NYC Curls Line

nyc curls review

Our Rating

7 Cleanser

9 Conditioner

2 Curl Gel

Conditioner Is A Winner

I was sent the NYC Curls trio (which includes The Curl Cleanser, The Curl Conditioner, and The Curl Gel) by Mark Krieg of the NYC Curls team (thanks Mark!) as part of my tenure as a Curly Ambassador. All three products are sulfate, silicone, and paraben free, and claims to work on all curl types to keep curls healthy and hydrated. I put all the three products to the test and the results are in. Here’s my NYC curls review:

The Curl Cleanser

The Cleanser is a creamy, no-lather shampoo. Being free of harsh detergents, the bottle boasts that it is safe for daily use, and for color treated hair. It is infused with peppermint oil, making for a lovely burst of scent that hit me right away. When it was time to rinse, my hair and scalp felt squeaky clean without that stripped, stringy feeling most lathering shampoos leave behind.

Cons: The cleanser is not conducive to thick hair, at one point I had to pop the top and pour the product into my hand in order to have a substantial amount of product to work into my thick locks. On a normal washday I shampoo my hair twice. On the second shampoo with The Curl Cleanser my roots still did not quite smell fully clean, but after a third shampoo and rinse the minty, gingery, scent had made it’s mark on my mane from root to tip.

The Curl Conditioner

This product is not your average conditioner. It is very lightweight. Almost too lightweight to convince me that it would leave me hair as deeply conditioned as the bottle boasts. However, I was committed to giving it a fair chance, so I went with it. In sections, I applied the product from root to tip, concentrating on my ends and finger detangling as I went along.

It literally felt like I was smoothing water into my hair but I soon learned that you can’t judge a conditioner by its consistency. I gathered all of my hair into a clip at the top of my head and bathed the rest of my body while I let The Curl Conditioner penetrate through my hair.

About 5 mins (or one song) later, it was time to rinse and detangle and boy was I impressed! My hair was super soft to the touch and detangling was a breeze, despite the creamy consistency not allowing for the maximum amount of slip. I can’t say that my hair felt deeply conditioned, but they did feel soft and hydrated and healthy overall. The bottle claims The Curl Conditioner can also be used a leave in so I rinsed off the excess and left just enough on the hair to perform as a leave in.

I later realized I had rinsed a little too much out, so I added about a quarter size more to my towel dried hair. As a leave in I LOVE this stuff! It might just give my Giovanni Direct Leave In a run for its money! As a leave in, I appreciated the lightweight formula (the first ingredient is water afterall…) because it allowed my curls to move freely without feeling or looking weighed down.

Cons: The fresh bamboo and ginger oil scent is intoxicating at first but does not last for very long on the hair. Even after adding a little more to towel dried hair the scent was barely faint after an hour.

The Curl Gel

The Gel is impressively infused with flax-seed oil which is poplar among many naturals. Just like many other gels, The Curl Gel claims to provide a flexible, crunchless hold while locking in moisture. I am not a fan of gels, as I have never found one to be truly crunch-less and allow my curls to move naturally. But The Curl Conditioner had proved me wrong, so I trusted NYC Curls and opened the bottle.

Following the instructions, I applied about a dime size of the product to my hair after using The Curl Conditioner as a leave in. The consistency of the gel is lightweight and not sticky or gooey at all, but sadly once my hair was dry it was noticeably stiff and certainly did not move naturally. Note: A few days later I tried the line again, this time eliminating The Curl Gel. The Curl Conditioner proved to be an amazing styler in the absence of the gel. Its lightweight consistency did not weigh my curls down, nor did it make them stiff. Once my hair was dry my curls moved freely, looked shiny, and had little to no frizz.

The Verdict

Of the three, The Curl Conditioner has made its mark on my heart as a leave in (and a styling cream- bonus!). I will definitely be including this product in my lineup. As far as The Curl Cleanser, I would recommend it to my curlfriends with thinner hair or shorter hair, as it did not spread very well to clean my thick curls thoroughly.

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