Brand comparison
Not Your Mother's vs Miss Jessie's: Which Curl Brand Is Better?
Two brands loved for soft, defined curls. Their creams are close; Miss Jessie's has the more reliable gel, and Not Your Mother's costs less.
| Compared | Not Your Mother’s | Miss Jessie’s |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. | Loved, with a catch: Soft definition. Divisive scent. |
| Curl Score | 3.8 Good | 3.9 Good |
| People with an opinion | 203 | 70 |
| Best-liked product | Curl Talk Curl Cream | Pillow Soft Curls |
| More promising for | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. | Waves, curls and coils that want soft definition without crunch, if you can live with the fragrance. |
| Think twice if | Your hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky. | You are sensitive to fragrance, you avoid silicones, or your fine hair is quickly weighed down by creams. |
Not Your Mother's and Miss Jessie's are both best known for creams that give soft definition without crunch, and both are recommended to people with waves and fine curls. Miss Jessie's has a slightly higher Curl Score. Not Your Mother's is cheaper, easier to find, and has three times as many reviewers.
Both brands get scent complaints, and their scents are different. Miss Jessie's smells strongly of laundry or fabric softener. Some Curl Talk products are described as intense.
The main difference
Curl cream: close. Curl Talk Curl Cream and Miss Jessie's Pillow Soft Curls are their brands' best-known products, and both are well liked on fine to medium waves and curls. Curl Talk goes further from a small amount. Pillow Soft gives a slightly softer finish. We compare them in detail in Pillow Soft Curls vs Curl Talk Cream.
Gel: Miss Jessie's wins clearly. Jelly Soft Curls has almost no critics, while the Curl Talk Sculpting Gel splits reviewers roughly in half.
Leave-in: both are well liked. Miss Jessie's Leave In Condish is praised for detangling, and the Curl Talk Leave-In is soft and moisturizing but has become hard to find.
Refresh days: Not Your Mother's Refreshing Curl Foam is a well-liked, light option that Miss Jessie's doesn't match.
Which to choose
Choose Not Your Mother's if you want a cheap cream and foam routine for waves and loose curls, or you want to avoid shea butter and heavy oils.
Choose Miss Jessie's if you want a reliable gel for soft, lasting definition, or you have thicker curls or coils. Its range covers more textures.
Skip Miss Jessie's if you avoid silicones or dislike fabric-softener scents. Skip Not Your Mother's if your hair builds up easily.
The verdict
For a curl cream, start with Curl Talk. It's cheaper and almost as well liked. For a gel, Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls is the safer buy by a wide margin.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
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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
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
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
Miss Jessie’s
18 positive·6 mixed·3 negativeThe most reviewed and most recommended product in the range: soft, uncrunchy definition, for anyone who can bear the smell.
Best for Fine to medium waves and curls that want soft definition without crunch
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Strong hold
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
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
Sensitive scalp or scent-sensitive
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
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.
Starting out or on a budget
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
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.
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
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