Natural Hair Movement

My name is Cynthia, and I have been natural for 8 years now. However, it was not until recently that I understood my hair. Over the years I became a hair product junkie because when I first went natural a lot of products were still geared towards those with a relaxer.  I remember when I went to the store there was a “black aisle” with perm products and another aisle for those with naturally straight hair. Nowadays, there are products for those who are natural which is great but you still need to be weary of what you put into your hair.

 I am now at that point where I don’t collect as much products from the store because I know what works for my hair. Every now and then I may feel the itch to buy something but I need to look at the ingredients. I do not use any silicones in my hair. The reason I do this is because I follow the curly girl method also known as the CG method. You do not have to be natural to follow this method. The owner of Devacurls created this method and it works for all sorts of hair types. I will briefly discuss this method.

The curly girl method includes a no shampoo rule with the use of your fingers to detangle your hair. I have to say that was a challenge for me. When I first started the curly girl method, I created a huge knot in my hair trying to detangle my hair. I was pissed off and would not be surprised if I muttered a few cuss words to myself. I have to say that the finger detangling does require a lot of practice but it does get the job done. I also use conditioner as a styling agent.

A lot of people do look at me sideways when I explain that I do not use shampoo to cleanse my hair and scalp. When you first start the method you should use shampoo to remove all the buildup and oils from other products but since you will not be using products with oils or silicone you won’t need something as harsh as shampoo to cleanse your scalp.

         An important note about shampoos -When you look at the ingredients in  a shampoo bottle the ingredients are not that different from what we use to wash dishes. That in itself caused me look at more natural cleansing agents for instance Apple cider vinegar also known as ACV rinse in the natural community. Apple Cider vinegar is a natural product whose acidity level is close to that of natural hair and is an effective germ killer. It can also help with hair loss.

I cleanse my hair with diluted apple cider vinegar to remove any buildup and it leaves me scalp clean and my hair feeling soft and conditioned. By the way the smell does go way after rinsing.  Another benefit of using the ACV rinse is that it saves me money, a bottle of ACV can last me about 6months. I keep a liter batch in my shower. Here is the recipe.

ACV Rinse

·         ACV 1/3 of a cup of ACV - I use Bragg raw unfiltered

·         The rest of the bottle can be filled with warm tap water.

Written by Cynthia Kavanagh