Combing Creams Are What’s Missing From Your Hair-Care Routine

Being in the hair industry for as long as Carol's Daughter founder Lisa Price has, you start to think you've seen it all in terms of innovation. After a while, there are very few products that elicit an "Ooh" out of you. "I sort of remember the first time I saw a hair mask, or the first time I heard about a pre-poo. It’s like, 'Oh wait, what’s that?'" Price recalls. Which is why when she discovered combing creams on a trip to Brazil, it was a pretty big deal. What are combing creams, you ask? Don't worry, we wondered the same thing. They're essentially products that help detangle and moisturize your hair while prepping it for its style — and, according to Price, they're all the rage in Latin America. "What I discovered [in Brazil] is a lot of women like to wear their hair in a style that appears to be natural... They want to look as if they ran to the beach during lunch, took a quick dip, and their hair is [left] sun-dried and windblown," she says. These products help them do just that. For many women in Latin America, combing creams are as much of a regular part of a hair-care routine as shampoos and conditioners. "Some women go so far as to keep it in their purse and apply it to their hair during lunch, if it's going to be humid when they go outside," Price says. "It made me think of how we have BB creams for the skin, kind of having that prepping, moisturizing pre-styler in your hair... I just wanted to come back home and figure out how we were going to make combing creams." In mid-September, Carol's Daughter brought the concept to the U.S. The brand's 4-in-1 "Combing" Creme collection is made up of three products — Black Vanilla for moisture, Sacred Tiare for anti-breakage and anti-frizz, and Hair Milk for curls. They all have the same goal: Make your hair tangle-free and soft. Price notes that the creams are great for all hair types. "You can put some on your hair, blow your hair out, and style it." If you're on the curlier side, you can use them for detangling and definition. Price does advise that while the cream will help define your curls and waves, it won't give you a firm hold, so she recommends adding a bit of gel to supplement it. Those with textured hair — who often find themselves held hostage by regular detangling — may wonder: So how is this different from solely using a leave-in conditioner that also has adequate slip? Well, for starters, Price points out, leave-ins are often heavy and will leave the hair with a waxy feel. "The [creams] that I found in Brazil distributed in a very fluid way onto the hair, and you didn’t have that after-feel... With the ones that we made, it's the same thing," she says. "So now, I’m able to use the combing cream and I get my moisture, I get my detangling, I get my definition, and I don’t have any kind of coating on my hair." And if both Price and Gisele Bündchen's luscious manes are any indication, we could all benefit from adding these to our rotations.