Curly Girl ingredient checker: sulfates, silicones and the rules
This Curly Girl ingredient checker flags every name in a pasted hair-product label that breaks a rule of the method: sulfate detergents, silicones, drying alcohols, waxes and mineral oil, as its originator sets them out, plus one grey area and one community rule she never wrote. Each flag names the rule and who sets it.
Check a hair product against the Curly Girl rules
Your ingredient list never leaves your device. There is no upload, no account and no server — the matching runs in this browser.
Matched against the published Curly Girl rules, version 2026-10-05. Everything it can flag is printed further down this page, so you can check this result by eye.
The rules this checker applies
The rules come from the method’s originator, Lorraine Massey, who set the method out in a 2011 book. Her brand publishes the exclusions: sulfates, silicones, drying alcohols, waxes and non-water-soluble polymers. Mineral oils come from a 2022 interview, and the one rule taken from community checkers says so.
| Rule | Names it catches on a label | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Sulfate detergent | Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, TEA-Lauryl Sulfate | Excluded by the method's originator, whose brand names sodium lauryl and sodium laureth sulfate. |
| Water-soluble silicone | PEG-12 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, PEG-7 Amodimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol | The originator excludes all silicones; community checkers such as isitcg accept this PEG- or PPG-modified group because it rinses out with water. A grey area. |
| Silicone | Dimethicone, Amodimethicone, Dimethiconol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Phenyl Trimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate | Excluded by the method's originator; dermatology reviews note that water-insoluble silicones need strong surfactants to wash out. |
| Short-chain (drying) alcohol | Alcohol Denat., SD Alcohol 40-B, Alcohol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Ethanol | Excluded by the method's originator as a drying alcohol. Fatty alcohols such as cetyl and stearyl alcohol are a different group and are not flagged. |
| Wax | Cera Alba (Beeswax), Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Candelilla Wax, Cera Microcristallina, Ozokerite | Excluded by the method's originator together with other ingredients that do not dissolve in water. |
| Mineral oil or petrolatum | Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Petrolatum, Paraffin, C13-14 Isoparaffin | Excluded by the originator in a 2022 interview; a dermatology review notes that these leave residues co-washing does not remove. |
| Olefin sulfonate detergent | Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium C12-14 Olefin Sulfonate | Not named by the originator. Community checkers treat it as a harsh clarifying detergent: isitcg says to use it sparingly, CurlsBot that it may be harsher than sulfates. |
The order matters for one pair. Water-soluble silicones are checked before the general silicone
rule, so PEG-12 Dimethicone is reported as the grey-area group it belongs to rather than as a
silicone that needs a sulfate to wash out. The first rule a name matches is the only one reported.
Silicones are matched by the shape of the name rather than by a list. An INCI silicone almost
always ends in -cone or -conol, or contains siloxane, and that morphology reaches silicones
no list has caught up with. A rule on the prefix sil would be shorter and wrong: it catches
Silica, which is silicon dioxide, and the originator’s own gel lists silica.
Why sulfates and silicones sit at the centre
Sulfates and silicones are the pair the method is built around, and dermatology reviews describe the mechanism without adopting the method. Anionic detergents such as sodium lauryl sulfate remove sebum well and can leave hair harsh, dull and frizzy; water-insoluble silicones build up unless a strong detergent removes them.
| Group | What dermatology reviews say | Why the method excludes it |
|---|---|---|
| Sulfate detergents | Remove sebum efficiently; associated with frizz and fragility, though no data show shampoo harms hair | The originator calls them harsh detergents of the kind found in dishwashing liquid |
| Water-insoluble silicones | May accumulate and need strong surfactants to remove; co-washing does not take them off | Build a film the originator says keeps conditioner out |
| Mineral oil and petrolatum | Leave residues under the cuticle that co-washing does not remove | Named by the originator in a 2022 interview |
| Short-chain alcohols | No review read for this page tests their effect on curls | Named by the originator as drying |
The two halves depend on each other. A routine without sulfates cannot remove a water-insoluble silicone, so dropping one forces dropping the other, and that is why a checker that flags only sulfates misses half the method.
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The same reviews also record the counterpoint. A 2025 review of silicones in hair care notes that amino-functional and water-dispersible silicones can improve definition in curly hair, which is the opposite of the method’s blanket rule. A flag here reports the rule, not a finding that the ingredient harms hair.
Names that look like a rule and are not
Exceptions are checked before any rule runs, and they are reported as recognised rather than flagged. Without them the checker would flag the originator’s own conditioner, which lists cetyl and stearyl alcohol, and would repeat the most common mistakes community checkers make.
| Held out of the flags | Why the rule does not apply |
|---|---|
| sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, aluminum sulfate, ferrous sulfate | Inorganic salts used as thickeners or bulking agents, not sulfate detergents. |
| sodium chondroitin sulfate, chondroitin sulfate | A conditioning agent; the sulfate is part of the molecule, not a detergent. |
| toluene-2,5-diamine sulfate, p-phenylenediamine sulfate, hydroxyethyl-p-phenylenediamine sulfate, 1-hydroxyethyl 4,5-diamino pyrazole sulfate | Hair-dye salts, not detergents. |
| behentrimonium methosulfate, cetrimonium methosulfate | Cationic conditioners; methosulfate is the counter-ion, not a sulfate detergent. |
| cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, lauryl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, isostearyl alcohol, lanolin alcohol | Fatty alcohols: emollients and thickeners. The originator's own conditioner lists cetyl and stearyl alcohol. |
| benzyl alcohol, phenethyl alcohol | Aromatic alcohols used as preservatives or fragrance, not drying alcohols. |
| peg-6 beeswax, peg-8 beeswax, peg-12 beeswax, peg-20 beeswax, emulsifying wax, emulsifying wax nf | Ethoxylated or emulsifying waxes that disperse in water; both CurlsBot and isitcg accept them. |
| silica, hydrolyzed silk | Not silicones despite the name: silica is silicon dioxide and silk is a protein. The originator's own gel lists silica. |
Behentrimonium methosulfate
A conditioning agent whose counter-ion is methosulfate, written as one word. CurlsBot calls it a conditioner, and this checker agrees.
Sodium sulfate
An inorganic salt used as a thickener, not a detergent. isitcg files it under sulfates to avoid; this checker holds it out by name.
Cetyl and cetearyl alcohol
Fatty alcohols that thicken and soften. The drying-alcohol rule only fires on a whole item such as Alcohol Denat., never on a substring.
The whole-item rule for alcohol matters more than it looks. A substring rule on alcohol or ethanol would catch benzyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol and triethanolamine — preservatives and a pH adjuster — and the alcohol denat. guide explains why the label word alone says little about what a product does.
Where curly checkers disagree
No regulator issues Curly Girl rules, and the checkers people use disagree with the originator and with each other. The table sets the main splits side by side; where this checker takes a side, the flag text says so.
| Ingredient | The originator | Community checkers | This checker |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEG-12 Dimethicone and other water-soluble silicones | All silicones are out | isitcg accepts them; CurlsBot follows a modified version of the method | Flags them under their own grey-area rule |
| Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate | Not named | isitcg says to use it sparingly; CurlsBot says it may be harsher than sulfates | Flags it as a community rule |
| Cyclopentasiloxane | All silicones are out | isitcg lists it both as use with caution and as avoid | Flags it as a silicone |
| Witch hazel | Not named | isitcg lists it among drying alcohols | Not flagged: the label name contains no alcohol |
Witch hazel is the clearest case of a checker over-reaching. The ingredient name Hamamelis Virginiana Water contains no alcohol, so this checker leaves it alone; if a product adds alcohol,
it appears as its own line and the drying-alcohol rule catches that line.
A flag means a name matches a rule printed on this page. It is not a finding that the ingredient damages hair, and on some silicones the dermatology literature reads the evidence the other way.
How to read the three answers
Every result separates three states, and the tally at the top says how many lines were read. A Curly Girl checker answers one question about hair care; the label scanner apps compared set out which tools read which kinds of label, and the dimethicone guide covers the most common silicone on its own terms.
On the list
The name matches a rule. The result names the rule and who sets it — the originator or a community checker.
Recognised, not on the list
A known hair-care ingredient that no rule covers, or one held out as an exception. That says nothing about how a product will suit your hair.
Not recognised
A trade name, a typo or a rare botanical outside the vocabulary. Not recognised never means compliant.
What this page will not tell you
LabelPeek is not affiliated with Lorraine Massey, CurlyWorld, CurlsBot or isitcg, and the Curly Girl Method is not certified by any regulator. The rules on this page are a reading of what the originator publishes, sourced line by line, and they can be argued with because they are printed.
It will not tell you whether a named product from a named brand suits your hair, and it does not assess scalp conditions or hair loss. The checker reads only text you paste in, the result is generated in your browser, and it is never stored or published.
Common questions
How do I check if a hair product is curly girl approved
What ingredients should curly girls avoid
Are water-soluble silicones allowed on the Curly Girl Method
Is behentrimonium methosulfate a sulfate
When is a Curly Girl ingredient checker the wrong tool
Sources
Every factual claim on this page that can be checked against a document is listed here with the document it comes from.
- Our Ingredient PromiseCurlyWorld (Lorraine Massey's brand) · curlyworld.comThe originator's own exclusion list, framed as consistent with the Curly Girl Method she developed — sulfates including sodium lauryl and sodium laureth sulfate, silicones, drying alcohols, waxes and non-water-soluble polymers.
- The CG MethodCurlyWorld · curlyworld.comThe originator's stated reason for excluding silicones — that they build a film along the cuticle that keeps conditioners out — and the instruction to replace shampoo with a water-soluble, sulfate-free cleanser.
- 20 Years Later: Revisiting the Curly Girl MethodLorraine Massey, CurlyWorld blog (30 June 2022) · curlyworld.comThat a leave-in styler should be completely silicone-free and water-soluble, and the originator's test of mixing a few drops of a product in a glass of water to see whether it dissolves.
- Curly Girl Method with Lorraine MasseyEstetica Magazine (24 May 2022) · esteticamagazine.comThat the originator excludes products containing sulfates, silicones and mineral oils, and warns against waxes, petroleum derivatives and alcohol — the basis of the mineral-oil rule.
- Curly Girl: The HandbookHachette Book Group (Workman Publishing, 2011) · hachettebookgroup.comThe publisher's record of the book in which Lorraine Massey set out the method, which this page names as its origin.
- With or without silicones? A comprehensive review of their role in hair careSkin Appendage Disorders, 2025 (PMC) · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govThat water-insoluble silicones such as dimethicone and amodimethicone may accumulate and need strong surfactants to remove, that water-soluble silicones such as dimethicone copolyol rinse out more easily, and that some silicones can improve definition in curly hair.
- Pro and contra of cleansing conditionersSkin Appendage Disorders, 2019 (PMC) · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govThat sulfates have been associated with frizz and fragility although no data show shampoos harm hair, that low-poo shampoos are sulfate-free, and that co-washing is not compatible with silicones, mineral oil or petrolatum because of residues.
- Shampoo and conditioners: what a dermatologist should know?Indian Journal of Dermatology, 2015 (PMC) · pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govThat sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate are anionic detergents that remove sebum well and can leave hair harsh, dull and frizzy.
- Is it CG? ingredient rulesisitcg.com (rules file, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) · isitcg.comThat isitcg accepts PEG-12 dimethicone and PEG-8 beeswax, rates sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate as a clarifying ingredient to use sparingly, and files sodium sulfate under sulfates and witch hazel under drying alcohols.
- Haircare ingredients cheat sheetCurlsBot · curlsbot.comThat CurlsBot identifies silicones by names ending in cone and starting with sil, treats behentrimonium methosulfate as a conditioner rather than a sulfate, and accepts PEG waxes and emulsifying wax.
- The truth about the Curly Girl MethodCurlsBot · curlsbot.comThat traditional Curly Girl rules allow no silicones at all, that CurlsBot's analyzer follows a modified interpretation, and that some non-sulfate detergents may be harsher than sulfates.