Curly Hair Society

Brand comparison

Not Your Mother's vs Cantu: Which Drugstore Curl Brand Is Better?

Two cheap drugstore brands for opposite hair. Not Your Mother's is light and suits waves; Cantu is rich and suits thick curls and coils.

Not Your Mother’sCantu
What reviewers thinkMostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss.Divides opinion: Great value. Heavy for fine hair.
Curl Score3.8 Good3.7 Good
People with an opinion20368
Best-liked productCurl Talk Curl CreamMoisturizing Curl Activator Cream
More promising forWaves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils.Thick, dense or coily hair, children's curls, and anyone starting out on a budget.
Think twice ifYour hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky.Your hair is fine, wavy or low porosity, or you're sensitive to strong fragrance.

Not Your Mother's and Cantu are both cheap and easy to find, and they're often the first curl brands people try. They have similar Curl Scores, but they're built very differently. Not Your Mother's avoids shea butter and heavy oils, while Cantu is built on shea butter.

Reviewers in Not Your Mother's discussions say it directly. Two found Cantu's Curl Activator too heavy, though another gets better frizz control from Cantu's leave-in creams than from the Curl Talk gel.

The main difference

Curl cream: the Curl Talk Curl Cream is light and gives juicy, defined curls from a small amount. Cantu's Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream is richer and gives soft, shiny definition on thicker curls. Curl Talk has three times as many reviews and suits more hair.

Weight: the deciding factor. Reviewers with fine or low-porosity hair repeatedly say Cantu is too heavy. Not Your Mother's is a common recommendation for exactly that hair.

Range: Not Your Mother's has more stylers, including a well-liked Refreshing Curl Foam. Cantu is strongest on creams and has a refresh spray reviewers like.

Problems: both brands have long-time users who say products changed. Curl Talk's mousse has turned sticky for many, and some Cantu users say it stopped working.

Which to choose

Choose Not Your Mother's if you have waves, loose curls or fine hair, or rich products leave your hair flat.

Choose Cantu if your hair is thick, dense or coily, or you're buying for children's 3A to 4A curls.

Skip both if you're sensitive to strong fragrance. Both brands get scent complaints.

The verdict

Both are good value. Choose by hair type: Not Your Mother's for waves and fine curls, and Cantu for thick curls and coils.

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

Curl Talk Curl Cream

23 positive·5 mixed·4 negative

The 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

Read reviewAmazon

Cantu

Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

7 positive·2 negative

A long-time favourite for soft, shiny, defined curls, though too heavy for some fine hair.

Best for Softness and definition on curly to coily hair

Read reviewAmazon

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.

Try Curl Talk Curl Cream

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.

Try Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

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.

Try Curl Talk Curl Cream

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

Starting out or on a budget

Not Your Mother’s

Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.

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.

Try Moisturizing Curl Activator Cream

Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.

What reviewers like and dislike

Not Your Mother’s

  • Cheap and easy to find
  • Juicy, defined curls from the Curl Cream
  • A light, water-based refresh foam
  • Free of shea butter and heavy oils
  • A protein-free, fragrance-free line
  • A mousse that has turned sticky for many
  • A film or residue on some hair
  • Strong scents, for some
  • Constant reformulating and discontinuing
  • A gel that splits reviewers

Cantu

  • Cheap and easy to find
  • Soft, shiny, defined curls on thicker hair
  • Works on children's curls
  • A refresh spray that keeps curls going between washes
  • A nice smell, for many
  • Too heavy for fine or wavy hair
  • Stopped working for some long-time users
  • Flakes or dryness, for a few
  • Strong added fragrance
  • A refresh spray with a single-stream nozzle

From people who tried both

Comments about one brand in discussions of the other.

Cantu, mentioned in Not Your Mother’s discussions

  1. NegativeCurl ActivatorReddit comment

    I find Cantu Curl Activator too heavy.

    u/AffectionateLead5329r/curlyhair, 2025Original comment

  2. NegativeCurl ActivatorReddit comment

    I had the same too-heavy experience with Cantu Curl Activator.

    u/beagoodbearFine on topr/curlyhair, 2025Original comment

  3. PositiveLeave-in conditioner creamsReddit comment

    Gives me better frizz control than the NYM gel.

    u/DumpstahKat3A-3B, high porosity, thick, medium densityr/curlyhair, 2023Original comment

More comparisons

Not Your Mother’s vs

Every Not Your Mother’s review

Cantu vs

Every Cantu review