CURLY CHECKER
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Free Hair Ingredient Checker

Curly Girl Ingredient Checker

Paste any product's ingredient list below to instantly check if it's compatible with the Curly Girl Method. We analyze against 389+ known hair care ingredients — with 12,712+ products already checked.

Already in Our Database?

We've already analyzed 12,712+ products from major retailers across Australia and United Kingdom. Search our database to find your product instantly.

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Simple Process

How It Works

Paste Ingredients

Copy the ingredient list from the product label or retailer website and paste it into the box above.

We Analyze

We check each ingredient against our database of 389+ known hair care ingredients and their aliases.

Get Your Verdict

Instant CG Method verdict: Approved ✅, Caution ⚠️, or Warning ❌ with a detailed ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Approved mean?
Approved means no problematic ingredients were found in the product. It's safe to use with the Curly Girl Method — no sulfates, no non-water-soluble silicones, and no problematic waxes.
What does Caution mean?
Caution means the product contains water-soluble silicones or volatile alcohols. These ingredients are borderline — some Curly Girl practitioners accept them, others choose to avoid them. They won't cause the same buildup issues as non-water-soluble silicones.
What does Warning mean?
Warning means the product contains sulfates, non-water-soluble silicones, or waxes — ingredients that are not compatible with the Curly Girl Method. Sulfates strip natural oils, and non-water-soluble silicones create buildup that only sulfates can remove.
What ingredients are bad for curly hair?
The main ingredients the Curly Girl Method avoids are: sulfates (like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate), non-water-soluble silicones (like dimethicone and amodimethicone), and certain waxes. You can explore specific ingredient categories in our ingredient database.
How accurate is this tool?
Our tool checks each ingredient against a curated database of 389+ known hair care ingredients. We use an 80% length-match threshold with alias support to catch ingredient name variations. It's highly accurate for common ingredients but may not recognize very new or uncommon ingredients.
Can I trust this result?
Our analysis is based on well-established Curly Girl Method rules and a curated ingredient database. However, product formulations can change without notice, and our database may not cover every possible ingredient. We recommend using our results as a guide alongside your own research.
Learn More

What is the Curly Girl Method?

The Curly Girl Method (CGM) is a hair care routine designed to enhance your natural curl and wave pattern. Created by hairstylist Lorraine Massey and outlined in her book Curly Girl: The Handbook, the method focuses on avoiding ingredients that strip moisture or cause buildup.

The three main ingredient categories to watch for are:

Sulfates

Harsh cleansing agents that strip natural oils from your hair and scalp

Non-water-soluble silicones

Create a coating on hair that causes buildup over time, requiring sulfate shampoos to remove

Drying alcohols & waxes

Can dehydrate curly and wavy hair or create buildup that weighs down curls

Our tool checks your product's ingredients against these categories and assigns one of three statuses: Approved, Caution, or Warning.

Want to learn more? Read our complete beginner's guide to the Curly Girl Method, or browse our ingredient categories to understand what each ingredient type does to your hair.