Soft Curls
Soft Curls - a sad farewell to a curly sure thing
by Laura Kyle
It's one thing for curls to look good. It's another thing for them to feel good. Enter Garnier Fructis Style Soft Curl Cream.
Good - albeit goopy - things come in small, five ounce tubs.
Garnier's product is a green, waxy substance, which by all accounts (including yours truly's), does wonders.
Try it out for a week, and you'll get so many compliments that you'll lose count. Yes, your hair's naturally curly. Sure, feel free to touch it! No, you didn't have to do anything to make it look like this. Except apply that $3 miracle cream you got at the drug store ... if you're the type of girl who keeps tight-lipped on her beauty secrets, you may leave that part out. And you might as well. After all, this product will leave no sticky residue behind, just soft, frizz-free, irresistibly touchable curls. For all your admirers know, you woke up looking like this. (And to an extent, you did.)
It takes thirty seconds, tops, to apply a dollop-sized amount onto your head and work it through your hair. Whether you've got thin hair, a wavy do, or curls that would give Shirley Temple a run for her money, Garnier's got your number. Well, until recently.
Soft Curl has been gradually sneaking out of the stores over the past year, and these days, you're lucky if you can find it online. AmericaRX.com, OTCWholesale.com, eBay, and Amazon.com are some of the last retailers to sell the product. That's because, word has it, it's been discontinued.
This is catastrophic news for any curly haired chick (or dude) who's kept their bathroom stocked with the green goo. Seriously, just read these blog and message board comments from around the web:
"I might as well discontinue my life bcuz a big part of me just died."
"I have been so sad, too about the soft curl cream. I bought the curl sculpting cream-gel by garnier, but it has a tendency to make my curls crunchy... I try using less, and it wont hold the curl. Sometimes it just depends on the humidity that day. I am so frustrated!"
"I'm reading here that this product is being discontinued, which is sad, because it is so good (time to stockpile ...). I have long wavy hair, that tends to frizz and flop a bit flat at times. This stuff works great on damp and dry hair."
So, what's the deal? It's hard to pin down what makes this Garnier curl cream so simply sensational, but most of its loyalists would pay a lot of money for it, even though they've only ever had to pay about $3 for a tub so far. There must be something about it that cost Garnier too many pennies.
When we take a look at the ingredients, we're not all that enlightened. Water, propylene glycol, glycerin, etearyl alcohol, PEG-100 stearate, glyceryl stearate, dimethicone ... and a bunch of other words we have trouble pronouncing. We probably won't be able to recreate that on our own.
It's only a matter of time before Soft Curl says "sayonara" for good, so what's a lady with out-of-control locks to do? Instead of sacrificing your daily Starbucks habit so that you can afford a fancier version that doesn't really work all that well, let's investigate some budget-friendly alternatives.
Many have sworn up and down that other Garnier products do pretty much the same thing: like Switch Reworkable Gum, Sculpting Cream Gel, and Play Style Reshapeable Putty (which, although hard to find, is almost identical). Other favorite Soft Curl-like creams include Organics Texture My Way Curl Keeper Moisturizing Lotion and SAMY Big Curls Curl Defining Cream.
But it's not over yet. Soft Curl is still flying off the virtual shelves of select online warehouses, and for good reason.
Let us know if you've got the skinny on other products like it. In the meantime, we'll just float down de Nile river for a while and buy Soft Curl in bulk.
Comments
Aveda Be Curly cream is amazing. I use that first and then their Confixor gel which is very light, and once my curls are dry I just give them a toss with my hands and they are not crunchy at all and hold all day. Redken's curl products are all very good as well.
by Jan
Funny, the Garnier Soft Curl Cream didn't really wow me; I found my jar tucked away in my unused products stash. If anyone is interested in it, I would be happy to send it. Email me: mkinpgh at yahoo.com
by MK
Try TIGI Catwalk Curls Rock. It works.
by Ori
Try Aussie's Flexible Hold Mousse + leave in conditioner. I've been using it for years. It does not leave hair crunchy, and helps keep in some moisture so you get shiny defined curls. Use when hair is wet, and let air dry. Cost is about $3.00 to 3.50 per bottle.
by Heather
I use a combination of products. After washing and conditioning I spray my hair with Pantene for Curly Hair Detangler. Then I apply a curl creme. Like most of you, I don't like either gel or mousse leaving that crunchy feel. I ADORE Sunsilk Hydra TLC creme, but I'm on my last bottle and can't find it anymore. I'm alternating between that and Marc Anthony's Perfect Curl Creme. I get the most compliments when I've let my hair dry naturally too - even drying with a diffuser seems to "flatten" my curls.
by Leslie
Curl Keeper, Slip Detangler and Gel from Curly Hair Solutions are fantastic. Their products are all water-based and healthy. No silicones. Say good-bye to frizzy curls!
by Judy
I love AG Recoil Curl Activator!
by Mitchie
I love Tresemme 'Curl Hydrator' for soft-defined, bouncy curls that last all day.
by Shirley
Guys, the product has been renamed to "Garnier Fructis Style Play Style Reshapable Putty, Strong".
The old product and its ingredients: (Dark green cap, green goo inside) Aqua Water , Propylene Glycol , Glycerin , Cetearyl Alcohol , PEG-100 Stearate , Glycerol Stearate , Dimethicone , Yellow 5 CI 19140 , Blue 1 CI 42090 , Sodium Methylparaben , Hydroxypropyl Guar , PEG-150 , Pentaerthrityl Tetrastearate , PEG-90M , PEG-192 Apricot Kernel Glycerides , PEG-70 Mango Glycerides , Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride Limonene , Linalool , Citrus Limonium Lemon Extract , Hexyl Cinnamal , Amyl Cinnamal , Parfum
The new product ( Garnier Fructis Style Play Style Reshapable Putty, Strong) and its ingredients: (Red cap, white goo inside) Water Aqua , Propylene Glycol , Glycerin , Cetearyl Alcohol , PEG-100 Stearate , Glyceryl Stearate , Dimethicone , PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate , Fragrance Parfum , Sodium Methylparaben , Hydroxypropyl Guar , PEG-90M , Limonene , Hexyl Cinnamal , Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride , Linalool , PEG-192 Apricot Kernel Glycerides , PEG-70 Mango Glycerides , Amyl Cinnamal , Lemon Fruit Extract Citrus Limonum
by Pat
I have a mixture of fine and coarse hair that can be very curly or frizzy, however I have never had very much hair. I use Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious for Fine Curls (they make one for coarse too), Defining Creme. It is very light and my hair is soft and defined.
by Sasha
Check out the products from Curly Hair Solutions (www.frizzoff.com) and Jessicurl (www.jessicurl.com). You should find just what you need from one of these companies. You should actually get even better results long-term from them because they are silicone-free. (Anything ending in "-one" such as dimethicone, etc. are silicones).
I've been using Curly Hair Solutions products for 3 years now with excellent results - even with my hair which is very frizzy-curly, naturally dry, fine (hair shaft is thin), and thick (there's lots of it).
by Elaine
So I can't buy this at a drugstore?! Ughh! I was hoping to find something for my best friend's curly hair. She uses gel every single day and now it's taking its toll. Now I can't even find this one?! Whyyy?!
by Lika
Ringlet 07 by Redken is also very good!!!
Here is the website:
http://www.redken.com/products/styling/medium-control/ringlet-07
by Brownin
What the hell were they thinking?!! The soft curl cream was my favorite. I've been going to all the drug stores in the area! Surely there are enough girls with curly hair?
by Margit
I like AVON's soft curl cream and their MARK line for curly hair.
by Jackie
