Considering departing from CG method

[Cherokee-n-Black]

I've been primarily CG since BC'ing in late 2011. I've dabbled with a few products with cones with unimpressive results, but my experiments were hardly "extensive." Lately my hair has been frizzy and dry, and it seems like no amount of CG friendly conditioners and moisturizers can help. When I had a relaxer, I had no issues with cones, in fact my hair loved cones, mineral oil, petrolatum--you name it! Again I haven't had much success with these ingredients as a natural but my exposure has been limited. Has anyone had a similar experience and abandoned CG, abandoned and come running back, or just resisted temptation?

 

[Shay72]

Well I'm not fully CG in that I use oils and the Shea Moisture Frizz Free Mousse that I'm obsessed with has alcohol in it. I also use mud wash bars as my poo. So I use what works for me with the method. Which is no cones & sulphates.

 

[Cherokee-n-Black]

I think oils are ok as long as they are natural, right??? Not sure. But oil makes my hair frizz, don't know why that is. My issue is that my cuticles just feel rough all the time. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but sealing with oil only results in frizz, and sealing with Shea butter is a hot mess. My hair needs therapy...

 

[Ogoma]

I make my own products (for my own use) and have played with conditioner formulations with and without cones and see no reason anyone would avoid cones if they are regularly washing their hair and also don't think it is magically frizz-fighting ingredient either. My favorite store-bought conditioner is the Aussies 3Min Miracle, which is chock-ful of cones, and my hair is not magically frizz-free. Basically, there is no need to run away from it and it wouldn't be the magical cure for all that ails your hair, IMHO.

A cleansing conditioner with coco-betaine or a conditioner with centrimonium chloride (cetac) is enough to remove cones from your hair. I think it is only an issue if you keep layering it on and never wash it out. I have a serum with cones I use regularly and I have never had an issue with build up because I wash with a cleansing conditioner with coco-betaine and cetac (has conditioning and detangling benefits as well) once a week.

As for mineral oil, I can see the benefits of it - long life, consistency, more occlusive etc. If they work for you, I see no reason not to use it. I have not read anything scientific that would suggest it would be difficult to cleanse from hair. I, personally, absolutely love the feel and the many qualities of natural oils, I prefer to use them to mineral oil.

 

[Shay72]

For me cones coated my hair and using sulphates dried out my hair. I lost my curls. I have tightly coiled 4a hair and you couldn't see nan curl lol. And when I say nan curl I mean it. My hair doesn't require any product to curl so that scared the hail out of me. Once I detoxed and went CG my curls came back. My hair was suffocating.

 

[Shay72]

I think oils are ok as long as they are natural, right??? Not sure. But oil makes my hair frizz, don't know why that is. My issue is that my cuticles just feel rough all the time. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but sealing with oil only results in frizz, and sealing with Shea butter is a hot mess. My hair needs therapy...

Oh okay good to know about the oils. I only use natural oils.

 

[SEMO]

I tried the CG method for awhile and cut out all of the things that naturals are supposed to avoid. But over time, I abandoned the CG method a little at a time. Currently, I use a sulfate shampoo weekly, use a product with petrolatum and have recently gone back to my beloved Aussie 3-min miracle (which has dimethicone).

Honestly, I've been liking the way my hair has performed with all these non-CG things in my routine. My hair is shiny, moisturized and has way less frizz.

When I first went natural I just used whatever worked for my hair personally. And I've come full circle back to that recently.

For some, their hair thrives better on the CG method. But I've learned that it's not the only way to have healthy hair. Some of the worst, most stripping shampoos I've ever used were sulfate free. And I had issues with buildup when trying to exclusively co-wash (even though I was avoiding all cones, mineral oil, petrolatum, etc.). So I say experiment and see what works best for you personally. It's what I did: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=733153

 

[Dilettante]

I think the CG method is a great place to start with healthy hair care, because it gets you rethinking your old habits and reading ingredient labels (which everyone should be doing IMO no matter what your hair goals).

However it's not the pinnacle of haircare for everyone. I found that my scalp was very unhappy with infrequent shampooing to the point that the skin felt itchy and tender. So little by little I started shampooing more, and figured it was silly to avoid silicones if I was going to have to shampoo anyway. In fact I find that using some silicones and other 'bad' ingredients helps protect my strands from the drying effects of the shampoo (since I'm mostly shampooing for the health of my scalp). That's just my experience though.

 

[Joigirl]

Have you tried clarifying your hair? If you use heavy oils and butters, you may need to use a sulfate shampoo to get rid of it. I used a clarifying shampoo for the first time in 2 years if using the CG method a couple of weeks ago. It really cleaned my hair and scalp, but I've had to replace the moisture over time.

I've heard that some Deva curl specialists don't like products like Shea moisture because over time it coats the hair and does not allow moisture to penetrate the hair shaft.

 

[Shay72]

Have you tried clarifying your hair? If you use heavy oils and butters, you may need to use a sulfate shampoo to get rid of it. I used a clarifying shampoo for the first time in 2 years if using the CG method a couple of weeks ago. It really cleaned my hair and scalp, but I've had to replace the moisture over time.

I've heard that some Deva curl specialists don't like products like Shea moisture because over time it coats the hair and does not allow moisture to penetrate the hair shaft.

This is good to know bc my regimen is 98% Shea Moisture. Granted there are other things I could be doing better but this might be a sign.

 

[Joigirl]

This is good to know bc my regimen is 98% Shea Moisture. Granted there are other things I could be doing better but this might be a sign.

That might be the issue. This hair dresser called the "curl doctor" said that it sometimes takes several washes to get rid of the Shea butter. I hope that is not the case for you.

Try a true clarifying shampoo, but be prepared for your hair to take some time to get back to normal moisture levels. I used Tresemme Deep Clean and it totally stripped my hair and it took about a week or so to go back to normal even after a couple DC sessions.

 

[LaBelleLL]

I follow the CH method still for the most part. As for a good moisterizer, I highly recommend qhemet burdock root cream

 

[LexiDior]

Stupid question here but can someone tell me what CG and CH means?

 

[LaBelleLL]

Stupid question here but can someone tell me what CG and CH means?

Lol I meant to type CG but CH came out.

CG is referring to the curly girl method. You use no cones, co-wash, and use sulfate free shampoos. I also believe finger detangling is part of the method as well.

 

[LexiDior]

Lol I meant to type CG but CH came out.

CG is referring to the curly girl method. You use no cones, co-wash, and use sulfate free shampoos. I also believe finger detangling is part of the method as well.

Oh ok, thank you.

 

[Shay72]

Joigirl
Thank you ! Based on what you said and a bit of research I decided to cut out Shea Moisture products for my hair at least. I love their body and face products. I will keep using those. A local women's shelter will benefit from these wonderful brand new Shea Moisture hair products and other products that contain ingredients that aren't CG friendly. My only detour will be all natural hair greases that may have a wax or two in them . I will clarify on a monthly basis and do a deep detox every three months to help with that. If grease becomes an issue I will have to let it go too but by them being all natural I'm hoping it will make it okay.