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Side by side

As I Am Born Curly Cowash vs Matrix A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

88% function match · 10 of the 12 functions we compared match Formula overlap 33%. As I Am Born Curly Cowash and Matrix A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash share 1 ingredient among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • Born Curly Cowash — colour-treated hair
  • A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash — colour-treated hair

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
As I Am Born Curly Cowash — container, alternate view As I Am

Born Curly Cowash

  • Co-wash
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Matrix A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash — 10.1 oz container Matrix

A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

  • Co-wash
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$5.99 8 oz · $0.75/oz
$22 10.1 oz · $2.28/oz
Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most co-washes $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 86% of the 95 co-washes we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a co-wash $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 63% of the 95 co-washes we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Cleansing strength Same
None No detergent — the conditioners do the cleaning. Your hair
None No detergent — the conditioners do the cleaning. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Weight on hair
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. Your hair
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Protein Same
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
Rich Butters near the top: a heavy, softening formula. Your hair
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Frequent washerswho want gentler cleansing
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Colour-treated hairthat fades faster in a sulfate wash
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Frequent washerswho want gentler cleansing
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • A squeaky-clean feelthis deliberately leaves conditioning behind
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
  • A squeaky-clean feelthis deliberately leaves conditioning behind
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Co-wash
Co-wash
Line
Born Curly
—
Where to buy
Brand website · Target
Ulta · Target
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · label states
Not vegan · ingredient list
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Not cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Sweet & vanillaStrong

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

Take the consultation

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The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientBorn Curly CowashA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Cetearyl Alcohol
Softens
#2Leading
#2Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#18Below the 1% line
#6Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Born Curly Cowash

A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

Full ingredient list — Born Curly Cowash (18)
Full ingredient list — A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash (15)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsBorn Curly CowashA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash
Supported
0
0
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
3
2
Potential conflict
0
0

Born Curly Cowash

  • Improves scalp moisture by 107%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Cleanses up to 99%Stated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.
  • Enhances hair moisture by 10% after one useStated by brandOnly the brand’s testing shows this.

A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

  • Gentle cleansing conditioner for curls and coils, infused with Manuka honey extractStated by brandCheck the position, not the name.
  • Perfect for in-between wash days to revive curlsStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Matrix A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash draws complaints about weight and how it cleanses.

Born Curly Cowash

Effective and gentle performance on textured/curly hair called out favorably

reviewers with textured/curly-haired children

Fragrance is noted as pleasant despite being a scented formula

Leaves hair feeling notably soft after washing

Reviewers report noticeable improvement in scalp irritation/redness after use on children

parent of a child with a sensitive/irritated scalp

A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

Cleanses gently without weighing down curls/coils, and is preferred over other co-washes for leaving hair feeling nourished and lightweight rather than greasy.

curly/coily hair, includes color-treated hair users

Works well as a color-safe cleanse - several reviewers specifically use it to maintain fashion/purple tones between colors without stripping.

color-treated (e.g. purple/fashion color) curly hair

A minority of reviewers report the opposite experience - leaves hair feeling greasy/filmy and unable to style, describing it as not actually cleansing.

a small subset of reviewers, mismatched vs. the majority-praise pattern

Fragrance is polarizing - some reviewers find the scent too strong/perfume-like for scent-sensitive use even while liking the performance.

scent-sensitive users and their clients

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

$0.75/oz vs $2.28/oz — Matrix A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash costs about 3× more per ounce than As I Am Born Curly Cowash.

$0.37/oz median $2.00/oz $8.63/oz $0.75/oz Born Curly Cowash $2.28/oz A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 95 co-washes with a computable unit price.

Value readBorn Curly CowashA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash
Label
Lower cost than most co-washesCosts less per ounce than most co-washes we have researched.
Upper-mid price for a co-washSits in the middle of the range for co-washes per ounce.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

Born Curly Cowash vs Born Curly Cowash Cleansing ConditionerAs I Am · 100% function matchA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash vs Coconut CoWash Cleansing ConditionerAs I Am · 92% function matchBorn Curly Cowash vs Coconut CoWash Cleansing ConditionerAs I Am · 92% function matchA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash vs Hair Cleansing CreamSachajuan · 92% function matchBorn Curly Cowash vs Creamy Curly Co-Wash with Coconut & AloeTaliah Waajid · 92% function matchA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash vs Creamy Curly Co-Wash with Coconut & AloeTaliah Waajid · 88% function matchBorn Curly Cowash vs Co-Wash Clean Locks Cleansing Conditioner BarNature Skin Shop · 92% function matchA Curl Can Dream Co-Wash vs Born Curly Cowash Cleansing ConditionerAs I Am · 88% function match

Born Curly Cowash · A Curl Can Dream Co-Wash · All co-washes in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 10 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.

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