Shea Moisture Vs Not Your Mother’s? Which brand is better for curly hair? Find out in the comparison between ingredients and formula!
Embark on a journey through the world of hair care as we put two beloved brands head-to-head: Shea Moisture vs. Not Your Mother’s. Both are celebrated for their nurturing ingredients and commitment to hair health, but how do they stack up against each other?
In this comprehensive comparison, we’ll dive deep into their product lines, ingredients, effectiveness, and overall value to help you decide which brand best suits your hair’s unique needs.
Whether you’re seeking hydration, volume, or curl definition, join us as we unravel the nuances that could make all the difference in your hair care routine.
Is SheaMoisture or Not Your Mother’s better for curly hair?
For curly hair, SheaMoisture is often considered the better choice due to its extensive range of products specifically formulated for different types of curls and concerns. Their products are rich in natural ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil, which are excellent for nourishing and defining curls. Not Your Mother’s also offers quality products for curly hair, but SheaMoisture’s focus on hydration and reparative properties tends to be particularly beneficial for the unique needs of curly hair, providing deep moisture, reducing frizz, and enhancing curl patterns. Always consider your hair’s specific needs and personal preferences when choosing a brand.
About SheaMoisture Hair Care
Richelieu Dennis and Nyema Tubman, two Liberian immigrants residing in America, founded SheaMoisture in 1991. Dennis’s grandmother Sofi Tucker, was an African lady who traded moisturizer made of shea butter in Sierra Leone, serving as the model for the brand’s name.
This business strongly believes in ingredients which have been sourced responsibly through ethical and fair-trade means. It is also devoted to being cruelty-free.
They also give back to the community a lot and have a terrific CSR programme that supports scholarships for the black community in the USA as well as the well-being, education, and progress of children in the more undeveloped regions of the world.
Unilever is the brand’s current owner.
About Not Your Mother’s Hair Care Products
Not Your Mother’s Hair Care products is a homegrown brand that was started in Tampa Bay, Florida. The motto of this company is to create hair care products that are clean, natural and vegan.
All products from Not Your Mother’s are cruelty free and do not contain any animal derived ingredients. They’ve also got the “leaping bunny” certification to prove it.
I was intrigued by this brand as they are committed to clean living. So they don’t use any sort of chemicals like surfactants, perfumes, preservatives, alcohol, etc. in their products.
Shea Moisture Vs Not Your Mother’s
Is It Black Owned?
No. Neither SheaMoisture nor Not Your Mother’s is a black-owned brand at the moment.
Ingredients And Formula
The ingredients used in both the Shea Moisture and Not Your Mother’s products are all safe, natural and gentle.
Shea Moisture goes a step further and sources all ingredients through ethical, fair-trade means. And they also do not use added perfumes in their products relying on a blend of essential oils for fragrances instead.
However, Not Your Mother’s products do use perfumes and fragrances.
Another big difference between their formulas is that Not Your Mother’s uses vegan ingredients while you can find ingredients like Manuka honey in SheaMoisture products.
Range of Products and Product Lines
The chief difference between Not Your Mother and SheaMoisture is that the former caters to ALL hair types including straight, wavy and curly hair while SheaMoisture focuses exclusively on African American hair.
There are a few products for colored hair like SheaMoisture’s Purple Rice Water Shampoo for toning blonde type 4 hair but Not Your Mother’s has got the entire Blond Moment collection. Similarly Shea Moisture focuses on healing specific issues with curly/coily hair while Not Your Mother focuses on different hair types and textures.
Pricing
Definitely, Not Your Mother’s products are more expensive than Shea Moisture. Some of their products are even twice as expensive. I guess this is because Not Your Mother’s is still a smaller corporation and doesn’t mass produce or source ingredients like Shea Moisture does.
However, apart from being vegan, there’s nothing distinguishing them from SheaMoisture that makes their hefty price tag reasonable.
Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie Vs Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Defining Cream
I had used Shea Moisture previously but it was my first time using this particular product. And it was my first time using anything by Not Your Mother’s at all!
I had used the shampoo from Shea Moisture’s Coconut Curl line and absolutely loved it. So I was excited to try this one out. And honestly I was not disappointed.
The Curl Enhancing Smoothie is very moisturizing but it didn’t feel heavy on my curls at all. I checked the ingredients and the base is water with glycerin and cetearyl alcohol as two next components.
Now both of these are absolutely amazing at hydrating your tresses as they are humectants (substances that attract moisture.
But their formula is still thick and rich (hence the name “smoothie”) and spreads nicely through my tresses.
In contrast, I think the Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk cream was definitely more lightweight than the SheaMoisture one but it felt more sticky when applied.
The main difference between the two products that I noticed is that the Coconut Curl Enhancing Smoothie is more like a leave-in hair cream that offers some hold to give you curl definition. However, the Curl Talk Cream contains ingredients like rice protein, etc. that actually give a better hold and define your curls more.
Coming to the pricing. I think out of both the products SheaMoisture was the more affordable one. I bought the Curl Enhancing Cream for $15 online on a sale where the list price was $20 and this was for a 13 fl. Oz pack. However, the Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Cream I purchased at $26 for a 9 fl. Oz tube.
I don’t think there’s anything special in the Curl Talk Cream that justifies the price. In fact, it contains added perfumes unlike the Shea Moisture curl cream which contains a blend of essential oils as fragrance.
To sum it up, I think the Shea Moisture one is definitely the better product out of the two and is also more affordable. However, it works more like a moisturizer than a curl enhancer. It’s still better for people with sensitive scalp skin or issues like eczema as it’s perfume-free.
You can use the Curl Talk Cream if you have thick, type 3 hair and need something to define curls and hold them in place rather than moisturize them.
Why You Should Trust Haireveryday?
The author of this article, Leah Marie Priest has a degree in Cosmetology with years of experience in dealing with hair care, scalp care, and hairstyling. As someone who extensively deals with all kinds of hair textures, products, styling methods and more, hair Leah Marie knows what kind of products and procedures suit each hair type and person. We have also tested these hair products and processes ourselves to provide you an unbiased review about every product. Each of our articles are also reviewed by a team of medical professionals so that you get the most accurate and expert-reviewed information.
FAQs about Shea Moisture Vs Not Your Mother’s
What is the best line from Shea Moisture?
All products from SheaMoisture are amazing for your hair. But personally I suggest going for the Coconut & Hibiscus line of products if you have type 3 curly hair and the Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore line if you have coily type 4 hair. There’s also the Manuka Honey and Mafura Oil that absolutely brings back life into parched, damaged coily hair and is one of my favorites.
Is Shea Moisture only for black hair?
No, not at all. SheaMoisture products are made for all type 3 and type 4 hair types. Yes, these hair textures are mostly found in black people but some individuals of other ethnicities can have them (especially type 3a, b and c curls) so it’s not all for black people.
Does Not Your Mother use sulfates?
No Not Your Mother’s shampoos are very gentle and do not contain either Sodium Laureth
Sulfate or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. They are also free of other harsh chemical surfactants and only use natural coconut-derived ones.
Does Not Your Mother’s have parabens?
No. Not Your Mother’s products do not contain parabens at all. Parabens were originally used as preservatives but recently they have been found to disrupt endocrine function so a lot of cosmetics and beauty products are foregoing its use. Not Your Mother’s hair products do not contain sulfates, phthalates, mineral oils, or perfumes either.
Summary on Shea Moisture Vs Not Your Mother’s
In summary, both Shea Moisture and Not Your Mother’s have an excellent range of hair care products that contain mild, natural ingredients.
Not Your Mother’s has a lot of stuff for all hair types like straight, wavy, curly and coily while Shea Moisture focuses mainly on curly and African American hair textures.
When it comes to price, Shea Moisture is cheaper and is easily available at any drugstore while Not Your Mother’s is a more expensive and a more niche brand.
They both use sulfate-free, paraben-free formulas but SheaMoisture goes a step further to use only ethically sourced ingredients and fragrances from natural sources.
However, SheaMoisture is not a vegan brand despite not testing on animals while Not Your Mother’s is both vegan and cruelty-free.
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Is Shea Moisture Coconut And Hibiscus Good For Low Porosity Hair
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Love Beauty And Planet Vs Hair Food Shampoo
To Summarize