Live Curly Live Free

One of Florida’s original curly hair experts since 2008.
https://www.livecurlylivefree.salon/

In case you're wondering what's been up with the Live Curly Live Free page! Interesting tv? Who the hell was that?

Back in mid-October, Tiffany was hacked and the LCLF page was hijacked by someone (who we now refer to as the Sleazy Nigerian Bitcoin Hacker) who did all sorts of crazy stuff and was trying to scam our followers. Long story short, she was finally able to have her old profile deleted in December (Meta makes it almost impossible to do that, incidentally) so he could no longer post his creepy stuff here.

Meta, however, made us wait THREE MONTHS before we could change the name of the page back to LCLF and update the bio/page details. Quite frankly, Mark Zuckerberg & Company makes things far, far easier for the sleazebags and hackers than they do for the legitimate folks.

Someday, maybe Tiffany will tell you the story of how she was so mad, she filed an FBI cybersecurity complaint against the hacker and named Meta as a co-conspirator, lol.

In any case, we have control of the page again! Stay tuned!

Are you new to CG? Feeling completely overwhelmed??? Here is a fast five-minute breakdown on how to do the Curly Girl Method (CGM) simply. It's a great starting point!

NOTE: Before you start ANYTHING, make sure you know your texture (fine, medium, coarse) first!

1. Find a good curly-friendly shampoo or co-wash.
A. Use isitcg[dot]com, curlscan[dot]com or curlsbot[dot]com to check a product ingredient label to make sure a product is curly-friendly (i.e., "CG").
B. You can also go to the "Recommendations" menu tab on livecurlylivefree.salon to find product recommendations for your particular hair texture.
C. You do NOT need to do a "final wash" with a harsh, sulfate-based shampoo (who even started that???) to start CG. If you are worried about it, throw some baking soda or activated charcoal in a curly-friendly shampoo instead.

2. Make sure every single product you put near your head is silicone-free; that means your shampoos, co-washes, conditioners, leave-ins, stylers, finishers, EVERYTHING!
A. Use isitcg[dot]com, curlscan[dot]com or curlsbot[dot]com to check a product ingredient label to make sure a product is curly-friendly (i.e., "CG").
B. You can go to the "Recommendations" menu tab on livecurlylivefree.salon to find product recommendations for your particular hair texture.

3. Use a wide-tooth comb to distribute your conditioner during application, even if you feel tangle-free.
A. A wide-tooth comb or a pick will almost always give you a better product distribution and product coating.
B. If you have fine hair, make sure your conditioner has protein in it or use something like Neutral Protein Filler from Sally Beauty to spritz over your hair during the conditioning phase. FINE HAIR NEEDS PROTEIN.
C. If you do NOT have fine hair, avoid protein in your penetrating products, i.e.,your conditioners and your leave-ins.

4. Rinse out your conditioner completely with cool or cold water.
A. It makes a difference! Cool things shut the hair shaft down while warm things open the hair shaft up.

5. Flip your head upside down in the shower for best product application. Apply (rake or scrunch) your products in on SOAKING wet hair: leave-in conditioner, curl cream, gel, mousse, etc. Be generous if you need to be!
A. Make sure you also loosen those wet curls from your hairline and scalp!

6. First, use your hands to squeeze your curls (until the water stops running), then use a flour sack towel, an old cotton t-shirt or anything that is 100% cotton with a smooth surface to finish scrunching out the extra water from your hair. (I am NOT a fan of microfiber.)

7. Flip right side up and arrange your curls the way you want them.
A. Using the tail of a rattail/pintail comb (or a chopstick or a skewer or an orangewood stick or ...), find your part, separate curls if necessary, lift your curls up off your scalp, etc.
B. Remember that how your curls dry is how they are going to be, so be mindful here.

8. Clip up those roots for volume!
A. Use claw clips instead of those impossible silver prong clips: Your clipping will be much easier!

7. Let your hair dry. Air-dry, diffuse, bonnet dryer, car vents: It doesn't matter.
A. Make sure your hair is at least 95% of the way dry before you decide you are dry enough to call it quits.

8.Finish it! Take the clips out, flip upside down again, shake out your roots and break up the dried product (you can scrunch out the crunch, clap out the crunch, smooth out the crunch using praying hands, etc.
A. Experiment with different methods to find the one you like the best.

9. Flip right side up, arrange those beautiful curls, smooth over a finishing oil or serum (if you want) and ta-da! Hi, curly girl!!!

We're getting a lot of questions asking why our Magic Humidity Barrier will only be for sale in Florida. “But, it’s humid where I live, too!!!” Let us try to explain.

If you live in Florida, you know that living with curly hair here is quite the challenge. While other places can also be quite hot and humid, Floridians have a unique set of circumstances that makes us a bit different from curly girls who live in other places.

Our tap water bubbles up through natural springs and percolates through limestone, which gives us a very different mineral composition than is found elsewhere. Many of us spend a great deal of time in Florida’s abundant saltwater ocean, gulf, bays, rivers, and streams. Our sun is absolutely killer because we are so much closer to the equator than other states are. In other words: Just because it is “hot and humid” where you live, that doesn’t mean your requirements for living successfully as a curly girl are the same as those of a curly girl in Florida.

It's really not much different than when a New Yorker tells you they have the best pizza in the world because their unique tap water makes the crust so distinctive.

That's why the Florida Curls line will only be available either in our salon in Largo, Florida (MHB is actually available there now) or to ship to a Florida address. We will not sell nor ship outside the state of Florida, because we won't be able to guarantee product performance. When we originally tested Magic Humidity Barrier, we put it through its paces in California, Maui, and Maine—in addition to Florida—and it just wasn’t the same.

Quite simply, the Florida Curls line is specifically formulated for Florida curly girls and their special needs. We hope this clears things up.