Curls & Waves

Curls are not one hair type. A loose wave that drops by lunchtime and a tight coil that drinks product are different problems, and the same bottle rarely solves both. What they share is dryness: the bend in the strand stops the scalp's own oil travelling down the length, so the ends run dry while the roots do not.

That is why curl products are a balancing act rather than a question of how rich they are. Enough moisture to stop the frizz, little enough weight that the pattern still holds by the afternoon. Curl Passion is milk_shake's line built that way, with milk protein through all three steps.

Which one to start with

Curl Passion Leave-in Conditioner is the one to buy first if you only buy one. It stays in through the drying, which is when the curl actually sets. There is no butter in it: it conditions with polyquaternium-22 instead, so it leaves nothing behind to flatten the pattern by day three.

Curl Passion Shampoo is the cleanse, and it puts milk protein back in as it washes, with babassu and pracaxi oils alongside. Wash the scalp rather than the lengths: the ends are the dry part and do not need the detergent.

Curl Passion Conditioner is the slip. Behentrimonium chloride is what lets you detangle in the shower without pulling the pattern apart, and shea butter and panthenol go in behind it. Detangling here rather than on dry hair is the single biggest thing you can do to stop breakage in curly hair.

Curl Passion Set is the three 300ml bottles in one box, and it costs less than buying them one at a time. It is the sensible start if you are building a routine rather than replacing one bottle.

Whipped Cream Leave-in Foam is the lighter alternative to the leave-in cream, for loose waves and for fine hair that creams flatten. It is a milk-protein leave-in in aerosol foam form, with panthenol and vitamin E, and the foam is the point: it spreads further and sits lighter than a cream can.

There is a week-by-week guide to the three-product routine if you want to know what to expect and when.

Is this a curly girl method shampoo and conditioner?

No, and it is worth being straight about it. The method rules out sulphate detergents and silicones. Curl Passion Shampoo is built on a detergent, and the conditioner and the leave-in both contain silicones, so a strict curly girl routine rules all three out. What this range does instead is put moisture and milk protein back without the weight, which is the same destination by a different road. If you are following the method to the letter, the Curly Girl Method guide is the place to start.

What is the curly girl method?

A washing routine rather than a product range, written to stop people stripping their curls. Half of it is an ingredient list to avoid. The other half is habit, and that half costs nothing to try.

Is the curly girl method worth it?

The habits are worth more than the rules. Soak the hair properly before shampoo goes near it, detangle with conditioner still in, dry with a cotton t-shirt rather than a towel, and do not brush it dry. Those four change how curls look whatever is in the bottle. The strict ingredient bans are the part most people give up on.

Does the cg method work for wavy hair?

Waves need less of everything. The same routine on a loose wave usually reads as greasy rather than defined, because a wave carries product further down the length and drops under it sooner. Start with a leave-in on its own before you add anything, and use Whipped Cream Leave-in Foam rather than a cream if your hair is fine.

Can you use conditioner as a leave-in?

Not really, and it is a false economy. A rinse-out conditioner is built to be diluted and rinsed off, so left in it sits on the hair and reads greasy or flat by the next morning. Curl Passion Leave-in Conditioner is a different formula for a different job: weightless, and meant to stay in through the dry.

How often should you wash curly hair?

Less often than straight hair, because the oil that would travel down the length never gets there, so there is less to wash out. Two or three times a week suits most curls, and the days in between are what a leave-in is for. If your curls have gone limp rather than dry, washing less is usually the fix before any product is.

What this range is not for

Curl Passion is a definition and moisture line. It is not a bond repair treatment, so if your curls are snapping when you brush them rather than frizzing, this is the wrong page and dry and damaged hair is the right one. There is no curl gel or hold cream here either: nothing in this range gives you a cast or a crunch, and if that is the finish you want you will not find it on this page. For frizz on hair that is not especially curly, frizz control is the better start.

Buying for someone with curls?

The Curl Passion set in our Milkshake haircare gift sets holds the shampoo, conditioner and leave-in, each 300ml, and costs less than the three bought separately.

Are your curls coloured as well?

Then compare the shampoo for coloured hair before you choose a wash.

Want a curl routine picked for your hair?

A qualified hairdresser we work with will write you a personalised routine, free, with any order. Send your hair details through Ask an Expert, or take the Hair Quiz if you would rather answer questions than write.