Brand comparison
Only Curls vs Not Your Mother's: Premium vs Drugstore Curl Care
A UK salon-style brand against a US drugstore favorite. The cheaper one is better liked, especially on waves and fine curls.
| Compared | Only Curls | Not Your Mother’s |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers think | Mixed opinions: Good on thick, dry curls. Heavy on fine hair. | Mostly positive: Great value. Stylers hit and miss. |
| Curl Score | 3.2 Mixed | 3.8 Good |
| People with an opinion | 41 | 203 |
| Best-liked product | All Curl Conditioner | Curl Talk Curl Cream |
| More promising for | Thick, dry or coarse curls that need moisture, slip and definition. | Waves and loose curls on a budget, especially as cream plus foam, or anyone avoiding shea butter and heavy oils. |
| Think twice if | Your strands are fine and easily weighed down, you are sensitive to fragrance, or you are on a tight budget. | Your hair builds up easily, you're sensitive to strong scents, or mousses tend to leave you sticky. |
This is a price comparison as much as a brand one. Only Curls is a premium British brand sold for curls. Not Your Mother's Curl Talk line costs a fraction as much and is sold in most US drugstores. You might expect the pricier brand to come out ahead, but the reviews point the other way for most hair types.
Not Your Mother's has a higher Curl Score, about five times as many reviewers, and a curl cream that is one of the best-liked stylers we track. Only Curls' strengths are narrower: slip and moisture for thick, dry curls.
The main difference
Curl cream: Curl Talk Curl Cream gives juicy, defined curls from a small amount and is well liked on fine hair. Only Curls' Hydrating Curl Creme is the most divisive product in its range: loved on thick, dry hair, but heavy and greasy on fine hair.
Weight: Not Your Mother's avoids shea butter and heavy oils, which is why it suits waves and loose curls. Only Curls is richer, and reviewers with fine hair or loose waves often find it too heavy.
Reliability: Not Your Mother's has its own problem. Its famous mousse has turned sticky for many reviewers, who suspect a formula change. Its products also get reformulated or discontinued, and some leave a film. Only Curls' complaints are mostly about its sweet fragrance and its price.
Which to choose
Choose Not Your Mother's if you have waves or loose curls, you want to spend little, or heavy products weigh your hair down. Pair the Curl Cream with the Refreshing Curl Foam for refresh days.
Choose Only Curls if your curls are thick, dry or coarse and drugstore products leave them rough. The All Curl Conditioner is its best-liked product for slip and frizz control.
Skip Not Your Mother's if mousses usually leave you sticky, or your hair builds up easily. Skip Only Curls if you are sensitive to fragrance and don't want the fragrance-free versions.
The verdict
For waves and fine curls, Not Your Mother's is both cheaper and better reviewed. Start there. Only Curls earns its price only if your hair is thick and dry and needs a richer conditioner than the drugstore offers.
Head to head
Each brand's strongest product of each type, by what reviewers say.
Amazon links on this page are affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. How this works
Shampoo
Only Curls
6 positive·1 mixed·5 negativeFans say a little cleans a lot without stripping; critics found it heavy, strongly scented and no better than cheaper shampoos.
Best for Thick or dry waves and curls; the unscented version for sensitive scalps
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
Conditioner and leave-in
Only Curls
6 positive·2 mixed·2 negativeThe best liked of the wash-day products, praised for slip and frizz control. The doubt is whether it is worth the premium.
Best for Thick, dry or coily hair that needs slip
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
Curl cream
Only Curls
5 positive·6 negativeThe most divisive product in the range: loved on thick, dry hair, too heavy and greasy on fine hair.
Best for Thick, dry, coarse curls and coils
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
Gel
Only Curls
6 positive·3 mixed·4 negativePleasant to apply with a good finish, but the hold is soft. Anyone after a firm cast found it too weak.
Best for Soft definition, or as a finishing layer
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
Which suits your hair
What reviewers with each kind of hair report.
Fine or wavy hair
Only Curls
Start with the mousse, the one product fine-haired reviewers keep using. The curl creme was the most common source of “heavy” and “greasy by day two”.
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.
Thick, dense or coily hair
Only Curls
This is where the range does best. Reviewers with thick, dry curls and coils rate the conditioner and curl creme, and one with thick, dry 2C waves calls the cleanser and conditioner the only pair that has ever worked.
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.
Strong hold
Only Curls
The Enhancing gel is soft, and that is its most common complaint. The Mega Hold gel is the firmer option, though there are only two opinions on it so far and its scent is strong.
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Sensitive scalp or scent-sensitive
Only Curls
Buy the fragrance-free cleanser and conditioner, which are sold online only. The Mega Hold gel has no fragrance-free version, and a few reviewers suspect the coconut in the formulas.
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Starting out or on a budget
Only Curls
Try the Starter Pack before full sizes; results vary so much that even critics recommend it. Several reviewers also found technique made more difference than any one range.
Try Starter Pack
Not Your Mother’s
Reviewers don't single out Not Your Mother’s for this.
Based on what commenters with similar hair reported. Hair varies.
What reviewers like and dislike
Only Curls
- Praised: Frizz control and definition, when it suits your hair
- Praised: Plenty of slip in the conditioner
- Praised: A little shampoo goes a long way
- Praised: Fragrance-free versions of the core products
- Praised: Sample and starter kits for trying the range
- Complaint: Too heavy for fine hair and loose waves
- Complaint: A cloying, sickly sweet standard fragrance
- Complaint: The price, especially next to drugstore curl ranges
- Complaint: A soft hold from the Enhancing gel
- Complaint: Coconut in the formulas, for those it doesn't agree with
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