Brand comparison
Kinky-Curly vs Cantu: Which Curl Brand Is Better?
Kinky-Curly is the most loved brand we track, at a premium price. Cantu is one of the cheapest, and suits thick curls and coils.
| Compared | Kinky-Curly | Cantu |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Cult classics. Rising prices. | Divides opinion: Great value. Heavy for fine hair. |
| Curl Score | 4.3 Great | 3.7 Good |
| People with an opinion | 97 | 68 |
| Best-liked product | Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner | Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream |
| More promising for | Fine or tangle-prone curls that need slip without weight, and anyone who wants a short, simple ingredient list. | Thick, dense or coily hair, children's curls, and anyone starting out on a budget. |
| Think twice if | You live somewhere humid and need firm hold, your hair is fine and wavy, or you're sensitive to aloe vera or scent. | Your hair is fine, wavy or low porosity, or you're sensitive to strong fragrance. |
Kinky-Curly and Cantu are both used by people with curly and coily hair, but they're far apart on price and on what they do best. Kinky-Curly is a small, pricey line with two cult products and the highest Curl Score we track. Cantu is cheap, sold almost everywhere, and built around rich creams.
The two brands don't make products of the same type with enough reviews to compare head to head, so here is what each one does best.
Each brand's best products
Kinky-Curly's Knot Today is a near-universal favorite, a light leave-in with exceptional slip that detangles without weighing hair down. Its Curling Custard gives clumpy, shiny, hydrated curls, but it's thick and needs diffusing.
Cantu's Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream is a long-time favorite for soft, shiny, defined curls on thicker hair. Its Curl Cream is best under a gel.
These products cover different steps and can be combined: Knot Today first, a Cantu cream for moisture, and Curling Custard for hold.
The main difference
Fine hair: Knot Today is light enough for fine curls. Reviewers with fine or low-porosity hair repeatedly say Cantu is too heavy.
Price: Cantu is very cheap. Kinky-Curly's prices keep rising, which is the most common complaint about it, and it's hard to find outside the US.
Ingredients: Kinky-Curly has short, simple ingredient lists. Cantu has a strong added fragrance that a few reviewers dislike.
Which to choose
Choose Kinky-Curly if your curls tangle easily or are fine, or you want clumpy, defined curls and are willing to diffuse.
Choose Cantu if your hair is thick, dense or coily, you're buying for children, or you're starting out on a budget.
Skip Kinky-Curly if you're sensitive to aloe vera.
The verdict
If you can only buy one premium product, Knot Today is one of the safest choices in curl care. For a cheap cream on thick curls, Cantu does the job well.
Which suits your hair
What reviewers with each kind of hair report.
Fine or wavy hair
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.
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.
Thick, dense or coily hair
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
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
Humid weather
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.
Cantu
Reviewers don't single out Cantu for this.
Starting out or on a budget
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.
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.
Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.
What reviewers like and dislike
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
Cantu
- Praised: Cheap and easy to find
- Praised: Soft, shiny, defined curls on thicker hair
- Praised: Works on children's curls
- Praised: A refresh spray that keeps curls going between washes
- Praised: A nice smell, for many
- Complaint: Too heavy for fine or wavy hair
- Complaint: Stopped working for some long-time users
- Complaint: Flakes or dryness, for a few
- Complaint: Strong added fragrance
- Complaint: A refresh spray with a single-stream nozzle