Review Of the Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves Line

I’m not usually one who buys or tries new things soon after they first come out. Usually, because I don’t want to spend the money. But also because I want to see how it’s working for other people. Are they liking it or not? That helps me determine whether or not I will give it a try.

That wasn’t how I approached the Smooth Moves Line from Not Your Mother’s (NYM). I had been seeing lots of teasers for this line online so when the line launched in January 2022 I was ready to buy it. I did hold on buying as soon as it hit store shelves though because I wanted to make sure I could fit it in my hair product budget and I wanted to buy the products on sale (hey I try not to pay full price for anything hair and beauty related).

not your mother's smooth moves shampoo, conditioner, priming cream in shower

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The product line launched with four products

Of the four products that were available, the shampoo, conditioner, and priming cream seemed like the ones I would use most often so those are the ones I purchased.

About a month later a hair serum and hair mask were released. I didn’t purchase those because I wanted to try the ones I had first. Boy am I glad that I did but more on that later.

It took me a couple of months to try the products with some life events happening and other products that jumped to the front of the testing line for me but I eventually decided to try all three during one wash day.

During that wash day I followed my normal hair regimen with only a few differences

I used the Smooth Moves Shampoo as my first and second lather
I used a deep conditioner after using the Smooth Moves Conditioner
I didn’t do a roller set or blow out, I sat under my hooded dryer with my hair loose to dry my hair

Everything else was the same as what I do week in and week out.

Now before I get too far into this review, I should probably tell you about the Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves line. This hair care line is all about making frizzy hair look sleek and smooth. The products in this line are a shampoo, a rinse-out conditioner, an instant shine Lameller Water hair rinse, a hair mask, a priming cream, and a hair serum.

Overall claims for this line are

5X smoother hair
72 hours of frizz control
Increased shine

Key ingredients for most of the products include Hyaluronic Acid, and Macadamia Oil. As well as NYM’s FrizzLock Complex which is a vegan protein blend. From what I’ve found, plant-based proteins better absorb into the hair, provide hydration, and help to improve hair damage and split ends without a lot of build-up. The FrizzLock Complex is in all of the products with the exception of the serum. The protein isn’t far up on the ingredient lists of the products it’s in but it isn’t all the way at the bottom either.

Now let’s dive deeper into the three products I bought - the shampoo, the rinse-out conditioner, and the priming cream.

Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves Shampoo

This shampoo claims to work “into a luscious lather with every wash, leaving your hair fully refreshed without ever stripping it down.”

When I used the shampoo I lathered up with it twice versus using one of my go-to shampoo for the second lather.

The Smooth Moves Shampoo lathered up really nicely both times. It has a pleasant smell that is a little perfumy which I kinda like in a shampoo.

After I was done with it my hair felt clean but a little drier than normal but that wasn’t too surprising as this isn’t a moisturizing shampoo and it has some protein in it. Also, I didn’t feel like it made my hair feel any smoother than normal.

Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves Conditioner

This is a rinse-out conditioner that claims to be a “luxurious conditioner” that “hydrates and detangles hair while adding plenty of shine for 72 hour frizz control (when combined with the other products in the line).” It sounded like a promising conditioner.

The conditioner has a nice texture to it, not too thick and not too thin. The smell is similar to the shampoo, nice with a little perfume.

After using it my hair felt like some moisture was added back to it and my hair felt pretty smooth to the touch. On the flip side I don’t think my hair felt just as good or better than when I used my deep conditioners.

Now, I know a rinse-out conditioner and deep conditioner are different so my results will be different but this reminded me why I typically only use rinse-out conditioner for pre-poos and rarely ever without pairing it with a deep conditioner.

After rinsing out the conditioner I did my regular green tea rinse and then applied a protein-free deep conditioner I’d been using and loving. I felt like this wash was turning around for the better.

Not Your Mother’s Smooth Moves Priming Cream

After rinsing out the deep conditioner I applied the priming cream. The instructions say to “apply a nickel size amount to palms and smooth through hands. Run fingers evenly through damp hair before heat styling or air dry.”

The priming cream claims to protect and prep the hair because it

Protects hair against up to 450°F of heat
Controls frizz & adds shine
Mends split ends
Has Hyaluronic Acid & Macadamia Oil

Because this cream says it provides some heat protection I didn’t use the heat protectant or the leave-in conditioner I had been using recently because I wanted to see how the priming cream worked for my hair. That wasn’t a good idea because my hair didn’t feel moisturized at all, at all! And when I was drying my hair it started to get frizzy, something I’m not used to seeing.

Now the lack of moisture and frizz could have been because I was drying my loose hair with the hooded dryer but when I’ve done that before I never got all of this frizz. Also, my hair didn’t feel soft at all like it had been the last few weeks.

My thoughts

There was a bit of hype around this line when it launched but that seems to have died down with the exception of the Lameller Water Hair Rinse. NYM seems to be pushing it more than any of the other products and I can find more reviews for the Lameller Water Hair Rinse than any of the other products. I’m guessing that’s because it’s more unique and needs more education on the benefits and how to use it.

Reviews I have found from others are kinda mixed. Some people love the line and talk about how it’s helped to smooth their hair, others haven’t been impressed by some or all of the products in the line, and then some have had allergic reactions or noticed more frizz after using the Smooth Moves products.

I was planning to use these products for about 3-4 weeks but after the first week I’m kinda hesitant because none of the products really impressed me and I ended up with hair that was drier than normal, didn’t feel as soft as it typically does, and felt weighed down with product build-up. And my scalp also felt like it had product build-up.

Yep, after 4 days my scalp started to feel like it typically does 6-7 days after I wash it which is like it has some product build-up in some places. That is not normal. Now I did do a little sweating but it wasn’t anymore than I’ve had other weeks with no issue. So I don’t think that was the main issue.

I ended up re-washing my hair 4 days into the week and my hair felt a lot better, a lot lighter, and more moisturized. I’m not sure what happened other than I used the NYM Smooth Moves products for the first time.

Because of the results my hair had I’m leaning towards not using these products again, relegating them to the back of my cabinet and only pulling them out when I need a shampoo to clean my combs and brushes, or a conditioner to use for shaving cream.

The other alternative is to give them another try but only use one or two at a time. I do know that I’m not a fan of the priming cream at all and may not ever use it again or if I do I’ll need to pair it with a good moisturizer.

If you’d like to try these products for yourselves, links to the entire line are below.