPING, I WANT TO KNOW TOO BEFORE I GIVE UP ON MY TRANSITION

 

[Serenity_Peace]

What's the difference?

 

[DaiseeDay]

Well you could easily use both.

The curly girl method in a nutshell is just not using silicones and sulphate shampoo.

Tightly curly doesn't suggest using silicones or harsh shampoos either.

The only difference is that tightly curly uses just conditioner to style and includes washing and styling only once a week.

While a lot of people on the curly girl method also use styling creams, gels, etc to style and they also co-wash (conditioner wash) their hair and only cleanse it when they need to.

ETA: Oops Tightly Curly does suggest some silicone conditioners, but they still have overall good ingredients.

 

[HanaKuroi]

DaiseeDay I think I will try a modified version of this. If I still use stylers can you still achieve the clumping?

I use ctdg and oyin hair dew. No gels though.

 

[Cherokee-n-Black]

I've tried both. They're very similar to me. I don't detect any difference except that tightly curly doesn't eschew the use of sulfates and cones. Also, if you have "tight" curls or what CG method calls "fractal curls" then they also suggest leaving the conditioner in, but as a pp said, use gels and other things to define curls. My reggie right now consists of co-washing using a leave-in (not a rinse out as a leave in) and a styler. I love the results and they are better than what I had with just leaving in the conditioner. That said, both methods do a great job defining curls and I have to say, I really don't have any issues with detangling since using either method.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Well you could easily use both.

The curly girl method in a nutshell is just not using silicones and sulphate shampoo.

Tightly curly doesn't suggest using silicones or harsh shampoos either.

The only difference is that tightly curly uses just conditioner to style and includes washing and styling only once a week.

While a lot of people on the curly girl method also use styling creams, gels, etc to style and they also co-wash (conditioner wash) their hair and only cleanse it when they need to.

I agree, also the Tightly Curly method recommends silicone based conditioners for those curly heads that love silicones---some hairtypes actually do well with it. Curly Girl doesn't suggest silicones at all.

Also Curly Girl suggest using fingers only or wide tooth comb to detangle, and with the Tightly Curly method you can use a denman brush. Curly Girl method is against the use of brushes since it causes more frizz and breakage.

Tightly Curly recommends using lots of conditioner to style your hair, Curly Girl recommends leaving a small amount of conditioner after your final rinse and then using any styling aid if needed.

 

[NikkiGirl]

I have tried both and they are similar, but the outcome for me was entirely different:

Tightly Curly: I used a denman and brushed through my hair with lots of conditioner in it and then let it dry. You can either use conditioner with or without silicones. I did not like that this method it left my curls displaced and oddly shapped. My hair curls in ringlets and I got these fat wierd looking clumps. UMMM NO! And this method causes way too much shrinkage. I like my natural curls better than the wierd curls this method gave me!

Curly Girl: This method advocates no poo or low poo and using conditioner as a leave in but only combing or brushing with your fingers. I bought this book and this changed the way I styled my hair. I saw a major difference the first time. A few things:

1. I had a frizzy patch in the front that kind of waved and frizzed instead of curled. It was annoying because once I went natural I wanted to wear my hair out some! Please keep in mind that I thought this hair was heat damaged two years ago, so I used a very minimal amount of heat while I grew my hair out and it started to get more of a pattern, but still frizzy. I stopped using a brush to smooth my hair back and a few days later, this hair is not frizzing and is curling.

2. The first time I did this I did scrunch like she says to in the book with loads of conditioner in my hair, however this caused a ton of shrinkage that I usually don't have. So I modified that a little. I do scrunch, but minimally and I just apply the conditioner to my hair and run it throught with my fingers.

3. I was a little concerned with the amount of conditioner she advocates leaving in you hair, but it has been working and I squeeze out any excess. The theory is to supply your hair with a lot of conditoner and it will absorb what it needs. And I find my hair is not hard to get "wet" anymore. So before I started this method, I would stand under the shower longer because my hair took a while to feel wet. But this keep my hair moisturized and it gets "wet" fast.

I hope this was helpful. I found a ton of info on the web, but I still found buying the book to be so informative and helpful. Not to mention she really adores curls of all types and wants you to love your curls which is inspiring to me!

This was just my experience I will add!

 

[HanaKuroi]

I have tried both and they are similar, but the outcome for me was entirely different:

Tightly Curly: I used a denman and brushed through my hair with lots of conditioner in it and then let it dry. You can either use conditioner with or without silicones. I did not like that this method it left my curls displaced and oddly shapped. My hair curls in ringlets and I got these fat wierd looking clumps. UMMM NO! And this method causes way too much shrinkage. I like my natural curls better than the wierd curls this method gave me!

Curly Girl: This method advocates no poo or low poo and using conditioner as a leave in but only combing or brushing with your fingers. I bought this book and this changed the way I styled my hair. I saw a major difference the first time. A few things:

1. I had a frizzy patch in the front that kind of waved and frizzed instead of curled. It was annoying because once I went natural I wanted to wear my hair out some! Please keep in mind that I thought this hair was heat damaged two years ago, so I used a very minimal amount of heat while I grew my hair out and it started to get more of a pattern, but still frizzy. I stopped using a brush to smooth my hair back and a few days later, this hair is not frizzing and is curling.

2. The first time I did this I did scrunch like she says to in the book with loads of conditioner in my hair, however this caused a ton of shrinkage that I usually don't have. So I modified that a little. I do scrunch, but minimally and I just apply the conditioner to my hair and run it throught with my fingers.

3. I was a little concerned with the amount of conditioner she advocates leaving in you hair, but it has been working and I squeeze out any excess. The theory is to supply your hair with a lot of conditoner and it will asbord what it needs. And I find my hair is not hard to get "wet" anymore. So before I started this method, I would stand under the shower longer because my hair took a while to feel wet. But this keep my hair moisturized and it gets "wet" fast.

I hope this was helpful. I found a ton of info on the web, but I still found buying the book to be so informative and helpful. Not to mention she really adores curls of all types and wants you to love your curls which is inspiring to me!

This was just my experience I will add!

Thanks so much. I will buy the curly girl book. The denman caused lots of breakage and ripped out my hair. I was in denial over it. I finger detangle and smooth only now. The denman use in the other method had me leery. NikkiGirl

 

[*Frisky*]

I agree, also the Tightly Curly method recommends silicone based conditioners for those curly heads that love silicones---so hairtypes actually do well with it. Curly Girl doesn't suggest silicones at all.

Also Curly Girl suggest using fingers only or wide tooth comb to detangle, and with the Tightly Curly method you can use a denman brush. Curly Girl method is against the use of brushes since it causes more frizz and breakage.

Tightly Curly recommends using lots of conditioner to style your hair, Curly Girl recommends leaving a small amount of conditioner after your final rinse and than using any styling aid if needed.

I think this might be were I am going wrong...using too much conditioner. My hair felt kinda stiff this time after I did it and my twists didn't look the way I like for them too. I didn't use any gel either. Just twisted after the conditioner. I had never hear of Tightly Curly til this thread hahahaha..so much out there to figure out on natural hair.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

I think this might be were I am going wrong...using too much conditioner. My hair felt kinda stiff this time after I did it and my twists didn't look the way I like for them too. I didn't use any gel either. Just twisted after the conditioner. I had never hear of Tightly Curly til this thread hahahaha..so much out there to figure out on natural hair.

*Frisky*, unless your hair loves lots of conditioner left on after your co-wash, then it's best to rinse, but leave a little conditioner on if possible. I find that my hair doesn't like tons of conditioner left on, it gets stiff. Perhaps once my hair becomes more moisturized then I can use conditioner only.

As for my experience, my hair is really thriving with the Curly Girl Method---it's been almost or right at 2 months and I notice a huge difference in my hair.

The Tightly Curly method, no matter what conditioner I used, didn't do my hair any justice whatsoever. My hair didn't like the massive amounts of conditioner, and my hair always looked dull/ashy afterwards.

 

[greenandchic]

*Frisky*, unless your hair loves lots of conditioner left on after your co-wash, then it's best to rinse, but leave a little conditioner on if possible. I find that my hair doesn't like tons of conditioner left on, it gets stiff. Perhaps once my hair becomes more moisturized then I can use conditioner only.

As for my experience, my hair is really thriving with the Curly Girl Method---it's been almost or right at 2 months and I notice a huge difference in my hair.

The Tightly Curly method, no matter what conditioner I used, didn't do my hair any justice whatsoever. My hair didn't like the massive amounts of conditioner, and my hair always looked dull/ashy afterwards.

I have that issue with rinse out conditioners. My hair likes the conditioner, but it does look dull. I can't find a rise out that I can use as a leave in...

 

[faithVA]

This thread is very informative. I didn't know there was a difference. I definitely want to try these as soon as spring comes in. I have a feeling tightly curly might be better for me but looking forward to giving them both a try.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

Save your money on buying the curly girl book, lol. This thread pretty much tells you what to do/use.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[greenandchic]

Save your money on buying the curly girl book, lol. This thread pretty much tells you what to do/use.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

Agree. I've also seen them at used book stores and libraries. The book has been around long enough that there are some used copies out there.

 

[FindingMe]

NikkiGirl ~~HoneyComb~~: I really want to do full curly girl and drop the comb/brush, but my hair get SO tangled and snarled I feel like if I keep no-poo washing & conditioning it without fully detangling, I will eventually have a matted mess on my head.

How do you keep on top of tangles?erplexed If I stop using the brush/comb, will my hair be able to easily be finger combed after a while? I am full curly girl right now with the exception of me using a detangler tool (wide tooth comb, brush) in the shower.

Like Nikki, I have a patch (mine is 4a) right in the front of my hair that won't curl and just frizzes and I thought it was damaged, so I cut bangs 2 years ago and have kept them cut, so it's not heat damage or scab hair, which is what i originally thought when I first Bc'd. I just really want it to behave if it can

 

[greenandchic]

FindingMe - I totally hear you on that. I have a lock that I've been picking apart for days now due to my lack of combing. I thought finger detangling was enough, but its not, at least how I've been doing it.

My curl pattern is such it clumps together like ramen noodles, and I think the strands get locked together.

 

[HanaKuroi]

I detangle in the shower with oil/conditioner mix most of the time. I let the water pressure detangle and remove leftover sheds I may have missed Sometimes I will dry detangle with with my fingers. I think it depends on how you wear your hair everyday. I wear my hair in braidouts or braidout tucked buns usually. I rebraid in four sections at night m/s and tuck the braids under. I don't wear styles that tangle my hair. I am natural 4 something.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

@ NikkiGirl @ ~~HoneyComb~~: I really want to do full curly girl and drop the comb/brush, but my hair get SO tangled and snarled I feel like if I keep no-poo washing & conditioning it without fully detangling, I will eventually have a matted mess on my head.

How do you keep on top of tangles?erplexed If I stop using the brush/comb, will my hair be able to easily be finger combed after a while? I am full curly girl right now with the exception of me using a detangler tool (wide tooth comb, brush) in the shower.

Like Nikki, I have a patch (mine is 4a) right in the front of my hair that won't curl and just frizzes and I thought it was damaged, so I cut bangs 2 years ago and have kept them cut, so it's not heat damage or scab hair, which is what i originally thought when I first Bc'd. I just really want it to behave if it can

@FindingMe I had the same reservations as you because my hair tangles very easy, but I really wanted to let the denman go and see if my hair could benefit from it.

The first couple of washings it took me almost an hour to detangle, with the denman it was just 15-20 minutes. The more I do it, the easier it gets and the less shed hairs I have. I use a combination of my fingers and wide tooth comb. Also, I do like @HanaKuroi and make sure I coat my hair heavily with conditioner, let the water from the shower acts as a detangler to help with the shed hairs. Also the past couple of washings, I've put my hair in several twists and do each section separately. Once I get out of the shower I take one section at a time, spritz thoroughly and get more shed hairs out of each section if there are still more. After that, I put my product on the section and retwist for a twistout.

My curls are more clumped together, which helps to alleviate that frizzy look of trying to have each strand separated.

The next time I detangle, I'm going to use a fine tooth comb after I feel I've detangled enough with the widetooth and see what happens.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

NikkiGirl ~~HoneyComb~~: I really want to do full curly girl and drop the comb/brush, but my hair get SO tangled and snarled I feel like if I keep no-poo washing & conditioning it without fully detangling, I will eventually have a matted mess on my head.

How do you keep on top of tangles?erplexed If I stop using the brush/comb, will my hair be able to easily be finger combed after a while? I am full curly girl right now with the exception of me using a detangler tool (wide tooth comb, brush) in the shower.

Like Nikki, I have a patch (mine is 4a) right in the front of my hair that won't curl and just frizzes and I thought it was damaged, so I cut bangs 2 years ago and have kept them cut, so it's not heat damage or scab hair, which is what i originally thought when I first Bc'd. I just really want it to behave if it can

I CG, and I detangle every weekend, under running water, in the shower. Do what works for you.

Sent from my iPad using LHCF

 

[FindingMe]

@FindingMe I had the same reservations as you because my hair tangles very easy, but I really wanted to let the denman go and see if my hair could benefit from it.

The first couple of washings it took me almost an hour to detangle, with the denman it was just 15-20 minutes. The more I do it, the easier it gets and the less shed hairs I have. I use a combination of my fingers and wide tooth comb. Also, I do like @HanaKuroi and make sure I coat my hair heavily with conditioner, let the water from the shower acts as a detangler to help with the shed hairs. Also the past couple of washings, I've put my hair in several twists and do each section separately. Once I get out of the shower I take one section at a time, spritz thoroughly and get more shed hairs out of each section if there are still more. After that, I put my product on the section and retwist for a twistout.

My curls are more clumped together, which helps to alleviate that frizzy look of trying to have each strand separated.

The next time I detangle, I'm going to use a fine tooth comb after I feel I've detangled enough with the widetooth and see what happens.

~~HoneyComb~~: OMG. 1 hour to detangle? I don't have that to spare on a every other day/daily basis. How often do you detangle then with both combs?

 

[Serenity_Peace]

A couple of questions:

1. What conditioners are you ladies using?
2. Are you putting anything else besides conditioners?
3. What do you do about build up if you get it?

Thanks!

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

@ ~~HoneyComb~~: OMG. 1 hour to detangle? I don't have that to spare on a every other day/daily basis. How often do you detangle then with both combs?

Yes, FindingMe, I was beyond frustrated, but I was determined to do this. I've now got my detangling sessions down to 1/2 hr, which is still longer than I want to do it, but much better than when I started. When I first started it seemed like it took forever to get the shed hair out.

Another thing that I realize with my hair is that, if I wear a wash n go, I better be prepared to cowash daily because my hair at it's current length will not go longer than a day in that style....tried it, didn't work. So I do twistouts only, no wash n gos for me that's asking for trouble.

I haven't tried the fine tooth comb yet, I want to try it my next detangle day.

I detangle once a week when I cowash.

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

A couple of questions:

1. What conditioners are you ladies using?
2. Are you putting anything else besides conditioners?
3. What do you do about build up if you get it?

Thanks!

Serenity_Peace
I use Suave Tropical Coconut and Tresemme Conditioner (the silicone free one)

I use styling gels after I cowash.

The gels I currently use do not cause buildup no matter how much I use. I can use a little daily for a week and I get no buildup whatsoever.

 

[FindingMe]

~~HoneyComb~~: Thanks, sis. I think I could probably try once a week detangling - like on the weekends, but I *know* my hair is gonna be ratty during that week while I'm co-washing/wearing WnGs

ETA: How often do you wash with CG method when you do the twist-outs?

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

@ ~~HoneyComb~~: Thanks, sis. I think I could probably try once a week detangling - like on the weekends, but I *know* my hair is gonna be ratty during that week while I'm co-washing/wearing WnGs

FindingMe you're welcome, but please know that in the beginning it takes a lot of patience, and the first few weeks your hair could look worse before it looks better (the book says it takes about 6 weeks to notice a difference), but hang in there, it does get better as long as you are consistent and use the correct hair products

 

[NikkiGirl]

@NikkiGirl @~~HoneyComb~~: I really want to do full curly girl and drop the comb/brush, but my hair get SO tangled and snarled I feel like if I keep no-poo washing & conditioning it without fully detangling, I will eventually have a matted mess on my head.

How do you keep on top of tangles?erplexed If I stop using the brush/comb, will my hair be able to easily be finger combed after a while? I am full curly girl right now with the exception of me using a detangler tool (wide tooth comb, brush) in the shower.

Like Nikki, I have a patch (mine is 4a) right in the front of my hair that won't curl and just frizzes and I thought it was damaged, so I cut bangs 2 years ago and have kept them cut, so it's not heat damage or scab hair, which is what i originally thought when I first Bc'd. I just really want it to behave if it can

I detangle with conditioner in the shower by finger combing. I honestly don't get that many tangles. The most I remember getting tangles is when I was transitioning and my hair was a beast to detangle right at the line of demarcation. So I remember when I BCed I was so happy that I didn't have to deal with the tangles anymore.

You can always modify the CG some and use a wide tooth comb to detangle evey week to couple of weeks and then finger comb more often. For instance, I co-wash literally every day or every other day but I don't detangle everyday. Since I just cut my hair, I am wearing more protective styles and I am putting my hair up a lot so I don't think it matters and my hair doesn't mat. I would just modify to do what works best for you.

Oh, what helped with my frizzy patch in front was using conditioner and not combing or brushing it at all. It dries with a curl pattern now that is soft. Earlier this week, I did a sleek side pony and for shame I used a brush to smooth down because I wanted it to be really sleek with waves, anyway when I washed my hair the front was frizzy again. After a couple of washes it reverted. I think that hair is just delicate and has to be handled with care. So why don't you use the denman/wide tooth in the places that you don't have problems with and don't use the brush/wide tooth on the frizzy part you are trying to baby back to life.

I am sorry this is so long-winded.

 

[NikkiGirl]

A couple of questions:

1. What conditioners are you ladies using?
2. Are you putting anything else besides conditioners?
3. What do you do about build up if you get it?

Thanks!

1. I am using Tresemme Naturals as my leave-in. I just tried Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine(new formula with no silicones) and I don't know how I like that yet. I co-wash daily to every two days so I try to use inexpensive conditioner for this so I don't spend too much.

2. If I am ponytailing like I am most of the time I put grapeseed oil on top of the conditioner. If I am wearing a wash n go (weekends only) I use Deva Angel gel on top of the conditioner. It can dry a little hard sometimes, but I use a heavy hand. But once dry I use the grapeseed oil to scrunch out any crunch and leave a good shine.

3. I don't really get build up. I have only been doing this method for a few weeks, so I honestly don't know yet.

I hope this is helpful!

 

[faithVA]

This may be a silly question but just wanting to make sure. I know many of those using these methods do wash and gos. But does either method advocate styling in any particular way or can I do the method and then just bun my hair up or put it in flat twists? tia

 

[FindingMe]

@NikkiGirl; Girl, No that response was what I needed. I think I will try and baby that front section and not comb or brush it. I noticed when I got my deva cut and she didn't use a comb or bush, the front of my hair curled a bit more instead of the frizz. I couldn't duplicate it the next WnG and it frizzed. Maybe because I am using a brush on my hair. I am going to try and do WnG's using good products and really try and finger detangle and see where that gets me. Already doing strict CG for the last 2 weeks has put more moisture in my hair

This may be a silly question but just wanting to make sure. I know many of those using these methods do wash and gos. But does either method advocate styling in any particular way or can I do the method and then just bun my hair up or put it in flat twists? tia

faithVA: I think true CG advocates WnGs and Tightly Curly does, too. TC does tell you to loosely braid or put your hair up at night to preserve the style for a few days. I think the true expectation with CG is that you wet your hair pretty much everyday. Ladies correct me if I'm wrong. I think Honeycomb does CG and does twist outs and NikkiGirl does buns/ponies a lot she said. I think you can do whatever you like. I personally am attempting to perfect WnGs for my hair using strict CG. I am even using her products.