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The Abbey Yung Method: A Step-by-Step Guide and Review
Full Abbey Yung Method guide with step-by-step instructions, product lists, routine examples, and a curly/wavy hair review.
August 10, 2026
If you're here, you've probably heard of the Abbey Yung method. If not, it's a haircare routine created by beauty influencer Abbey Yung. It’s gained popularity partly because her hair looks amazing, and partly because she goes against a lot of the trends people are tired of. She recommends affordable drugstore products, pushes back against “chemophobia” (the fear of ingredients like sulfates and silicones), and says to wash your hair as often as you actually need. In a world where influencers warn that your hair will fall out if you wash more than once a week or touch a drugstore product, her approach feels refreshing.
In many ways, her routine is the opposite of the Curly Girl Method. It might even be the perfect option for those of us who are “silicone curious” like myself.
This guide will help you understand the why behind what Abbey recommends, which will help you whether or not you use her exact products — especially if you have curly, coily, or wavy hair. It's also written to be useful if you don't want to watch all her videos (some people are still more into reading, like me).
Huge disclaimer, I am not Abbey Yung. I try to be as accurate as possible, but ultimately this is my interpretation and is colored by my opinions.
Summer 2026 update: Abbey has made some changes that have been documented in the post and says she eventually will release a Abbey Yung Method 2.0.
But if you're reading this Abbey and you want an official routine generator hit me up.
All products featured on CurlsBot are independently and thoughtfully selected by us. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This helps us keep CurlsBot running. We thank you for your support!
TLDR
If you want a routine based on this post, take the quiz below.
Want your custom Abbey Yung-ish routine?
Take the quiz to get step-by-step product picks based on your hair, scalp, damage level, and styling goals.
Recently in a video Abbey outlined the core of her method:
Proper cleansing and conditioning
Scalp health
Damage protection
Damage repair
A lot of influencers talk about these things but I think some additional reasons she stands out are:
Recommending both drugstore and salon products
Being anti-chemophobia, not avoiding ingredients like sulfates and silicones
Telling people it's OK and good to wash their hair, even daily if they really need it!
Who is the Abbey Yung Method for?
While anyone can do the Abbey Yung method, it's worth keeping in mind what she does that I notice:
Heat styling (blow drying, hot tools)
Chemical treatments like highlights
All things that can make your hair look really good but also can damage it. That's why her routine is so focused on damage protection and repair, especially protection from heat and repair of bonds inside the hair broken by chemical treatments or heat.
I've seen some people say Abbey's hair isn't damaged and that's false. She has highlights which always break bonds and she posted a microscopic analysis showing damage, especially at the ends. But she's a testament to how you can have damaged hair that doesn't look or feel damaged.
Some of her recommendations may need to be adjusted if:
You prioritize volume and texture over smoothness
You air dry
You have low porosity (in the sense of being undamaged) hair
You don't use any chemical treatments
You'll also need to keep in mind that your hair will not magically turn into Abbey's hair. What your hair looks like isn't just about routine, it's a combo of genetics, her styling technique skill, the salon professionals she goes to, and really good lighting.
Customizing the Abbey Yung Method
If there is one thing you take away from this post I hope it's that really knowing your hair can help you choose the right products.
Abbey recommends multiple different options per step and tells you what kind of hair each is for.
I identified several characteristics that Abbey uses when recommending different products. Knowing these will help you choose the right ones regardless of whether you follow her exact recommendations.
Scalp type
Cleansing needs
Product weight
Hard water
Your hair's condition
Damage type
Your hair's manageability
Your goals/preferences
Between wash needs
I'll explain each in the sections they affect. Some of these are easier to know than others. If you're not sure, try out the quiz. If you want detailed, accurate results consider an analysis by Strandprint using code CBOT10 for 10% off.
The importance of product weight
Product weight refers to how heavy or light a product is in terms of conditioning. It's not a strict definition but typically:
Heavy products are:
High conditioning (softening, smoothing, adding elasticity)
Often thick and creamy with high slip (but not always)
Light products are:
Lower conditioning, providing less weight and softness to hair
Often more liquid in texture (but not always)
You may need light products if your hair is:
Fine
Easily weighed down or over-elongated (most wavy hair / loose curls fall here, find if your hair is one of these types with my quiz)
If you're not sure where your hair falls, the weight recommendations are built into the quiz.
Steps In the Abbey Yung Method
I've divided the steps up between those steps she recommends everyone do which I call core and those steps that are optional depending on your needs I call boosts. This is my own terminology.
Core Steps
These are the steps Abbey recommends for every routine. The terminology of core is my own way I think of them, not Abbey's.
Abbey says everyone needs a deep cleaning shampoo at least once a week for scalp health and to deal with buildup from products, scalp sebum, or the environment. Some of her deep cleaners also help loosen sebum, scales, flakes, and dead skin cell buildup, which clears a path for scalp actives to penetrate, which she explains in her video on scalp health shampoos.
In summer 2026 Abbey also added several new deep cleaning shampoos that overlap with the new category "Benefit Shampoos" (similar to the old category "Strengthening Shampoos"). I'll cover more info about these in that section.
She recommends choosing your deep cleaning shampoo based on:
Scalp type: gentler options for dry scalps, stronger for oily
Scalp care: as of summer 2026, several options that have scalp-care actives (and double as Benefit / Scalp Health shampoos)
Cleansing needs: how much cleansing your hair prefers depends on factors like hair fineness, scalp oils, and personal habits like how often you wash
Hard water: if you wash in hard water (see our guide on how to know if you have hard water), she recommends a shampoo that can remove these pesky mineral deposits that can weigh hair down. Several deep clean shampoos also count as chelating Benefit shampoos
Hair condition: deep cleaners are generally residue-free and strong; if washing leaves hair rough or tangled, Abbey's Benefit Strengthening shampoos (or a gentler chelating Benefit option) are better for other wash days than toning down the deep clean itself
How often you need a deep clean depends on your hair. Some people with fine hair or oily scalps can use a deep cleaning shampoo every wash. Others only need it once a week and will want a gentler shampoo for other washes — more on that in the benefit shampoo section.
Residue-free strong clean. Aimed at scalp barrier support, reducing hair fall from brushing, and strengthening new growth.
Best for: Oily scalps, most hair types
Non-drugstoreDeep CleaningScalp Health
strong
oily
Can't find these products? Look for a clarifying, purifying, or detox shampoo with a strong residue-free clean. If you have hard water, get one formulated to remove mineral deposits. If your hair is damaged or tangles easily, look for one that says "for damaged hair" or similar on the label as these tend to have more conditioning ingredients. If your hair is easily weighed down, look for shampoos labeled clarifying, purifying, or detox — my Guide to Light Products has more info on finding these.
Conditioner
Abbey's conditioner step isn't limited to products labeled "conditioner": depending on your hair, a mask or a gloss might actually be a better fit. All are technically conditioners, just at different weights: glosses tend to be lighter, masks tend to be heavier.
Which to pick:
Gloss: your hair is weighed down too much by even a light conditioner
Mask: your hair is extra hard to detangle, doesn't feel adequately conditioned by regular conditioners, or you just like the creamy rich texture (perfectly valid)
Conditioner: everyone else
Within each category she has recommendations ranging from light to heavy.
Conditioner for those who want a thicker, creamier option
Best for: Coarse/thick hair that is NOT easily weighed down
Non-drugstoreconditioner
heavy
Can't find these products? Honestly almost any conditioner, gloss, or mask should work here. For damaged hair look for something labeled for damaged or color-treated hair as these tend to be higher in cationic conditioners, which are more effective on damaged hair than products that are just heavy in oils and butters. For light conditioners words like "volumizing" on the label can indicate it's light -- my Guide to Light Products has more info on finding light conditioners.
Leave-in
This is one step I'd argue is non-negotiable and I say that as someone who avoided leave-ins for years because every one I tried weighed my hair down. The right one makes a real difference. Without any leave-in, your hair is more susceptible to heat damage, UV damage, and friction, and more likely to tangle.
She classifies leave-ins by weight:
Lighter leave-ins: a thin film that protects without weighing hair down which is good for fine or easily elongated hair
Heavier leave-ins: a thicker film that provides more protection and softening which is better for coarse or high shrinkage hair
8 products
Product
Details
Weight
Pantene Miracle Rescue 10 in 1 Multitasking Leave in Conditioner Spray
Best for: Normal to thick/coarse hair that's not easily weighed down, great for VERY tangle-prone hair
Non-drugstore
heavy
Can't find these products? Look for a spray leave-in that includes heat protection.
Boosts: Optional Steps
These are steps you can add based on your specific needs. Think of them as targeted upgrades rather than requirements. "Boosts" is my terminology, not Abbey's.
Strengthening: These are largely shampoos from the original category. They provide a gentler clean plus softening/smoothing benefits, but may weigh some hair types down. If your hair feels dry, brittle, tangled, or hard to manage, she recommends these on non-deep-cleaning wash days (and after a deep clean when you want hair to feel nicer/softer).
Chelating: These are for people whose water is hard as they're formulated to remove hard-water minerals. Use once a week or more if you have hard water. Some (like EverPure Clarifying, k18 Peptide Prep, and Ouai Detox) are also deep cleaning; others (L'oreal Metal Detox, Living Proof Clarifying) are gentler and more conditioning. None of her recommendations meet my own standards for hard-water mineral removal claims as discussed in my Guide to Hard Water.
Scalp Health: These have actives aimed at things like scalp barrier/microbiome support, fortifying follicles, hair retention, exfoliation, and density support. Abbey says to use these as often as possible. Several are also deep cleaning (they'll show an "Also deep cleaning" badge below).
Medicated: These are OTC drug shampoos for itching, scaling, and flaking (dandruff). Abbey recommends prioritizing them and using as often as possible. This is not medical advice — please see a doctor to get a diagnosis before treating scalp conditions.Two of these are also deep cleaning.
There is overlap with Deep Cleaning: some products are both a Benefit shampoo and a deep cleaner. If you're picking one product that covers multiple needs, that's fine. If the overlap feels confusing, I programmed the logic into the Abbey Yung Ish Routine Builder so you can try that to find a shampoo (or up to two).
Best for: Reducing itching, irritation, scaling, and flaking (see a doctor for diagnosis). Normal to dry scalps, sensitive scalps, most hair types but especially good for dry/damaged
Best for: Reducing itching, irritation, scaling, and flaking (see a doctor for diagnosis). Normal to dry scalps, most hair types but especially good for dry/damaged
Residue-free strong clean. Aimed at scalp barrier support, reducing hair fall from brushing, and strengthening new growth.
Best for: Oily scalps, most hair types
Non-drugstoreScalp HealthAlso deep cleaning
oily
strong
Can't find these products?
For Strengthening: Look for a non-clarifying shampoo with softening or smoothing claims.
For damaged hair look for something formulated for damaged or color-treated hair
For volume look for something labeled thickening or volumizing
For softness look for a shampoo labeled hydrating or smoothing
For Chelating: Look for a shampoo that says it removes hard water minerals. I have more info in my hard water guide.
For Scalp Health: Look for a shampoo that says it has scalp care actives (exfoliation, density, barrier support, etc.)
For Medicated: Look for an OTC anti-dandruff shampoo and follow the label. Be sure to get a diagnosis from a doctor if you're dealing with itching, scaling, or flaking.
Bond Repair
Abbey recommends bond repair for anyone with any level of damage. She has two broad categories, which I'll call strong and weak bond builders. This is my terminology and you can read more about it in my bond repair guide
Strong bond builders target the strongest internal bonds in hair (like disulfide bonds), which are only broken by:
Chemical treatments (coloring, bleaching, perming, relaxing, highlighting)
Heat styling
Products in this category include Eprès, K18, and Olaplex. In my opinion you only need these if you have those specific types of damage and they're a waste of money otherwise. I haven't seen Abbey address this distinction directly, but it's worth knowing.
If you do need strong bond repair, in my opinion the priority order is Eprès first (read more in my bond repair guide), then K18, then Living Proof (and only use Living Proof's bond repair if you heat style, since it's heat activated).
Weaker bond builders target more temporary bonds. As of this writing all the cheaper drugstore options fall into this category. These are fine for other types of damage. For example when I had a hair analysis, I had some significant mechanical damage on my ends.
As for how many bond repair products you need, when my hair was long with mildly mechanically damaged ends, one product was plenty (the Garnier Hair Filler product she used to recommend, now discontinued). My general rule is to scale up based on your level of damage, not to stack products by default.
Abbey classifies bond repair products by weight, with lighter options providing less conditioning and heavier ones providing more.
Abbey recommends using this after the shampoo instead of before for boosted effectiveness. Creates new hydrogen & ionic bonds to support internal keratin structure
Best for: Most hair types but may cause weigh down
Best for: Most hair types but most likely to cause weigh down
Non-drugstoreweak-bond-repair
medium, heavy
Can't find these products? There aren't good substitutes for Eprès, K18, or Living Proof specifically. For the others, look for products labeled bond repair, but it's worth reading my bond repair guide first to understand what different bond repair actives actually do.
Pre-Shampoo Oil Treatment
This is an optional step and Abbey recommends it mainly for people whose hair gets rough or tangly during shampooing. It's also one of the steps people most often misuse, so it's worth understanding before you try it.
If you do it when you don't need it, use the wrong weight, or use too much, it can weigh your hair down significantly. Her videos on these products are worth watching to get a sense of how much to use.
She offers three options, all from OGX, one for each weight:
Heavy: for hair that benefits from a lot of product and isn't easily weighed down
Medium: for hair in between
Light: for hair that's easily weighed down
In my opinion these are most useful on the ends of longer hair, especially if you have an oily scalp and drier ends, since it lets you use a stronger shampoo without over-stripping the ends.
Do they wash out? Somewhat, but that's not really the point. Think of them as spot treatment for areas you want protected during washing, not as a conditioning treatment.
3 products
Product
Details
Weight
OGX Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil
Can't find these products? You're not looking for a regular kitchen oil here. You want a mixture of oils and silicones or silicone substitutes which provide extra lubrication. The OGX products are a good reference point for what that looks like.
Style Sealers
These are oily/creamy products that add smoothness and shine after styling. She has recommendations listed by weight which is worth paying attention to here since these are particularly prone to weighing hair down. If your hair turns greasy or is easily weighed down, you might wanna skip this step.
12 products
Product
Details
Weight
Bumble and bumble. Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Long Last Styling Cream
Can't find these products? Look for a mixture of oils and silicones or silicone substitutes, things labeled "finishing oil" or "anti-frizz serum" that instruct you to apply on dry or damp hair.
Styling Products
She has options for different goals, but keep in mind these are mostly geared toward those who style their hair mostly straight:
Texture
Volume
Extra hold
If you're wearing your hair in a natural wavy, curly, or coily texture these may not translate well. Personally I've only found her texture recommendations useful on days when I'm not trying to enhance my waves and am going for a beachy undone look.
The same items as style sealers, or overnight masks meant to be applied to dry hair
Dry shampoo
Tweaking the Abbey Yung Method for Wavy/Curly/Coily Hair
Plenty of people with wavy, curly, and coily hair use her regular recommendations without modification. Regular products work fine on any hair type as long as they work for you. But there are a few things worth knowing before you dive in.
Abbey's method isn't designed for curl-focused styling. If you want to style your hair the way most of the curly community does (high-hold products, scrunching out the crunch, defined clumps) you'll need to adapt. She doesn't recommend strong-hold stylers, not because she's against them, but because she wears her hair mostly straight and they're probably not on her radar.
A few curly-specific things to watch out for:
Silicones: A lot of people in the curl world are scared of these. They will not suffocate your hair (they're actually more permeable than oils), but can interact strangely with hard-hold gels and may loosen curl pattern for some people especially with wavy hair or loose curls. Something to experiment with carefully if you rely on gel for definition.
"Oils": When Abbey says oils she means serums, lightweight mixtures of oils and other ingredients. Curly-branded oils are often straight oils, which are heavier and harder to work with.
Masks: Many curly-brand masks are heavy in butters and oils and are not as suitable to be used as conditioner (they are more for occasional use). These also aren't as effective for damaged hair as masks high in cationic conditioners, which is what Abbey's mask recommendations tend to prioritize.
Curl-focused bond repair: Products like Curlsmith Bond Rehab Serum exist specifically for curly hair. Whether they're meaningfully better than regular bond repair for curls I honestly don't know, and I haven't seen good science on it yet. There's also Dove's Amino Curl and Olaplex's Bond Shaper (salon only as of this writing).
Deep cleaning: I had a couple of curly hair stylists tell me they thought once a week was too much deep cleaning / clarifying. There is research showing that curly hair is more fragile so perhaps they are right. If your hair is feeling "dry" you might choose a more conditioning/gentle option or consider deep cleaning less often. My pick would be the Curlsmith Detox shampoo as it's fairly gentle and actually chelating.
As a general rule, lean lighter if you have wavy or fine hair, and heavier the more shrinkage your hair has, unless your hair is fine, in which case lighter usually wins regardless of curl pattern. The "What to substitute" notes in each step above can also help you find curly/wavy alternatives for specific products.
If you're not sure if your hair is wavy, loose curls, coils or something else, check out our hair type quiz.
Here is a summary of all the steps, the product type, and whether optional or required:
Step
Name
Product Type
Frequency
Status
#1
Pre-wash bond repair treatment
Bond repair treatment (Eprès Bond Repair Treatment)
2x a week
Optional
#2
Pre-shampoo oil treatment
Oil treatments (OGX Coconut Oil line)
As needed
Optional
#3
Deep cleaning shampoo
Residue-free deep cleaning / purifying shampoos
At least once a week
Required
#4
Benefit shampoo
Strengthening, chelating, scalp health, or medicated shampoos
Other wash days / as needed
Optional
#5
Post-shampoo bond repair treatment
Bond treatments (K18, drugstore alternatives)
2x a week
Optional
#6
Rinse-out conditioner
Conditioner, gloss, or mask depending on hair needs
Every wash
Required
#7
Post-wash bond repair
Bond repair treatment
As needed for very damaged hair
Optional
#8
Leave-in conditioner + heat protection
Leave-ins with heat protection (light, medium, or heavy)
Every wash
Required
#9
Styling products
Mousses, hairsprays, balms, texture sprays
As desired
Optional
#10
Style sealers
Lotions, creams, oil serums (light, medium, or heavy)
After styling
Optional
#11
Which Porosity Is the Abbey Yung Method For?
Porosity is used to mean two different things online: how damaged your hair is, or how your hair reacts to water and products. If you want the full breakdown, I cover it in my porosity guide. For the purposes of this method, the damage definition is the one that matters.
This method is mainly for high or mixed porosity hair: in other words, damaged hair. Abbey colors her hair, and her ends have accumulated years of weathering, so her routine is built around that reality.
If your hair is low porosity (undamaged), the method probably won't hurt you, but most of her product picks are formulated for damaged hair — they're likely to feel too heavy and frankly be a waste of money. That's not because of the usual myths like "protein is bad for low porosity hair" (it isn't), it's just a formulation mismatch.
If you're using the internet definition of porosity instead, the practical answer is simple: low porosity maps to lighter products, high porosity maps to heavier ones. But as I argue in the porosity guide, that framing is less useful than just knowing your hair's actual characteristics.
Troubleshooting/Can the Abbey Yung Method Cause Damage?
Abbey's recommended products are standard, well-tested, and safe. That said, some people do report issues and it usually comes down to conditioning level. Rather than getting caught up in protein vs. moisture debates, the more useful question is whether your hair is over or under-conditioned:
Overconditioned: hair feels greasy, limp, or weighed down. Shift your products lighter and consider eliminating some of the optional steps.
Underconditioned: hair feels brittle, dry, stiff, or like straw. Shift your products heavier, or try adding some of the optional conditioning steps like sealers or between-wash care.
These issues usually come down to:
Using heavy products when you should be using light ones (or vice versa)
Applying products meant for damaged hair onto healthy, undamaged hair, which can cause buildup
If your hair feels stiff or brittle, don't keep doing the same routine. Stiff, brittle hair is more vulnerable to actual damage. Clarify, switch up your products, and aim for results that leave your hair feeling smooth and flexible. I explain what's happening chemically in my post on so-called "protein overload".
My Personal Experience with the Abbey Yung Method
I'm honestly not the best candidate for this method. My hair is wavy, almost straight when long, and mostly undamaged and low porosity. I don't dye, bleach, or heat style (beyond like light diffusing). The only exception was when my hair was over 20 inches long because the ends were higher porosity by then, so I experimented with bond repair on just those. I don't miss how annoying my long hair was to care for, but I do miss having high porosity ends to test products on.
Here's what I noticed:
Glosses: They didn't give me enough slip or conditioning, though others (like Curls by the Coast) love them. I suspect I need more conditioning now that I'm older, as I explain in my perimenopause guide aging hair tends to get more porous.
Spray leave-ins: The biggest game changer. I'd avoided leave-ins for years because curly ones always weighed my hair down. Her lightweight pick, Pantene 10-in-1, cuts down on frizz, adds shine, and makes my hair feel smooth without killing my waves. It does make a gel cast harder to achieve, but I prefer soft shiny waves over crunchy ones anyway.
Bond repair: I tested the Curlsmith Bond Rehab Serum as a post-shampoo (as Abbey recommends) instead of pre-shampoo (as the label says). It worked noticeably better and my ends were bouncier and healthier-looking.
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About the Author
Melissa McEwen is the creator of CurlsBot. She is a software developer with training in science writing and a B.S. in Agricultural Science. Her writing has appeared in publications such as NPR and Quartz.
