June 13, 2024Product Review

Does &honey Haircare work for CURLY HAIR? - We Tested It

So many of you have asked us if the viral Japanese haircare brand &honey works for curly hair. Our mission at Kiyoko is to make Asian Beauty for everoyne, and we realized the best way to find out if &honey worked on curly hair was to actually test it with YOU, our community. We decided to put it to the test-- with real curly-haired people.


In April 2024, we put out a call for testers on our social media-- anyone with curly hair was invited to test &honey products for FREE, as long as they committed to giving us honest feedback and shared their thoughts with our community. We were BLOWN AWAY by the responses--so many people were interested! After doing the difficult work of narrowing the applicants down, we selected 12 testers across Canada and the US across Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4 curly hair to test shampoo and conditioner sets.

We sent out the &honey Melty Moist Shampoo and Treatment (conditioner) set for those with thinner hair, the &honey Creamy Damage Repair Shampoo and Treatment set for those with damaged hair, and the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment for those with very dry hair.

Here are the results:

TYPE 2 CURLY HAIR (2A, 2B, 2C)

Lydia, 2A Hair

Meet Lydia from Maryland, USA! Lydia has 2A Hair which she described as oily and flat:

"I’m still new to embracing my wavy hair but overall my hair seems to be more flat and lacks volume. It doesn’t seem to be too oily but after 3-4 days without washing, it gets bad lol. It can also get frizzy so I need an oil to help tame it."

After we sent her the &honey Creamy Damage Repair Shampoo and Treatment set, Lydia tried it and said: 

"I feel like my hair felt better with these products! My hair feels more hydrated and has more moisture which it needs. I also have fine hair so I was worried about it getting weighed down, but it didn’t do that at all! There’s still some frizz, but I do think it helped tame some of my frizz down and my waves have been a bit more defined. My hair does also feel softer and I don’t have as many tangles in my hair. I think the biggest compliment is when I asked my husband what he thought of my hair after I used this for the first time and he said it not only looked great but it also looked like I didn’t use any products in my hair, which obviously I did use product lol so that was a huge compliment. Also this smells AMAZING. Overall I really enjoyed these products and I felt like they helped my hair."

Diana, 2A Hair

Meet Diana from Toronto, Canada! Diana has 2A Hair which she described as oily, thin, and with dry ends:

" My hair gets frizzy sometimes, especially when I brush it."

After we sent her the &honey Melty Moist Shampoo and Treatment, Diana tried it and said: 

" The &honey duo made my 2a hair look frizzier and for some reason feel greasy and I am not sure why. I kept rinsing and rinsing, massaging my hair under running lukewarm water for 10-20 minutes, and it would still feel soapy, almost slimy. My hair never felt clean, and I do not mean the squeaky clean, but the regular clean; I was expecting that fresh feeling. I always felt like I have some shampoo or/and conditioner left in my hair for the past 2.5 weeks (the duration of the test period), which I did not experience before. Moreover, my scalp (which is fair to note is sensitive) was itchy and irritated by the end of the second week. The good parts were that the packaging is very convenient to use and that that the products made my hair smell good, sweet, and flowery! The scent would last for the entire day, which I enjoyed!"

Julia, 2B Hair

Meet Julia from Toronto, Canada! Julia has 2B Hair which she described as dry, bleached, and brittle.

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Julia tried it and said: 

"I absolutely love this shampoo! Not only does it leave my hair feeling incredibly soft and manageable, but the scent is so delicious and lingering throughout the day. Plus, it lathers so well which is what I love! I found the shampoo very moisturizing which is a huge plus for my dry hair texture. Definitely a staple in my haircare routine"

Elisse, 2B Hair

Meet Elisse from Alberta, Canada! Elisse has 2B Hair which she described as dry, and brittle.

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Julia tried it and said: 

"The shampoo and conditioner overall worked well for my hair. The shampoo cleaned my scalp well without feeling stripped of the natural oils. It didn't weigh my roots down and left it feeling fresh. The conditioner is a little trickier. It worked AMAZING for my hair my first few tries. However, I noticed that it was a bit too thick for my hair when the weather started getting warmer. This actually weighed down my waves and made them limp. But for the first few times I used it while the weather was still a bit chilly, it was perfect for my wavy hair. I would imagine that someone with curlier hair than mine may not experience the same problem. This was overall a great duo for wavy and curly hair. It smells amazing and made my hair feel soft. I normally add products post shower to help tame frizz and keep curl pattern. The one time I forgot to do so, I noticed that my hair wasn't actually as frizzy and untameable as it usually was with other shampoo and conditioners."

 

TYPE 3 CURLY HAIR (3A, 3B, 3C)

Stardasia, 3A Hair

Meet Stardasia from New York, USA! Stardasia has 2A Hair which she described as colour treated, and dry/brittle:

"I have 3a texture hair, I’ve previously (1 year ago) dyed my hair blonde. The dye dried out my hair severely. I’ve been trying to moisturize it since.

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Stardasia tried it and said: 

"After trying the &honey products I noticed that my hair has become more shiny and silky. I also noticed less hair loss when combing my hair in the morning. And above all the products have a light floral scent, which makes it so that you want to continue to use the products!"

Marina, 3A Hair 

Meet Marina from Milton, Canada! Marina has 3A Hair which she described as colour treated, and damaged: 

" I've spent a lot of money trying different products and they all seem to only work for the first couple of weeks.” 

After we sent her the &honey Creamy Damage Repair Shampoo and Treatment set, Marina tried it and said:  

" The smell is absolutely amazing. I am very sensitive to smells but these have a light and fruity scent! The smell stayed in my hair slightly longer than my previous products. I definitely feel and see that my curls look better. My curls hold better and for longer.” 

Maegan, 3B Hair

Meet Maegan from New York, USA! Maegan has 3B Hair which she described as colour treated, and dry: 

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Maegan tried it and said:  

" My hair texture became very very soft & I didn’t need a curl crème when styling I was simply able to apply gel to my curls for hold. Compared to other hair care the products are awesome!” 

Rachel, 3B Hair

Meet Rachel from Ohio, USA! Rachel has 3B Hair which she described as dry. 

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Rachel tried it and said:  

" As a curly-haired girl, you almost always have some amount of shedding or hair loss while finger combing/shampooing and conditioning but I kept track of how much I shed with &honey vs the week before with my regular routine and products and there was a 70% drop in shedding hair.” 

Noura, 3C Hair

Meet Noura from USA!  Noura has 3C Hair which she described as low porosity, colour treated, and dry: 

“I have low porosity type hair so my hair won’t get enough moisture and would dry up quickly, especially at the very root.” 

After we sent her the &honey Kinmosukei Moist Shampoo and Deep Moist Treatment, Noura tried it and said:  

" I felt my hair was softer and smelled good even when I straightened it. I would say it helped with my natural frizz in terms of calming it down and my hair feels more bouncy and light.” 

TYPE 4 CURLY HAIR (4A, 4B, 4C) 

Tomi, 4A Hair

Meet Tomi from Georgia, USA! Tomi has 4A Hair which she described as healthy but with damaged ends. 

After we sent her the &honey Melty Moist Shampoo and Treatment set, Tomi tried it and said:  

" A big thing for me when washing my hair is hydration and detangling my curls, and because both the shampoo and the conditioner have a great slip, my hair was able to avoid being tangled after my wash, and during my wash, my hair was easily brushable.” 

Ogechukwu, 4C Hair

Meet Ogechukwu from Georgia, USA! Ogechukwu has 4C Hair which she described as healthy and low porosity. 

“I have low porosity hair and I am still looking for a deep conditioner that or leave in that will really mesh well with my hair.” 

After we sent her the &honey Melty Moist Shampoo and Treatment set, Ogechukwu tried it and said:  

" The products had nice scents that were not too overbearing and after rinsing the hair lightly smelled of the product without it being too strong. My hair felt softer after the second use. The conditioner did a good job of "melting" the knots and tangles in my hair that all of the shed hair glided out without me having to really go in and manually detangle

Nya, 4C Hair 

Meet Nya from Florida, USA! Nya has 4C Hair which she described as damaged. 

“My hair is damaged and I’m trying to regrow it. I do have some “bald spots” on the edges that are growing and I do have some uneven length. I also have mixed hair type, 4b and 4c.” 

After we sent her the &honey Melty Moist Shampoo and Treatment set, Nya tried it and said:  

" This was the softest my 4c has ever been with just shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and hair oil. My hair shrinks easily and it didn’t shrink too badly. It stayed soft, fluffy, and shaped well. Felt more confident and comfortable wearing my neutral hair throughout the day even when it was super-hot” 

So...would you try &honey?

Did these testers convince you to try &honey?

If you want to give it a go on your hair, here's what &honey you should choose for your hair type:

Written by Gillian Liu

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