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If you have curly or coily hair, are a superfan of actor Tracee Ellis Ross, and haven’t been living under a rock, chances are you’ve already gotten your hands on her cult-favorite hair-care line, Pattern, since its rollout in Ulta Beauty stores across the country. For the uninitiated, the actor’s line includes hair maintenance essentials specifically for curlies: We’re talking argan oil, shampoo, leave-in conditioner, and my personal favorite, the brand’s Heavy Conditioner for Coillies. As a person who uses deep conditioner on her hair at least once a week, I can usually judge pretty quickly whether a product will be hydrating enough to moisturize my 4A curls. Folks, let me tell you that this one definitely delivers.
The Heavy Conditioner is one of three absolutely enormous deep conditioners from Pattern (along with the Medium Conditioner for Curlies and the Intensive Conditioner for Tight Textures) that are not TSA-friendly but will last you for months on end. It’s made with moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, avocado, and soybean oil that evenly coat my hair from root to tip. And ever since September (when the brand graciously sent me the line to test), I’ve barely made a dent in it: I usually apply the conditioner in the shower, after a quick rinse, and since this stuff is so thick—a feature I’m all about—I typically only need about two to three generous squeezes of product to cover my whole head.
Once my hair is totally saturated, I comb it with either my fingers or a brush (the brand’s shower brush is another current favorite of mine) in sections to properly detangle it. The deep conditioner not only hydrates as soon as I apply it, but also smells like a bouquet of the prettiest wildflowers you could ever imagine (but not in an overpowering way). It also provides plenty of slip, which makes it easy to detangle my hair without pulling or breakage. I usually let the conditioner sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse my hair thoroughly with cool water to seal my cuticles and lock in moisture.
After rinsing, my curls emerge noticeably tighter and have a certain extra bounce and definition that I typically only see after I apply my day-to-day styling products, like gel or mousse. I can always tell that my hair is moisturized with this conditioner, even while it’s still damp, because it feels silky-soft to the touch. My boyfriend consistently compliments me not only on how great my hair looks when I incorporate the conditioner into my routine, but also on how good it smells. Sometimes I don’t even bother using styling products at all (when I’m feeling super lazy) because I’m so happy with the spring my hair has back in its step thanks to this treatment. Did I mention the conditioner comes in an even bigger pump-top bottle too? I’ll be stocking up on that one once I’ve used this tube all the way down to the bottom.
