I've followed the Curly Girl Method for over a decade now. In the interest of this post not being four hours long I won't go deep into it (see here for a primer) but the idea is that curly/wavy hair reacts poorly to hair product ingredients that straight haired people don't have an issue with. And almost every single product in the hair aisle contains those ingredients.
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| Without the Curly Girl Method... |
With the CGM, my curls have never looked better or needed less work. I have a "wash day" once every 3-5 days where I co-wash, condition, and add product, and then in between wash days I can just "refresh" with a spray bottle and a tiny amount of product, which takes under 5 minutes.
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| With the Curly Girl Method |
But.
The only time this system breaks down is when I'm riding or CrossFitting (so like, all the time) because as soon as my hair goes into a ponytail or under a helmet, the curl gets destroyed, and I can't get it back until my next wash day, which means I end up washing a lot more than I need to.
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| Some destroyed, pre-wash day curls. And Rocky. |
This summer, I've done a lot of experimenting with ways to keep my curls nice while working out and riding, and here's what I've found:
For CrossFit
First, make a pineapple.
1. Flip your hair upside down and gather it at the top of your head with your hand
2. Secure it there with an Invisibobble (which doesn't leave a line or damage curls the way a regular hair tie does)
Next, put a buff over your pineapple
3. Carefully pull the buff over your pineapple and down around your neck
4. Pull it up around your head into a wide headband. This is how I sleep too, I tend to pull it high while sleeping and lower while working out.
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| A buffed pineapple! |
After you're done working out:
5. Wait until your hair is dry before taking the buff or Invisibobble down
6. Refresh using whatever method works for you
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| Mmmm sexy sleeping glasses |
For Riding and Bicycling
It's similar to what I do for CrossFit, but minus the Invisibobble since I don't want plastic between my head and the helmet. I also pull the buff up a lot higher to completely cover my curls. I basically use it like the no-knot hairnet I love(d), but that hairnet's fabric was causing friction that was destroying my curls. The buff is a much more curl-friendly fabric.
1. Pull the buff down around your neck
2. Flip your head upside down and pull the buff up until your curls are entirely covered
3. Lay the extra fabric of the buff down on your head until it's evenly distributed
4. Put your helmet on and shove the fabric up until you can't see it anymore
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| Legit ringlets on day 4 hair after riding and CrossFit! |
I should probably cut a buff down to use specifically with helmets, but I haven't tried that yet.
Anyone else fight the struggle of nice looking hair and helmets?
