Review of DevaCurl’s Kit for All Curl Kind

I had been eyeing DevaCurl for years. Before I cut my hair, I simply ran through too much product to justify the cost ($22 for a 12-oz bottle of conditioner). Back then, I could have gone through that bottle in three washes. But now that my hair is short, I use less product and have the budget to experiment with higher-end brands.

My hair is temperamental, though. Since I’ve been growing it out from a pixie, it is literally in a different phase each month. Because of that, I go for trial sized products when I can, which is how I came to purchase DevaCurl’s Kit for All Curl Kind.

The kit is “designed to give healthy, beautiful curls to every texture in the curly universe.” It consists of DevaCurl’s No-Poo Original, One Condition Original, Styling Cream, and Light Defining Gel.

Let me tell you – I was HYPE to try these products. Too many of my favorite curly-haired beauties swear by them. The bar was set high. Here’s what I thought:

DevaCurl No-Poo Original

I absolutely love this cleanser. Of the four products in this kit, this is perhaps my favorite. I gave up sulfate shampoo years ago, but I’ve always thought I still needed a shampoo that lathered, since my roots get oily. I tried another co-wash product a few years ago, but it was too heavy for my hair. No-Poo Original is definitely in the top two shampoos/cleansers I’ve ever tried. It leaves my scalp completely residue-free, soothes my itchy areas with peppermint and rosemary oil, and leaves my hair very soft, even before I apply conditioner. This cleanser does not leave my hair with that “squeaky clean” feeling, which I prefer. The only negative is that I have to use a lot of product in order for my hair to feel really clean.

DevaCurl One Condition Original

This conditioner works the way curly hair conditioners should. It is moisturizing, has lots of slip, can be used as a leave-in, does not weigh my hair down, and smells wonderful (like lemongrass). I must say, with my hair at this length, I don’t have an issue with detangling, but with the slip this conditioner has, it seems like detangling wouldn’t be a problem. My best results with the entire product line happen when I leave just a little bit of One Condition on my ends.

DevaCurl Styling Cream & Light Defining Gel

I wanted to love this duo. I really, really did. I am still trying to find ways to love this duo. In fact, I don’t think the issue is even the products. I think the issue is that I live in an extremely humid climate, and these can’t quite control the frizz (it’s not easy).

I’ve done several wash-and-gos with these two products. The first time, the humidity was around 90 percent. I started with just the Styling Cream, thinking I’d try each product independently. A few minutes into diffusing, my hair was already frizzing. So I added the gel on top. Day 1 hair was beautiful – extremely soft to the touch, shiny, lots of volume, not too much frizz, and my curls seemed tighter (which I like). Then I stepped outside, and days 2-4 were a frizzy disaster.

I thought perhaps it might have been the glycerin in the products, which I’ve noticed can create frizz on very humid days, so next I tried the duo on a day with about 70 percent humidity. My wash-and-go lasted beautifully until day 3, then it fell apart, even with refreshing. I like my WNGs to last about five days, and I just can’t seem to get there with these DevaCurl stylers.

I live in New Orleans, which is notorious for ruining a good hairstyle. But I am not giving up on you, DevaCurl. I’m going to wait until winter, when the humidity is at its lowest, and give you another shot. I think – I hope – I’m going to love you.

~Thaïs