International Curly Hair Routine with Imbue from LookFantastic

In this wash day routine, I’ll be using products from Imbue, a UK brand available internationally from LookFantastic. Thank you to Lookfantastic for sponsoring this post.

I know many of you are located outside of the US and are always asking for what brands I recommend internationally. I was excited to partner with Lookfantastic again because they have a wide range of beauty products and hair brands and they ship all over the world. I chose the brand Imbue because their products seemed to be more on the affordable side, and they claim to be “curly girl compliant.”

I chose products for a basic wash day routine: shampoo, conditioner, mask, and styler. I was excited to see the cream-gel product is a one-step styler! I also got a serum that can be used for touchups and refreshing.

Imbue is a brand designed for type 3a-4c hair types (curly-coily). They’re free of non-water soluble silicones, free of SLS, parabens, drying alcohols, mineral oils, and waxes. Their formulas all feature Cupuaçu seed butter and coconut. Other common ingredients found in these products include shea butter, cacao seed butter, polyquaternium, olive fruit oil, sweet almond oil, and more. I was pleased to see the shampoo contained Disodium EDTA, a chelating ingredient that works to remove hard water build-up. The conditioner does contain water-soluble silicones, which I realized after the fact. I did not have any build-up issues! Also, the mask contains protein ingredients but is balanced with moisture.

Products Used

• Imbue Curl Liberating Sulphate Free Shampoo
• Imbue Curl Respecting Conditioner
• Imbue Curl Restoring Intensive Mask
• Imbue Curl Empowering Crème Gel
• Imbue Curl Energising Hydration Serum
• HairRepear The Ultimate Hair Towel
• Conair Curl Collective Detangling Brush
• Infiniti PRO by Conair 1875 Watt Texture Styling Hair Dryer

Wash Day Steps

1. Dry detangle. Wet hair in the shower and apply the Imbue Curl Respecting Conditioner to further detangle.
2. Cleanse using the Imbue Curl Liberating Sulphate Free Shampoo
3. Apply more conditioner if needed to detangle. Rinse and wrap hair in hair towel.
4. Spritz hair with water and apply the Imbue Curl Restoring Intensive Mask. Leave on for 5-10 minutes before rinsing over the tub. Wrap hair in hair towel.
5. Spritz water on damp hair if needed. Section hair and apply the Imbue Curl Empowering Crème Gel thoroughly.
6. Use a brush to define ringlets and create small clumps if needed.
7. Scrunch with damp hands and a little more creme gel
8. Diffuse until dry
9. Touchup and frizzy curls with the Imbue Curl Energising Hydration Serum if needed.
10. Fluff roots once 100% dry

My Results

I had little to no cast but had defined curls with lots of volume. My hair felt very soft and didn’t have much frizz which was surprising with such little hold. I loved the fullness that I had while still having some curl clumps. One advantage I’ve found with softer hold products is it makes my low-density hair look fuller instead of being so piecey and clumped/defined.

I put these products to the ultimate test by wearing them to the beach for the day in 95+ heat, high humidity, and wind. I thought I was crazy for even attempting that with such a soft hold, but it was surprisingly a little more manageable and less tangly. I had some frizz which was expected, but it actually looked good because my curls were still defined and bouncy. They didn’t fall flat and refreshing the next way was actually easy.

The creme gel has Polyquaternium-68 and sealing butters and oils, so I figured I would get some humidity protection. It does have glycerine in it, but I find that when paired with polyquats I don’t have issues with glycerine.

I wish I took a photo that day!

I also did not get any build-up and when I went to wash my hair for this video, I noticed the products rinsed right out and my hair felt soft.

Final Thoughts

I think this is a great brand if you are outside the US and struggle to find high-quality (somewhat affordable) CGM-friendly products. As I noted, the conditioner does contain water-soluble silicones which I usually try and avoid but they’re not supposed to cause build-up. I was glad to see the mask and the styling products are silicone-free.

If you were just going to get the essentials, I would recommend the shampoo, mask, and creme gel. However, with the mask having protein, you may not want to use it every single wash just to avoid overdoing it on the protein. I usually rotate my deep conditioners with protein ones and protein-free ones that are solely moisturizing.

I don’t find the serum to be completely necessary, but I’m not usually one to use a serum finisher or a special product to refresh. Since you only apply a little I don’t find they make an impact overall. However this one did smooth frizz and refine curls that were looking a little frizzy after diffusing and next day.

I’m looking forward to seeing what other products Imbue comes out as the line is somewhat small.

If you’re interested in Imbue or other international curly hair brands, check out LookFantastic.com and get 22% off with code GENA.