Briogeo is a brand of hair care products that are 6-free (no artificial dyes, silicones, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, DEA) and color-safe. I have recently been using a few products from Briogeo (the shampoos and conditioners from the Don’t Despair, Repair line and the Be Gentle, Be Kind line) as I’ve been moving toward silicone-free products.

A newer product from Briogeo and their Curl Charisma line is the Chia and Flax Seed Coil Custard targeted toward those with curly, coiled and tightly coiled hair. This product claims to leave curls soft and supple while defining curls with a flexible hold.

Ingredients: Water, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Olivate, Glycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Rice Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Quinoa, Keratin Amino Acids, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Oil, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Salvia Hispanica Seed Oil, Lactobacillus/Tomato Fruit Ferment Extract, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Acyl Coenzyme A Desaturase, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance

This product contains a number of moisturizing alcohols and oils, along with the following key ingredients; shea butter that softens and hydrates the hair, rice amino acids to prevent frizz, flax seed oil for conditioning and chia seed oil that nourishes and strengthens the hair. This product contains protein as hydrolyzed quinoa and keratin amino acids.

The directions on the Briogeo and Sephora websites differ a bit from those on the container. On the container directions state to apply evenly through damp or dry hair and style as usual, whereas on the websites it states to apply in small sections of damp hair while twisting and stretching the strands to activate the curl pattern (I suppose how to apply might depend on hair type and preference).

This product goes on a bit white and dries invisible. This is a thick, creamy leave-in treatment that smells light and fresh.

My daughter helped me review the Coil Custard. She has curly, coarse hair that is dry and prone to frizz. She has used it a number of times now; the first application she used too much and the curls, while defined, were crunchy and a bit flat on the top of her head. On subsequent applications she used less.

For the before photos, the hair was shampooed and conditioned using the Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair shampoo and conditioning mask and air dried with no other product. Some of the curls are not well defined (especially on the top of the head) and the hair is frizzy.

For the after photos, the hair was washed and conditioned with the same Briogeo products and the Coil Custard was applied throughout the damp hair with no twisting or stretching and air dried. It goes on slightly sticky and white, but as it dries, the stickiness and white color disappear. The curls do not feel stiff or crunchy and still have movement and bounce. Looking at the photos, the curls look defined and there is no frizz. The softness of the hair is improved. Scrunching my fingers through the dried hair I can feel a bit of the product. I wouldn’t say residue, but not like a leave-in conditioner that seems to absorb into the hair; however, not an off-putting feeling. I put a bit of product on my fingers, rubbed it in and let it dry and there is kind of a smooth, protective layer on my fingers that leaves no friction and they feel a bit moisturized.

My daughter’s next-day curls lose definition and become quite frizzy. With this product, the hair in the above 36-hour photo, while messier, is not frizzy and still has the curl.

I tried the Coil Custard a couple times on my hair as well. I have thin, wavy, frizzy, bleached, dry hair. I’m not sure my waves were more defined, but the curl custard took away the frizz (which probably enhanced the waves). One thing I am very happy about is how the product helped my longer bangs. They are not quite long enough to tuck behind my ears and turn into a frizzy, dome-shaped mess when air dried. I usually have to straighten them or clip them back. With this product I let them air dry and they look great; I don’t have to do anything else with my hair. At night I put my hair in a high bun and when I take it down in the morning, my hair has volume, some bigger waves and looks quite good just left down with no other styling.

In the before photo above my hair was air dried with a leave-in conditioner. The after photo is next-day hair after washing and applying Coil Custard in the morning and air drying, then putting in a bun overnight. These bigger, voluminous waves stay all day, and last multiple days if I put my hair in the bun overnight. This is an easy, no fuss hair style that, before Coil Custard, I had achieved using a flat iron, curling iron and hair spray.

I don’t think my hair was softer after using the Coil custard, but I’ve not used this long-term and my hair has a number of issues with being bleached.

I would prefer this product in a tube.

My daughter and I will continue to purchase this product.

Thank you for reading.