I Tried a Kinky Curly Wash and Go and it was ... Just OK?!!!!!

Yeah. I liked some of the products individually, but as a system for wash and goes, this was a bit underwhelming. My wonderful sis A got me the Kinky Curly Knot Today (KCKT) and the Kinky Curly Curling Custard (KCCC) for my earthstrong and I decided to go ahead and get their Come Clean Shampoo as well so I can try it as a system as they say you should do. I have imitated their wash and go technique for a while, you can see my last documented try here using other products, but this is my first time using Kinky Curly products, mainly because I'm cheap. lol. Turns out I haven't really been missing out on anything. Now that I have tried it I can say definitively you can get the same and probably even BETTER results using a leave in of your choice and some IC Fantasia or any other curl activating gel of your choosing.

I had my hair in about 11 braids and I used the Come Clean shampoo and washed my hair with the braids in. I really like the shampoo, it gets your hair very clean but also doesn't leave it feeling dried and stripped or like hay as I like to describe it. It's a great clarifying shampoo so maybe I'll purchase it again but at the rate I use shampoos that's not going to be anytime soon. Once I rinsed the shampoo out, I did a cold ACV rinse.

On the Kinky Curly site they recommend that you apply the styling products to soaking wet hair, so I got out of the shower and headed to the sink. There I took down one braid at a time, starting in the back, soaked it good with my water bottle and used my fingers to remove shed strands and do some detangling. 

Section freshly washed, no product

I then took  1/2 tbs of the KCKT and applied it to the section. I detangled with my comb and then did a final pass with my tangle teezer, hoping to get an effect similar to what a denman would do but that didn't happen so this step was probably unnecessary in addition to dangerous. 

Same section, KCKT added, combed and 1 pass of TT

I then applied a 1/2 tbs of the KCCC, smoothing my fingers down around my clumps of curls and then finally clasping my palms around the section and smoothing from roots to ends. I then loosely twisted each section to 1.5 inches from the end  to keep it out of the way. 

Section twisted after smoothing with KCCC

Once all sections were complete, I unraveled the twists and let my hair airdry. The entire application process took a little less than an hour and it didn't require that much product, a little can go a ways if you can get more than a couple days wear out of this hairstyle.

The Final Result

Closeup

Compare to the pic up top to see how much product I used, which isn't that much considering how long and thick my hair is

I must say I loved the KCKT. I see what everybody has been raving about, this thing was a dream as a detangler, it smelled wonderful and even on its own it made my curls sing. I am looking forward to using it as a base in my homemade leave-in. I can probably make a better judgement with more uses but I think this is something I may buy more of in the future. I want to do a direct comparison with my Giovanni Direct leave-in first before I make a final decision. 

The KCCC, at first seemed like a banger. My curls immediately popped when I smoothed it on my hair and I got some serious hangtime for like 2 secs but the amount of shrinkage I got was something else. I don't know why I had it in my mind that I would get less shrinkage with this product but I actually got more than when I use my gels like IC Fantasia. It gave me great curl definition in some areas but in a lot of areas it did nothing, especially the front and crown of my hair. To be fair, the curls at the back of my head are looser but I know I can get curl definition even in the front of my hair because I have seen it many times before with way cheaper products. The KCCC also made my hair hard which I didn't like at all. 

The deal breaker was that there is not enough hold, by the second day my hair was already starting to flop. My curls in the back were still good but the front of my hair looked like my naked hair lol. I get at least 5 days wear with my gels so this was unacceptable for such an expensive product. 

Second day hair. No mam. Not even my 5th day hair with gels look like this

2nd day curls at the back of my head still looking good though.  Loving the shine

I still have a little less than 3/4 the jar left so I'll use it again and see what happens but as of right now, I probably won't be buying this again. I think it is great for ppl with 3 something - 4a hair but beyond that it seems to be pushing it. On a positive note, the smell is divine, the product is light, non-sticky and not greasy and even though the individual clumps of curls feel hard to touch, your hair still feels light and has lots of movement. Your hair doesn't feel dry and there is no flaking or buildup. 

Last night I grabbed sections of my hair and two strand twisted it without adding any product or moisture to see if I can stretch it out and salvage 3rd and beyond day hair. I'll update with pics later.