De-stinkify me & activate my curls!

CurlyInMemphis · 09-13-2012, 04:08 PM

Hello all! First time poster here.

I've been doing the Curly Girl Method for about 2 months now and have gotten more compliments on my hair than I thought possible. Thank you all for that! I love reading your thoughts.

I am a 3b/3a - low porosity, medium density, medium width

Here's the deal: I am due for some new product this month and I am thinking I want a change. I currently us the Deva Curl line...no poo...one conditioner...styling cream...and Arc AnGel. They've been working nicely, but I am not fond of the way they smell. Especially 2nd day.

Plus, I'd really like to see more definition on my looser 3a curls in the back.

Could you recommend a good nopoo, conditioner, curl-activator and gel that would help with those two issues? (tighter curls and great smell)

kathymack · 09-14-2012, 05:40 AM

You may have some good hair days in store! Many of us start out with Deva, think we like it and then move on to products that work A LOT better for us. My hair prefers the more natural products from the online, boutique companies.

Many of us rotate products. My hair has always satiated on product, even back in my shampoo/conditioner only days. I wet, use a rinse out every day. Seldom use any one product more then once every five days.

Best thing to do is look for folks with similar properties and see what they use. It's a good way to start out. Most is really trial and error.

CurlyInMemphis · 09-14-2012, 06:30 AM

YES! That is great to hear! I guess I'll start buying different stuff. I just wish it wasn't all so expensive.

Thanks!

raindear · 09-14-2012, 10:12 AM

It doesn't have to be expensive. Here is a link to an old list of CG drugstore products:

Curlies on a Budget...

You might have to double check the ingredients on some of the listed products, some things have changed their formulations since the list was started. There was a thread that was trying to update the list, but I couldn't locate it.

Suave Naturals conditioners and VO5 conditioners, are both CG and widely available for starters. Walgreen, Target, CVS, and Walmart all have curly lines and some CG products, so it can be easy to find things to use. Though some find the best things for their hair are the boutique type products found mostly on line. If you want to sample some of these, look for posts from kathymack, she sells samples of some great products (the info is in her signature) and it is a good way to try before you commit yourself to something that doesn't work for you.

If you haven't already, checking out the stickied threads in the Newbie section provides a lot of great information.

Caution: The first few weeks I was reading here I read so many great reviews of so many great products that I really bought too many products and spent too much money on them. It's really easy to be a product junkie.

gardencurls · 09-14-2012, 05:21 PM

Sally Beauty Supplies has some wonderful CG products that are really inexpensive.

Their GVP Conditioning Balm is an outstanding product at any price, and it's $4.99 for 16 oz. Sally's has some effective styling gels that are around $3 for 32 oz.

Lots of people here love some of the Ion brand conditioners, as well as the [I]Biotera[I] products. You can get 32 oz bottles in many of the products at Sally's, which helps save a lot.

As long as you read the ingredients, you should be able to find some real deals at a Sally B&M or online.