Brand comparison
Not Your Mother's vs Innersense: Is the Premium Brand Worth It?
Both suit fine waves and curls. Innersense is better rated and its stylers last longer; Not Your Mother's costs a fraction as much.
| Compared | Not Your Mother’s | Innersense |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. | Mostly positive: Loved and long-lasting. Pricey. |
| Curl Score | 3.8 Good | 4.1 Great |
| People with an opinion | 203 | 106 |
| Best-liked product | Curl Talk Curl Cream | I Create Volume |
| More promising for | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. | Fine to medium curls that want light, lasting definition, and anyone who values clean ingredients and refills. |
| Think twice if | Your hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky. | Your scalp is easily irritated, you're on a tight budget, or you want a hold you can't overdo. |
Not Your Mother's and Innersense both make light products that suit fine waves and curls, so they're a real alternative to each other. Innersense is a premium brand with clean ingredients and refill pouches. Not Your Mother's is a drugstore line. Innersense has the higher Curl Score, but at least one reviewer switched back because Innersense was too expensive for the results.
The main difference
Gel and lotion: Innersense wins clearly. I Create Volume is a thin, lightweight gel that defines without crunch and lasts for days, and almost every reviewer liked it. The Curl Talk Sculpting Gel splits reviewers.
Foam: both are well liked, for different jobs. Innersense's I Create Definition Foam gives gel-like hold. The Curl Talk Refreshing Curl Foam is lighter, and best for refresh days.
Curl cream: Not Your Mother's wins. The Curl Talk Curl Cream is one of the best-liked stylers we track. Innersense's Air Dry Styling Cream is liked, but has few reviews.
Cost: Innersense is expensive, but reviewers say a bottle can last close to a year. Not Your Mother's is cheap, but some products are reformulated or discontinued.
Which to choose
Choose Innersense if your curls are fine to medium and you want definition that lasts for days without crunch, and you value clean ingredients.
Choose Not Your Mother's if you're on a budget, or you want a cream and foam routine you can buy at any drugstore.
Think twice about Innersense if your scalp is easily irritated. Think twice about Not Your Mother's if your hair builds up easily.
The verdict
Start with Curl Talk Curl Cream. It's cheap and well liked. If you want longer-lasting definition on fine curls, Innersense's I Create Volume is the upgrade most worth paying for.
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
Innersense
4 positive·1 mixedA light all-in-one styler with soft clumps that simplifies routines, though one reviewer dislikes its waxy texture.
Best for A simple one-product routine on fine hair
Mousse
Not Your Mother’s
Curl Talk Refreshing Curl Foam
12 positive·2 mixed·1 negativeA light, water-based foam that's well liked for refresh days, with a softer hold than the mousse.
Best for Refreshing waves and loose curls between washes
Innersense
11 positive·2 negativeA surprisingly firm foam that gives defined, frizz-free spirals for days, with a cast that can be hard to break.
Best for Fine curls that want gel-like hold from a foam
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
Innersense
13 positive·1 mixedThe best-liked styler: a thin, lightweight gel that defines without crunch and lasts for days.
Best for Light, touchable definition on fine to medium 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.
Innersense
This is where the range gets its warmest reviews. Reviewers with fine 2C and 3A hair say I Create Volume defines without stickiness or stiffness, and the Lift and Definition foams give lift and multi-day hold with a pump or two.
Try I Create Volume
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.
Innersense
There are fewer reviewers here. A reviewer with thick, coarse 3c/4a hair loves I Create Hold but found Curl Memory didn't hold enough, and a reviewer with Black hair liked the hair bath and I Create Hold's week-long look but wasn't impressed by the conditioner.
Try I Create Hold
Strong hold
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Innersense
I Create Hold and Curl Memory are the stronger stylers, and reviewers say their hair lasts four to seven days. Both are heavy-duty, and reviewers found them sticky if their hair wasn't wet enough, or so crunchy the cast wouldn't scrunch out.
Try I Create Hold
Sensitive scalp or scent-sensitive
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Innersense
Some reviewers with sensitive skin call it great, but a handful had the opposite. I Create Hold made one reviewer's scalp itchy, flaky and red, and others report scalp irritation or hair shedding after starting the range.
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
Innersense
- Praised: Concentrated: a bottle can last close to a year
- Praised: Light, touchable definition on fine hair
- Praised: Multi-day hold from the stronger stylers
- Praised: The Sweet Spirit leave-in
- Praised: Refill pouches and travel sizes
- Complaint: Expensive
- Complaint: Crunchy, sticky or matted if overdone
- Complaint: Conditioners with little slip, for some
- Complaint: Scalp irritation or shedding, for a few
- Complaint: Herbal or patchouli scents a few dislike
From people who tried both
Comments about one brand in discussions of the other.
Innersense, mentioned in Not Your Mother’s discussions
NegativeInnersenseReddit comment
I switched away because it was too expensive for the results.
u/haymelzr/curlyhair, 2026Original comment