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artemis513 · 06-01-2012, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eajiyemi

Hey!! I've really been contemplating trying cg but tbh - I'm scared it'll all go topsy turvy.

One other thing is that I take a shower at night so I'm not sure if I could do it, as an outsider to this regimen it seems like the hair is kept wet - unless that's a silly statement.

I have 4bc hair. Could someone please in layman's terms explain how cg would work with type 4 hair.
I have a feeling I do something similar but instead of leaving my hair out in an fro I put it in twists, once it has air dried, I don't use gel. I've started finger detan. a few months back so that's not a problem.
I've seem that my hair can clump well, but that's due to looking after my hair really well for a year and a half now.

It would be nice to hydrate my hair well more than every 10 days (wash days), but from past experience washing my hair with no sulphate shampoo every week was too drying (so glad that ive never used a sulphate shampoo, that would have been disastrous) - obv dcing was helping with that but I studied my scalp and realised it starts to buildup by day 9 so I wash day ten.
Having said that I do wash my hair at night, I'm not those girls that suffer from mighty shrinkage, and when it does it doesn't tangle. My hair is fine and not the typical big afro. Two distinct textures -fine but coarse at the front with a slight z shaped curl, fine and more curly at the back.

I have hair creams/ leave ins which have helped keep my hair soft days at a time, sealing with castor/olive oil mix.

I guess theres nothing wrong in trying cg, but I want to SEE if it'll work well for type 4. Tbh it seems like a wng but then again I've never tried that (I've actually assumed that having this hair type you wouldnt retain much length with the hair constantly being out...pls educate me lol).

Can I do it at night too? I have hard water in my area too, would that have an affect?
Sorry this was a long response xx

I'm reading this post and my face is like this

Could you please share what your understanding of what "going CG" is? I find a lot of naturals have a misunderstanding of it and it helps to talk (or rather write) it out so that the method is clarified.

Basically CG is:
1) Shampoo less frequently (down to never if your scalp can stand it) and use conditioner to cleanse or low-poo if absolutely necessary when your hair/scalp needs it

2) Condition more frequently (use products that are silicone free)

3) Style with your fingers. Gel is useful because it sets the curl but it is optional. If you like to use gel make sure it's alcohol- (the drying kind) and silicone-free (or is water soluble).

4) Air dry majority of the time. Limit or cut out heat styling (unless drying with a diffuser)

5) Trim on an as-needed basis depending on your hair goals and your lifestyle.

That's it. Lorraine Massey does encourage that in order to truly embrace your natural texture, one should not over-manipulate it or style it in a way that is harmful to the curls. I think that's where people have been interpreting that to mean that Type 4s cannot do twist outs or braidouts and be CG, but that just doesn't make any sense. Those styles are texture-friendly, esp when dealing with the kinkiest and coiliest of curl patterns. The problem comes in when a person is tugging and pulling their hair to get it to do something it can't. That's the point she was getting at.

The bottom line of this method is to focus on increasing the hydration levels of the hair and treat it kindly. How each curlie determines what that is for their hair is ultimately up to them. There's no need to make it complicated, if you don't want to wet your hair everyday, then don't. If you only need to wash your hair once a week, every 2 weeks, or even once a month then that's cool. Conditioning is what matters anyway. If you want to twist, or braid it to stave off shrinkage, then do that. Just be mindful to respect what your hair can and can not do and you'll be fine.

HTH