Curly girl method ingredients to avoid (and the ones that are fine)
You don’t need to memorise a 200-word list. Four ingredient families cause almost every problem — and some scary-sounding names are actually good for curls.
The short version
- Avoid strong sulfates (sodium lauryl / laureth sulfate) — they strip curls.
- Avoid short-chain “drying” alcohols high on the list (alcohol denat., isopropyl alcohol, SD alcohol).
- Water-insoluble silicones and mineral waxes build up unless you clarify.
- Fatty alcohols — cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl — sound scary but are moisturising. Keep them.
The curly girl method (CGM), popularised by Lorraine Massey’s Curly Girl: The Handbook, is mostly about what not to put on your hair. The lists online are enormous. Here they are collapsed into four families — the same four that Coil’s ingredient scanner flags.
1. Sulfates — the strippers
Surfactants that clean very effectively, including the oils curly hair needs to keep.
| Avoid | Gentler alternatives |
|---|---|
| Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) | Cocamidopropyl betaine |
| Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) | Decyl glucoside, coco-glucoside |
| Ammonium lauryl sulfate | Sodium cocoyl isethionate |
Sulfates aren’t evil — they’re great in a clarifying shampoo once a month. The problem is using them every wash.
2. Drying alcohols — the short ones
Short-chain alcohols evaporate fast and take moisture with them. They’re common in hairsprays and some gels.
| Avoid (high on the list) | These are fine — fatty alcohols |
|---|---|
| Alcohol denat. / SD alcohol | Cetyl alcohol |
| Isopropyl alcohol | Stearyl alcohol |
| Propanol, ethanol | Cetearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol |
Position matters. A drying alcohol near the end of a long list is a minor ingredient; one in the top five is a main one.
3. Non-soluble silicones — the coaters
Silicones make hair feel slippery and shiny. The issue is the ones that don’t rinse out with gentle cleansers: they build up into a film that keeps moisture out and flattens curls.
- Build up: dimethicone, amodimethicone, cyclomethicone (often), anything ending in -cone without a water-soluble tag.
- Rinse out more easily: PEG-modified silicones such as PEG-8 dimethicone, and lightweight volatile ones.
4. Waxes and mineral oils — the sitters
Beeswax, paraffin, petrolatum, mineral oil. They sit on top of the hair and don’t rinse out with gentle washes. Common in pomades and matte styling products — which is why so many men’s styling products flatten curls.
- Cera alba (beeswax)Wax · high
- PetrolatumWax · high
- DimethiconeSilicone · medium
Will build up on low-porosity curls and weigh them down. Needs a clarifying wash to remove.
Is the curly girl method too strict?
A bit, for some people. Plenty of curls do fine with an occasional silicone, especially if you clarify. What matters is whether a product works for your hair, which depends on your porosity and density. Fine, low-porosity hair is far more sensitive to build-up than coarse, high-porosity hair.
That’s why Coil doesn’t just give a pass/fail. It scores a product against your hair profile — build-up risk, protein load, whether it’s likely to weigh your curls down — and then, as you use it, records how your curls actually did on those days.
- Cetearyl alcoholFatty alcohol · fine
- Behentrimonium chlorideConditioning · fine
- GlycerinHumectant · fine
Strong match. No sulfates, drying alcohols, insoluble silicones or waxes.
Questions people ask
Is cetearyl alcohol bad for curly hair?
No. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that softens and moisturises. It’s one of the most common ingredients in curl-friendly conditioners.
Are all silicones bad for curly hair?
No. Water-soluble silicones rinse out easily. Even non-soluble ones are fine if you clarify periodically — they’re just not ideal for low-porosity or fine hair that builds up easily.
Is coconut oil curly girl approved?
Yes, coconut oil is allowed on the curly girl method. Research shows it can reduce protein loss, though some people find it makes their hair stiff.