I'm pro-CG (Curly Girl), as you well know if you frequent this blog. I evangelize it but I also understand fully and completely if somebody tries it and decides it isn't for them. The adjustment period can vary from a few days to a year, and if you fall into the latter category, I can certainly see why you'd give up on the no-sulfates-or-silicones routine. I sure thought about it more than once, I can tell you that.
But when I read that somebody is a modified CG curly, I always wonder what they mean. Is that like being a little bit pregnant? I asked the girls at naturallycurly.com once what that phrase meant to them, and predictably, I got a variety of answers. Essentially, though, it seems to mean that you do only some things CG. Like, maybe you use a sulfate shampoo every few weeks. Or maybe you use some of the less onerous silicones. Or maybe you claim to have read the book when you really haven't. It could be anything. But the bottom line is: you are not CG. But for some reason, you still want to affiliate yourself with that method of hair care.
Suppose I said I was following a modified version of Weight Watchers. Wouldn't you chuckle and wonder whether my so-called modification included late-night Twinkie pig-outs? And if I were an alcoholic observing a modified 12-step program, how convinced would you be that I was sober? I think you can see where I'm going with this. At least, I hope you can. A modified program can't help but be a compromised version of the original. If you have modified something, in most cases you've really created something entirely new.
So, okay, if you need to adjust the CG routine to make it suit you, no harm done. But
why continue to use the CG label to describe what you're doing? Be creative and call it something new! After all, it is yours...
4 comments:
Maybe it's just because there is no real name for it? It's not standard hair care, but not really cg either.
What is CG anymore? If you use the Deva Line you're not CG and she's the originator of the CG method. The Deva Line requires that you Low Poo because of product build up. Maybe we need OLD School CG and New CG? Mod CG should mean that you tried the CG method but it doesn't work for you exclusively. You still follow the principles of avoiding drying alcohols, sulphates and silicones. You co-wash and use low poos as well. What else could we call it when it's based on the orignal? That's my definition anyway :)
Diana and Paula, you both raise an excellent (and shared) point. There is no name for modified CG, and therein lies the problem. I really like the idea of "old school" versus "new school." Diana, your observation about Deva products is so on-target, you've inspired my next post! :)
Lol, I finally got a rudimentary (and bare bones looking) blog going, and I planned on covering this too. The book is out of date when one takes the advances in silicones into consideration, and so there is much more leeway in what hair can tolerate now.
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