Curly Girl: The Handbook Kindle Edition with Audio/Video

I am a Devacurl convert as of about 4 months ago. I have very delicate cherub curls, and my hair has been breaking off like it's going out of style for the past many years. I have been brushing, combing, blow drying and flat ironing my hair to death. By fighting my natural texture, I was killing my hair. I decided to try something new, because I have spent thousands of dollars following my hair dresser's suggestions, and all of those suggestions have not helped me successfully grow my hair out. I have very fine hair but lots of it, and it tends to break once it gets to my chin. After doing EXTENSIVE research, including reading several clinical research papers, I concluded that sulfates were the reason for my hair breakage. It isn't that sulfates are bad themselves, but its the fact that they strip my hair of the natural oils that protect each strand and keep them hydrated. By stripping the hair of moisture, frying it and brushing it, my hair was brittle and totally destroyed by the time it reached my chin. Washing hair with sulfates remove oil and more protein from the hair than using non-sulfate shampoos. When I was doing all this on a daily basis, my hair was half broken off by the time it reached my shoulders. This made growing my hair out nearly impossible.I started using the Devacurl Lowpoo/One condition, and after about a month, I moved on to use the Devaurl NoPoo and One Condition every other day. I have completely stopped brushing my hair. I follow the curly girl method almost perfectly, and my hair has never looked better. It's hydrated and it looks full and thick. My hair is finally happy, and I now get compliments on it often. My hair routine only takes 2 minutes, as apposed to 45 minutes that I used to spend killing my hair with various torture devices (blow dryer and flat iron).Here is my routine that I swear by:I get in the shower and wet my hair with warm water, apply nopoo to my fingertips and then massage it into my scalp for an entire minute. I do not bring it through the ends of my hair. I don't touch the ends of my hair when I am cleansing my scalp. I then rinse my hair under the water of the shower for about 30 seconds. Then I apply the One Condition from the roots to the tips of my hair, and I use a Mason Pearson wide tooth comb to distribute the conditioner and detangle my hair while in the shower. I also use the comb to make a straight part in my hair (if I don't do this, my hair is kind of a mess at the top). I wash out the conditioner and I gently cup my hair with a microfiber towel once I get out of the shower. I use the microfiber towel to dry my hair with the gentle up motions; it's not really scrunching, it's more like scrunching with an open hand. I then put a little bit of Devacurl Foam on the roots, and a tiny bit of Devacurl Angel on the tips. I let my hair air dry and I don't touch it until it's totally dry. The products help the hair stick together while it's drying, so it maintains the curl pattern without frizz. When my hair is totally dry, I then gently shake the hair at the roots, and fluff up the ends by going around my head with open palmed "scrunches." I never rake through my hair from roots to tips with my fingers when it's dry as this leads to a fluffy/frizzy mess.The Devacurl products also don't have silicones that aren't water soluble, so you don't have to use harsh cleansers to avoid product buildup. This is a VERY important piece of information. If you are going the no sulfate route, make sure that you are using products that have ingredients that are water soluble. If not, you will have a massive buildup of products in your hair. I was using a silicone mousse, and it made my hair look about three shades darker. I thought the color change was because of my natural oils, but after I used a clarifying cleanser, the silicones washed out and my hair went back to it's normal texture and color. Silicones are great for my hair, but I can't easily wash them out of my hair without using drying shampoos, so I now avoid them.It takes awhile for curly hair to get used to not being abused, so you should expect a period of chaos on your head for a bit, but once that period is over, you will be so happy you did this. I am never going back to regular shampoos, and I don't plan to brush my hair ever again (even though I truly love my Mason Pearson brush, I will have to find another use for it).UPDATE: Since I started (several months ago) applying the curly girl method to my hair, I have not found ONE broken hair anywhere; yes, I actually check when I find them to see if the root is attached. I used to find broken off ends everywhere but those days are over :)

I have been pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought about buying it last year, but decided to put it off. Lucky for me, they came out with the updated version during that time and I bought, for about $8, the book and a DVD that came with it! I find it wonderful, that for such a small investment you receive so many great recipes (I've already tried 4 of them and have loved them all) and incomparable advice.I was born with straight hair, but when I hit adolescence, it turned wavy/curly. My hair type is some kind of mixture of both wavy (to about my ears) and botticelli curls according to the book, with a few other curl types thrown in, which is not at all uncommon (made me feel less weird to learn this).The book encourages you to embrace your natural hair type and shows you how to identify what types of curls you have and how to care for them in a way that won't drive you nuts. I don't feel like I've had a bad hair day since I first followed the advice for my closest hair type (wavy). I make my own flax seed hair gel for dirt cheap and use an inexpensive, cone-free conditioner for my routine.Ever since adolescence hit I've hated my hair, and on very few days have I actually felt happy with how it looked when I didn't do anything to it (and I like my hair low-maintenance, which meant I was unhappy with it but stuck most of the time). Since I have waist-length hair I gave up straightening a long time ago because the results never lasted long and took me 45 minutes or longer to do it.Only because of this book have I really started enjoying my hair. I have to admit - the scariest thing for me was "getting rid of" (I gave them to my husband to use!) my natural bristle hair brushes and combs and just using my fingers and oil to moisturize the length of my hair. But the improvements have been amazing and it is so nice not to need brushes anymore, believe it or not! My husband loves my newly more-pronounced, healthy-looking curls!My advice: buy the book! I'd be really surprised if you regretted it. The recipes are inexpensive and easy to try (my favorites are the exfoliating cleanser, lavender spray, and lemon aid) and the method only takes a couple of days to get the hang of (especially if you watch the DVD method a couple of times and then compare it with your hair type in the book)! For the first time my hair is so easy to do and I don't have to worry about it! This is a truly empowering book.

Turns out I've been caring for my hair all wrong! I loved this book not only for the hair care and styling education SPECIFIC to curlies, but also for the stories. I can relate to so many of them. This book helped me really like my curls (maybe for the first time in my life) because now I have a better understanding of how to work WITH them instead of constantly fighting against them. It's not just a matter of letting your curls go the way they want to go, but promoting curl with the right styling techniques and products. My hair has more bounce and less frizz than I can remember ever having before.While Lorraine does mention her haircare product line, it's not pushy at all. Rather, she also talks about homemade cleansers and teaches how to read labels so you can make better decisions on what products to buy for better results. I will add however, that I do highly recommend her DevaCurl conditioner. It's lightweight, smells nice, makes detangling a snap and is seriously the best conditioner I've ever used. I also tried a couple of the homemade deep conditioning treatments... but these I found only marginally helpful in restoring moisture to my hair. Mainly the treatments were time consuming and just made my hair feel weighted down and rather dull.Overall though, the usefulness of this book (for frustrated curly girls and guys) cannot be overstated. After replacing all the haircare products in our house with a brand that uses more natural ingredients, and none of the "ingredients to avoid", even my teenage son (who has shaggy, longish hair and wild curls) has seen an improvement in how much more manageable his hair is.An easy read and worth every penny. I wish it had been around 25 years ago.

Even though I'm giving this a s a gift, I read it before wrapping. I think my granddaughter will love the tips and suggestions in this book. I found it very informative and it helped me to select some appropriate hair care products that will be helpful.

Questo libro è favoloso. Mi ha cambiato i capelli e la vita. È proprio una filosofia. Lo amo.

En la estética me sugirieron hacerme rayitos para un cambio de look. Mis ondas y rizos desaparecieron, mi cabello quedó como seco. Una semana después de comenzar el método, se volvió a ondular y dejó de verse maltratado. Además, me ha sido MUCHO más fácil peinarlo que antes. Tip: en Facebook hay un grupo llamado Rizos Latinos, ahí encontré la lista de productos en México aprobados para hacer el Método Curly Girl.

I can't imagine how many curly girls got help from this book. Love the part about the horoscopes amazing book

Must have for all curly girls- detailed information to understand and fall in love with your hair. I greatly appreciate how they have given in-depth step by step description to take care of your lovely locks...Thanks to the author!!