Check out this interesting post from the Natural Sunshine forum written by member Kay LaVon.
I have been watching alot of videos, and have run across a handful of naturals saying that they use curl activator moisturizers in their hair. Back in the day I knew a curly and I told her that I was trying to go natural but my hair always looked dry and frizzy. I admired her pretty, long, “juicy” looking coils so much and wanted the secret to her hair greatness! She simply looked at me and said “
Right on Curl“. I said “What???” How could something that is used to moisturize a Jheri curl, help my natural hair?
Over two years ago, I bought the yellow and orange bottle but didn’t use it because I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of it working on natural hair. When I was about 13 years old I had a Jheri Curl. My hair grew alot while I had one. I didn’t start suffering from breakage until the dreaded relaxer! With me putting 2 and 2 together, I figured that it might have been the moisturizer that prevented my hair from getting extremely dry, and stopped my hair from breaking off.
To sum it up, I started to finally use the product and was pleasantly surprised to see how soft and pliable my hair was after using it! It had a great sheen that lasted ALL day. I have been using it for a little over a month now and I love it!!! I haven’t had any breakage so far and I will continue to update everyone on my progress with this product. As curlies, we experiment with different products and hairstyles to compliment our journey. I think I have found one part of my moisture problem.
Has anyone else heard of someone, knew some one, or tried this product too? Â Please weigh in and tell me what you think.
Ladies, what do you think? Have you tried using curl activator? How did it work out?
For more interesting articles check out Natural Sunshine.
by
Black Girl With Long Hair
98 Responses
OMG! I cannot believe I found a group of naturals on the Jheri curl product tip. Heyyyy Yall! I use Hawaiian Silky Moisture/protein activator. 14 in 1 as a leave in. Daily spray with Scurl. Now let me split yall wig with something I learned. This could be just my hair but it sure as hecked worked on my 3 daughters and 2 sisters who are all natural. We only do deep protein treatments. No deep moisturizing treatments needed. With theses products and wearing a bag at night, it can cause over moisturizing. That’s my thought. I figured this out by mistake. When I would use my deep moisture treatments I would get some breakage. So, I decided to my DC. Only the product that I bought was a protein DC. I had already put it my hair when I realized this. I was in a rush. Just figured I would throw some product in my hair and deal with it later. When I put that activator i and 14 in 1 in my hair after the protein DC, I could immediately tell it was balanced and needed nothing else. The breakage stopped immediately. So, I tried it a couple more times before I tried it on my daughters hair. Worked like a charm. I only use moisturizing conditioners when I clarify or co-wash. For twist outs I use Scurl (non-oily kind) followed by Lustrasilk twist spray. I never sleep without my plastic bag. Of course I cover it with a scarf. My man hates the sound of my bag. Contrary to what you may think, my hair is never dripping wet. YOu only put activator in once a week. After that, just spray as needed. I have been natural for 8yrs. It has been a struggle trying to keep up with all the trending products. The so-called best natural products was too darn high and didn’t work. Damaged my hair something terrible. I had to big chop 3x.Never got my hair past my shoulders. Now, it’s mbl. Won’t he do it! I finally thought about the jheri curl days. How everybody had hair. If you had a jheri curl you had at least shoulder length hair. Bald head scaly wags did not exist in those days. Why? I asked. I realized it was because we unknowingly moisturized (activator), sealed (spray), and conditioned every night(bagged @night). Moisture, moisture, moisture. Light bulb went off. Now I don’t like my hair wet like a jheri curl. H to the no. Depending on the season, I alter the amount of activator,14 in 1, and spray. HS activator w/Echo gel (green jar) will give you a shiny beautiful wash and go that will last for 2 weeks. You may have to spray it with worlds of curls spray every few days. Let me stop rambling. I am just so excited to find other naturals using the jheri curl products.
omg thank you sooo much for your post and all of this info! girl I was just researching jherri curl products for hydration and moisture…..im glad i came across your post…this will really help me big time…..thank you from one sis to another!!!
I just started using Curl Max moisturizing curl activator..love it, my hair was so dry and I spent so much money on products. I also mix a little with Tucumba butter(spelling is wrong) because I don’t like shea butter in my hair but this butter is great for hair and scalp, i also do plastic bag at night.. when I do my wash and go I use wett xtreme gel, don’t like echo styler gel at all
I found my legion of Jheri Curl juice followers! Yay! It’s the glycerin and remember we also covered our hair in plastic caps at night – what is now known as the greenhouse effect. I know the guy that is the Jheri Curl pioneer in San Diego. He is aged but has nice long hair.
I remeber the popular jheri curl resulted in hair growth. I figured the reasons were 1. the hair was kept moist, and 2. combing and brushing were no nos if you wanted well defined curls. Moisture and very little manipulation. If you search the internet and read some of the information on the sites dedicated to Black hair care, moisture and reduced manipulation are key elements to healthy black hair. My favorite product is Carefree Curl activator and moisturizer. I’ve used them for more than 20 years with or without a curly perm. I have very short hair. It grows and breaks. I keep it dyed white blonde. I notice most sisters with white blonde hair keep it short like mine. I realize that is because the hair is severly damaged and just will not realize any growth because it constantly breaks off.
I guess I am a product junkie because my bathroom looks like a beauty supply. If they make it, I have it. lol Even though Carefree is my favorite. What I was doing was using multiple products, but not consistently and not properly. I tried the Jesse’s Curl products and was totally disappointed that the result was not soft moist hair. It was crunchy as usual. So I started researching on the internet and I came across LOC, liquid, oil, cream. Pretty much what I was doing, but sporadically without focus. I discovered that one can purchase pure glycerin and I have long known that whatever glycerin was, it was the ingredient in Carefree products that created the magical hair growth.
I acquired a gazillion bottles of glycering, aloe vera, shea butter, coconut oil, and saffron oil. Today I am going to purchase advocado oil, and johoba oil. This is my process. I mix 25% glycerin, 25% aloe vera, and 50% water. That is my Liquid. I apply that first. Then I apply one of the pure Oils. That my Oil. And for the final step, I apply any one of the many commercial products sitting on my sink, Could be Jesse’s Curl, Carol’s Daughter, Shea Moisture, AfricCare, Curls, Taliah Waajid, One and Only Argon, Creme of Nature, you name it, as long as its white and creamy it can be my final step in the LOC regimen. The results have been instantanious. I have been religiously following this regimen for about 5 days. My hair is soft and supple and moist (and a little greasy, I’ll work that out as I go along) The real test has been today I have on a black shirt and there is not one single strand of hair on my shoulders (not that my hair is long enough to call what was breaking off a strand. lol) I am so excited I could cry. I get it. I get it. I get it. Moisture, moisture, moisture. LOC…liquid, oil, cream. I am going to have hair and more hair. I’m going to follow the LOC regimen with a weekly shampoo followed by a deep protein conditioner (anything commercial with an egg yolk and advocado whipped in) and continue bleaching my hair for the next three months. I expect to realize growth even with the bleaching, but if I don’t, I will surrender and allow my natural color to grow out. I’m on Facebook under Shalome Kim Felder. I shall report my journey here and there.
Janet. It is on amazon.
I need the original leisure curl moisturizing Scalp spray. this is one of the greatest products ever invented for black hair. Sense we no longer can get ahold of the original product, there is a lot of suffering amongst the black hair. Especially for me. Please help me. Thank you
I have been a user of leisure curl products for many years. The original is no longer found. A great product that promotes growth, sheen and manageable bility. One of the greatestproduct ever invented. Please help me. I need original. Thank you
I used the carefree moisturizer spray and it made my scalp itch. I was using the S curl moisturizer spray and it worked but it didn’t last a full day. Now I’m trying the sta fro spray and cream moisturizer. It moisturizes well but it takes my curls away and makes it more of a fro and it doesn’t mix well with certain products.
I forgot my hair products and went on a short trip. Most of my hair products are expensive so I decided to spend 3 bucks on some leisure curl spray hoping it would moisturize for the short period I was out of town. I love it. My hair looks better than when I was using kinky curly and most of all, it stays moisturized for days at a time with one application.
I myself thouggt of this about 3 weeks ago, using the carefree products. I also purchased for my dauhter who has really curly hair.and I have noticed for both of us. The shine stays in without the greasy look. I also switched shampoo n conditioner to Main n Tail. Love them all. But ill notice more given 3-6 months on growth.
I like your style and colour pallette. You need to improve this with some expensive items. Having a nice expensive menus, the banner rotator, and RSS information Ticker, your website ought to improve it’s picture as well as functionality. Excellent content btw.
What’s Happening I’m a new comer to this, I ran across this particular I’ve found It favorably helpful and it has assisted me personally out loads. I really hope to give the factor & assist various clients like its assisted me personally. Good work.
I as a child myself wore a jerri curl!! It never shredded or anything and it grew very long!! I started using it on my natural hair as an adult and my hair stays so moisturized!! I love it
I have been natural for over 2 years now. Went I started my journey with Carefree Curl Gold and loved my hair. Then I started using the natural products, but my hair never seemed to be the same. I started back using Carefree Curl Gold again and love how my hair feels. I know it has all those chemicals in it, but my hair is doing much, much better. This thread is reinforcing what I know. Going to be throwing out all those other products and save myself a fortune!
Wow. A search brought me here. I was considering going back to a care free curl. I have been natural for 2 years 11 months. Next month May is my 3 year anniversary, but I am not happy with the length of my hair. It is 8 or 9 inches – it should be 12!! London is too cold! Anyhow I remember in the 90s I had such long care free curl hair so did my sister! When I switched to relaxers it stayed at neck length! Anyway the point you guys made me see, is this. I was using no drip activator and care free curl a year ago…. but I stopped – why? Because I became a product junkie!! I am just thinking – when I stopped using this deep moisturisers that’s where my problem began.. My hair just stopped growing. Each morning it’s so so dry.. and I pour all these other products in – and it’s not helping.
Well before I go back to any care free curl.. I’m going to go get out my no drip activator and care free curl, use these again at least until maybe June – July. I should be to see a difference if at all by then.
Thanks guys for the reminder!!
first off I am happy to see that so many people agree with me and that im not crazy ive been using the carefree products for a couple of weeks and love love love it! I did the big chop 6 mo ago and was using everything under the sun for products, working in television as a makeup artist and hairstylist, I have access to the supposedly best products, and lets not forget au natural! and still felt like my hair was thirsty,dry, and brittle. what was the problem im a hairstylist? i do this for a living i thought, and then just like a light bulb i took it back to old school while never having a jherri curl, nor wanting one, i did them alot starting out in this business, i knew the growth didnt come from the harsh chemical that i so niavely put on my clients hair, it was the constant moisture that stopped it from breaking, so if it did that on chemically treated hair what in the world would it do for natural hair, took me long enough but now im shouting to the roof tops all HAIL TO THE JCJ!!!!
i had a CareFree curl back in the day…and my hair grew back.when it got to the center of my back, i had to constantly keep cutting.i have been natural for five years now, and suffered the same problems (dry,thirsty hair)then i remembered, how my hair stayed moisterized back in the day, i went to the beauty supply and bought CareFree products, including the activator and my hair is loving it. i don’t have any photos yet,but i will post.my twist are now 9 1/2 in.i’ve been growing out for 2yrs now. this product also has glycerin in it.good luck
hello,did you use the shampoo and conditioner of the care free curl also. im natural,but i go to the shop and want to start learning my hair,and i had a curl when i was young. was thinking about using jc products,but wasnt sure about the shampoo or conditioner.
personally i never had a curl but,my son as natural curl hair.so i started using jheri curl moisturizer his hair looks great.i just bought this product 2 days ago I’m a believer not knock it until u tried it love &peace &happynes!
Let’ me tell you I’ve been using the long aid activator. Cheapest product I use on my hair gives me the best moisturization ever. I seel with an oil and I’m good for days. When I was using all the so called natural stuff, my hair didn’t stay moisturize. My hubby kept telling me back in the day he knew alot of people who had gheri curls also had real long hair. I’m glad to see I’m not the only person that has found this to be really moisturizing. I’m going to try the Care Free and see how my hair does with that product.
I had a girl back in the early 80’s. I went natural in the 90’s for 6 years and had long healthy hair. I started with hair pomade in the beginning but switched to SoftSheen-Carson’s Care Free Curl when I noticed a bottle in the home of a Native American that I was dating. his hair was down his back. I asked him why he had Care Free Curl in the house he replied he liked how it made his hair soft (yeah I thought he was cheating too) Anyway I went back to the relaxer for a long time & missed my strong natural hair so I cut everything off 12/09/12. I remembered that the Care Free Gold line was packed with protein & had extra moisturizers for that over processed jehri curl. I bought some and I love the way my hair is soft and glossy. It’s growing well (and my hair always took a long time to grow) it’s inexpensive, smells nice and works better than other products. Occasionally I would switch up to see the effect, Care Free Curl Instant Activator and Moisturizer is better than Aveda, Pantene, IC Polisher & a few others and costs less.
this is not a reply but a question,i was thinking about the time when my hair was down my back,at that time i had a CareFree Curl,does anyone know where i can find a salon that will give you a curl? (most salons what to give you what they carry)
this is about where to find a salon that will do a Care Free Curl, if anyone knows please comment
Started using S curl three days ago. I am type 4c and my hair loves it. Stays soft all day long and I work out 5-6x per week. This will now become my staple! And plan to seal it with Evco or Shea…what took me so long to find this! Been following the hype with all the other products with no results to prove it! Long lives the JCJ…
I can’t believe this…I had this theory several months ago. I had to think back about when my hair was long and healthy, and it was when I had a leisure curl in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I purchased a bottle of leisure curl moisture balance and now my hair is growing and becoming much thicker. I am VERY PLEASED.
Yes it can and you don’t have to use it everyday, it will last a good while. It last really good on braids. While transitioning I use to use it a whole lot and it help in that phase. I use it now but I don’t use a huge amount of it, so it doesn’t be greasy or drippy.
I had a carefree curl when I was a kid too. My hair at that time was the longest and healthiest. Back then I used S-Curl to keep my hair moisturized. I didn’t think about using it again until I talked to someone in a beauty supply about what products they use in their natural hair. It is working wonderfully now!
I have been using SCurl Moisturizer Spray as a daily moisturizer for a while. Ditto on all the comments about how it moisturizes, clumps curls, and gives my hair a wonderful bounce. I like to keep my hair in twists, so I spray my crown and other parts of my hair lightly. I work out most days, so it saves me time in fixing my hair each day. It is growing really well! Power to JC-Juice!!
Question. Need a product that will smooth edges. I have been natural for 4 years and having a hard time trying to find the right product. Also, when people are saying they are using shea butter on the hair, are they speaking of the shea butter you buy from the african store or is this type of shea butter in liquid formula.
I use Luster’s S Curl No Drip Activator Moisturizer and my hair loves, loves, loves it. I have tried so many products since going natural 10 months ago and this is the only thing that truly moisturizes my hair besides glycerin and water. Thanks for posting this!
Where can I get pure glycerin??
You can go to any health food store like Vitamin Shoppe and get pure vegetable glycerine. I have a bottle by NOW and it is GREAT!
I actually started moisturizing my Natural hair w/ S-Curl & sealing my ends w/ Vitika Coconut Oil & I must say….my natural tresses have never felt more soft, full of moisture, & less shedding.
OMG! I stan for Sta-Sof-fro. Thanks to an ex-boyfriend that became a staple for my hair!
I was just talking about this to my daughter the other day. I remembered when I had a Jheri Curl and my hair grew really long from being moisturized everyday. Back then I didn’t use activator because I didn’t like the greasy wet look. I used StaySoftFro Afro sheen (in the brown and tan bottle) I plan on picking up a bottle now to try on my natural hair.
Recently an older co-worker of mine begaan to wear her natural hair out. Now I’ve known her for almost a year it seems and her long natural hair was ALWAYS bunned up. The first day I saw her hair and how moisturized and pretty her curls lookedm I had to ask her what she was using and what made her wear her natural hair out! She said her son had hooked her on a product called Liquid Love. Now, as. Somewhat of a recovering product and a product snob (:(), I didn’t believe the hype when I saw the odd looking bottle for 3.99 at the beauty supply store, but when I read the ingredients and saw gylcerine, water and vinegar I thought -it wait this sounds right! Well I’ve been a faithful user for a while now and I LOVE it. Not sure if it’s supposed to be an ‘activator’ but I put on freshly washed hair after my Kimmytube leave in and the results are phenomenal! Moisturized, nonbreaking hair all week. I also reapply a little every two days. This WILL be staying in my lineup!
If I use the jheri curl juice, will my hair be an oil slick? I’ll admit it, I rocked a scary curl back in the day and I loved the pretty wavy hair it gave me but I HATED the juicy, oil slick and the ruined pillowcases and the juice spot left on anything that my head touched. Even now, I limit the products in my hair because I hate using products that leave a residue.
Wow. I’m going to try this. I have to admit that the stigma of using curl activator kept me away, but I want soft, moisturized hair and more length retention. I will give this a whirl.
I used wave nouveau and S curl for a while during the beginning of my hair journey, and I never had the breakage and split ends that I did using all natural products. I also had better curl definition. I switched to natural products assuming they would be better, but I am honestly considering that this may not be the case. I dunno…glycerin is key for me honestly and I used glycerin products. But I might give it (wave nouveau) a whirl for two bottles just to see what happens…but then again, all those chemicals.
This is my third time natural, but the first two times I was natural I used Curl Activator and my hair grew like weeds. I could sleep on it and rack it wit a comb, all type of nonsense and didn’t have breakage or split ends the way I do now with only using natural and gentle techniques. I own a bottle of it now but don’t dare touch because I watch what I put in/on my body. Must admit that Curl Activator did the job..
This is my experience too! I have been natural six times and never had a growing/splitting/breaking/dry issue using the “jcj”.Now I prefer all natural products (I really try)and well……
That Jheri curl juice, as y’all are calling it, works as well as it does is ZERO surprise to me! Unlike many of the readers who regularly comment, I was a Jheri curly girl for years until I briefly went natural, then I started using texturizers. I only ever applied two relaxer treatments to my hair in all my chemical life, which was pretty long. The moisture problems associated with relaxers were never the case with Jheri curls and texturizers, because the kits always, always, ALWAYS come with extra products to moisturize and style your hair and an injunction to use them every day. And if one did this, one never had to worry about moisture. I saw and maintained my longest lengths during those days.
That was one benefit I found that Jheri curls and texturizers have over relaxers and the reason why I never had more than two relaxers: I never once lost hair to dryness from those two processes, whereas I combed both relaxers out onto the bathroom floor within a matter of months. I plan to be unprocessed from now on, but if I were to backslide, it would be back to the texturizer, because the ones I used were made from the same chemicals as Jheri curls but I don’t have to use perm rods, and I know to treat it like a Jheri curl: Moisture every day, and plenty of it.
I just re-read what I wrote, and please forgive me if I seem to imply that I’m the only one who ever had a Jheri curl. That’s very far from the case! But I’m speaking for myself when I say that I don’t regularly see that many responses from long-term Jheri curlies or texturizers, and I was both of those. I see, though, that quite a few others have commented here, and I’d love to hear from a lot more :-).
When i first bc’ed about 6 years ago i used Stay-soft-fro. My hair grew soooo much!!!!! As it grew longer i started using softee curl activator because i found myself using the WHOLE tube of stay-soft-fro. Later on i started use Wave Neuveau. My hair loved these products as it stayed moisturized for days!!! the only thing i hated was the build up.
I think i’m going to have to back to using these products and stop experimenting with new ones….my mop is suffering….. o_O
Hi again! The “juice” leaves my hair a bit oily if I glutton on it just for day #1, after that, anyone can grab my curls w/out me cringing, ha ha! (Folks always wanna touch it for whatever reason). Here is a picture if it helps; I do it in a twist out w/shea & that’s it….
[img]https://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/scurlshea2yrs.jpg[/img]
Beautiful hair! So what’s your application routine? Spray with S-Curl and then seal with shea butter and twist?
Thank you so much! You hit the nail on the head exactly: SCurl (no water, just start spritzing), seal w/the butter then twist. My hair loves it, my ends don’t need trimming & are very happy! 🙂
One time I omitted it accidentally from my routine & my hair rebelled! I only recently replaced ECO Gel w/the Shea Butter with better results.
The Frizzness
thefrizzness.blogspot.com
GORGEOUS GORGEOUS HAIR!! I would love to know a little more about your process. Do you apply the SCurl to wet/damp hair? Im pretty new to the world of being natural and so when you say “seal” with shea butter, what exactly do you mean? Do you simply rub/spray in the SCurl (I believe it comes in moisturiser form as well as spray form) and then after, rub in the shea butter? In addition, you mentioned using castor oil on your blog, at which stage does this come in?
I have said I’d try that stuff, but I haven’t. Next time I need product, I will buy some. I wonder if it is better than glycerin-water-oil mix.
I totally admit embarrassment keeps me from trying them but I think I will get some and put it in another bottle. lol
thats funny that you post this about the jerri curl juice lol, cause i was just in Sallys last night and said i wanted to try it…i thought this is probably really good for natural hair…but i just brought 2 new Mazani products and i really need to finish this stuff i have before i buy anything new at all…right now i am a recovering product junkie and i refuse to buy anything until i finish what i have. But this that is next on my list
I read the Cathy Howse book and she raves about the effect of Jheri curl products to grow hair.
I don’t use the Jheri curl spray as I can make it myself. My hair loves that, Kimmay’s leave in and beeswax.
I like the tip about using it on soaking wet hair, I’ll give it a try.
How do you ladies use it? On your ends? On your entire head? As a moisturizer when you do your twists? Always looking for tried and true ways to lock in moisture.
All of the above, Tomi, depending on the consistency of the product—or you can experiment with a few and see what works for you. One time, my hair freaked out from something I did to it, and for whatever reason, the Stay-Sof-Fro that I was using at the time had something to do with it. So, to finish up the bottle, I just used it as a finishing spray, spritzing over my finished style lightly and letting it sit. It worked very well that way. My hair is very porous, so if I were using those products now, I’d be applying them all over my hair.
I used Softee activator gel and I must say this is the ONLY stuff that moisturise my hair for days ! mY hAIR IS NOT GREASY , it’s soft contrary to others so called “natural moisturizers”.
I decided to let my soul glow sista XD!
My hair loves glycerin based products and s-curl is one of them.
Wow – I feel like I should have known this by now given that so many other people have tried it. Thanks for sharing! I might give it a try…
never had one, but i do know no matter what i try my hair hates glycerin products
Wow, someone like me. My hair becomes one big knot with glycerin products.
I cant stand the way it feels on my hands or hair
I have tried “activator” as it has been called back in the day..it made my hair super greasy,lots of shrinkage, and it looked just like a jherri curl because I have a coily pattern in my type 4 hair. It was awful. I’m not really into the whole curly hair look..especially if it looks wet.
Yessiree!
I used Elasta QP moisturizer AND spray when I had a texurizer. Glossy curls for days! The secret is to use it on WET hair, then let it dry. No greasiness that way. I’d use the Fantasia gel on top of that for hold.
I still keep Elasta on hand, but I like Curlz Creme Brulee–it’s cheap and available at target. I may go back to the jheri juice after this thread. I am trying desperately trying to retain growth and moisture!
[img]https://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/DSC2519.jpg[/img]
Well I had a jheri curl as a child and that mess traumatized me. LOL. I remember doing somersaults on the gym mats and everybody knew when I had taken my turn cause there was a big ol grease spot on the mat!!! I recently bought some olive oil gel that smelled like activator gel and I gave it to my sister. I shall not walk around smelling like Soul Glo ever again!
@ MissD, girl you are taking me back w/the grease spot…lol! I remember I was one of a few black girls that had the jheri curl in junior high in the San Fernando Valley in 1983 and it seemed that I was picked to be the jheri curl expert from all the questions I got from everyone but I don’t think it will be as traumatic as it was back then. Since I am natural now, I will just use a little of the product instead of saturating my hair. I will definitely not be a Soul Glo representative.
LOL’ing loudly at the gym mat story!!! i’ve been there girl! embarrassing at the time, but soooo funny now!!!
I can’t stop laughing at the picture of the grease spot on the mat! I had a jheri curl too so I left more than my fair share of grease spots all over the place! Thanks for taking me back!
I luvs me some jerry curl juice!!! When I was relaxed I used it for unbelievable twist outs. Now as a natural it gives my hair lots of moisture!!
I used an activator for moisture after I first transitioned. I mix World of Curls Activator mixed with olive oil to lessen the crunchiness of I.C. Lites gel.
My bf uses S curl on his hair. I mocked him at first, but it really makes his curls clump and look so perfect. I use it in a pinch to moisturize my hair.
I have been using this stuff for awhile. Even when I had a relaxer I used it, and retained more length than ever. The ony issue I have with it, an all glycerin type products is that when I want to straighten my hair….it refuses to stay straight. Maybe I just need to clarify reallt well afterwards?
SCurl works for me. I was in Target and looked at the ingredients for a well known product that had water, glycerin….it was $10.99. Went to the good ‘ol “black hair product” area and got my SCurl activator with water and glycerin….for what I believe was no more than $5. When I have been picking products lately, glycerin is the key word for me.
I think there is a lot of looks from people, because if you lived through the jheri curl generation, lets just say it was traumatic LOL. But with our hair in its natural state, the effect of the juice is totally different.
I admit I had a jheri curl back in the day and I hated the greasy residue, the extreme “wet” look, and wearing the plastic bag on my head at night. Yes, those were the days but my hair did grow a lot from having that hair style. I have been natural now for 15 months now and I have been looking for products to keep my hair moisturized. I think I will have to give the S-Curl or Long Aid activator a try again to see if that will work for me. I’m willing to do anything to get my length back.
My mom uses it, and loves it (she is natural). I have a very sensitive nose, and I can’t smell it all that much when around her.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOL @ the picture of Randy Watson
Jheri Curl juice???? No! Hell, NO!!!! LOL
I’ve never used it, but I’ll definitely check it out.
{Will it let my soul glo? ;3}
I have used Smooth and Shine curl activator as well as Long Aid curl activator and both have been good to my hair….
These are the same two that I used in the last 2 years. My hair grew tremendously without much breakage at all. I do regularly clip my ends too, but I love using them.
Is it greasy? I had a Jheri Curl back in the day as well. I loved how thick my hair got but I hated the greasy residue.
I apply care free gold when my hair is soaking wet or damp and I never get greasy hair. When my hair dries it is very moisturized and soft to the touch.
I used wave neauvu (sp) and while it is moisturizing it also gives me build up and dry second day hair. I will compare ingredients next time I go stock up.
I used S-curl when I first BC’d and it worked pretty well. I stopped using it in replace of just conditioner since I need the thick stuff to really moisturize my hair. When I learned that glycerin made S-curl work so well, I added it to my conditioner (along with some aloe vera juice).
Yep I have tried that product in both the regular and lite version of it as well both worked nice. However I like Hawaiian 14-1 n Carefree Curl the best, and the afro spray cant remember who makes it that’s good as well.
I thought I was the only one, LOL. I just decided to experiment with this one day, and I loved it. It makes my hair very soft and shiny. Like Ry, I also have to use quite a bit of product to get my entire head lightly saturated, but I’m careful to not overdo it. I found that using it every 1-2 days is enough.
I like care free curl gold instant activator for my wash and gos. It clumps my curls and keeps my hair moisturized all day long. The smell isn’t the best, so sometimes I spray some Hawaaiian Silky 14-n-1 Miracle Worker (another glycerin based product) which masks the care free gold smell.
What are the main ingredients? Also is it greasy and drippy like Jheri curls are known for?
The drippiness of Jheri curl moisturizers/activators is due to the user being heavy-handed with the product. Nothing more. Some do build up; for me, the worst build-up offender is Stay-Sof-Fro in the brown bottle. But you can’t beat it for moisturization, which is why, as much as I disliked it, I often found myself returning to it before I discovered the wonders of vegetable glycerin, which I have paired in generous quantities with nearly everything else I’ve used in my hair in the last two years. S-Curl and Right On Curl are more lotiony, so you may like them better. They moisturize pretty well, too.
If I remember correctly, Stay-Sof-Fro contains a mix of moisturizers and proteins, including hydrolized wheat protein, and I think there are a few botanicals in there as well.
I swear by SCurl Activator….my coils love it! It’s helped me to retain moisture for days on end without applying more product, which saves on my pennies! I paired it with regular Shea Butter & my strands couldn’t be happier. I was apprehensive as well, however once I accidentally omitted it from my reggie, my hair choked & was DRY, DRY, DRY! Now it’s a staple. 🙂
thefrizzness.blogspot.com
used to use sof n free curl activator, to great results. only dropped it when i decided to go for more natural products.
I love care free curl gold hair and scalp spray. It made a big difference in how my hair felt!
I totally co-sign the care free curl gold! I used it back in my JC days & for a period while natural. I kinda forgot about it til this post! to the drugstore I go!
Love S-Curl
I haven’t tried Jheri Curl Juice but I do love glycerin-containing hair products (Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque, Alba Botanica Leave-In Conditoner, DIY water/aloe vera gel/vegetable glycerin spritz) because they moisturize very well.
Glycerin has also been shown to prevent premature breakage in natural hair.
SOURCES:
https://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2010/03/moisture-issue-glycerin-is-your-friend.html
https://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1985/cc036n01/p00039-p00052.pdf
P.S. Jheri Curl Juice products contain glycerin as the main ingredient.
I’ve been using J-curl juice to moisturize my hair for almost 2 years now. When ppl ask me what I use to keep my hair from drying out and I tell them – I get a funny look. I’ve shrugged it off and I keep my secret to my self now. Sounds mean but the funny looks are rude.
@hehe: the bottles have screw tops so you can open one up and take a whiff. It doesn’t smell like anything to me.
How does it smell? I hate how most drugstore black hair care products smell so I’m a little apprehensive about this.
Yup I got the idea of using S-curl from the girls over at LHCF. And it’s pretty good. I have to spray a lot to get my hair saturated with it but it makes my make hair super smooth and it makes the curls clump which is very helpful when I’m braiding
I used Lustrasilk Right On and couldn’t find it called company, changed to Lustrasilk Curl Max bought it at Dollar General.