Below you will find my honest opinions and questions pertaining to the 7 products they sent me.
Curl Max Curl Enhancing Shampoo
Size: 12 oz
Ingredients: Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Shea Butter, Argan Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Coconut Oil, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium, Chloride Phosphate, Citric Acid, Magnesium Nitrate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Fragrance
Scent: This shampoo didn’t have a tangible smell in my opinion. The only word I could use to describe it is “Refreshing”.
Consistency: It was think enough to apply and not too runny
General Opinion: I personally did not care for the shampoo. It did clarify my hair, but my hair felt dry after the first wash. I guess it really did cleanse my hair without the use of sulfates, however I am not too big of a fan when it comes o shampoos, so I do not want my thoughts to be bias. Generally speaking, it does as it says it will. When I was washing my hair with this product, I did see my curls forming, but I would not say it “enhanced my curls.” If I were to purchase this shampoo I would definitely use this in conjunction with their deep conditioner to combat the dryness the shampoo provides.
Rate: 2.5/5
Curl Max Deep Penetrating ConditionerSize: 8oz
Ingredients: Water (Aqua,Deionized), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Lanolin,Quaternium-18,Keratin Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Macadamia Ternifolia (Macadamia Nut) Seed Oil, Silk Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Equisetum Hiemale Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract, Pinus Strobus Cone Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettles) Extract, Panthenol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Fragrance
Scent: Again, I do not have a specific word to describe the scent except “fresh”
Consistency: Thick/Creamy but applicable
General Opinion: Out of all the products I received from the company, this was my favorite! When I put this product on my tresses, I immediately felt the moisture infusing with my hair strands. It really did give my hair the moisture it needed. I used this product as both a deep conditioner and a co-washing agent. This conditioner gave me the slip power I needed to detangle my hair. After I washed out the product my hair felt strengthened and had a bit of a sheen too it. I loved everything about this products and had no complaints.
Rate: 5/5
Curl Max Curl Activator MoisturizerSize: 20 oz
Ingredients: Water , Glycerine , Sorbitol , Cetrimonium Chloride , Hydrolyzed Collagen , Simethicone , Stearyl Alcohol , Cetyl Alcohol , Methylparaben , DMDM Hydantoin , Argania Spinosa Nut Oil (Argan) , Fragrance , Phosphoric Acid , Yellow 6 , Red 33
Scent: None
Consistency: Liquidly, slightly thick smooth substance
General Opinion: This product acted as my moisturizer after my washes. I did see my curls pop after using an ample amount on my hair. I considered this product a little more mediocre on the moisturizing side because after I applied it my hair felt a bit more sticky than moisturized. I did however like how my hair set after using the activator. It also worked very well with the mousse in this line. This also mixes very well with gels and white residues are not left like other moisturizers. I think it is pretty clever to make the curl activator a moisturizer as well. It beats buying two separate products. I think this activator would work to enhance curls in thicker hair.
Rate: 3.5/5
Curl Max Extra Light Curl ActivatorSize: 16 oz
Ingredients: Water , Glycerine , Mineral Oil , Stearyl Alcohol , Stearamidoethyl Ethanolamine , Polyquaternium-10 , Methylparaben , DMDM Hydantoin , Argania Spinosa Nut Oil (Argan) , Fragrance , Lactic Acid , Silk Amino Acids , Sodium Hyaluronate
Scent: None
Consistency: It felt more like a liquid gel
General Opinion: I enjoyed using this product as an extra hold underneath my gel styles. It caused me to use less gel on my styles. Though this was probably not the purpose of the product, I did utilize it in this manner. I sometimes thought this activator worked well if I wanted my ponytail’s curl to pop. Generally speaking, I did not see too much a difference in this product and the regular activator. I suppose if you are not looking for an extra defined look, this product would be good for your hair type. This activator left a sticky feeling on my hands after use, but nothing too dramatic. I think this works well as a substitute setting lotion as well. It left my hair with an awesome sheen though I must say.
Rate: 3/5
Curl Max Curl Pudding Size: 8oz
Ingredients: Water , Glycerin , Polysorbate-20 , PVP , VA Copolymer , Hydroxyethyl Cellulose , Polyquaternium-7 , Styrene VP , Copolymer , Hydrolyzed Silk , Panthenol , Fragrance , Propylene Glycol , Cyclotetrasiloxane , Phenoxyethanol , Caprylyl Glycol , Carbomer , Tocopheryl Acetate , Triethanolamine
Scent: None
Consistency: thick and creamy
General Opinion: I used this item a few times. I first used this to do a twist out on my hair. The results were decent, but nothing extravagant. My hair was shiny but I felt that it weighed my curls down too much, and was quite greasy. I think less it more when it comes to this product. Because it is thick it takes a little bit more time for this to dry on your head, so be careful when using it. Be sure to allot enough drying time. This product does help with enhancing your braidout/twistouts but you have to find the right techniques and product conjunctions with this.
Rate: 3/5
Curl Max Super Curly Mousse Size: 8oz
Ingredients: water , Polyquaternium-11 , butane , Propane , Polyquaternium-68 , Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil (Argan) , Polyquaternium 4 , Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate , fragrance , Dimethicone , PEG/PPG 18/18 , PEG , Isosteareth-20 , Diazolidinyl Urea , methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone , panthenol , Ascorbic Acid
Scent: None
Consistency: foam
General Opinion: This was my second favorite product from the line. I used to hate all mousse but this curl max mousse changed my mind. I was expecting this mousse to be sticky, greasy, and dry hard but it was the complete opposite. I used this in lieu with the curl activator moisturizer and it left my hair feeling awesome. It help my curls in tact and shiny! A little goes a long way with this mousse as well. I also used this product for a curlformer set which I was very pleased with.
Rate: 4/5
Pictures of my curlformer trial and these products here.
Curl Max Twisty Curly SpraySize: 8oz
Ingredients: Water , VP , Methacrylamide , Vinyl Imidazole Copolymer , Glycerine , Polysorbate 20 , Argania Spinosa Oil (Argan) , Fragrance , Disodium EDTA , Acrylates , C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Copolymer , Triethanolamine , Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid , PEG-8 Dimethicone , DMDM Hydantoin , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Scent: None
Consistency: Thick liquid
General Opinion: I honestly used this product once because I did not have too much luck with it. I did not see any of my curls pop with this spray unfortunately. When I did not achieve the results I was hoping for I used the products on twist. It did an okay job with defining the twist but they did not hold up as long as I wanted. The next time I use this product I will probably have to purchase a diffuser to see if this product works well on diffused hair.
Rate: 2.5/5
All of the products mentioned about can be purchased at Walmart, Walgreens or Target.
Pictures courtesy of Lustrasilk and bestcurls.com