If you have Afro-textured, curly or coily hair. You know the frustration of standing in a haircare aisle, looking through the shelves and realising none of these products were made for my hair. At least not really.
If you are a man with curly or coily hair. Loose 3a curls, tight 4c coils or anything in between. The men's haircare market has largely ignored you. And the products available often don't work in the ways that matter. It's a fundamental disconnect with what your curls actually need and what some of these products are formulated to deliver.
Here’s the reason why and what you should look for instead.
The moisture that isn't actually moisture
Walk into any haircare aisle at any supermarket and what you'll find is numerous moisturising creams and leave-ins claiming to give you softer curls, more definition. Healthier hair.
But if you look past the label and deeper into the ingredients, what you will find in most of them. First and foremost is water as the primary ingredients. Followed by a roster of silicones, emulsifiers and synthetic fragrances. Sometimes a little glycerin is used, occasionally there will be an oil or two near the bottom at minimal concentrations essentially making it cosmetic.
The problem isn't that these products contain water. The problem is that surface level moisture without the right supporting ingredients will evaporate too quickly to make an impact on afro-textured, curly and coily hair. Leaving your hair dry again in after a couple hours and bringing no benefit to your scalp
For curly and coily hair, the ability to hold moisture depends on porosity: how open or closed the cuticle is.
High porosity curls: common when hair has been heat-styled, chemically treated, or picked out. High porosity curls absorb product fast but lose moisture quickly.
Low porosity curls: have a tighter cuticle that means heavy products are unable to penetrate, and claims of “moisturising” made by many products are usually not accurate. What penetrates low-porosity curls are lightweight plant-based oils. Oils such as marula, argan, jojoba and sweet almond, work on a molecular level. Carrying nutrients into the cortex of your hair rather than sitting on top of it. Most products targeting men usually don't include these types of ingredients in their formulas.
The problem with alcohol
Along with empty promises of moisture, many men's curl products such as creams, leave-ins, and wave products contain drying alcohols. Denatured alcohol, alcohol denat, SD alcohol. These are used in products to give a fast drying and non-greasy feeling.
The problem is that for afro-textured curls and coils it ends up drying out your hair because curly and coily hair has a raised cuticle, which means it loses moisture faster than straight hair types and needs consistent hydration to maintain elasticity, definition and softness. Drying alcohols will remove that moisture, leaving your scalp irritated and your hair feeling brittle. And the more you use it the more you will feel like your hair is the problem instead of the product.
Where confusion arises is that not all alcohols are bad for your hair. Fatty alcohols such as cetyl and stearyl actually help to seal in moisture and are beneficial to your hair. It's the short-chain alcohols such as denatured or SD near the top of the ingredient list that you should watch out for.
Your scalp is being ignored
Curly hair products for men are almost entirely focused on the final result. The curl definition, the shine, the hold. The scalp, if even mentioned, is often an afterthought.
This is more important than most people realise. Especially for coily and afro-textured hair. Because tight coil pattern often interrupts the journey of the scalp's natural sebum down the hair shaft. Your scalp can be producing oil while your strands remain completely starved of it.
If you are dealing with flaking, itchy scalp, dryness at the roots or slower hair growth than expected, it might be worth switching to a scalp first routine, rather than reaching for styling products
If you're dealing with flaking, itching, dryness at the roots, or slower growth than you'd expect, it's worth starting your routine at the scalp rather than reaching for another styling product.
Applying a lightweight oil to the roots and massaging it in regularly, is a simple habit that can be beneficial for your coils.
"For men" often just means a different bottle
The truth is that a large portion of products marketed specifically to men with curly or coily hair are just reformulation of existing products. The same formula, darker packaging, and a repositioned price point.
The packaging is for men but the formulation doesn't reflect any real understanding of the reality of our needs or what afro-textured hair actually experiences: the dynamic that comes with shorter styles and regular fades, the different growth stages from a low cut to full coils, the way product builds up differently under a du-rag or wave cap. These are real concerns that most men's haircare brands never bothered to address.
What you need isn't a product that looks like it was made for you, but something made with you in mind.
What actually works
Your curls need three things, in order:
A healthy scalp: This is where everything begins. The foundation for healthy curl growth is important. Avoid products that strip your scalp of moisture, and give your scalp the same consistent attention you give the rest of your routine..
Penetrating moisture: Use lightweight plant oils (jojoba, argan, babassu, marula) that can reach the cortex of your hair shaft instead of focusing on surface coating that give the impression of softness without the substance.
Fewer ingredients, better chosen: Avoid bloated ingredient lists making use of drying alcohols, heavy mineral oil, synthetic fragrance your curls will thank you for it.
You don't need a complicated ten-step routine. You need the right products, used in the right order, consistently.
Your curls aren't difficult. They just haven't had the right information.
Want to go deeper? Our free Curly Hair Guide covers porosity, moisture layering, and how to build a routine that actually works for your curl type — read it here.