AG Re:coil Curl Activator vs. Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream

Welcome to another exciting edition of Haircare Face-Off!, the only online beauty battle in which two similar products square off in an intense head-to-head battle, judged by a an award-winning professional stylist.  This round features two popular cream-based styling products designed for curly hair.  Let's take a closer look at our competitors.

Re:coil Curl Activator is one of the top-selling products manufactured by AG Hair Cosmetics, the Canadian-based company founded by renowned stylist John Davis in 1989.  Today, AG products are sold in over 12,000 salons across North America and the company's growth shows no signs of slowing down, because AG products are salt, paraben, gluten, PABA, and DEA free.  AG's Re:coil Curl Activator promotes soft, casual waves even in high-humidity conditions.

Moroccanoil Curl Control Cream is manufactured by the company which started the whole argan oil craze- a craze which has spawned dozens of copycat products which include this "miracle ingredient".  Today, Moroccanoil is a company with a full range of haircare and skincare products.  Curl Defining Cream is designed with advanced heat-activated technology that provides intense conditioning and promises to keep hair bouncy and frizz-free for hours. 

Which curl cream deserves to be called the best?  That's what Haircare Face-Off! intends to find out, with a unique scoring system which rates each product on a 1-10 scale in the following categories: Performance, Ingredients, Sensory Appeal/Packaging, and Value.  Each product is used on actual salon clients for one week, on a wide variety of hair types and textures. 

Let the battle begin!

Performance: After the first day of testing I knew that this was going to be a hard round to score, because both products excelled and failed in various scenarios.  Both creams are on the heavier side, and neither performed as well as I would have liked on fine hair, although AG Re:coil did the job better.  On dark hair, both products will leave behind a whitish residue if too much product is applied.  The AG cream provided a matte finish, while the Moroccanoil cream managed to impart shine.  Unfortunately, this shine doesn't look natural, it's more like a greasy type of sheen.  Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream was a better match for Hispanic, African-American, and mixed ethnicity hair, while the AG cream was a better match for Caucasian hair types, and worked very well on permed clients.  Ultimately, the Moroccanoil cream lost points because it tends to leave the hair sticky and greasy.  Also, some clients with allergies found the scent of the Moroccanoil product to be unbearable.  This round goes to AG. (AG Re:coil Curl Activator: 8 Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream: 5)

Ingredients:  The only ingredient worth mentioning in the Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream is argan oil.  The other ingredients are: Cetearyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium 11, Glycol Stearate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Polyquaternium 72, Fragrance, Dimethicone, Behentrimonium Methosulfate and C10-40, Isoalkylamidopropylethyldimonium Ethosulfate and Cetyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, DMDM Hydantoin, and Lactic Acid.  The AG Re:coil Curl Activator, on the other hand, contains several beneficial natural ingredients, such as sage, nettle, chamomile, hops, rosemary, and wild cherry extracts.  While both products do contain alcohol, the alcohol content of the Moroccanoil cream is much greater.  Argan oil may be a "miracle ingredient", but is wasn't enough to win this round.  (AG Re:coil Curl Activator: 9 Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream: 4)

Sensory Appeal/Packaging:  AG Re:coil has a light but wonderful fragrance, while the Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream has an overpowering, almost "medicinal" fragrance, which some clients likened to men's aftershave.  In terms of packaging, the AG cream comes in a tube while the Moroccanoil cream comes in pump bottle, so both products are easy to dispense into the hand.  However, I prefer the AG tube because it make it easier to get the last bit of product out of the container.  When it comes to labeling and design, AG's presentation is sleek, simple, and modern.  The Moroccanoil bottle features the company's signature blue-green label with an orange letter M- not the prettiest packaging, but certainly distinctive.  But fragrance was the deciding factor in this round.  Many clients responded favorably to the AG fragrance, and no one responded favorably to the Moroccanoil fragrance.  In fact, if you suffer from allergies, the Moroccanoil cream may be downright aggravating. (AG Re:coil Curl Activator: 9 Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream: 4)

Value: The AG product is available in a 6 ounce tube for around 15.00 at most reputable online stores, which equals 2.50 per ounce.  Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream is available in an 8.5 ounce bottle, and sells for 25.00 at most reputable online stores.  The cost-per-ounce is $2.94; nearly half a dollar more than the AG product.  Since the Moroccanoil brand is very popular, their products have been known to be counterfeited, so it is a bad idea to purchase a Moroccanoil product for a price that seems too good to be true.  (AG Re:coil Curl Activator: 8 Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream: 5)

And the winner is......

AG Re:coil Curl Activator, by one of the widest margins of victory in Haircare Face-Off! history.  My opinion is that Moroccanoil should've quit while they were ahead.  The original argan oil treatment was a truly revolutionary product, but unfortunately the rest of Moroccanoil's product line leaves a lot to be desired.  Putting a few drops of a "miracle ingredient" into an otherwise inferior product does not make it a great product.  The funny thing is, the original Moroccanoil argan oil treatment probably makes curls look better than the Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream.  AG took Moroccanoil to school in this battle, handily winning every single round.  (Final Score: AG Re:coil Curl Activator- 34 Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream- 18)