Brand comparison
Curlsmith vs Kinky-Curly: Which Curl Brand Is Better?
Kinky-Curly is the most loved brand we track, built on two cult products. Curlsmith is broader, lighter and more divisive.
| Compared | Curlsmith | Kinky-Curly |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Divides opinion: Standout products. Divisive brand. | Mostly positive: Cult classics. Rising prices. |
| Curl Score | 3.7 Good | 4.3 Great |
| People with an opinion | 183 | 97 |
| Best-liked product | Weightless Air Dry Cream | Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner |
| More promising for | Waves and curls that want light, humidity-resistant hold, starting with the Flexi Jelly in a travel size. | Fine or tangle-prone curls that need slip without weight, and anyone who wants a short, simple ingredient list. |
| Think twice if | Your scalp reacts easily, you dislike strong scents, your fine hair turns greasy with creams, or you are paying full price. | You live somewhere humid and need firm hold, your hair is fine and wavy, or you're sensitive to aloe vera or scent. |
Kinky-Curly has a small range and the highest Curl Score of any brand we track. Many of its reviewers have used it for 10 to 20 years. Curlsmith has a large, color-coded range with several well-liked stylers, but also more complaints about the brand as a whole: price, scents and scalp reactions.
The main difference
Leave-in: Kinky-Curly's Knot Today is a near-universal favorite, a light leave-in with exceptional slip that detangles without weighing hair down. Curlsmith's Weightless Air Dry Cream is well liked, but heavier and more divisive on fine hair.
Gel: these two are opposites. Kinky-Curly's Curling Custard is thick, gives clumpy, shiny, hydrated curls and needs diffusing. Curlsmith's Hydro Style Flexi Jelly is light and flexible. Custard frizzes in humidity for some, while the Flexi Jelly is praised for holding up in it.
Damaged hair: Curlsmith's Bond Curl Rehab Salve is one of the best-liked treatments we track. Kinky-Curly doesn't make anything similar.
Price: both are expensive. Kinky-Curly's prices keep rising. Curlsmith often turns up cheaper at TJ Maxx, Marshalls or in Ulta sales.
Which to choose
Choose Kinky-Curly if your curls tangle easily and need slip without weight, or you want clumpy, shiny definition on curly to coily hair and are happy to diffuse. Its short ingredient lists suit people who prefer simple formulas.
Choose Curlsmith if you live somewhere humid, your waves or curls are fine and want a light gel, or your curls are damaged.
Skip Kinky-Curly if you're sensitive to aloe vera. Skip Curlsmith if your scalp reacts easily and you don't want its Fragrance Free line.
The verdict
If you only buy one product from either brand, make it Knot Today. It's one of the safest buys in curl care. For gel, choose by climate: Curling Custard in dry weather, and Curlsmith's Flexi Jelly in humid weather.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
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Conditioner and leave-in
Curlsmith
11 positive·2 negativeOne of the best-liked Curlsmith products: a bond repair treatment that brought damaged curls back for many.
Best for Damaged or heat-styled curls that have lost their pattern
Kinky-Curly
Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner
34 positive·4 mixedA near-universal favourite: a light leave-in with elite slip that detangles without weighing hair down.
Best for Detangling fine or tangle-prone curls without weight
Gel
Curlsmith
20 positive·1 mixed·7 negativeThe best liked Curlsmith product: a light, humidity-resistant gel that fine-haired reviewers love, though some found the hold too soft.
Best for Fine to medium waves and curls that want light, flexible hold
Kinky-Curly
22 positive·8 mixed·4 negativeA decade-long holy grail for many, with clumpy, shiny curls, but too heavy or frizzy for some, and pricier every year.
Best for Clumped, shiny definition on curly to coily hair, diffused
Which suits your hair
What reviewers with each kind of hair report.
Fine or wavy hair
Curlsmith
Start with the Hydro Style Flexi Jelly: several reviewers with fine waves and curls call it their favourite, and say it is light. Fine-haired reviewers were also the ones most likely to find the brand greasy, stringy or flat, and the Air Dry Cream and Curl Soufflé were too heavy for some.
Kinky-Curly
Knot Today is the safe pick: several reviewers with fine, low-porosity hair call it the only leave-in that doesn't weigh their hair down, and the only conditioner that has ever detangled it. The Custard is riskier.
Dry hair
Curlsmith
The Oil-in-Cream has only a few reviews, but all of them are positive: reviewers say it leaves hair moisturised and works well under a gel. The Air Dry Cream is the lighter choice, and fans say it softens and defines.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Strong hold
Curlsmith
The In-Shower Style Fixer and the Curl Soufflé are the firmer options, and fans describe a strong hold that, for the Style Fixer, lasts several days. Neither is a sure thing: the Style Fixer left several reviewers’ hair tacky, and one who needs high hold says the brand’s strongest gel hadn’t lasted by the time their hair was dry.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Humid weather
Curlsmith
Reviewers don't single out Curlsmith for this.
Kinky-Curly
The Custard's moisture is a mixed blessing. One reviewer prefers it for holding through humidity, but others got major halo frizz and curls that lasted a couple of hours, or found it doesn't work in high humidity.
Sensitive scalp or scent-sensitive
Curlsmith
Scalp trouble is the most common complaint that isn’t about styling: itching, burning, redness, and pain from the protein line. Reviewers name the In-Shower Style Fixer and Effortless Waves Spray, and one guesses the fragrance.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Damaged hair
Curlsmith
The Bond Rehab Salve is one of the best-liked Curlsmith products. A reviewer with fine hair who was considering a pixie cut says it brought their curls back to life within about 20 minutes and made them tangle less, others call it a must-have, and one says it's the only product their hair likes.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Starting out or on a budget
Curlsmith
Several reviewers say to start with travel or sample sizes, and the brand’s free curl quiz recommends a routine. Many buy Curlsmith at TJ Maxx or Marshalls for about half price, and some say it isn’t worth paying more.
Kinky-Curly
Start with Knot Today, the most-reviewed product and the one with almost no complaints beyond its scent. If you want hold, the Custard is the brand's styler: use very little, diffuse rather than air-dry, and know that a few reviewers say recent tubs flake.
Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.
What reviewers like and dislike
Curlsmith
- Praised: The Air Dry Cream and Flexi Jelly, its most-loved stylers
- Praised: A Bond Rehab Salve that revives damaged curls
- Praised: Gels that hold up in humidity, according to fans
- Praised: Travel and sample sizes for trying products
- Praised: The free online curl quiz
- Praised: A Fragrance Free line
- Complaint: The price, for results that cheaper products can match
- Complaint: Greasy, heavy or stringy results, often on fine hair
- Complaint: The scent
- Complaint: Itchy or burning scalps and reactions
- Complaint: Hold that fades after the first day
- Complaint: Stylers that leave hair tacky
Kinky-Curly
- Praised: Slip and detangling from Knot Today
- Praised: Light enough for fine hair
- Praised: Clumpy, shiny, hydrated curls from the Custard
- Praised: A little goes a long way
- Praised: Short, simple ingredient lists
- Complaint: The price, which keeps rising
- Complaint: Hard to find in shops and outside the US
- Complaint: Custard frizz or weak hold in humidity
- Complaint: Flaking from recent Custard tubs, for a few
- Complaint: Scents some find too strong