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Side by side

As I Am Coil Defining Jelly vs KRISTIN ESS HAIR Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

88% function match · 6 of the 8 functions we compared match Formula overlap 19%. As I Am Coil Defining Jelly and KRISTIN ESS HAIR Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam 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.

  • Coil Defining Jelly — curl definition
  • Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam — dry, thirsty 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 Coil Defining Jelly — 8 oz container As I Am

Coil Defining Jelly

  • Styler
  • Masstige
KRISTIN ESS HAIR Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam — 5.6 oz container KRISTIN ESS HAIR

Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$12.95 8 oz · $1.62/oz
$13–16 5.6 oz · $2.67/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 63% of the 157 gels we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a mouss $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 53% of the 138 mousses we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Hold system Same
Moderate Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Moderate Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. Your hair
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. 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
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
Low Your hair
Low Your hair
Weight on hair
—
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. Your hair
Protein
—
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Cast risk Differs
Likely Film formers without much softening them — expect a cast to scrunch out. Your hair
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Oil absorption Same
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Present, lower down Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol
—
None No fast-drying alcohol 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
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Aerosol avoidancethis is a pressurised can
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
Stylerjelly
Stylerfoam
Where to buy
Specialty beauty
Ulta
Free of
—
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
—
Vegan · label states
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
How often
—
as needed

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

IngredientCoil Defining JellyVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#2Leading
#5Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#10Below the 1% line
#6Below the 1% line
Coumarin
Fragrance
#19Below the 1% line
#42Below the 1% line
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#17Below the 1% line
#7Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Coil Defining Jelly

Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

Full ingredient list — Coil Defining Jelly (20)
Full ingredient list — Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam (42)

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.

VerdictsCoil Defining JellyVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam
Supported
1
2
Partly supported
0
1
Stated by brand
2
2
Potential conflict
0
0

Coil Defining Jelly

  • No-flake formulaStated by brandSoothing, not an active treatment.
  • Designed for easy coil definition, added softness, hydration and sheenSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Not recommended for twists and twist-outsStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

  • lightweight moisture, detangling, volumizingPartly supportedNeutral on lift.
  • heat protection up to 450FStated by brandOnly lab testing can show this.
  • velvet finishStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • vegan, cruelty-freeSupportedMatches our researched record.
  • color + keratin safeSupportedThe named ingredient is really there.

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.

Coil Defining Jelly

No review themes researched for this product yet.

Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

Fragrance is strong; reviewers like the softness and light volume it adds

general Ulta reviewers

After blow-drying, hair feels noticeably soft and shiny

general Ulta reviewers

One reviewer felt the results were unremarkable, 'nothing special compared to not using it'

a skeptical Ulta reviewer

Needs to be paired with another product for frizz control or hold, since this one isn't a hold product

general Ulta reviewers

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.

$1.62/oz vs $2.67/oz — KRISTIN ESS HAIR Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam costs about 1.6× more per ounce than As I Am Coil Defining Jelly.

Coil Defining Jelly

Against 157 gels with a computable unit price.

Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam

Against 138 mousses with a computable unit price.

Value readCoil Defining JellyVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for gels per ounce.
Upper-mid price for a moussSits in the middle of the range for mousses 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.

Coil Defining Jelly vs Wavy Hair Zero Gravity Styling MousseFunction of Beauty · 99% function matchVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam vs Invincible Volume Moisturizing Gel to Mousse Styling FoamCurlsmith · 89% function matchCoil Defining Jelly vs Thickening High Drama Styling Hair Foam for Thinning Hair - 1.5 ozBumble and bumble · 99% function matchVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam vs Invincible Volume MousseCurlsmith · 89% function matchCoil Defining Jelly vs Thickening High Drama Styling Hair Foam for Thinning Hair - 5.0 ozBumble and bumble · 99% function matchVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam vs Sleek Styling Cream + Taming WandRizos Curls · 89% function matchCoil Defining Jelly vs Curl Keeper Ultimate Frizz ControlCurl Keeper · 99% function matchVelvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam vs Curl Defining Styling GelOCOA · 89% function match

Coil Defining Jelly · Velvet Finish Softening Blow Dry Foam · All gels 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.
  • 6 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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