Review Time: Kinky-Curly Original Curling Custard

Review Time: Kinky-Curly Original Curling Custard

This one goes out to the curly-kids out there, who like me- spend way too much time and money on their hair.

Ok, so here's my deal lately. I'm tired of my hair in a big way, and my layers have finally grown out long enough to wear my natural hair and not look like a poodle/Shirley Temple/tornado victim. 

About a week ago (ayyyyy), I jumped out of the shower and was like, "No... I'm not blowdrying."

Which lead to this disaster because the funny story was, I had no hair products in my home meant for curls.

I had some mousse that did basically nothing, I had oils that are really only meant for finishing the style off- I basically had nothing in my arsenal except for water.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS: Despite me tinkering, blowdrying, stretching, pulling, re-curling with hot tools, and generally being horrible- my hair still has curl.

We all remember when I went platinum blonde and lost all my curl right?

Yeah, I make choices sometimes.

So I did a little research into the subject and the big whoop-de-do in curling products is anything pretty much named after a desert.

Curling custards, puddings, meringue, buttercreams, etc.

And a few companies have really gotten on the bandwagon- Kinky Curly, Miss Jessie's, etc.

And you've probably seen these brands floating around Target and Ulta and never gave them much thought other than, "Oh, cute packaging."

But the fact of the matter is, I think they work.

AND HERE'S MY REASONING.

There's nothing worse to a curly haired girl than stroking gel through your hair and ending up with those 90's wet, crunchy noodle curls. NOTHING. NOTHING IS WORSE, I DARE YOU TO FIND WORSE IN THE HAIR WORLD.

Save from all your hair falling out, I think crunchy wet noodle curls are pretty high up there.

But the problem with this is that curls love gel. They really do. Creams, gels, anything thicker with a hold and they just gobble that stuff right up.

So here's why I think the confectionary based products are so successful- they're a little bit of everything and a little bit of nothing.

Curls, I feel, survive under 2 settings- nothing at all and everything. 

Only beach water, or 18 products. I don't know why. I don't know how. They just do sometimes. Especially when you have lose curls. Magic, I don't know.

So here's one of my favorites so far: Kinky-Curly original Curling Custard. (Mouthful, right?)

This 8oz bottle retails at Target for right around $17, and it's gonna take you a long, long, time to get through it. This is one of those products where I flinched buying it until I used it. 

You really only need a couple of swipes, genuinely. (I'm not gonna say what this stuff looks like, but we know what it looks like right?)

Here's what they say the product will do, right from the horse's mouth:

"CURLING CUSTARD TM gives moisture and curl definition, hold and brilliant shiny hair all in one product!It reduces bulk, defines & elongates your curls helping them to 'hang' better. CURLING CUSTARD TM will bring out the natural curl or wave pattern you never knew you had!It is an advanced botanical formula made with ALL NATURAL ingredients that nourish and strengthen the hair. Utilizing the humectant properties of the Agave Nectar, CURLING CUSTARD TM will give weight to your hair, define your curls, remove frizz, provide long lasting hold and shine without ever being greasy, crunchy or drying to your hair.This high performance product is very concentrated so a little goes a long way."

A little goes a long way is really accurate.

The funny thing about this custard is that it actually feels a little like custard texture-wise.  

The smell is heavenly, like a vanilla cake, or a vanilla marshmallow.

And as for what's actually in it- that was the real surprise.

Ingredients: Botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, vitamin e, pectin, citric acid, potassium sorbate, and natural fragrance.

I'm like 99% sure this is the actual ingredient list of custard. 

And also, this may be the most natural hair product I've ever used, save from just plain old water.

And the thing I love about companies who actually care about their curly clients, is they actually include how to apply the product and for SPECIFIC hair types. 

On the tub it actually gives general directions, for thick coarse curls, and for loose wavy curls.

It's like they know me, guys.

So, knowing I have loose wavy curls, I followed the directions given: Apply to damp or wet hair, scrunch into medium sections of the hair, flip head upside down to create more body.

So far so good at this point. My hair was definitely not looking any "curlier" than normal, but the s pattern was definitely there. At this point I was sort of like, "I don't get it". Usually when I use products meant for curls, by this point my hair is shrinking up, getting curlier, etc. And that's the confusing part of this particular product- it's really there to just enhance what you got going on. It's not going to use alcohols and things to shrink up the curls. It's really just hydrating your curls and giving the structure a bit of hold with the marshmallow and agave. 

And this is why I sort of suck at reviews. I usually just pin the bangs back and go to run my errands and live my life instead of focusing on the task at hand.

BUT HERE'S WHERE IT GOT INTERESTING.

So the left is my hair on the same day I styled it. Nothing too nuts right, just messy wavy curls.

So the next day, I do what I always do to refresh my curls- I brush through with a wide tooth comb (cause I got knots and my hair will try to dread overnight. I don't know why), I spray a fine layer of water all over to dampen, and then I use a tiny bit of whatever product I had used the day before to scrunch and revive the curls. (And normally, I have to recurl a lot of areas that wont curl.)

This is what I noticed first thing- I didn't really have to brush my hair. It was soft, it wasn't all clumped together in a gross greasy way. In fact, it was barely greasy at all- which was a big surprise. 

When I sprayed and scrunched my hair, it immediately came right back to life and areas that normally won't curl (the front sections by my ears, the bangs) were wavy and actually incredibly beautiful.

Below is my hair, waking up, pre-styling. When I added water and a tiny bit of the Kinky-Curly product, it produced more volume and shine.

So, the product works. Now for the facts curly girls want to hear:

How long did it (the curl) last? 

Girl. All day, every day.

I washed my hair and styled it as shone above, and I've been wetting and scrunching without washing it for 3 days. No greasy roots. The hair felt hydrated, but fluffy. My curls came back with no additional help. No flaking or general gross looking stuff. I think by the evening of the third day, I was kind of like, "Ok, definitely time to wash" and it was mostly because my hair looked flat and not because it looked disgusting.

Is it worth the money?

Yes, and if you find you need more hydration, less hold, or vise versa there's basically a million different textured products to work with- puddings are more creamy, meringues are lighter and fluffier. Basically if you know desert textures, you will find something you like.

Did you use anything else with the product that could have "helped"?

NOPE. I washed my hair with my normal stuff (Wella Elements shampoo/conditioner), and I used no other product except water. The end.

What did your hair feel like?

Surprisingly weighted enough to hold down frizz and give my hair a thicker feel, but not greasy or crunchy, and very very soft. Touchable enough that even Roger was like, "Oh, that was a surprise".

Did you have to go through with a curling iron to "fix" spots?

No. Normally I would with other sprays and crap I've used but this genuinely pushed my waves up and into very defined but pretty beach waves. What you're seeing is just my natural texture in one of it's better states.

Obviously though, if you're wanting something curlier, or in a different shape, you might have to fix areas or try a different product. But the custard is really just going to amplify whatever you have naturally coming out of your head. If you have beach waves like me and WANT something curlier, then you might have to find something else. However, I think if you wanted something less curly, this would be a good option because it does elongate the curl a bit.

I hope this helped you curly-girls. I know finding the right stuff can be a bit of a battlefield and leave you with a very full drawer and a very empty wallet.

-SamanthaK