Review: ApHogee Curlific Moisture Rich Leave-In Conditioner [Part 3]

Making my way down the list of ApHogee Curlific products! So far, I've dug into the Textured Hair Wash and Texture Treatment. Now, let's get the goods on the leave-in conditioner!


Ingredient List:
Water (Aqua, Eau), Cetearyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil, Sodium PCA, Keratin Amino Acids, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Silicone Quaternium-22, Dimethicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-3 Caprate, Quaternium-80, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, C11-15 Pareth-7, C12-16 Pareth-9, Trideceth-12, Sodium Chloride, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance (Parfum)

Ingredient Analysis:

• Cetearyl Alcohol: Mixture of cetyl and stearyl fatty alcohols. Acts as a lubricant and serves as a thickener and emollient. Gives conditioner its velvety feel without making hair greasy. 
• Tocopheryl Acetate: Vitamin E. Supports hair growth, and believed to assist in preventing hair loss. Also has been known to be a proven UV protectant.
• Hydrolyzed Quinoa: Protein of quinoa grain that is made smaller through an enzymatic process. Quinoa protein is similar in makeup to animal protein, because of the amino acid profile. These aminos penetrate and nourish hair, providing smoothness, softness, hydration, sheen, and form a protective barrier against environmental stresses around the hair.
• Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter: Emollient fat from the nut of the East or West African shea nut tree used to moisturize and soften hair.
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol: Vegetable protein that absorbs more easily into the hair shaft [than animal protein] and does not create build-up, leaves the hair very shiny, radiant, luxuriant, and healthy, combined with a hair conditioning polymer used to create a hair strengthening complex. It penetrates the shaft to increase moisture content and plasticity of hair, while coating the hair to lubricate and reinforce the cuticle.
• Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil: Buriti oil, extracted from the pulp of Mauritia Flexuosa. It has oleic acid in its composition that can restore the natural oils to hair. Besides this fatty acid, Buriti is a fruit that contains a large amount of Vitamin A. As a natural protector, Buriti oil protects the hair from damage caused by UV rays.

Availability: Much like the rest of the Curlific line, I've only seen the Leave-In at Sally's.

Affordability: Of course, this was a part of my BOGO Sally's haul (and boy, was it a HAUL) but it is reasonably priced at $10.49 for an 8oz spray bottle ($1 cheaper if you are a Sally Beauty Club member, $2 cheaper if you are a member purchasing online). Again, this falls within that $8 - $12 range that most natural hair products rest in. Not dirt cheap, but not unreasonable either.

Product Claim/Description: Seals & Protects. Detangles. Lasting Thermal Protection. Snarls and tangles are a challenge on any head, but textured hair can be the toughest! The oval shape of curly strands can "interlock" like no other and are also more prone to dryness. Curlific Moisture Rich Leave-In solves both problems. Easy to use on wet or dry hair, it enhances the look and feel of your hair and helps eliminate the styling challenge!

Performance/Delivery: Well, well, well. It just so happens that I have been on a SERIOUS hunt for a no-fail deep conditioner. I love my Koils By Nature Moisturizing Shealoe Leave-In, but sometimes it doesn't play well with styling products. I tried Paul Mitchell The Conditioner - very middle of the road. AG Fast Food Leave-On was promised to be like crack, but I couldn't discern that it worked any better or worse than a less expensive offering. I purchased some Karen's Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia Leave-In Conditioner, and yeah...more on that later. Enter: Curlific Leave-In. I was fascinated by this leave-in conditioner in a spray bottle, because most leave-ins tend to be in a squeeze bottle. And if they are a spray, they are pure water-based liquid. Not this stuff. Curlific Moisture Rich Leave-In looks like a watered-down version of Kinky Curly Knot Today, but feels and smells (thank God) nothing like it. It is creamy, smooth, and light -- and has the same perfumesque fragrance as the other products in the line.

Can I gush on how much I really like this leave-in for a minute? The second it makes contact with my hair, it is almost like my hair sucks it in like" yummmmmmm!" It is lightweight, doesn't interfere with any of the products I've layered it with (moisturizers AND stylers), has great slip/works through the hair easily, and makes my hair feel moisturized and strong without being super weighed down. That's a mouthful, but all of those things are really important for me in selecting a good leave-in conditioner. I love how awesome it works as a base product!!! As we all know, proper moisture is the launching pad for an amazing style -- and I think I may have found another product to list in my 2014 must-haves!

Drawbacks: Honestly, I can't think of anything wrong with this leave-in. It is everything I expect from a leave-in conditioner! The only drawback I can find has nothing to do with the product itself - I think Curlific needs a moisturizer/sealer/buttercream product added to their line. As I discovered with my product isolation experiment, natural hair needs way more moisture than a leave-in and styling product only (more on that in another post). Wait, there is an ever so *slight* drawback. It is a pretty decent refresher spray (good, but not great), but don't rely on it to meet all of your moisture retention needs. Seal, seal, seal! And when in doubt, seal some more!

Bonuses: I'm going to nerd out for a second. I love, love, LOVE this ingredient list! Normally leave-in conditioners are saddled with like 2 fatty alcohols, a cationic surfactant or two, some silicones, and then the oils and stuff we like to see. Not this leave-in! The 3rd ingredient is Vitamin E, followed by quinoa protein! I am developing a slight obsession with quinoa protein, and I love what it is doing for my hair. The top ingredients in this product make it more than worth giving it a try.

Bottom Line: If you're in search of a decently priced and great working leave-in conditioner, I definitely say give ApHogee Curlific Moisture Rich Leave-In a try. There are leave-in conditioners that I've tried that cost double (or more) the money, and deliver half the results. Plus, as with everything I say about Sally's -- if you don't like it, return it!

Best Practices: I find that the leave-in works best on freshly washed, wet hair. I normally spray 10-12 pumps throughout each section of my hair (I wash my hair in 5 chunky sections), and do a rake-then-smooth combo to work it through my hair. I have also found that it works better sprayed directly onto the hair, as opposed to sprayed into the hands and worked through. Just a personal observation!

Overall Product Rating: 4.5 stars. I want to give it a perfect score, but something in me won't let that 5 stars eek out. More than likely how I felt about it as a refresher. It was good, but not great. This product definitely works best as a leave-in. Trust and believe that when I run out, I will be repurchasing! File that under must-have for 2014!