Brand comparison
Not Your Mother's vs Aunt Jackie's: Which Budget Curl Brand Is Better?
Two cheap, well-liked brands. Aunt Jackie's rates higher and suits medium to coarse curls; Not Your Mother's is lighter and suits waves.
| Compared | Not Your Mother’s | Aunt Jackie’s |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. | Mostly positive: Big results. Small price. |
| Curl Score | 3.8 Good | 4.2 Great |
| People with an opinion | 203 | 51 |
| Best-liked product | Curl Talk Curl Cream | Curl La La Defining Curl Custard |
| More promising for | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. | Medium to coarse curls and coils, children's detangling, and anyone who wants reliable results on a budget. |
| Think twice if | Your hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky. | Your hair is fine and easily weighed down, or your scalp reacts to rich creams. |
Not Your Mother's and Aunt Jackie's are two of the best-value brands we track. Both are cheap, and both have products reviewers call holy grail. Aunt Jackie's has the higher Curl Score. Not Your Mother's has four times as many reviewers and suits finer hair. In a Not Your Mother's discussion, one reviewer says they're loving Aunt Jackie's Frizz Patrol mousse, which they describe as super lightweight and touchable.
The main difference
Curl cream: close. The Curl Talk Curl Cream and Aunt Jackie's Curl La La are both well liked. Curl Talk is lighter. Curl La La gives soft, defined, bouncy curls on medium-length hair and works for refresh days, but is too heavy for some.
Gel: Aunt Jackie's Don't Shrink Flaxseed Gel is a cheap, long-lasting gel that many say rivals pricier ones, though it's gummy or sticky for a few. The Curl Talk Sculpting Gel splits reviewers.
Leave-in: Aunt Jackie's Quench is its best-loved product, called a godsend by reviewers. The Curl Talk Leave-In is well liked, but hard to find now.
Weight: Not Your Mother's avoids shea butter and heavy oils and suits waves. Aunt Jackie's suits medium to coarse curls and coils, and gets complaints about weight on fine hair.
Which to choose
Choose Not Your Mother's if you have waves or fine, loose curls.
Choose Aunt Jackie's if your curls are medium to coarse or coily, you want a cheap gel that holds, or you're detangling children's hair.
Skip both if you're very sensitive to scent. Both get some complaints.
The verdict
On medium to coarse curls, Aunt Jackie's is the better buy. On waves and fine curls, Not Your Mother's is.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
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Curl cream
Not Your Mother’s
23 positive·5 mixed·4 negativeThe best-liked Curl Talk styler: defined, juicy curls from a small amount, at a drugstore price.
Best for Waves and curls that want soft definition on a budget
Aunt Jackie’s
Curl La La Defining Curl Custard
13 positive·1 mixed·1 negativeA well-liked custard for soft, defined, bouncy curls and refresh days, though too heavy for some.
Best for Soft definition on medium-length curls, alone or under a gel
Gel
Not Your Mother’s
Curl Talk Frizz Control Sculpting Gel
10 positive·3 mixed·8 negativeThe most divisive Curl Talk product: some reviewers can’t live without it, others found it heavy, frizzy or too hard.
Best for Medium-density waves and curls, or as one gel in a mix
Aunt Jackie’s
Don’t Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel
9 positive·1 mixed·3 negativeA cheap, long-lasting gel that rivals pricier ones for many, though gummy, sticky or drying for some.
Best for A budget gel for medium to coarse curls
Which suits your hair
What reviewers with each kind of hair report.
Fine or wavy hair
Not Your Mother’s
The Curl Cream works on fine hair in small amounts: one reviewer emulsifies a little with water, and another says a quarter-size amount covers their whole head. The Refreshing Foam is lighter and water-based, and reviewers with low-porosity 2B hair say it works really well.
Aunt Jackie’s
Go carefully. A reviewer with fine 3A/3B hair found the Flaxseed gel gummy on sopping wet hair, a reviewer with fine, long hair says the whole line left it straw-like and greasy, and Curl La La was too heavy for another.
Thick, dense or coily hair
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers with dense or coarse hair are less impressed. Samples didn’t condition enough for one with dense, medium-coarse hair, and another found the gel heavy and frizzy even in a tiny amount.
Aunt Jackie’s
Reviewers don't single out Aunt Jackie’s for this.
Children's hair
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Aunt Jackie’s
Parents are some of the most enthusiastic reviewers. The Knot On My Watch detangler is described as a miracle on a son's matted neck curls and the best detangler for a curly 'nest', and Curl La La worked wonders for one reviewer and their daughter.
Starting out or on a budget
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Aunt Jackie’s
This is the brand's strength. Reviewers say the Flaxseed gel gives results very similar to Kinky-Curly Curling Custard for a fraction of the price, and one reviewer with coarse 3B hair uses only the gel for a cast that lasts up to a week.
Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.
What reviewers like and dislike
Not Your Mother’s
- Praised: Cheap and easy to find
- Praised: Juicy, defined curls from the Curl Cream
- Praised: A light, water-based refresh foam
- Praised: Free of shea butter and heavy oils
- Praised: A protein-free, fragrance-free line
- Complaint: A mousse that has turned sticky for many
- Complaint: A film or residue on some hair
- Complaint: Strong scents, for some
- Complaint: Constant reformulating and discontinuing
- Complaint: A gel that splits reviewers
Aunt Jackie’s
- Praised: Very cheap for the amount
- Praised: The Quench leave-in
- Praised: Soft, defined, bouncy curls from Curl La La
- Praised: A Flaxseed gel that rivals pricier gels
- Praised: Detanglers that work on children's knots
- Complaint: Gummy, sticky or drying gel, for a few
- Complaint: Heavy on fine hair
- Complaint: Stopped working for some long-time users
- Complaint: Spray bottles with a straight stream
- Complaint: Scents some can't stand
From people who tried both
Comments about one brand in discussions of the other.
Aunt Jackie’s, mentioned in Not Your Mother’s discussions
PositiveFrizz Patrol mousseReddit comment
Loving it: super lightweight and touchable.
u/gradualgoose2B-3B, fine, pixie, dark brownr/curlyhair, 2026Original comment