While doing my Christina's Choice 2014 roundup of products, I noticed that I was sorely lacking in the product reviews for leave-in conditioners department. And it's not because I don't use them (I use them tons), I just get so enamored with deep conditioners and curl definers that leave-ins kinda become that oft overlooked middle child.

No more, I say! Leave-ins deserve a lot more credit from me, especially Ouidad's Curl Recovery Whipped Curls Daily Conditioner and Styling Primer.

Allow me to explain.

I first encountered Whipped Curls last year in April, when I got put on to do the Ouidad Frizz 101 Hangout. For my participation, the lovely folks at Ouidad let me pick out quite literally whatever I wanted (a PJ's dream). Among a host of other products, I selected Whipped Curls. After that one canister, I was hooked. And hooked I shall remain, because I found out that Whipped Curls can do a lot more than I thought it could. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me just throw a full disclaimer out there: I have yet to pay for a canister of Whipped Curls. Before I could run out of my original canister, Ouidad was gracious enough to send me two more canisters along with the products they sent to sponsor the Nurture Your Natural Brunch back in December. I say that to be forthright with you all. This is in no way a sponsored review, Ouidad is not paying me, and the fact that the product was free does not impact how this review is articulated. In fact, after my two canisters run out, I'll be buying more Whipped Curls, because I love it that much.

We straight now? Good. Let's get rolling.

Availability: Shop for Whipped Curls here, or at your local Ulta store.

Affordability: At $26 for 8.5oz, it's up there in price with products from Miss Jessie's and Deva Curl. Definitely not on the affordable end of the spectrum, but I do find some comfort in the fact that this is one of those products where a little bit goes a very long way.

Ingredient List: Water/Aqua/Eau, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Esters, Polyquaternium-37, Lanolin, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Panthenyl Hydroxypropyl Steardimonium Chloride, Amodimethicone, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ceteareth-20, Lauryl Glucoside, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Benzophenone-4, Trideceth-12, Cetrimonium Chloride, Butylene Glycol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, DMDM Hydantoin, Triethanolamine, Benzyl Salicylate, Fragrance/Parfum

Top Ingredients 411:

• Cetearyl Alcohol: Considered "fatty alcohol" -- NOT to be confused with drying alcohols such as ethyl. Acts as a lubricant, thickener, and emollient. Gives conditioner its velvety feel without making hair greasy. Also used to keep product ingredients from separating.
• Glycerin: Vegetable-based humectant that attracts moisture from the air to the hair shaft.
• Behentrimonium Chloride: Quaternary ammonium compound and close cousin of cetrimonium chloride. Also penetrates the hair, conditions, and acts as an anti-static and anti-microbial agent.
• Cetyl Esters: A blend of vegetable-based saturated fatty alcohols and fatty acids that thicken, condition, and improve the feel of the product (adding richness) without weighing the hair down.
• Polyquaternium-37: A member of the polyquaternium group (known as polyquats for short) that is widely used in conditioning products for its ability to condition and volumize the hair. It is positively charged, and therefore bonds ionically to the hair, providing conditioning, ease of combability, elasticity, shine, and alignment of hair (in this case, curl clumping)

Product Claim/Description:

Curl close-up

Whipped Curls is a thick, dense daily conditioner that's so luxurious, it delights at first touch. Its rich, sensorial texture glides on hair and envelopes curls in deeply hydrating nutrients to elevate the moisture factor within the cuticle. Our triple Olive Oil  blend combined with Shea Butter and Glycerin deeply moisturize, nourish, and strengthen curls while smoothing frizz and enhancing shine. As a "styling primer" its lavish, silky formula creates the perfect canvas by re-establishing your natural curl pattern for easy styling with any gel or cream. Green Tea Extract provides antioxidant and environmental protection to maintain luscious, healthy-looking, head-turning curls all day long. This dual-purpose formula is great for all curls, especially those experiencing dryness, frizz, and breakage.

Performance/Delivery:
The Ouidad team certainly has some marketing geniuses in their corner, because that is one of the most lavish product descriptions I've ever read or typed in my life. So let's go claim-for-claim and validate or de-bunk, shall we?

• It's a thick, dense daily conditioner that's luxurious and delights. Yes. One of the things I love about Whipped Curls is how thick it is. It's almost like conditioner concentrate. 
• It glides on the hair, enveloping curls in deeply hydrating nutrients and elevates the moisture factor within the cuticle. Yes, it does -- but we don't need fancy marketing speak to figure that out. As a water-based conditioner with fatty alcohols, oils, butters, proteins, and extracts, it can and does most certainly hydrate the hair and elevates the moisture content within the cuticle. That's what any good conditioner does. 
• The blend of oils, butter, and glycerin moisturizes, nourishes, strengthens, while smoothing frizz and enhancing shine. We all know how good those 3 are for our curls, no secrets here. However, they're not in the top 5 ingredients (except glycerin), so I can''t say with certainty that they are having that much of an impact on the hair.
• Creates the perfect canvas by re-establishing your natural curl pattern. Although I wouldn't quite word it like this myself, I have to say yes, and more yes. One of the biggest advantages Whipped Curls has over many other leave-in conditioners is that it truly does help set your curls without frizz. Every single time I use Whipped Curls, my curls clump and behave better with little to no frizz. 
• Green Tea Extract claims: I'm on the fence. I do know that Green Tea Extract serves that function in hair products, but I'm not sure at what concentration it needs to be in a product in order to be rendered effective. We'll just give them half credit on this one.
• Great for all curls, especially those with dryness, frizz, and breakage. Yes, my goodness, yes. Especially for dry hair. Whipped Curls provides a truly moisturizing foundation for styling. 

The thickness!

 Now that we're done playing de-code the marketing speak, let's talk a little bit about how I really feel about Whipped Curls: I LOVE IT! It's incredibly thick and dense, and when I say a little goes a long way, I mean it. I've used it for months as a leave-in conditioner under my styling products, and it truly does create a perfect base for curls to be styled. In all honesty, I never used it as a daily conditioner, because it works so well as a leave-in. What really put me over the moon with Whipped Curls is that I found out it can hold its own weight as a styling conditioner.

On my most recent wash day (while doing a mud rinse), I found myself being lazy and not really feeling like dealing with curl definers, raking, shaking and carrying on. So I decided that I was just going to rinse most of the Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner out of my hair, and apply a palmful of Ouidad Whipped Curls on top. The running shower water helped me work the super dense conditioner through my hair, and after I got out of the shower I was shocked! My curls looked so polite and well-behaved. I almost looked back at the camera like, who's hair is this?

As my curls air dried, I noticed that they were remaining clumped, virtually frizz free, and very well defined. Did Whipped Curls just whip my curls into shape, forreal? Quiet as kept, with more hold than some curl definers I've used? In short, yes, it did. And it only took a small palm of conditioner to do it. What shocked me more is that the curls lasted. Through my workouts, through day 3. That is a miracle in and of itself, because my conditioner-only curls don't ever make it to day 2, let alone 3. Equally as impressive is that I did not need to moisturize my hair whatsoever. Whipped Curls kept it hydrated, soft, and shiny with zero need for product re-application.

The perfect curl canvas? YASSSSSSS!

By the way, the fragrance is floral and perfumey, and slightly sweet. I actually quite like it. It's not overbearing, but does linger in the hair on the first day (I personally don't mind). As long as it isn't giving me headaches, making me nauseous, or triggering my allergies, I'm good. Whipped Curls isn't super slippy, but it does have enough slip when used with water. When it dilutes with water from a spray bottle or running water, it coats the hair beautifully and has enough slip to easily work it through any tangles.

The container is cute, but not cost-effective.

Drawbacks: I have a love-hate relationship with the container Whipped Curls comes in. Another part of the Ouidad marketing machine's genius is that Whipped Curls is sold in a whipped cream canister, complete with the whipped cream style piping tip. It makes for a very cute presentation, and a clever dispensing mechanism. Where my love affair ends is when the product runs out. The bargainista in me wants to get every single last drop of product, especially one as expensive as this. But because the conditioner comes in a pressurized canister, puncturing, cutting, or otherwise scraping the insides clean is out of the question. I'm not willing to lose an eye or finger behind a few drops of conditioner. #nahimgood

Bonuses: Not only am I in love with the richness of Whipped Curls, I am completely enamored with how well it held and defined my curls. And with so little product, at that! I literally used a small palmful -- a little more than what's on top of the cap in the picture above. By comparison, I had to use over half a jar of Shea Moisture Superfruit Renewal to define my curls.


Bottom Line: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. If you feel like your current leave-in leaves much to be desired, Ouidad Whipped Curls is definitely a product I'd encourage you to consider. It is by far one of the most moisturizing leave-ins I have encountered. For me, it really helps set the standard for what leave-in conditioners should do -- intensely hydrate, retain moisture, and set the foundation for epic curl poppage. It's far from all-natural, but for me, that's okay. Conditioners by nature aren't all natural -- the fatty alcohols, polymers, and other sciency-bits are what makes them work. As I type this review, I'm at the end of day 3 and my curls are incredibly defined, soft, plump, and still moisturized with tons of body. No wonder it made Christina's Choice 2014 for Leave-In Conditioners -- and it will likely be on the list in 2015.

Best Practices: Use with water for easiest application. Whipped Curls truly is like conditioner concentrate, and it works best when water is added in the equation. You don't need to use half the canister on one application, so really do apply it with water to get the most use and best coverage. Also, do not apply it to dry hair.

Overall Product Rating: 4.5 stars. I want to give it 5 stars for stellar performance, but the bargain-hunter in me couldn't do it. But these curls though? #CantArgueWithThat