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| This family of products right here....chhhhhh |
That's about how long I've been waiting for tgin to drop a styling gel. Yes, Twist & Define Cream will always hold a special place in my heart. But we all know I'm a gel girl - and the thicker, the better.
That's why the second Curl Bomb dropped (and y'all told me on IG Live that I could find it at Sally's), I headed straight there - Bailey in tow and all.
There was a buy 2, get 1 free situation going on at the time with tgin, so I took complete advantage and stocked up with 3 bottles of Curl Bomb Moisturizing Styling Gel, and 3 bottles of Green Tea Super Moist Leave-In Conditioner.
Yep, I put my own coins on the table ahead of any sponsored collaboration - because that's how much I believe in tgin. I've been riding with them since 2013.
Receipts:
Click here to see 3 pages worth of search results on my blog. Yep, every single time I ever mentioned or wrote about tgin is here.
Now, back to the matter at hand. I've been testing and trying out the new tgin Curl Bomb Moisturizing Styling Gel and Smooth & Hold Edge Control. I wanted to have a solid understanding of both before releasing this review, especially the gel. There tends to be so much hype around new products - everybody and their mama is using it, claiming it as their new favorite, rushing to do "hair routine" videos with it, and then two months later....crickets.
I got way too much love for y'all and for tgin to go out like that.
So do Curl Bomb and Smooth & Hold live up to the hype? Keep reading to find out!
Curl Bomb Moisturizing Styling Gel
Cost
$14.99 for 13oz
Where to Buy
Amazon, Target, Sally's, tgin website
Active Ingredients
- Water
- PVP/VA Copolymer: Form filming vinyl polymer used as a hair fixative and binding agent (aka provides hold). It's a common active ingredient in many gels and styling product formulas.
- Polysorbate 20: Emulsifier that enables oil and water to mix. It helps product disperse, is a thickener, and stabilizer of essential oils.
- Maca Root: Peruvian herb dating back to Incan civilization, popular for its healing, beauty, energizing, and overall wellness benefits. Hair products infused with maca aid in thickening and strengthening the hair, with noticeable results showing in a month's time.
- Black Cohosh: Perennial plant native to North America with thick black roots, believed to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss by regulating estrogen levels.
- Milk Thistle: Flowering plant native to Southern Europe and certain parts of Asia rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The main active ingredient in milk thistle is silymarin, which works to protect the hair and scalp from UV damage and environmental pollutants. Additionally, it works to reverse scalp damage and improve cell regeneration to assist in healthy hair growth.
- Nettle Leaf: Rich in vitamins A, C, K, as well as vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll to soothe and nourish the scalp. Encourages hair growth by improving circulation, reducing inflammation, strengthening the follicles, and reducing shedding.
Nope. The best gels never are (in my opinion).
Curly Girl Friendly?
I believe so - it's free of siliciones, drying alcohols and whatnot, and full of botanical ingredients.
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| You couldn't tell me nothin' in that video! |
OHMYGODYESYESYESYESYES. I swear, everything Chris-Tia does, she does with excellence. Do you hear me? EXCELLENCE. I haven't met a tgin product that I don't like. I've been rocking with tgin about as long as I've been rocking with Samuel - and both of 'em are keepers for real.
Ok, fine. Samuel's been around since 2010. But still. You get my point.
Curl Bomb is now a part of an elite squad known as Gels I Never Wanna Run Out Of. Yes. Curl Bomb is up there on my shelf rubbing elbows with Obia's Curl Enhancing Custard, Wonder Curl's Get Set Hair Jelly, Up North Naturals 8-Oil Defining Gelly, and Eco Styler with the red lid.
Here's why.
First of all, I LOVE the consistency. It's a thick gel's gel. Sliiightly thinner than my beloved red-top Eco, but every bit as spreadable, and curl capturing.
It gives me beautiful definition, long-lasting wear (I can easily get 5 days out of this gel), and isn't flaky or drying. I mean, my hair does need re-moisturizing by about day 3, but that's with any product I use. Adding moisture to the hair between washes is par for the course when it comes to natural hair. The gel cast is there (which I expect and look for in a gel), but it ain't disrespectful or ramen noodle-y.
Those ingredients though? I'm here for all of 'em. tgin about to have me up in Vitamin Shoppe adding Maca and Milk Thistle to my vitamin regimen! They definitely came through with a unique gel formula that stands out from the rest. Curl Bomb bears that signature tgin fragrance - sweet and citrus-y with a hint of floral. Not at all overbearing and incredibly pleasant.
To get multi-day wear out of my hair, I let it air dry and shrink to in all of it's glory. On day 2, I typically rock the shrunken look - it is what it is. On day 1 and day 2, to preserve my curls during workouts, I use the same big ol' banana clip you see here. Yep, I haven't changed since then. I also use the banana clip at night to preserve my hair when I'm not banding.
In the video, I had somewhere to be on day 2 (I accidentally said day 3 in the video), so I banded my curls the night before. Same method that I break down in this video here. Same scarf too...I should probably be ashamed. 😂 The only difference is, I use the Q-Redew now after taking down my bands, to help remove some of the dents and fluff my hair a lil' bit. Then I lock in that steamy goodness with the tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer and keep it movin'!
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| Win your own gel, leave-in, and edge control. Details at the end of this post! |
I'm a firm believer that Chris-Tia and the tgin crew do everything with excellence. From day 1, tgin's branding, packaging, labeling, and ingredient profile has been immaculate. That's why it pains me to say this. I love the profile of the gel in the bottle - the clear contents in stark contrast against the dark labeling is aesthetically pleasing. But functionality-wise - I don't know if it's me or what, but I'm two bottles in and couldn't get the pump to work to save my life!
I'm hoping its an early release thing - I've noticed that the two bottles I had issues with had black pumps, and the newer bottles on shelves have clear pumps. Maybe the black pumps were defective, or maybe I just don't know how to do things anymore lol.
Either way, a defective pump isn't a deal breaker - I just squeezed the gel out onto a plastic lid and keep it moving. But a jar would've been nice.
The Bottom Line
Listen, ain't no pump finna come between me and Curl Bomb! Definition, shine, hold, touchability, long wear, and playing nicely with other leave-ins and moisturizers are the hallmarks of this gel. It's so dope y'all. I hope you don't think I'm hype beasting for tgin, or I'm being paid to say this stuff. I genuinely love the gel, love the company, and everything they stand for. Oh, and Black woman owned at that! Plus, the pricing is pretty on point. Most curl definers come in 8oz packaging, so I can always appreciate that tgin tends to up the sizes on their products to give better value.
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| Time for the fun stuff! |
Listen, I bought 3 before even collaborating with tgin. When I'm down to 1 bottle, I'm buying 3 more. #onmamas
If you want to see Curl Bomb in action, check out my video demo below! But as promised, it's so much more than a "look at my curls!" video. tgin was so dope as to partner with me in my healthy living journey - so we headed to the gym! Yep, you've got all access to my workout of the day!
In this video and the other video/blog content that follows, I'm hoping to do a few things. One, make myself publicly accountable to my goals and start being more visible in the discussion about achieving healthy hair through a healthy body. Two, dispel the notion that healthy living is for people of a certain "size". And three, to show that there's more to gym life than endless cardio, booty exercises, and 5 lb dumbbells.
Hopefully I can inspire other women who look like me to shed the self-doubt and go #beastmode! Enjoy!
#Shoutout to +Antoinette Arrington of Sup+Dine for being my videographer + photographer at Coast Fitness. Definitely check out her work on Instagram here, and here, and her blog here!
Smooth & Hold Edge Control
Cost
$9.99 for 4oz
Where to Buy
Amazon, Target, Sally's, tgin website
Active Ingredients
- Water
- Maca Root: Peruvian herb dating back to Incan civilization, popular for its healing, beauty, energizing, and overall wellness benefits. Hair products infused with maca aid in thickening and strengthening the hair, with noticeable results showing in a month's time.
- Black Cohosh: Perennial plant native to North America with thick black roots, believed to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss by regulating estrogen levels.
- Milk Thistle: Flowering plant native to Southern Europe and certain parts of Asia rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The main active ingredient in milk thistle is silymarin, which works to protect the hair and scalp from UV damage and environmental pollutants. Additionally, it works to reverse scalp damage and improve cell regeneration to assist in healthy hair growth.
- Nettle Leaf: Flowering plant native to Southern Europe and certain parts of Asia rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The main active ingredient in milk thistle is silymarin, which works to protect the hair and scalp from UV damage and environmental pollutants. Additionally, it works to reverse scalp damage and improve cell regeneration to assist in healthy hair growth.
- Ceteareth-25: Derived from cetearyl and stearyl alcohols (the good fatty ones), and used to stabilize oils while thickening and creating a gel-like texture.
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil: Polyethylene glycol derivatives of castor oil used to help form emulsions by reducing the surface tension of ingredients, also acts as a solvent to help ingredients mix that normally would not.
Yes!
Curly Girl Friendly?
Believe so - no silicones, drying alcohols, etc. and full of the same botanical goodness as the gel.
The Good
I'M NOT GON' STOP YELLING ABOUT TGIN. I'm not.
#youwilldealtoday 😂
First things first. Soon as I open the jar, the fragrance makes me smile. It's absolutely amazing and similar to Curl Bomb in that regard. It bears the signature jelly/jam consistency of most edge controls, but is remarkably smooth and not gummy or tacky.
But let me tell you about these edges...
LAID.
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| Prosperous edges is my wish for all in 2017. |
Smooth & Hold DID THAT!
It gives me long lasting, all day hold without issue. I reapply it daily with no gunky buildup problems, and it washes out easily. To boot, I absolutely love the botanical ingredients! After all it's 2017, and everyone deserves flourishing edges.
You don't need any fancy contraptions to #laythemedges with Smooth & Hold, just a baby dollop and a finger will do ya.
The Bad
Not a peep from me. I'm in love.
The Bottom Line
Unique ingredients, an excellent product with a flawless performance (in my book). Easily one of the best edge controls I've ever used.
Would I Buy it Again?
I gotta find in on the shelf first! I've had a dickens of a time finding it. It seems to always be outta stock at my local Tarjay stores... maybe that's a testament to how dope Smooth & Hold is!
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| YASSSSSS. |
Per the FTC, I have to let y'all know that this post, video, and giveaway is sponsored by tgin. And there's affiliate links in here, meaning if you click the Amazon or Target link and purchase the products, I'll make a few coins. Y'all don't mind, right? Even though this content is sponsored that doesn't mean anything - I'm still keeping it 100 and giving you guys the real. Plus I bought it first with my own money sooooooooo lol!
