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PATTERN

Styling Cream

Styler / Curl cream, polymer-free

  • Styler
  • curl cream
  • cream
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
  • Vegan · label states
  • Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Size25 fl ozmost listed · 2 sizes
Price$41.65seen at one store · 25 oz
Price / oz$1.67/ozat 25 oz
Where to buy2 stores · 2 sizes

Scent:

No added fragrance, no scenting essential oils, and no declared fragrance allergens on the list.

Manufacturer page: patternbeauty.com

Personal fit

Is this right for you?

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Priced with its peers

$1.67/oz at 25 oz — less than 59% of the 105 curl creams , which mostly run $1.17–4/oz. The cost less.

Price and stores

Great for

no fragrance (parfum) on the label
free of strong smells
Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it

Maybe skip if

Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
Styles that must holdno hold polymer, gum, or wax was found
Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
Frizz in humid airno film former or silicone to hold it back
Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers
If scent matters to younothing is added here

Whether this hold level is right for you depends on your density, porosity, and how long your style has to last — that is what the consultation works out.

What the formula actually does

Read from the label, not the marketing

Each row says where it comes from: F means we derived it from this product’s own ingredient list, S means it is a claim the brand makes that the formula neither confirms nor contradicts.

Hold system None found

No hold polymer, gum, or wax found in the list.

Cast risk Unlikely

Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely.

Weight on the hair Rich

Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients.

Oil absorption None

No absorbent powders or starches.

Oils and butters Rich

Butters near the top: a heavy, softening formula.

Fast-drying alcohol None

No fast-drying alcohol in the list.

Needs detergent to remove No

Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove.

Fragrance None listed

No fragrance is listed.

from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.

Ingredients that matter

The ingredients that change a decision

The workhorse ingredients plus anything lower down that changes a decision. These chips name what an ingredient does — they are not safety scores, and no ingredient here is rated good or bad on its own.

IngredientWhat it doesWhy it mattersChip
WaterWater/Aqua/Eau solvent The base everything else is dissolved in Neutral
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter butter Heavy softening — this is what makes it rich Heavy
Cetearyl Alcohol fatty alcohol Thickens and conditions — not a drying alcohol Softens
Glycerin humectant Pulls water into the hair Moisturizes
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil oil Softens the film so it does not set hard Softens
Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter butter Heavy softening — this is what makes it rich Heavy
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil oil Softens the film so it does not set hard Softens
Caryodendron Orinocense (Cacay) Seed Oil oil Softens the film so it does not set hard Softens
What the list leaves out, and what it carriesNo sulfates, silicones, or drying alcohols. Protein-free: this is built for moisture rather than for strengthening. Contains heavier butters. Recorded as vegan and cruelty-free.
Full ingredient list (9)

US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Annotations keep three readings separate: the ingredient's general function, its role in this product type, and what its position can support.

  • 1 Water · Water/Aqua/Eau
    General function

    The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    • solvent
  • 2 Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
    General function

    A rich, solid plant butter used for heavy conditioning on coarse or dry hair. High in the list it makes a product decidedly heavy.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.

    • butter
    • emollient
    • sealant
  • 3 Cetearyl Alcohol
    General function

    A waxy fatty alcohol - nothing like drying alcohol. It gives conditioners their body and leaves a soft, smoothing film on the hair.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    The waxy solid that gives a conditioner its body. It deposits a soft lubricating layer, which is most of what makes hair feel smooth after rinsing.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.

    DependsFine or easily flattened hair

    Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.

    PubChem
    • fatty alcohol
    • emollient
    • thickener
  • 4 Glycerin
    General function

    A small water-loving molecule that draws moisture into the hair and holds it there. It is the most common softening ingredient in conditioners and leave-ins.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    High-porosity hair loses water fast; a humectant holds some of it in place for longer than the wash itself would.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    Binds water into the outer layers of the strand, and water is what makes dry hair flexible again rather than brittle.

    DependsClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

    Water moves both ways. Measured across concentrations, glycerin solutions give water up in some conditions and take it from the air in others. What it does for you depends on how much of it is there and on the air around it.

    Scientific Reports
    • humectant
  • 5 Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
    General function

    One of the few oils small enough to move into the strand, which is why it is used for pre-wash treatments. It can feel heavy or stiff on protein-sensitive hair.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Because it penetrates rather than sits on top, it works on hair that loses water through a worn cuticle instead of only slowing evaporation from the surface the way a non-penetrating oil does.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    The exception to the class read: lauric acid is small and linear enough to enter the shaft rather than only coat it, and in comparison testing coconut oil was the one that reduced protein loss from washing on both undamaged and damaged hair.

    International Journal of Trichology
    • oil
    • emollient
  • 6 Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter
    General function

    A firm plant butter used for sealing and hold in heavier styling creams.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.

    • butter
    • emollient
    • sealant
  • 7 Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
    General function

    A light, widely used oil that softens without much weight.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

    May not suitFine or easily flattened hair

    Near the top of a list an oil is weight before it is anything else, and fine hair shows that first at the roots.

    International Journal of Trichology
    • oil
    • emollient
  • 8 Caryodendron Orinocense (Cacay) Seed Oil
    General function

    The oil pressed from Cacay (Caryodendron Orinocense). How much weight a plant oil leaves depends on the hair it lands on; coarse hair tends to take more of it than fine hair.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    • oil
    • emollient
  • 9 Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil
    General function

    A medium-weight oil used for softness and slip.

    Secondary ingredient

    Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

    • oil
    • emollient

What the whole list adds up to

  • 7 emollients
  • 4 oils
  • 2 butters
  • 2 sealants
  • 1 solvent
  • 1 fatty alcohol
  • 1 thickener
  • 1 humectant

Ingredient list captured 2026-08-27. Formulas change — check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.

Price · 25 oz

Seen at $41.65 1 store · checked Aug 30
Good value under $19 Under $0.75/oz it costs less than three-quarters of the 8 products we score as doing the same job

Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $19 line; products that do this job typically go for about $51 at this size.

Sizes

15 oz
$29
$1.93/oz
25 ozmost listed
$41.65
$1.67/oz

The sizes cost about the same per ounce.

Show the price ladder
Where we’ve seen it2 listings · 2 stores

25 ozmost listedBest per ounce

  • Macy's
    $41.65
    25 oz · $1.67/oz
    Aug 30Lowest per ozSale · was $49.00

15 oz

Sorted by price per ounce. Dated observations from our research, not live prices. Direct store pages, no affiliate links. We don’t sell this product.

How we work this out
  1. 25 oz is the size stores list most often; every comparison on this page is made at it. Other sizes are shown in the Sizes row and the store list.
  2. Seen at $41.65 is the price we have observed for the 25 oz. We need three stores before we call a price commonly seen.
  3. Good value under $19 comes from the 8 products we score as doing the same job as this one. A quarter of them cost less than $0.75/oz; at 25 oz that is $19. Under that line you are paying less than most of them.
  4. Each size is guarded on its own, so a multipack or a marketplace listing at one size cannot move another.
  5. About $51 is what those same products typically cost at this size — the midpoint of their prices per ounce, scaled to 25 oz.

Formula

Formula score
6 of 10

Both the formula and the price land mid-range: it covers the core of what a curl cream does and costs about what curl creams cost per ounce.

How the score is counted
  • 3 products we score as doing the same job cost less per ounce
  • Costs less per ounce than 59% of the 105 curl creams we’ve priced
  • No hold system in the formula
  • Reviewers mention 3 things they like about how it performs
  • A hold systemThe polymer, gum, or wax that holds the shape.3 pts
  • Softeners alongside the holdWhat keeps a film flexible instead of brittle.2 pts
  • No drying alcohol in the first threeFast drying without leading on alcohol.2 pts
  • A humectantBinds water into the hair.1 pt
  • A humidity claim with a mechanismThe claim has a film former or silicone behind it.1 pt
  • Fragrance kept out of the top eightScent as a finishing touch, not a major share.1 pt

The formula score is completeness for the job: the share of the systems this product type is normally built around that we can find in this list, weighted. It is not efficacy, not quality, and it never compares across product types.

Does the same job, for less

Same derived functions — what it cleans, conditions, coats or holds — at a lower cost per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy it can still differ.

Creme of NatureLowest cost per oz Pure Honey Hair Food Smoothing & Frizz Control Curl Defining Cream $0.49/oz $1.18/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Rich
· Close function
Function
  • Slip and detangling
Also
  • Drugstore tier
  • 11.5 oz bottle
Compare
Creme of NatureClose function Pure Honey Moisture Whip Twisting Cream $0.70/oz $0.97/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Rich
Function
  • Slip and detangling
Also
  • Drugstore tier
  • 11.5 oz bottle
Compare
African PrideLighter feel Dream Kids Olive Miracle Smooth Edges Anti-Frizzy Conditioning Gel $0.77/oz $0.90/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Silicone-free
· Close function
Function
  • Oils and butters
  • Weight on the hair
Also
  • Drugstore tier
  • 6 oz bottle
Compare

See more alternatives in the product library

These are functional neighbours, not personal recommendations — they are close on formula, not chosen for anyone. Get the one that fits your hair, routine, and budget

Built for wavy to coily hair

Final decision

Should you buy it?

A solid pick for the hair it suits
Best user

People sensitive to fragrance — for a formula with no added fragrance and a product with no scent

Biggest tradeoff

Not ideal for oily scalps and fine hair, styles that need real hold, or very dry or very humid climates

Best alternative if not

Creme of Nature Pure Honey Hair Food Smoothing & Frizz Control Curl Defining Cream — for similar results at a lower price

We do not sell products or take placement fees. This page states what the formula and the prices show; the consultation is what matches it to a person.

Claims check

What the brand says, against what the formula shows

Claims are quoted from the brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when the ingredient list actually speaks to it; everything else stays "stated by the brand", which is not a criticism — most claims simply cannot be read off a label.

3
SupportedBacked by ingredients
0
Partly supportedSome supporting logic
2
Stated by brandNo clear evidence
0
Potential conflictFormula works against claim
Boosts moisture

Humectants or rich emollients sit in the first eight ingredients.

  • Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
  • Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Glycerin
Supported

Helps hair feel hydrated.

Softens curls

This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.

—

Stated by brand

Can’t be confirmed from label.

Prevents breakage

No protein or bond ingredient appears in the list.

—

Stated by brand

Can’t be confirmed from label.

Crunch-free hold

Softening ingredients sit alongside the hold polymers, which is what keeps a film flexible.

  • Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
  • Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
Supported

Natural movement without stiffness.

Hydrated hold & definition

Humectants or rich emollients sit in the first eight ingredients.

  • Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
  • Cetearyl Alcohol
  • Glycerin
Supported

Helps hair feel hydrated.

How to read this

We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula — not marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.

Reviewers

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings.

Delivers strong wash-and-go definition on 3c/4a curl pattern, praised with before/after photos

verified buyer, 3c/4a hair, 5-star review

A staple for mini twists and under roller sets; credited with helping length retention

verified buyer, 5-star review

Feeds and moisturizes medium-density hair with nice hold and no white residue

verified buyer, medium-dense hair, 5-star review

Unimpressed overall, did not feel like a repurchase among a set of products tried

verified buyer, 2-star review

Gives braid-outs great definition, though the scent isn't to this reviewer's taste

verified buyer, 4-star review

More from PATTERN

How this page was made

  • Everything above is generated from our researched product record — identity, the ingredient list as printed, the brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. No part of this page is written per product.
  • 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.
  • Both scores out of ten are defined on this page. The formula score is completeness for the job, computed from a fixed per-format checklist shown beneath the gauge; the price score is cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced.
  • 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.
  • 1 source consulted for this product (1 manufacturer or regulatory, 0 retailer, 0 editorial), last checked 2026-08-27.
  • Ingredient references are linked for 4 of 7 product-aware annotations on this page. Fit notes are conditional formulation guidance, not a conclusion about the finished product or about you.
  • We have not tested this product in a lab and we do not physically test your hair. Formula readings come from the ingredient list; behaviour claims are labelled as the brand's.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice.
  • Ingredient names link to our ingredient library, where each entry shows what it does, which product types use it, and where it usually sits on a label across everything we have researched.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
  • Formula readings: derivation v22. Record last updated 2026-08-27.

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