The Curly Girl Method changed everything for people with wavy curly and coily hair. Before it went mainstream most of us were brushing our hair when it was dry using sulfate shampoos every single day and wondering why our curls looked like frizzy messes. The method introduced by Lorraine Massey in her book Curly Girl gave us a framework that actually worked. No sulfates. No silicones. No drying alcohols. No heat. No brushing. Lots of conditioner. Lots of gel. Plopping. Pineappling. Squish to condish.
But that was fifteen years ago. The original method was developed at a time when the curly hair product market was tiny. Most drugstore shampoos contained harsh sulfates. Most conditioners contained heavy silicones. There were no curl specific brands except for a few expensive salon lines. The strict rules of the original method made sense given those limited options.
The world of curly hair products has changed completely by 2026. There are now hundreds of curl specific brands at every price point. Sulfate free shampoos are everywhere. Silicone free conditioners are the default not the exception. The original Curly Girl rules need updating for this new reality.
Let me walk you through the updated Curly Girl Method for 2026 starting with porosity because porosity is the single most important factor for curl health and it was barely discussed in the original book.
Hair porosity refers to how well your hair can absorb and hold moisture. Low porosity hair has cuticles that lie flat and tight. Water and products sit on top of the hair rather than soaking in. Low porosity hair takes forever to get wet in the shower and takes forever to dry afterwards. It is prone to product buildup because nothing penetrates. If you have low porosity hair you need lightweight water based products. Avoid heavy butters and oils. Use heat when you deep condition to lift the cuticles. Shampoo more often to prevent buildup.
High porosity hair has cuticles that are lifted and damaged. Water soaks in immediately but also evaporates immediately. High porosity hair gets wet in seconds and dries in minutes. It tangles easily and looks frizzy constantly. If you have high porosity hair you need heavy products with proteins and butters to fill in the gaps in your cuticles. Use leave in conditioners and sealing oils. Avoid humectants like glycerin in humid weather because they will make your frizz worse. Deep condition weekly with heat.
Medium porosity hair is the Goldilocks zone. The cuticles are neither too tight nor too open. Products absorb well and stay in the hair. If you have medium porosity you can use almost any product as long as you avoid things that specifically cause buildup or frizz for your curl pattern.
The updated method also needs to address the fact that not everyone wants to give up all heat and all silicones forever. The original rule was no heat ever. But diffusing your hair on low heat with a heat protectant gives most curlies better volume and definition than air drying. The updated rule is no high heat and no heat
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