An Award-Winning Celeb Curl Specialist Reveals Her Favorite Natural Products For Black Hair (Exclusive)

No gel, shampoo, mask, or oil is a "one size fits all" miracle. Though a person with type 2A hair may be able to get away with using a vast range of goos and sprays, someone with type 4B hair, for instance, may have to work harder to find great products.

More brands dedicate themselves to Black hair than ever before, but finding natural and cruelty-free products with innovative formulations can still be an expensive and exhausting trek through the aisles.

In 2024, however, there are several options free of harsh chemicals.

"When it comes to products for both my curls and my clients' curls, ingredients are always going to be at the top of my list," celeb curl specialist, co-owner of Santa Barbara's Full Spiral Salon, and #ONESHOT Hair Awards winner Christin Brown exclusively tells Green Matters via email, clarifying that effective science can coexist with natural ingredients and animal kindness.

In an exclusive e-chat with Green Matters, Christin Brown — who's worked with celebrities like Wanda Sykes and Yara Shahidi — shared her favorite natural and cruelty-free products for Black hair. Read on for her go-to "triple combo" and a few other products adored by experts and natural hair aficionados.

Brown trusts the cleansing powers of the Kinky-Curly Come Clean Shampoo. The sulfate-free shampoo contains phytic acid (derived from soy and corn), mandarin orange extract, and sea kelp, making it an affordable option for dry and/or damaged hair.

Kinky-Curly is free of petroleum, silicones, plastics, mineral oil, acrylics, alcohol, wax, parabens, and carbomers. The brand also supports nonprofit Charity: Water, with a portion of each sale going toward well building efforts in developing countries.

Brown says the Kinky-Curly Knot Today Conditioner "is super soft and gently effective for all ages."

According to the brand, the leave-in herbal product is "designed to smooth the cuticle and remove knots, snarls, and tangles from thick, curly textured hair." Nourishing organic ingredients like mango fruit extract, marshmallow root, and lemongrass make Knot Today a curl-loving moisturizer.

The last product in Brown's triple combo is the Kinky-Curly Curling Custard, which she "can't live without." Via the humectant qualities of agave nectar, the Curling Custard acts as a natural hair moisturizer, curl definer, de-frizzer, and shine enhancer.

YouTuber AsAlwaysAleia gushed about the Twist-Elongating Style Cream by Melanin Haircare, a line started by fellow natural hair vlogger Whitney White. With natural butters like shea, mango, cocoa, kokum, and cupuacu, and oils like avocado, sweet almond, and argan, this lightweight cream will add moisture and definition to thirsty curls.

The Black women-owned company is entirely vegan and free of sulfates, parabens, mineral oil, formaldehyde, and phthalates.

Textured hairstylist Subrina Kidd told Glamour that she enjoys Aveda's Dry Remedy Daily Moisturizing Oil because "it's lightweight, absorbent, and moisturizing."

Just four to eight drops of the Certified B Corporation's 90 percent natural product — which stars organic buriti oil — will hydrate a full head of locks. Aveda is a vegan brand that utilizes green chemistry, wind and solar manufacturing, and post-consumer recycled PET packaging.

Afro-Latina natural hair influencer @itsdavianaa included the As I Am Jamaican Black Castor Oil Water on her list of curly hair products under $15. While the vegan castor oil-water spray claims to improve moisture and tensile strength and reduce breakage, Daviana personally loves the product for hair growth.

As I Am hopes to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and proudly donates $1 of every unit sold to a range of global causes, which you can see here.

The internet has hyped the Camille Rose Curlaide Moisture Butter, but TikTok's favorite cosmetic chemist, April Basi, reviewed it from a science perspective. After discussing nourishing ingredients like rice milk and coconut oil, Basi applauded the use of shea butter fruit oil instead of solidified shea butter, the latter of which can cause "white flakes" to appear in the hair.

The Black woman-founded "gourmet beauty brand" is planting 1,000 trees annually until 2030 as part of its collaboration with One Tree Planted.