Brand comparison
Not Your Mother's vs Camille Rose: Which Curl Brand Suits Your Hair?
Not Your Mother's is light, cheap and built for waves. Camille Rose is rich, pricier and built for thick, coily hair, and reviewers rate it higher.
| Compared | Not Your Mother’s | Camille Rose |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. | Mostly positive: Well liked and consistent, but pricey. |
| Curl Score | 3.8 Good | 4.1 Great |
| People with an opinion | 203 | 45 |
| Best-liked product | Curl Talk Curl Cream | Curl Maker |
| More promising for | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. | Thick, dry, low-porosity or coily hair that wants hydration and soft definition. |
| 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, you want a firm cast, or you live somewhere humid and want hold that lasts. |
Not Your Mother's and Camille Rose are aimed at opposite ends of the curl spectrum. Not Your Mother's Curl Talk avoids shea butter and heavy oils and suits waves and loose curls. Camille Rose makes rich, hydrating products for thick, dry and coily hair. Camille Rose has the higher Curl Score. Not Your Mother's is cheaper and much easier to find.
The main difference
Gel: Camille Rose's Curl Maker is hydrating, with a silky finish and medium hold. The Curl Talk Sculpting Gel is the most divisive product in its range. Some can't live without it, and others find it frizzy, stringy or too hard. Neither gives a firm cast, and both lose hold in humidity for some reviewers.
Leave-in: Camille Rose's Moisture Milk is wonderfully soft on coils, but thick enough that some reviewers dilute it. The Curl Talk Leave-In is lighter, and is well liked under Curl Talk stylers.
Curl cream: only Not Your Mother's has a strong one among the products we track. The Curl Talk Curl Cream is its best-liked product, for juicy, defined curls.
Scent: most reviewers enjoy Camille Rose's smells. Some Curl Talk products are described as intense.
Which to choose
Choose Not Your Mother's if you have waves or loose curls, your hair is fine and easily weighed down, or you want to spend little.
Choose Camille Rose if your hair is thick, dry, low porosity or coily and wants hydration and soft definition.
Skip Camille Rose if your hair is fine. Its formulas are thick and heavy. Skip Not Your Mother's if your hair builds up easily.
The verdict
This one depends on your hair, not on which brand is better. Waves and fine curls belong with Not Your Mother's, and thirsty coils with Camille Rose.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
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Shampoo
Not Your Mother’s
Naturals Gardenia & Mango Butter Shampoo & Conditioner
4 positive·1 mixed·1 negativeA well-liked budget wash day, now hard to find, though one reviewer found the conditioner left a film.
Best for Waves and curls after an affordable, sulfate-free wash day
Camille Rose
2 positive·2 mixed·1 negativeA gentle between-washes cleanser that some love and others find too weak, with one report of it turning smelly.
Best for Gentle mid-week cleansing on dry or coily hair
Conditioner and leave-in
Not Your Mother’s
Curl Talk Leave-In Conditioner
7 positive·1 mixed·1 negativeA soft, moisturising leave-in that most reviewers like, though it's become hard to find.
Best for A light leave-in under Curl Talk stylers
Camille Rose
6 positive·3 mixedWonderfully soft on coils and well smelling, but thick enough that several reviewers dilute it.
Best for Thick or coily hair that wants softness
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
Camille Rose
8 positive·4 mixed·1 negativeThe favourite: a hydrating, silky gel that most reviewers like, whose medium hold gives out in humidity for some.
Best for Soft, hydrated definition on fine to coily hair, alone or under a stronger gel
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.
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
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.
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
Strong hold
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
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.
Starting out or on a budget
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
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
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
Camille Rose
- Praised: Smells that most reviewers enjoy
- Praised: Hydration and a silky finish from the Curl Maker
- Praised: Deep softness on thick and coily hair
- Praised: A solid, consistent brand
- Praised: Thick formulas that can be diluted to last longer
- Complaint: The price, and trouble finding it cheaper
- Complaint: Medium hold that gives out in humidity
- Complaint: Flakes from the Curl Maker, for a few
- Complaint: Hair that felt dry or like straw, for a few
- Complaint: Thick, heavy formulas on fine hair