The best curl creams can really take your hair care routine to the next level. For the uninitiated, these are styling products that are used on coily, curly, and wavy hair types in order to create more defined curls while also addressing issues like frizz and dryness.
A good curl defining cream isn’t always dependent on what your hair type or curl pattern is—sometimes the best things to look for are hydrating or nourishing ingredients that seal moisture into the hair. My hair, for example, is prone to dryness, and I’ve noticed that my curls respond a lot better to formulas that contain key ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil.
The good news is that there are dozens of options to choose from, and we spent two months incorporating several different types into our regular hair care routines, before narrowing down our favorites to the list ahead. Whether you’re looking for a multitasker that hydrates and prevents breakage (like our best overall winner!) or one that perfectly defines waves for your wash and go, there’s something here for every hair type and need.
The best curl defining creams, at a glance:
- Best Overall: Pattern Beauty Styling Cream, $25
- Best Drugstore: SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie, ($12) $10
- Best for Moisturizing: Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave-In Conditioner, $24
- Best for Wash-and-Gos: Fenty Beauty The Homecurl Curl-Defining Styling Cream, $29
- Best for Volumizing: DevaCurl Curl Heights Volume + Boost Curl Cream, $34
Best Overall: Pattern Beauty Styling Cream
- Courtesy of brand
- Original photo from Paton Hardy testing Pattern Beauty Styling Cream
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Pattern Beauty Styling Cream
Amazon
- Key ingredients: Shea butter, cacay oil, almond oil
- Size: 15 oz.
- Pros: Defines curls, prevents breakage
- Cons: Thick and may leave residue on the hair
More often than not, curl creams are looked at simply as styling products that only help with defining curly hair, but that’s only partly true, since some curl creams can also address frequent issues that people with curly, wavy, and coily hair face like damage and breakage. That’s where the Pattern Beauty Styling Cream comes in—it’s made with ingredients like shea butter, cacay oil, and almond oil to promote length and moisture retention and to prevent breakage at the ends. So not only will it give type 3 and 4 curls a crazy amount of definition, it puts in even more work to strengthen the hair from the inside out, something not all curl creams claim to do.
“The texture for this one was really thick, but it gave my curls nice definition when I applied it,” says Condé Nast Content Licensing Associate, Paton Hardy, who has very fine, curly hair. “After the fact, it was a little drying for me, so I found it best to be used with a hair oil. It also smelled super fresh!”
Best Drugstore: SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
- Courtesy of brand
- Original photo from Danielle Jackson testing SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
- Original photo from Danielle Jackson testing SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
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SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie
Amazon
- Key ingredients: Coconut oil, silk protein
- Size: 12 oz.
- Pros: Moisturizes really well, manages frizz, under $20
- Cons: It’s really thick, so your hair doesn’t really absorb it
This is an oldie but goodie that’s a SheaMoisture bestseller (it was also highly-recommended by people in my immediate friend group when I first went natural in college), and it definitely lives up to the hype. It has ingredients like coconut oil and silk protein, which moisturizes the hair from inside the shaft, and it prevents common curl woes like frizziness.
Sometimes I use this cream after washing and blowing out my coily, type 4 curls (I prefer to do twist outs on stretched hair), and even after applying it to my hair in a blown out state, the curls still manage to turn out looking like healthy spirals. I’m also a really big fan of the way this product makes my hair feel—after unraveling my twists, I usually find myself continuously touching my curls because of how satisfied I am with how soft and moisturized my hair feels. My only gripe is that this is a product that sort of sits on your hair—it’s pretty thick, so that’s to be expected—so if you’re someone who touches your hair often, you’ll definitely be able to feel that there’s something on your strands, though it doesn’t leave behind an oily or greasy film.
Best for Moisturizing: Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave-In Conditioner
- Courtesy of brand
- Original photo from Danielle Jackson testing Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave-In Conditioner
- Original photo from Danielle Jackson testing Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave-In Conditioner
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Briogeo Curl Charisma Leave-In Conditioner
Sephora
- Key ingredients: Avocado oil, rice amino acids, tomato fruit ferment
- Size: 6 oz.
- Pros: Smells really good, light texture
- Cons: Doesn’t address frizz
This one doesn’t have the thickness of a curl cream (because it’s not a curl cream, per se) but it’s easily become one of my favorite products in recent months. Our editors recommend this leave-in conditioner for curly hair. It has a milky texture that’s just a tad runnier than a lotion, and it features unique add-ins like rice amino acids that can seal the outer cuticles and ensure your curls don’t become frizzy, and tomato, which is supposed to support moisture retention.
This is another cream that I typically like to apply on blown out hair before twisting and setting for a few hours or overnight. I typically apply it from root to end before adding mousse. Mousse can sometimes harden my curls (it’s a holding product for a reason) or dry them out, but I’ve noticed that whenever I apply this to my blown out hair first, I can alleviate that issue and wake up with very soft, defined, and moisturized curls.
Best for Wash-and-Gos: Fenty Beauty The Homecurl Curl-Defining Styling Cream
Fenty Hair The Homecurl Curl-Defining Styling Cream
Sephora
- Key ingredients: Mango butter
- Size: 11.5 oz.
- Pros: Holds hair in place without hardening
- Cons: Has a scent, which may be overpowering if you don’t like fragrance
Fenty founder Rihanna’s cream is one of our favorites because of its hybrid gel-cream texture: it has the softness of a moisturizer, but it provides the hold and definition of a gel, which you don’t find in too many curl creams. The star ingredient of this styling cream is mango butter, which moisturizes and gives the product a sweet, fruity scent that doesn’t linger too much on the hair.
“Kinky with medium porosity, my hair loves a moisture-balanced curl cream,” says Glamour editorial assistant Monique Wilson. “One of the reasons why the Fenty Hair Curl Cream separates itself from my cult-favorite products…is its gel-cream formula. It moisturizes and enhances my curls, while controlling frizz and maintaining my wash-and-go style (for multiple days).”
Best for Volume: DevaCurl Curl Heights Volume + Boost Curl Cream
DevaCurl Curl Heights Volume + Boost Curl Cream
Amazon
- Key ingredients:
- Size: 6 oz.
- Pros: A great option for fine hair
- Cons: Reviews don’t suggest this cream works for coily or tighter curls
It’s easy to think that curly hair is never affected by dullness or flatness, but it happens, and when that’s the case you need something that’ll revive your hair while also providing some curl definition. That’s essentially what DevaCurl’s Volume + Boost Curl Cream does, as it’s meant to add more volume to fine hair from the roots.
“It’s like the cherry on top that lifts my curls, adds that effortless volume, and brings my hair back to life,” says former Glamour contributor Ru Wolle. “Plus, it doesn’t weigh my hair down or make it feel sticky, which is a rare find for volume products.”
Best for Frizz Control: Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Defining & Frizz Taming Hair Cream
- Courtesy of brand
- Original photo from Paton Hardy testing Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Defining & Frizz Taming Hair Cream
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Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Defining & Frizz Taming Hair Cream
Amazon
- Key ingredients: Rice curl complex
- Size: 6 oz.
- Pros: Inexpensive, addresses frizziness
- Cons: Has a sticky texture
In a lot of cases, frizziness is caused when the hair is lacking moisture, so this cream features a blend of keratin amino acids and rice protein to address issues of dryness from inside the strands. Remember: Keratin is a protein that can repair the structure of the hair, but it can also moisturize and smooth the cuticle so that frizz is less of an issue. Rice protein can also coat the hair and provide a light protective barrier so that said moisture can be retained, resulting in less frizz overall.
The cream has a semi-thick, lotion-y texture that can be used to define wet or dry curls, and it doesn’t hurt that you can purchase it for just $11.
“I loved the definition on this one,” Hardy says. “When my hair dried down, it fluffed up nicely while still maintaining the definition.” According to Hardy, this cream’s only downside is that the texture feels a bit sticky.
Best for Coily Hair: Amika Curl Corps Defining Cream
- Courtesy of brand
- Original photo from Paton Hardy testing Amika Curl Corps Defining Cream
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Amika Curl Corps Defining Cream
Amazon
- Key ingredients: Oat peptide, tapioca starch, sea buckthorn
- Size: 6.7 oz.
- Pros: Provides hold, works on coily hair
- Cons: Slightly pricey
This is a curl “cream” that actually has the consistency of a gel, which would explain how it does such a great job of holding your hair in place. Products like this often have a reputation of making the hair feel hard, dry, or crunchy, but thanks to the inclusion of moisturizing ingredients like oat peptide, you can expect your curls to feel soft whether you style it in a braid out, twist out, or an air-dried style.
“This smells really good and has a super smooth texture,” Hardy says. “I saw a lot of definition and it didn’t leave my hair feeling crunchy or weighed down. 8/10 in my opinion!”
The post 7 Best Curl Creams We Tested for Definition, Shine, and Hydration appeared first on Glamour.
