Two writers, with very different curl patterns, put the new Curlsmith leave in conditioner to the test
Curlsmith is a renowned name in the curly hair world and one of its cult products is a ‘weightless’ leave in conditioner that shoppers online are raving about. So naturally, here at the Mirror we decided to put it to the test to see if it lives up to its pretty stellar reputation of helping enhance curl texture whilst hydrating.
With claims to work on different curl patterns, Jada with type 3b curls, and Eve with type 2b curls both tried it out. The brand’s Air Dry Cream, £23, promised ‘soft, defined curls without the crunch, buildup, or greasy feel’. The formula uses a blend of Castor Oil, Babassu, Jojoba, and Murumuru Butter to hydrate the hair and fight frizz. Not only that but it aims to be weightless on all curls, even the most fine and low-density.
Curlsmith claims that a small amount ‘about the size of a 5p coin’ applied to soaking wet hair is all that’s needed for leave hair looking beautiful without the need for additional products.
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Jada’s thoughts
“I have type 3b curls and it can be quite challenging finding things that really work for them. Once I find a product that works, it then becomes a challenge to figure out how wet my hair should be when I use it and how much of it I need. With the Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream I tried it a few different ways. I did try it with the advised small amount but with the length and thickness of my hair, I think it needed more.
“My favourite had to be a very generous amount immediately after combing my hair, while it’s still soaking wet, which I then let air dry over a number of hours. I was thrilled with the results, although I did find that the tips of my hair did get quite frizzy as the day went on. Usually to combat this I’d use a leave in conditioner and a styling cream, such as Fenty’s Homecurl, as I find my curls can be quite thirsty. There isn’t a massively strong smell to the Curlsmith leave in conditioner which I find to be a refreshing change as sometimes hair products can overpower my perfume.
“With any curly hair product there is a little trial and error involved and I think next time I’ll be even more generous with the product around the tips of my hair to prevent it poofing up too much. I must say it’s not lying about being weightless, my hair didn’t feel weighed down at all.”
Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream
£23
Curlsmith
Buy Now on Curlsmith
The lightweight leave-in conditioner from Curlsmith has a 4.7 star rating and is loved for enhancing curl texture and hydrating the hair without weighing it down.
Eve’s thoughts
“My hair can never make up its mind whether it has 2b or 2c curls – it truly depends on the day and the curl routine (as it the case with most textured hair) and it has taken me a while to find a good, simple but effective curl routine that works for my hair. Especially now I’ve got a bob. So I was really intrigued to see how Curlsmith’s Weightless Air Dry Cream, which has had some pretty impressive reviews and results, would fare.
“As instructed, I washed my hair and raked it through my short locks with the desired 5p coin amount, smoothed down my hair using the ‘praying hands’ method to seal in the moisture and hopefully reduce frizz, and then left it to work its magic. It took about 3 hours to air dry and my curls felt lovely, really soft and had a fluffiness to them. While the curls at the back – which often need a bit more TLC when I’m diffusing – looked a bit limp and wavy, the ringlets at the front had body, life and had some definition. I also decided to wet it on day three hair and add a bit more product, which gave me a few more baby curls.
“Packed with hyaluronic acid, wild murumuru, babassu oil, silky castor oil and grated ginger, the formula clearly injected my hair with hydration and, as the bottle says, it really did feel weightless with some real volume. But it didn’t wow me with definition and bounce, which is something I was expecting having trawled through tried and tested comments. That being said, it certainly had fluffiness that defied gravity and the cream didn’t leave behind any crunchy or greasy residue, which some products do.
“It also didn’t have a particularly strong scent, which made for a nice change – some have a more chemically smell. Now, new curly hair products need some time for trial and error and next time I’ll definitely be adding in some gel or try and get my hands on the brand’s Hydro Style Flexi Jelly (as recommend as a good pairing with the Air Dry Cream) to see if that offers up a bit more hold.
“But as lightweight, leave-in conditioners go, this one is certainly at the top of my product list and rivals my usual contenders of Hask’s 5-in-1 leave in condition, £6.99 on Amazon, and Only Curls’ £18 moisturising cream. At £23, it is quite expensive but considering the silky smooth results of my hair, I do think it’s worth it.”
The Weightless Air Dry Cream is available for £23 at Curlsmith.