Curly Hair Society

Brand comparison

Camille Rose vs Cantu: Which Brand Is Better for Coily Hair?

Both suit thick, dry and coily hair. Cantu is cheap and built around creams; Camille Rose costs more, rates higher, and is built around a gel.

Camille RoseCantu
What reviewers thinkMostly positive: Well liked and consistent, but pricey.Divides opinion: Great value. Heavy for fine hair.
Curl Score4.1 Great3.7 Good
People with an opinion4568
Best-liked productCurl MakerMoisturizing Curl Activator Cream
More promising forThick, dry, low-porosity or coily hair that wants hydration and soft definition.Thick, dense or coily hair, children's curls, and anyone starting out on a budget.
Think twice ifYour hair is fine and easily weighed down, you want a firm cast, or you live somewhere humid and want hold that lasts.Your hair is fine, wavy or low porosity, or you're sensitive to strong fragrance.

Camille Rose and Cantu both target thick, dry and coily hair, and reviewers with fine hair find both too heavy. Beyond that, they're quite different. Cantu is one of the cheapest curl brands available, and its best products are creams. Camille Rose costs considerably more, and its best product is a gel. Camille Rose has the higher Curl Score.

The two brands don't have a product of the same type with enough reviews to compare directly, so here is how their best products fit together.

Each brand's best products

Cantu's Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream is a long-time favorite for soft, shiny, defined curls. Fans say it's hydrating without being sticky. Its Curl Cream is well liked under a gel on medium to thick curls, though it's slow to dry.

Camille Rose's Curl Maker is its favorite: a hydrating gel with a silky finish and medium hold. Its Moisture Milk leave-in is wonderfully soft on coils.

These products can be layered. Several reviewers put a cream under Curl Maker, and Cantu's Curl Cream is best liked under a gel.

The main difference

Price: Cantu is very cheap and sold almost everywhere. Camille Rose's price is its most common complaint.

Scent: most reviewers enjoy Camille Rose's smells. Cantu's strong added fragrance is a complaint for a few.

Consistency: several long-time Cantu users say it suddenly started leaving their hair dry, frizzy or flaky. Camille Rose is described as solid and consistent, though a few reviewers found their hair felt dry or like straw.

Which to choose

Choose Cantu if you're starting out, buying for children's curls, or you want a cheap cream that adds softness and shine.

Choose Camille Rose if you want a gel that hydrates as well as holds, and a richer leave-in for coils.

Skip both if your hair is fine or easily weighed down.

The verdict

Cantu is the low-cost way to try rich products on thick hair. Camille Rose is the better-reviewed brand, and its Curl Maker is worth buying if you want soft, hydrated definition.

Which suits your hair

What reviewers with each kind of hair report.

Fine or wavy hair

Camille Rose

The Curl Maker is the safest bet: a reviewer with fine 2B/3A hair is on her fifth bottle and says one lasts six months or more. The thick, creamy products are riskier.

Try Curl Maker

Cantu

This is where Cantu gets most of its bad reviews. Reviewers with fine 2C to 3A hair say every product is way too heavy, or that it left their hair looking wet.

Try Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

Thick, dense or coily hair

Camille Rose

This is where the range gets its warmest reviews. A reviewer with type 4 coils says nothing leaves her hair as soft as the Moisture Milk, and a reviewer with 3C/4A hair loves the Curl Maker alone or under a stronger gel, though it flakes on her.

Try Moisture Milk

Cantu

This is what the brand suits best. Reviewers say it's very good for hair that needs heavier products, a parent's 4A child thrives on it, and a reviewer with dense curls says it keeps their hair looking good for a whole week.

Try Curl Cream

Strong hold

Camille Rose

The Curl Maker is a medium-hold gel, and reviewers who wanted a crunchy cast or hold through humid weather found it too soft. Its humectants can keep curls flexible or even swollen in humid air.

Cantu

Reviewers don't single out Cantu for this.

Starting out or on a budget

Camille Rose

Start with the Curl Maker, the most reviewed product and the one most reviewers like. One buys it on sale, and another says it is cheaper than a similar gel depending where you buy it.

Try Curl Maker

Cantu

Reviewers call it a great introduction to curly care at an amazing price. Start with the Curl Activator Cream, the most-reviewed product, or the Curl Cream under a gel.

Try Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.

What reviewers like and dislike

Camille Rose

  • Smells that most reviewers enjoy
  • Hydration and a silky finish from the Curl Maker
  • Deep softness on thick and coily hair
  • A solid, consistent brand
  • Thick formulas that can be diluted to last longer
  • The price, and trouble finding it cheaper
  • Medium hold that gives out in humidity
  • Flakes from the Curl Maker, for a few
  • Hair that felt dry or like straw, for a few
  • Thick, heavy formulas on fine hair

Cantu

  • Cheap and easy to find
  • Soft, shiny, defined curls on thicker hair
  • Works on children's curls
  • A refresh spray that keeps curls going between washes
  • A nice smell, for many
  • Too heavy for fine or wavy hair
  • Stopped working for some long-time users
  • Flakes or dryness, for a few
  • Strong added fragrance
  • A refresh spray with a single-stream nozzle

More comparisons

Camille Rose vs

Every Camille Rose review

Cantu vs

Every Cantu review