Curly and kinky hair needs special treatment and super-nutritive moisturizing products. Our journalist Karen Hill will share her positive experience in trying several hair-care lines. Read on and find new ways to get your shiny healthy curls!
Anyone with tightly wound coils knows that you can’t just pick up any hair product. Many shampoos contain harmful ingredients for your hair like sulfates. Sulfates are a type of detergent that strips your strands of dirt and grime. It can be awesome if you are prone to oily locks, but that’s not usually the case with most curly-haired folks. Too many chemicals in your shampoo can be drying. You need products that are full of natural ingredients that will give your mane ample moisture and shine. This list is sure to guide you in the right direction for the solutions you need.
Kinky Curly makes a line of products good for everything from beach waves to the kinkiest of hair. Their lightweight formula is made from ingredients like organic mango extract, aloe vera, and mandarin orange extract. So, not only does it smell really good, it is easy on your tresses. Their Come Clean Shampoo really breaks down all the product buildup and naturally produced oils, while the Knot-Today Leave-In Conditioner gets every single tangle out of your hair. Finish your wash-n-go with their Curling Custard, which is a gel designed to define your curl pattern. It works best on super kinky hair, while they also offer a Spiral Spritz designed for looser curls.
Without a doubt, you have seen these oblong-shaped shampoo and conditioner bottles that come in a vibrant array of colors. Each color represents a line with different oils or vitamins infused into it, whether this is keratin oil to strengthen your strands or coconut oil to tame frizz. Each line also has an accompanying serum or hair butter that you can use for daily hydration. While this brand does use sulfates, their ample amount of good-for-you ingredients makes up for it. As an added bonus, they don’t test their products on animals.
Shea Moisture is known for its diverse line of solutions specialized for each hair type; their lines for curly hair are simply divine. The brand’s website rightfully boasts “we make over 150 products for every kind of normal.” Since the products are made with natural ingredients like shea butter, bamboo root, and plantain, they are sure to nourish your locks. Their Jamaican Black Castor Strengthen, Leave-In & Restore line is a personal favorite that is ultra creamy and hydrating.
The brand infuses most of their products with olive oil, you know this stuff has the power to replenish the driest of hair. For under $6 a bottle you can get Incredibly Rich Oil Moisturizing Hair Lotion. It is great to massage into your hair every night before bed, so you wake up with a healthy head of hair. Their Edge Control is also great for taming pesky flyaways.
Miss Jessie’s is awesome because they too have a product for every type of curl. Their Quick Curls is good for defining looser coil patterns, while their Curly Pudding is a creamy wonder to define the kinkiest of ringlets. The products create next-to-zero frizz. Miss Jessie’s is free of sulfates, paragons, DEA (harsh and super-refined oil derived from coconuts), phthalates, animal testing and animal by-products. Some people might be opposed to their inclusion of mineral oil, which can have drying effects on certain hair types. But they offer plenty of solutions that will deeply moisturize your locks; so no worries there.
Up to $55 for a bottle of shampoo, Ouidad is certainly the most expensive brand on the list. But with products loaded with coconut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, matura butter and more, they are certainly worth the hefty price tag. These hair care solutions relax the curl just enough to cut back on shrinkage and frizz. Ouidad will make your hair softer than you knew was possible. Their four main collections are Playful Curl for looser locks, VitaCurl for a classic curl look, Curl Quencher for tighter ringlets, and Curl Immersion for kinky coils. They make travel sets which come with 4 miniature items which are good to try out first if you aren’t ready to commit to the hefty price tag. Ouidad can usually be found at your local Ulta or Sephora.
It might have sulfates and chemicals, but naturalistas swear by VO5. At under $5 for shampoo and conditioner, the brand is a must try. Their products are often loaded with vitamins like E, H, C, B5 and B3, so they are sure to nourish your hair. You can even buy their conditioners to co-wash your hair throughout the week for an extra boost of nourishment. The solutions are a little thin so they don’t last quite as long as their pricier competitors, but they are easily replaceable.
Full of naturally derived ingredients, the Cantu Shea Butter’s line has the products you need to quench your curls. Their Comeback Curl is just what you need to spritz into your mane in the morning to revitalize your coils. For those of you who rock locks or twists, Moisturizing Twist&Lock Gel is great to add a little hydration and eliminate frizz. Even if you have pin straight hair, all the nourishment from their Shea butter-infused ingredients will treat your hair with the respect it deserves.
Hands down, Curls make the best smelling products, which isn’t something always easy to tell when shopping for sealed bottles. Their Blueberry Bliss collection smells like sweet candy. While their other lines all have wonderful fruity scents, they also are fantastic at delivering moisture and shine. Curl Control Jelly is perfect for bringing that much-wanted definition to your curls, while Lavish Curls Daily Moisturizer is all you need before you head out in the mornings.
All of these products are wonderful to mix and match or you can stick to just one of your favorite brands. Find out what gives your hair the most definition, bounce and shine. Don’t worry, they are easy to find. With the exception of Ouidad, you can purchase all of these at stores like Target, CVS, Walgreens, or your local grocery store. You are sure to see an improvement or continued health with your hair if you stick to these brands.
Enter your email to get this picture to your inbox, and get other ideas you might like 💌
