Your Holy Grails

PumpUptheCurls

Alright my fellow curlies, I'm back! Even though I never really left....but that's not the point
I have been modified curly girl for quit sometime and am looking to go full curly girl. My problem is finding products that work how I want them to. I haven't found a shampoo and conditioner the is CG friendly that I like. I want one that will leave my hair feeling clean without drying out and SMELLS good. I miss my hair smelling good! All the shampoos I have used do not have a scent that sticks. Same with conditioners. So any shampoo and conditioners that you guys love??
Also I'm just at a lost for gels, creams and mousses. I have used multiple but I'm not in love with them, you know?
About my hair......yeah I would like to know about my hair too lol. It's 2C sometimes a 3A. It can get greasy very fast so I'm looking for a low-poo. I'm not sure how it does with proteins, I have used SM curl enhancing smoothie, and as long as I don't use too much it is fine. The gel I am using now is herbal essence totally twisted paired with Catwalk curl amplifier. I get mostly good results using these two products. I also use my conditioner now as a leave-in (it's a weird brand from Ross that I am just trying to get rid of). I can leave a bunch of conditioner in my hair and have no problem with it. I can never seem to achieve second day hair because my hair is DRY the next day.
Okay, that about sums it up Holy grails on 3!
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Roseann0617

My current holy grails at the moment are curl keeper total control after freshly washed hair and then I spritz with Ouidad play curl. Keeps my 3a curls nicely defined and not crunchy all day. On day 2 I spritz with a fine mist water bottle to help reactivate the product I had in from the day before. I may add another dollop of the curl keeper just to freshen everything up.
These 2 products seriously leave my hair nice and light weight and really feelin clean. I have also began using sulfate free shampoos and conditioners because I think they don't weight my curl down as much as the ones with cones. Good luck finding your holy grail!
Roseann

Therese1

Hmmm, I really like the SM Yucca and Plantain low poo and conditioner. The smell is very nice--kind of a perfumy floral smell, but not overpowering. I don't know if the scent lasts all day, however. It might, and it might not; I get olfactory fatigue quickly, ha ha. The poo and condish have a little protein, but not a lot. The poo cleanses my hair well and leaves it feeling light and not weighed down. The condish doesn't coat my hair like some other SM ROs do, but I do wish it had more protein to help keep my curls a little bouncier (it can make my hair a little too soft for my liking, so sometimes I have to follow with another RO that has a lot of protein).

My absolute favorite low poo for lingering scent is pricey--Oribe Cleasing Creme. It is a co-wash. The scent is amazing. It is very good at cleansing but doesn't dry the hair out. Last summer, I could even skip a rinse-out conditioner some days. It does have some protein in it.

None of my styling products have amazing scents that linger. The SM Yucca and Plantain line does have some styling products with the same scent as the poo and condish, so layering the products might help with scent retention.

PumpUptheCurls

Thank you both for replying! I know it's a weird request, as most people do not like scents, I guess I'm just odd! I actually have the SM Yucca and Plantain shampoo and I really like it! I just do not use it much as I'm trying to get rid of the other stuff first. I do like that it cleans my hair without stripping it. I haven't tried the conditioner or even the styling milk, so maybe thats where I will turn to next! I really need to figure out if my hair likes protein or not!

Therese1

I have found that the SM Yucca and Plantain Styling Milk can be kind of heavy. I use it in winter as my LI because it is richer. So you might want to be careful with it and use just a little bit if your curls get easily weighed down.

naturecat

My fav shampoo is SM Fruit Fusion. Smells good (IMO) and cleansing but not stripping. Lots of wavies here seem to love it.

Glamourstruckk

I was doing some looking into the Shea moisture shampoos because I wanted to find one similar to their raw Shea butter shampoo.

I found that the baby shampoos all have ingredients much like it! Here's the point for you though, one of them is Un-scented.

Illyria

I think I only have two holy grails so far. Kinky Curly Knot Today is magic. Detangles my hair wet with no snarls and tearing and soooo much quicker than doing it dry or with my cowash or RO condish. It gives me featherweight moisture as a leave-in and makes my hair so soft. Love it so much.

Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo for my clarifying washes. Alone it's too harsh, but when I dilute it with my cowash it makes my hair so smooth and and my hair's like brand new after.

curlypearl

My only HG is Curl Junkie Curl Rehab for conditioning. I am too impatient to deep condition (bad, I know!) but this conditioner is so terrific I get away with it. It's a big nc.com favorite, and justly so.

Once when my hair was absolutely straw I left it on overnight (used towels on my pillow) and my hair was reborn.

My hair just seems so inconsistent. I'd love to find a few products that work every time reliably!

Good thread.

Mei

Well... Mine change based on time of year and whether my hair is processed or not, whether I'm having a seborrhea flareup... Etc. Right now, my holy grails are:

1. Oneka Citrus and Goldenseal conditioner
2. Desert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Shampoo
3. Devacurl Styling Cream

ExpectoPatronum

Oddly enough, my HG product at the moment is the Cantu Leave-in Conditioning (Repair?) Cream. Yeah, it's my favorite product but I don't remember the name of it (lol). I don't believe that this, or the other Cantu product I'm going to mention, are totally CG.

It makes a good leave-in, but my hair also loves it as my styling cream. I usually take a small amount, finger comb it through really wet hair. I scrunch a teensy more in, scrunch in a little gel, and I'm good to go.

This cream also works very well for me with refreshing second day hair. I rewet my hair with a spray bottle, scrunch in a little more of the condish and let it dry.

In fact, when I went home for a few days, this was the only product I took with me. And I survived just fine :P

The creamy hydrating conditioner from Cantu is also one of my HGs. My hair just soaks it right up! It has great slip and is really moisturizing too. I love that stuff, and it's only $5 at Walmart! I let my best friend use it when she was staying here and she has curly hair like I do. She had complaining about how dry hers felt. She told me she was taking that conditioner home with her :P

And, like everyone else, Shea Moisture shampoos are a staple in my routine. I always have at least one in the shower. I have some weird scalp detox one that's minty and very cleansing. It's my 'cleansing' shampoo at the moment. For more moisturizing ones, the coconut and hibiscus one is a favorite. Cantu's hydrating shampoo is nice also, but I do prefer SM.

Oy, that was a long post. But, I've found a lot of solid products as of late. Still looking for an HG "gel." I like ecostyler and LA Looks for their price, but using them consistently/long term leads me to having dry hair even paired with a leave-in. KCCC didn't work for me either....

sixelamy

My HGs:

Colorful Neutral Protein Filler from Sally's in any of my conditioners I use to rinse out.

CJ Curl Queen - for humid and dry weather alike.

CJ Argan & Olive Oil conditioner as a rinse out, leave in, whatever.

Kinky Curly Stellar Strands as a leave in.

When I am strictly CG - I absolutely love the fragrance free body wash from Real Purity as a low poo.

CopperCrown

So I've been lurking on the boards for a long time, but haven't posted in forever. I was doing straight hair most of the winter, since I could get away with it, and I didn't have to wash it as often. A very important factor as a sick grad student. I'm getting back into the wavy thing though, and I definitely have some holy grails.

• LA Looks Sport Gel. It's the only gel I've tried, and I feel no need to try another. My hair loves it.
  
• Aussie Instant Freeze Mousse. I didn't realize that this was a holy grail until recently. When I started CG again I wasn't using it, and I had a hard time getting 2nd day hair, or really curly pieces. Started using it again and BAM, I got 5th day hair. I get curlier hair, it holds the waves/curls and keeps out the humidity. Even after brushing it, putting it into a high pony tail, teasing it all over, and wrapping it into a big top knot for a couple of days, it was still wavy when I took it down and brushed it out again.
  
• AG Re:Coil Curl Activator. Wowza this stuff works. My roots tend to be less wavy/curly, so I smooth it through the roots and into the length and I notice a pretty big difference. And it doesn't seem dry out my hair at all.
  
• GVP Conditioning Balm (or matrix biolage). Whether I'm using it as a moisturizing RO in the winter, or a deep conditioning treatment, this stuff gets the job done without weighing my fine hair down at ALL.