Description of my hair: Cottony as hell with fine, highly porous strands… mostly ‘s’ waves and some ‘o’ coils bringing up the rear.
Name of Product in Review: AG Recoil Curl Activator 6oz/$18 <<< dayum Gina!
Product Description:
Recoil curl activator is made with AG’s unique Curl Creating Complex (C3):
- Magnesium sulfate – helps shrink the bonds in the hair, cultivating and defining each individual curl and wave. It gently supports curls without being crunchy and helps give hair a silky, soft feel with lots of movement
- Bio-fermented tomato fruit extract – shrinks the hair cuticle and encourages curl
- Rice Amino acids – hydrate and improve hair strength, promote curl, and help fight frizz. Silk and keratin protein – adds moisture, strength, elasticity and shine
- P-14 copolymer – gives long-lasting curl definition and flexible hold
- NaPCA – a highly effective moisturizer
- Herbal extracts – soothe the scalp and add shine to hair
Product Ingredients: Water/aqua/eau, Polyquaternium-55, Hydroxypropyl Starch, Cetylalcohol, Stearalkonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Corn Starch Modified, Cetrimonium Chloride, Salvia Officinalis (sage) Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Melissaofficinalis Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Cymbopogonschoenanthus Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sodium PCA, Polyquaternium-10, Magnesium Sulfate, Silk Amino Acids, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzedkeratin, Panthenol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Tetrasodiumedta, Parfum/ Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.
Fragrance: Light and clean, not perfume-y or overbearing.
Texture: Creamy consistency, goes on smooth.
My experience:
Although I’m not currently #TeamWash&Go, I was a few weeks ago. On the forever mission to find the dopest curl definer, I’d heard good things about AG ReCoil (from the homie Wanda Sykes) and finally decided to give it a try. I’d been gifted some a while back but never got around to testing it. I remember being excited because it’s supposed to be good for humidity and I’m already in the, ‘get your hair right for summer’ mode. I ended up using it over AG Fastfood (a pretty good, light leave-in conditioner if you’re looking for one… probably best for summer) on soaking wet hair. The Fastfood left my hair super detangled and slippery, so the ReCoil glided right in. My curls were on 10… as I gently raked through sections of hair, the clumps that sprung up between my fingers were remarkable. You know how you can tell from the way your wet hair responds to a product, what it will look like dry? I felt good about it. In my mind, I was gonna be left with fluffy, shiny, expanded curls and while I did achieve extra hang time and definition, I had helmet head. I scrunched in some Mongongo Oil to loosen up the hold, but the volume was M.I.A. So I re-washed a day later and tried again… using much less ReCoil this time. The results were again very defined, almost too perfect spirals, with tons of shine, and although it wasn’t extra crispy, it was still a bit stiff. I feel that I’m on to something good tho… it needs a richer leave-in underneath or more tweaking with application. I plan to revisit after this dry Twist-n-Curl spell runs its course.
Would I recommend to a curlfriend: Yes, but err on the side of ‘too little’ product, which is good, ’cause it’s pricey. The situation can get crunchy real quick with this one. But if it’s curl definition you’re after, this is an amazing activator. I’d also venture to guess that it would yield deliciously shiny and defined twist-outs. The ingredient list is nice and I’m happy to see that glycerin is not in the top 5, which is rare with styling gels. Also, the online reviews are pretty good.
How many curls overall: (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the kitties titties!):
3.5, because it shows promise!
