What the Curlfest Founders Buy at the Drugstore

I have 4C hair, very, very tight curls, which I love. I’m always looking for moisture. This is a holy grail for me. I can’t quantify how long I’ve been using it. It’s got to be ten years. I use it to detangle my hair. When you have tightly coiled hair, every step requires sectioning. I can’t comb all of it at one time. Kinky Curly instantly breaks up any tangles. I’m able to comb through it. Sometimes I’ll put it in a water bottle almost as a leave-in conditioner. It’s definitely been a core part of my regimen. Regardless of whatever other products I use, this is the default.

This has been around forever. I use it as a twist-out styling cream. When the twists come out, they stay. When I use it, I feel like my hair has a softness to it. In terms of the name, it really does make the curls feel soft. It also smells great. The formula has stood the test of time, even with all the new options.

Maybe coconut is a constant for me, but this shampoo really adds moisture back into my hair. Both the shampoo and the conditioner. This tends to be my go-to for shampoo. All these work well together. The cocktailing of all the products I mentioned work well for me.

It’s founded by a dermatologist. I find that the products really speak to scalp health, even with the bottle design. The shampoo has a nozzle on top. I find it so much easier for me to shampoo and give attention to my scalp because of it. It’s not super-harsh because it’s sulfate-free. For folks who have fine hair like mine, it tends to easily break if it’s dry or protein sensitive. My hair doesn’t break with this. I love the formula. There’s also a protective style cleansing balm that I use when I have braids. All of them have this special nozzle that really speaks to how women like myself use the product.

I started using this in the last couple of years. I tend to look at influencers who have similar hair textures to mine to see what’s working for them. This came up a few times. I really do love it. It’s a little thicker than Pattern. I use it when my hair needs a bit more richness. Maybe it’s been two weeks since I washed it or I’m taking my hair out of braids. I need a water-based product because of the porosity of my hair. That’s the only way to get moisture in it. It’s more so the order of the application of the product than the product itself. After a quick shampoo, it leaves my hair super-soft and moisturized, and it doesn’t feel greasy. It’s really helpful when I want to wear my hair out or pulled back or in any kind of style where I need some structure.

We happen to haveWatch and Seaas part of Curlfest this year. I have my holy grails, but I’m always looking for new things, because as I get older, my hair changes, the weather changes, the environment, all of that comes into play with how products react to your hair. I always encourage people to keep trying new things. I loved this as soon as I used it on my hair. The definition with this was incredible. The moisture is spot-on. My hair is silky smooth.

As I get older, I’m being more conscious about skin care, so I’m always looking for brands with clean ingredients as well as sunscreens that are Black-girl-friendly. I love this one because it doesn’t leave a white cast. It comes out as a gel. I like that after I moisturize my face and I put this on, it feels moisturizing and it lasts. It has a good amount of SPF, too, SPF 45, which I like. It has become a staple.

In the natural-hair community, Doux mousse is a fan favorite. I saw a lot of people using it and recommending it for definition. I do a lot of braid-outs and sometimes flat twists, so definition is a must. I was also looking to use less product. There was a gel-cream product I used to use. It was my holy grail, and then it went out of business. I then looked for a replacement that would give me the same amount of definition. Mousse Def is completely different. It’s a mousse, but it gives me the same amount of definition for my braid-outs. It’s the only product that I need for styling. I apply the leave-in, then the mousse, and then I seal it with an oil. It gives me the right amount of moisture. It’s not crunchy or crinkly and it has the movement.

It was referred to me by my hairdresser. My hair was changing. I needed trims a lot more than I was used to, and my ends weren’t feeling the way they usually do. I didn’t have the thickness that I usually have. I noticed I wasn’t able to lock in moisture the way that I used to. So I switched to this. I love the Food for Love line because there’s avocado oil in it. It’s formulated to help with dry and brittle hair. After I do my shampoo, I’ll use their conditioner. I haven’t gotten to their deep conditioner yet, but I hear it is also great. I’ll sit with the conditioner under my steamer for 30 minutes. After, I think,Wow, how do I have so much moisture locked in just from a shampoo and conditioner?So now it is a staple for me.

This was something that I recently discovered. A stylist recommended it. I’m always looking for shimmer products. I also love cocoa butter. This was getting awesome reviews online, so I tried it. It’s a great balance of shimmer and moisturizing. I feel tanned all the time when I wear it.