Curly girl method ingredient checker
Paste an ingredient list and see, line by line, whether it is curly girl friendly. Sulfates, drying alcohols, silicones and waxes get flagged; the good stuff gets named.
What the checker looks for
The curly girl method avoids four families of ingredients. The checker flags each one, and weighs it by position: the first five ingredients usually make up most of the bottle, so a sulfate in second place matters far more than a silicone in fifteenth.
| Family | Examples | Why curls mind |
|---|---|---|
| Sulfates | Sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate | Strip natural oils, leaving curls dry and frizzy |
| Drying alcohols | Alcohol denat., SD alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol | Evaporate fast and take moisture with them |
| Non-soluble silicones | Dimethicone, amodimethicone, cyclomethicone, trimethylsilylamodimethicone | Coat the strand and build up without a sulfate wash |
| Waxes and mineral oil | Petrolatum, paraffin, mineral oil, beeswax (cera alba), carnauba wax | Sit on top, block moisture, weigh curls down |
Lookalikes it will not flag
Some of the scariest-sounding names are perfectly good for curls. Cetyl, stearyl, cetearyl and behenyl alcohol are fatty alcohols that moisturise. Behentrimonium methosulfate is a gentle conditioner, not a sulfate. PEG-modified silicones such as PEG-8 dimethicone dissolve in water. Emulsifying wax is a blend of fatty alcohols, not a true wax.
Beyond pass or fail
A product can be fully curly girl approved and still wrong for you. Protein-heavy formulas can leave low-porosity hair stiff; glycerin can frizz in a heatwave or a freeze. That is why the checker also names proteins and humectants, and why Coil's in-app scanner scores products against your own porosity and curl type rather than a single list.
Read next
- Curly girl method ingredients to avoid (and the ones that are fine)
- How to read a hair product label in 30 seconds (a curly hair ingredient checker)
- Protein overload or moisture overload? How to tell, and how to fix it
Questions people ask
How do I know if a product is curly girl approved?
Check the ingredient list for four families: sulfates, drying alcohols, non-water-soluble silicones, and waxes or mineral oils. If none appear, it is curly girl approved. Paste the list into the checker above to do it in one step.
Is cetearyl alcohol curly girl approved?
Yes. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that softens and moisturises hair. It is different from drying alcohols like alcohol denat. or isopropyl alcohol.
Is behentrimonium methosulfate a sulfate?
No. Despite the name, it is a gentle conditioning agent and one of the most common ingredients in curl-friendly conditioners.
Are any silicones curly girl approved?
Water-soluble silicones are, such as PEG-8 dimethicone or dimethicone copolyol, because they rinse out without sulfates. Strict curly girl followers avoid all other silicones.
Is this the same as isitcg?
It does the same job, checking a list against curly girl rules, and also explains each ingredient, weighs them by position on the label, and calls out proteins and humectants.