Kurlee Belle Perfectly Defined Curls Bundle

Cream first, then gel. That is the whole trick to curls that stay defined all day.
Most definition fails because one product is asked to do two jobs at once. Here the creme melts into the strand and pulls it into a clump, and the gel sets a light cast over the top so that clump holds. The pair suits a wash and go, a twist out or a braid out equally well.

Kurlee Belle Kurl Defining Creme
A whipped cream texture that melts into the strand rather than sitting on top of it. Coconut oil, shea and cupuacu butters, jojoba and argan carry the moisture, and a little montmorillonite clay gives it enough body to shape a clump without stiffening it. Completely protein free.

Kurlee Belle Jelle Coconut Styling Gel
A light, water based gel built on coconut oil. It gives a medium hold that seals the clumps the creme has made, and it dries soft rather than into a hard shell, so there is very little cast to break. It doubles as an edge and ponytail smoother. This one does carry hydrolysed wheat protein.

The set also includes a curly hair brush, which helps you spread both products evenly through each section.

What makes it different

• Two products, two jobs. The creme moisturises and clumps, the gel holds. Neither is compromised by trying to do both, which is why the definition is still there at the end of the day rather than an hour after you leave the house.
• Soft when it dries. The gel sets a light cast rather than a hard one, so scrunching it out takes seconds and your curls stay soft to touch instead of crunchy.
• One routine, several styles. Both formulas are light enough for waves and rich enough for coils, and the same two steps cover a wash and go, a twist out or a braid out.

Worth knowing before you buy: the gel contains hydrolysed wheat protein and the creme does not. If your hair is protein sensitive, start with the creme on its own and add the gel in small amounts once you know how your curls respond to it.

Authorised Australian stockist. Genuine Kurlee Belle, shipped from our Gold Coast warehouse, backed by qualified curl specialists who use these products in the salon every day.

Kurlee Belle Kurl Defining Creme

• Coconut oil and shea butter, the fatty acids that soften a dry strand so it will bend into a curl instead of standing away from it.
• Cupuacu butter, which holds water against the hair, so the moisture is still there hours after you have styled.
• Montmorillonite clay, which gives the cream enough grip to shape a clump without setting it hard.
• Jojoba and argan oils, light enough to add slip and shine without dragging fine curls flat.

Full ingredient list

Water (Aqua), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glycerin (Vegetable), Montmorillonite (Clay), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cetyl Alcohol (Moisturizing Alcohol), Theobroma Grandiflorum (Cupuacu) Butter, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Oil, Emulsifying Wax (Natural Wax), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin-E), Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance (Parfum).

Protein free.

Kurlee Belle Jelle Coconut Styling Gel

• Coconut oil, second on the list, which is what keeps a gel this light from drying the hair out as it sets.
• PVP, the film former that does the actual holding and gives the cast its softness.
• Glycerin, which draws water into the strand and keeps the clump from going brittle.
• Hydrolysed wheat protein, which adds strength and body. Worth noting if you are protein sensitive.

Full ingredient list

Water (Aqua), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin (Vegetable), Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sorbic Acid, Carbomer, Fragrance, PVP, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein.

Contains hydrolysed wheat protein.

Across both
No parabens, sulfates, paraffin, phthalates, mineral oil, PABA, DEA, synthetic colour, propylene glycol or petroleum. Both formulas are fragranced. The creme is protein free and the gel carries hydrolysed wheat protein, so protein-sensitive curls should introduce the gel slowly. The brush in this set has no formula of its own.

Your two step styling routine
Work on soaking wet hair, straight out of the shower. Water is what lets these two clump your curls rather than coat them. If your hair starts to dry out as you work, add more water rather than more product.

1. Section soaking wet hair into four. Take a ten cent piece of the Kurl Defining Creme for each section on shoulder length hair, rake it through from roots to ends, then smooth it down the length with praying hands.
2. Run the brush through each section once, from mid-length to ends, to pull the strands into even clumps. One pass is enough. Going back over a section breaks the clumps apart again.
3. Take a golf ball of the Jelle Coconut Styling Gel and scrunch it upwards into each section, from the ends towards the scalp, until you hear it squelch. Do not rake the gel through. Raking pulls apart the clumps the creme has just made.
4. Cup a small amount of gel in damp hands and smooth it over your edges and hairline if you want them laid flat.
5. Squeeze out the excess water with a microfibre towel or an old cotton tee, never a bath towel. Then diffuse on low heat for volume, or air dry for a looser finish.
6. Once your hair is completely dry, scrunch the light cast out with your hands. Hands off until then. Touching curls mid-dry is the main cause of frizz.

Pro tip
If your curls come out limp rather than defined, you have used too much creme rather than too little gel. Halve the creme next wash and keep the gel the same.