I'm a convert to the Curly Girl Method

Although I've learned bits and pieces about caring for my curls over the years, until this week I've never actually researched hair care. But I needed a trim and decided to look for curly hair cuts on Pinterest for inspiration. I stumbled upon a couple of Curly Girl before and after photos and immediately put the book on hold at the library.

I'd already cut way down on my shampoo use and switched to a sulfate-free formula for those times I felt like I really needed to clean my hair. But I had been using products with silicone (a no-no) and was relying on mousse for most of my styling needs.

The big changes were as follows: "Shampoo" hair with a lightweight conditioner and then condition with a richer formula. Finger comb out any tangles and hardly rinse out any conditioner before stepping out of the shower and squeeze/scrunch your sopping wet hair with a cotton t-shirt instead of a terry cloth towel. I also switched a Curly Girl-approved gel, a giant bottle of L.A. Looks that cost less than $3 and looks like it's straight out of 1988.

Half an hour before they completely dried

Scrunch/cup the gel into your curls and let air dry. Shake the curls free from their "gel cast" when hair is completely dry.

I'm still figuring out the amount of product I need to use, but I'm happy so far. My curls are 100% frizz-free even at the day's end and I've gotten a lot of compliments.

Tuesday morning update: One of the techniques in the book lets you sleep on your hair and revive it in the morning without showering and restyling. I was dubious, as I've never been able to skip a shower and wear my hair in anything but a bun, but here's what it looked like this morning after twisting into a top knot, sleeping on it, and then spritzing with lavender water that I mixed up myself.

One year later: See how I've adapted the method to get even better results.