I Tried Affordable Products On My Natural Hair To See Which Created Better Twist Outs

It's the battle of the cheap natural hair products! Dun, dun, dun!

Hi, I’m Kim! *waves* This is my once-voluminous 4C 'fro that is now shrunken, because it’s hot and humid AF in NYC.

Kimberly Gedeon

So why am I here, do you ask?

I tested two natural hair products on my locks to see which one gave me the best twist outs, and I wanted to show you how they turned out. I used Cantu Shea Butter's Coconut Curling Cream (right) and Giovanni's Direct Leave-In (left).

Kimberly Gedeon

Now, for the results, I'm lookin' for the *magical* twist outs that last day after day. Y’know, like those YouTube natural hair gurus that say "This is my third-day hair," and they still look like they just unraveled their twists like 0.2 seconds ago? Yeah, that type of twist out.

Zara and Nicola / Via youtube.com

I normally use Giovanni’s Direct Leave-In and Cantu Shea Butter’s Coconut Curling Cream interchangeably because, well, they’re pretty affordable.

Bravo

Hey, I ditched the relaxers because I was tired of spending $50 at the hair salon every 2 weeks — there’s no way in heck I’m jumping back into a pricey hair care routine.

But which one creates the most slayable twist outs? I decided to test out Giovanni’s Direct Leave-In on the left side of my hair, and Cantu Shea Butter’s Coconut Curling Cream on the right side to find out.

Kimberly Gedeon

Here’s the left side of my hair, with Giovanni's Direct Leave-In. I took medium sized sections (because my arms would fall off if I made them any smaller), two-strand twisted 'em, and pinned 'em across my head. Just like so:

Kimberly Gedeon

I did the same on the right side, but with the Cantu Shea Butter’s Coconut Curling Cream, of course.

Kimberly Gedeon

My hair’s all done! All the twists are pinned across my head and now I’m ready for bed. See you guys in the morning!

Kimberly Gedeon

Rise and shine!

Disney / Via media.giphy.com

These were the results. Both sides were not all that impressive to me. I don’t think it’s the products’ fault, though — my hair still felt wet in the morning, so the twists never really “set."

Kimberly Gedeon

But upon closer inspection, I'd say Cantu Shea Butter's Coconut Curling Cream for the win? Kinda?

Kimberly Gedeon

WELP, this was a fail! I will try another experiment, though —maybe adding Eco Styler Gel or trying the LOC method?.

Warner Bros. / Via i.imgur.com

So which one do you think won out? Cantu Shea Butter’s Coconut Curling Cream or Giovanni's Direct Leave-In?

Kimberly Gedeon

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