Brand comparison
Not Your Mother's vs Ouidad: Drugstore vs Curl Specialist
Ouidad's Climate Control gel is the reason to pay more, especially in humid weather. For creams and foams, Not Your Mother's is the better value.
| Compared | Not Your Mother’s | Ouidad |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. | Mostly positive: A cult gel. Not for everyone. |
| Curl Score | 3.8 Good | 3.9 Good |
| People with an opinion | 203 | 107 |
| Best-liked product | Curl Talk Curl Cream | Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel |
| More promising for | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. | Curls that frizz in heat and humidity, and anyone who wants soft, touchable hold that lasts for days. |
| Think twice if | Your hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky. | You want a hard cast or very strong hold, your hair is fine and builds up easily, or you're sensitive to strong scents. |
Not Your Mother's Curl Talk is a cheap drugstore line with a wide range of stylers. Ouidad is a decades-old salon brand whose reputation rests almost entirely on one gel. Reviewers rate them about the same overall. The question is whether you need what that gel does.
Some reviewers do switch. One prefers Ouidad's Climate Control Extra Hold gel to the Not Your Mother's mousse because it's lightweight with good hold.
The main difference
Gel: Ouidad's Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel is one of the most reviewed products we track. It's a holy grail for frizz in heat and humidity, though some get no cast or a sticky finish. The Curl Talk Sculpting Gel splits reviewers roughly in half.
Cream and foam: Not Your Mother's wins. The Curl Talk Curl Cream is one of the best-liked stylers we track, and the Refreshing Curl Foam is well liked for refresh days. Ouidad's non-gel products are liked but rarely called life-changing.
Price: Not Your Mother's is far cheaper. Ouidad is expensive at full price, though often half price at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
Problems: some Curl Talk products leave residue, and the brand reformulates and discontinues often. Ouidad's leave-ins draw scent complaints, and it builds up on some fine hair.
Which to choose
Choose Ouidad if humidity is what ruins your curls, and you want soft, touchable hold that lasts for days.
Choose Not Your Mother's if you want a cheap cream and foam routine for waves and loose curls, or you're building a first routine.
Mix them: a Curl Talk cream under Ouidad's gel combines the best-liked product from each.
The verdict
Buy the styling cream from Not Your Mother's. Buy the gel from Ouidad if you live somewhere humid. Otherwise, the cheaper brand covers most needs.
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
Ouidad
Moisture Lock Leave-In Conditioner
3 positive·1 mixed·1 negativeA long-time go-to for some, especially paired with the gel, but its strong scent puts others off.
Best for A leave-in under the Climate Control 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
Ouidad
Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel
46 positive·10 mixed·18 negativeA long-time holy grail for frizz in humid weather, though a sizeable minority get no cast, no hold or a sticky finish.
Best for Curls that frizz in heat and humidity and want soft, lasting hold
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.
Ouidad
Opinion splits. Reviewers with fine 2C, 3A and 3B curls call the gel amazing and say a little goes a long way on soaking wet hair.
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.
Ouidad
Reviewers don't single out Ouidad for this.
Strong hold
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Ouidad
The original gel gives soft, touchable hold with no hard cast, and several reviewers wanting a crunchy cast found it too weak. The Advanced Climate Control (red label) is stronger, and its fans say it gives a cast other gels haven't, but others still found it weak or sticky once the cast was broken.
Humid weather
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Ouidad
This is what the Climate Control gel is for, and reviewers in Texas, Florida and Savannah say it keeps their curls defined through humid weeks. It isn't universal: reviewers in Miami, humid Georgia and very humid sea-level climates got no cast and frizz within hours.
Sensitive scalp or scent-sensitive
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Ouidad
The leave-ins draw the most complaints: reviewers describe the Moisture Lock leave-in as strong, lemony and chemical, or a stale perfume they threw away. Others say the range smells low and neutral, and one uses the shampoo and conditioner as a fragrance-free option, so experiences vary by product.
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
Ouidad
- Praised: Frizz control in heat and humidity
- Praised: Soft, touchable curls that last for days
- Praised: Decades of loyal use from some reviewers
- Praised: Often cheap at TJ Maxx and Marshalls
- Praised: A big bottle that lasts
- Complaint: No cast or hold for some reviewers
- Complaint: A sticky or heavy finish on some hair
- Complaint: Expensive at full price
- Complaint: Strong scents, especially the leave-ins
- Complaint: Buildup on fine hair
From people who tried both
Comments about one brand in discussions of the other.
Ouidad, mentioned in Not Your Mother’s discussions
PositiveAdvanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Extra Hold GelReddit comment
I prefer a lightweight gel with good hold over the NYM mousse, and I'm really liking this one at the moment.
u/Lawyer_butactuallyAround 3Ar/curlyhair, 2026Original comment