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Side by side

Design Essentials Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender vs Design Essentials Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème

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.

  • Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender — protein-sensitive hair
  • Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème — 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
Price, size & price per ounce
about $12 8 oz · $1.50/oz
$12.59 16 oz · $1.44/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 74% of the 101 hairsprays we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 66% of the 106 curl creams we’ve priced
Best for hair types
All types Nothing in the formula or the claims narrows this to one pattern. Your hair
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Moisture level
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
Moderate Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
High Synthetic hold polymers — the firmest of the hold systems. Your hair
Slip / detangling
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Some Some slip, mostly from esters or silicones rather than conditioners. Your hair
Weight on 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
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Protein
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Cast risk
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Oil absorption
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
Oils and butters
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Present, high in the list Oils sit high in the list — a softening, coating formula. 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
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Stretching wash dayswaxes stay until a detergent wash removes them
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
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
Stylerlotion
Styler
Where to buy
Ulta
Brand website · Retail
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • protein-free
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Finish
shine
How often
every wash

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

$49.00 once, for your consultation and hair profile. No subscription, no required purchases.

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

IngredientAgave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - LavenderAlmond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#4Supporting
#2Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#11Below the 1% line
#24Below the 1% line
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#14Below the 1% line
#11Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Full ingredient list — Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender (18)
Full ingredient list — Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème (24)

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.

VerdictsAgave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - LavenderAlmond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème
Supported
2
1
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
3
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender

  • Cuts drying time in halfStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Protects hair from damage by heat styling toolsStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Provides UVA/UVB protection for color-treated hairSupportedLess fade per wash.
  • Conditions and smooths hair, minimizes breakageStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Free from sulfates, alcohol, parabens, paraffin, mineral oil, petrolatum, and DEASupportedGentler on colour and coils.

Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème

  • soft, moisturized, and frizz-free with flexible holdSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.

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.

Both praised for moisture.

Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender

Works well as a heat protectant before blow-drying on natural 4C hair

reviewer with 4C hair

Leaves hair soft with a silky finish after use

reviewer describing texture results

Noticeably speeds up drying time and helps hair get straighter

reviewer noting drying speed and straightening effect

Used as a heat protectant on kinky-curly hair before blow-drying

reviewer with kinky curly hair

Would rate 5 stars for how soft it leaves hair, despite a packaging complaint

reviewer praising softness but noting a packaging issue

Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème

Several customers mention enjoying a pleasant sweet fragrance that smells good and complements the product line experience

customers noting sensory experience

Multiple reviewers praise the product for defining and elongating curls, creating stretch for two-strand twists and styles, and delivering results after just one application

customers describing styling performance with curls and twists

Customers report the product leaves hair soft, silky, manageable, and moisturized without feeling overly oily or weighing hair down

customers describing texture and feel after application

Multiple reviewers report the formula has changed, making the product drier, flakier, or less effective than the original version they used for years

long-time customers comparing current formula to original

Some reviewers note the product feels sticky, overly sweet-scented, or too heavy, and does not actually stretch curls as promised, leaving hair shorter rather than elongated

customers reporting product limitations or contradictions to marketing claims

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.

$1.44/oz vs $1.50/oz — within about the same cost per ounce.

Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender

Against 101 hairsprays with a computable unit price.

Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème

Against 106 curl creams with a computable unit price.

Value readAgave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - LavenderAlmond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for hairsprays per ounce.
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for curl creams 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.

Agave & Lavender Blow-Dry & Style Primer - Lavender · Almond & Avocado Curl Stretching Crème · All hairsprays 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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