Honestly, This Is the Best Curly Hair Product I've Ever Tried

My hair is smack bang in the middle of my mum’s fine, dead-straight bob and my dad’s afro-textured hair. The result? My ringlets.

I've never dyed my hair, but it kind of looks like I'm growing out an ombre hair colour job because I have lighter-coloured split ends thanks to lots of straightening with my old mate, my ghd tongs.

Don't get me wrong - I love my hair and you can bet I feel just as beautiful whether I wear it straight or with my natural texture. But anyone who has curly hair knows how hard it is to find curly hair products that make your curls look their best, not flat, frizzy, weighed down or fluffy.

I’ve tried everything; from supermarket shampoos and complex conditioners, and as Dan Andrews might put it, even the fancy, exxy salon hair care higher up the shelf. Oh, and you want your hair products to be cruelty-free and good for the environment, too? It's slim pickings.

Enter, a new curl shampoo and conditioner made especially for curly hair like mine.

This new cruelty-free curl range promises to be a deeply nourishing, detangling, frizz-fighting solution in pretty pink bottles, but is it really curly girl-approved?

Here's everything you need to know about the Virtue Labs Curl Care range, plus my honest review.

VIRTUE Curl Shampoo 240ml is the brand's first dedicated shampoo specifically for curly hair - from 2a to 4c, it's for all curl types and curl patterns. The range also includes the VIRTUE Curl Conditioner 200ml and together, they reckon they can give you shiny, bouncy, hydrated coils.

These products are also formulated with the same game-changing Alpha Keratin 60ku complex that has made the original Virtue shampoo so popular. Keratin makes up about 90 per cent of our hair, skin and nails, hence why it’s relentlessly marketed to us frizzy-haired humans.

But Alpha Keratin 60ku? It's the Rolls Royce of ethically-sourced human keratin that seeks out and repairs damaged, broken hair cuticles. Think of it like a search and rescue team for brittle strands. This, along with other hydrating ingredients like jojoba oil, carob gum and olive oil cleanses and conditions for stronger, shinier, deeply hydrated and frizz-free hair.

Like all Virtue products, the Virtue Curl range is cruelty-free, and free from sulfates, silicones and parabens. And both the shampoo and conditioner clearly received the sunscreen memo, utilising rice protein and sunflower seed oil for UV protection.

Firstly, the shampoo and conditioner both smell like a delicate, invigorating, citrus and jojoba dream. It’s what I imagine Harry Styles’ hair would smell like... moving on.

I lathered an AirPod-sized amount of the VIRTUE Curl Shampoo 240ml in my hands before working through my wet hair. You only need this small amount - adding more water is the key to getting that foamy lather (without the nasty ingredients that actually make shampoos foam). Rinse and do not repeat.

Next, I went in with a decent amount of the VIRTUE Curl Conditioner 200ml - a lot of the time, people with curly hair are told not to use too much conditioner because it will weigh down your curls. Not the case here. Don’t be stingy with the conditioner, but instead of plopping it on your scalp like I tend to do, the trick is to work it through your fraying split ends upwards to your ears. Steer clear of greasy roots.

Once it was all combed through, I slicked my hair into a Kardashian-esque topknot. Then you leave it on for two to three minutes to marinate. This is a good time to do other shower jobs, or you can sit on your shower ledge and contemplate life's big questions. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

I usually air dry my hair - cue frizz - but using the Virtue curl products gave me noticeable thickness and sleekness. I’ve also noticed my hair is looking healthier overall since I started using the range about a month ago.

But most importantly, these products gave me unreal curl formation and definition. So much so, I even received a rare compliment from my sister. Naturally, she wanted to try them on her more coiled hair. So did my mum. Thumbs up all around.

Here are some before and after photos of my hair. The first photo was taken before washing (the curls are fluffy, frizzy and a bit lacklustre). The after shows how glossy and defined my curls looked after using the Virtue curl products. Sure, there's still a bit of frizz because, that's curly hair for you, but I loved how it brought out my natural curl pattern.

For ethical, beautifully-packaged hair products for curly hair, I can’t recommend Virtue enough.

It’s pretty obvious that when the sad day these bottles run out finally comes - let's not even go there, OK? - I'll be adding the Virtue Curl Shampoo and Conditioner to cart.

Not just because they're the best curly hair products I've ever tried. But also because the peachy pink bottles have upped my shower shelf aesthetic significantly.