Brand comparison
Miss Jessie's vs Kinky-Curly: Which Curl Brand Is Better?
Both have cult products people buy for a decade. Kinky-Curly's Knot Today is the stronger leave-in; Miss Jessie's has the more reliable gel.
| Compared | Miss Jessie’s | Kinky-Curly |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Loved, with a catch: Soft definition. Divisive scent. | Mostly positive: Cult classics. Rising prices. |
| Curl Score | 3.9 Good | 4.3 Great |
| People with an opinion | 70 | 97 |
| Best-liked product | Pillow Soft Curls | Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner |
| More promising for | Waves, curls and coils that want soft definition without crunch, if you can live with the fragrance. | Fine or tangle-prone curls that need slip without weight, and anyone who wants a short, simple ingredient list. |
| Think twice if | You are sensitive to fragrance, you avoid silicones, or your fine hair is quickly weighed down by creams. | You live somewhere humid and need firm hold, your hair is fine and wavy, or you're sensitive to aloe vera or scent. |
Miss Jessie's and Kinky-Curly both have reviewers who have used them for ten years or more. Kinky-Curly has the highest Curl Score we track, from a very small range. Miss Jessie's has more products and covers more hair types. Both make a leave-in and a gel that reviewers love, so these two can be compared directly.
The main difference
Leave-in: Kinky-Curly wins. Knot Today is a near-universal favorite for exceptional slip and detangling without weight. Miss Jessie's Leave In Condish is also well liked for detangling, but has a fabric-softener scent.
Gel: Miss Jessie's wins on reliability. Jelly Soft Curls has almost no critics. Kinky-Curly's Curling Custard is loved for clumpy, shiny curls, but it's thick, needs diffusing, and gave some reviewers halo frizz or no hold in humidity.
Creams: only Miss Jessie's makes them among the products we track. Pillow Soft Curls is its most recommended product.
Price and ingredients: Kinky-Curly is pricier and getting more so, and it's hard to find outside the US. It has short, simple ingredient lists. Many Miss Jessie's products contain silicones.
Which to choose
Choose Kinky-Curly if your curls tangle easily or are fine and need slip without weight, or you want simple ingredient lists.
Choose Miss Jessie's if you want a gel that reliably gives soft, lasting definition, or a cream for soft curls without crunch.
Combine them: Knot Today under Jelly Soft Curls pairs the best-liked leave-in with one of the best-liked gels we track.
The verdict
Buy Knot Today for detangling. For a gel, Miss Jessie's is the safer choice, and Curling Custard is the one to try for more clump if you're happy to diffuse.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
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Conditioner and leave-in
Miss Jessie’s
9 positive·1 mixed·1 negativeA leave-in that reviewers use as a first step for years, loved for detangling and a light feel, with the fabric-softener scent as the catch.
Best for Tangle-prone hair, and fine curls that need a light leave-in
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
Miss Jessie’s
15 positive·1 negativeThe best liked gel in the range: reviewers repurchase it for years, with one clear exception on fine hair.
Best for Anyone after soft, lasting definition
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
Miss Jessie’s
Feather Soft Curls is the one reviewers with fine hair pick over Pillow Soft, and all five who mention it like it. The Leave In Condish is another that fine-haired reviewers say doesn’t weigh curls down.
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.
Thick, dense or coily hair
Miss Jessie’s
Multicultural Curls is the one reviewers with thicker hair name most: a reviewer with low-porosity 3B-4A curls highly recommends it, and another rates it above Pillow Soft on 3B-3C hair. Opinion isn’t unanimous.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Strong hold
Miss Jessie’s
Jelly Soft Curls is the gel, and the best liked product in the range. Reviewers say the curls stay soft and intact all day, even when dancing and sweating, and that it avoids the scrunchy feel of other gels.
Try Jelly Soft Curls
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Humid weather
Miss Jessie’s
Reviewers don't single out Miss Jessie’s 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
Miss Jessie’s
This is the brand’s weak spot. Feather Soft Curls is the one reviewers call mild, and a reviewer who is very sensitive to scents says the Leave In Condish has been good to her.
Kinky-Curly
Reviewers don't single out Kinky-Curly for this.
Starting out or on a budget
Miss Jessie’s
Pillow Soft Curls is the most reviewed and the most recommended, and paired with Jelly Soft Curls it is the routine reviewers call their daily go-to. Because the scent is such a deal-breaker, try it in a shop or a small size before you commit.
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
Miss Jessie’s
- Praised: Soft definition without crunch or a stiff cast
- Praised: Second-day hair that still looks good
- Praised: Staples that reviewers have repurchased for years
- Praised: Lightweight options for fine hair, such as Feather Soft Curls
- Praised: A range made for many textures, from fine waves to coils
- Complaint: A fabric-softener scent that some find nauseating
- Complaint: Heavy or greasy results on fine hair, for a few
- Complaint: Silicones in many of the products
- Complaint: Skin or scalp reactions, for a handful of reviewers
- Complaint: Price and availability, especially outside the US
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