As a NaturallyCurly Editor my curl regimen changes every week. When I started working here my consistent regimen of Aussie Moist and Infusium 23 opened up to a whole Product Junkie world. These days product is far-reaching in my home, from my bathroom to my closet and all the way to my kitchen cabinets, so when I find myself returning to a product time and time again, I know I’m onto something. Ever since I first tested the Amika Obliphica Curl Defining Cream it within arm’s reach in my bathroom, so I wanted to share my review with fellow wavies and curlies who love their curl creams.
My hair issues
Inconsistent – My curl pattern is Type 2c, but some days my waves lose their shape and appear more like frizzy straight hair, and some days they curl up into 3a ringlets. There’s no telling what my hair is going to do on a given day, so I need my products to help encourage my curls on their lazy days, and to give them definition on their curly days.
Color Treated – My hair has high porosity ever since I bleached and colored it last year. I have to take extra care choosing moisturizing products for my color treated hair than I did when it was virgin and healthy. If I’m not vigilant about moisturizing it regularly, it starts to look and feel like straw.
Coarse – It is a common misconception that looser curl patterns have finer hair, but that is not always true. The width of the hair can vary widely and in my case, I have coarse, wavy hair. This affects my choice of products because coarse hair is more prone to dryness and creams work better for me than lighter products. To know more about why width matters, read here.
Amika Obliphica Curl Defining Cream
Ingredient List
Aqua (Water”>, Mineral oil, Petrolatum, Cetearyl alcohol, Stearic acid, Cetyl alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Hippophae rhamnoides (Obliphica”> oil, Argania spinosa kernel oil, Polyquaterniu-7, Cetrimonium chloride, Triethanolamine, Fragrance, Panthenol, Sunset yellow.
Consistency
The Amika Curl Cream has the consistency of a lotion, and I use a quarter-sized amount on my whole head. It does not leave my hair feeling greasy the way other lotion-like curl creams do, and it does not take a lot of product to coat all of my hair and is easy to apply evenly.
Fragrance
Fragrance is very subjective (just ask the NaturallyCurly Editors!”> but in my opinion the Amika line has one of the best smelling fragrances on the market. It smells like a perfume that I would happily wear on its own, not too sweet and not too overpowering.
Second and third day curls
One of the primary reasons I like the Amika Curl Cream is that my curls look good on the second, third and fourth days. With many curly styling products I find that my hair may look great on the first day, but after sleeping on it they either get bent out of shape, start to go straight, or start to look greasy. This product does none of the above.
Reliable
I know that I put my hair through a lot, constantly testing new cleansers, conditioners, oils and stylers on a weekly basis. So it gives me peace of mind knowing that on days when I don’t have time to experiment, I can always rely on this curl cream to perform consistently without any extra cocktailing needed. If I know I need to take pictures for an article, this is the product I reach for in the morning.
How I use it
I apply this cream to my hair when it is freshly washed and after I have applied my leave-in conditioner. When I get out of the shower I typically spray a liquidy leave-in like Oyin Juices and Berries, ApHogee Moisture Rich Leave-In, or Obia’s Curl Hydration Spray all over my hair.
Then I take a quarter-sized amount of curl cream and rub it between my hands, then scrunch that through my hair pushing the ends of my hair up close to my roots. This helps my ends to curl instead of drying straight.
At this point my hair is likely dripping water and product, so I take a microfiber towel like the Curly Tee Towel and scrunch out any extra moisture and product, then wrap my hair in a plop for 5-15 minutes while I put on makeup or get ready.
If I have time, I diffuse my hair. This gives me the most volume and the most defined, bouncy curls. If I really need my hair to look good then I need to diffuse it, but on a regular day I just go to work with my hair damp and let it dry throughout the day, scrunching every now and then.
I don’t use this product on dry hair as a curl refresher because I prefer a liquid, spray formula for my refresher products.
