Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo & Conditioner Review 2026

Wavy hair lives in a strange middle zone. It is too curly to behave like straight hair and too loose to follow curly hair rules.

Most shampoos either flatten waves or leave them puffy. That is why so many wavy people keep swapping bottles every few months.

Function of Beauty moved away from its old custom mixing model and now sells ready made sets on Amazon. The Wavy Hair Shampoo and Conditioner set is the one built for type 2A, 2B and 2C hair.

I used this duo for six weeks on shoulder length 2B hair. I washed, air dried, diffused, and even tested it on a second person with fine 2A waves.

This review covers the real texture, the scent, the unboxing, the price, and the parts that disappointed me. No sugar coating. If the formula falls short for certain hair types, you will read about it below.

In A Nutshell:

• The formula is genuinely lightweight. Fermented rice water in the shampoo and argan oil in the conditioner give softness without the greasy film that heavier curl products leave behind. Fine waves stay bouncy instead of collapsing.
• Frizz control is good, not perfect. My waves looked smoother and more grouped, but humid days still brought halo frizz around the crown. A gel or cream is still needed for full definition.
• The shampoo is sulfate free and cleans gently. Lather is modest. You will need two rounds of shampoo if you use silicone heavy stylers or dry shampoo.
• Dry or coarse hair may find it too light. Several long term users report a thin, watery feel. My thicker sections needed a weekly mask to stay happy.
• The value is solid on the XL sizes. The 22 ounce bottles cost far less per ounce than the old custom subscription, which is the biggest improvement of 2026.
• Scent is soft and clean. It fades within a few hours, which pleases people who hate strong fragrance and annoys people who want lasting perfume.

What Is The Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo & Conditioner Set?

Last update on 2026-06-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

Function of Beauty started as a custom haircare brand. You filled out a quiz, picked goals, and received bottles with your name printed on them.

The brand has since shifted. It now sells fixed formulas sorted by hair type, and this wavy set is one of the core pairs.

The shampoo uses fermented rice water as the headline ingredient. Rice water has a long history in hair care because it contains amino acids and inositol, both of which support strand elasticity.

The conditioner leans on argan oil, shea butter unsaponifiables, sunflower seed oil and vitamin E. These soften the cuticle and add shine without heavy waxes.

Both bottles are sulfate free, paraben free, vegan and cruelty free. The brand states the formulas suit color treated hair, and my highlighted sections did not fade faster during testing.

The set is aimed at people whose waves go flat, frizzy or undefined after washing. That is the exact complaint most wavy people have.

Sizes come in a standard duo and an XL duo. The XL version holds 22 ounces per bottle, which lasts a long time for medium length hair.

You will find the set at Amazon, Target and the brand website. Amazon usually runs the lowest price during sale events.

Unboxing Experience And First Impressions

The set arrived in a plain brown Amazon mailer with a thin layer of paper padding. No branded outer box, no tissue, no ribbon.

That surprised me. The old custom orders came in a printed box with a personalized card, and losing that touch removes some of the fun.

Inside, both bottles sat in a sealed plastic sleeve. Neither cap leaked during shipping, which matters when you order liquids online.

The bottles look clean and modern. Soft cream plastic, a small pastel label, and a flip top cap that opens with one thumb in the shower.

The wavy set uses a light lilac accent color, so you can tell the shampoo from the conditioner at a glance in a steamy bathroom. Small detail, real benefit.

The shampoo pours out as a clear, slightly viscous liquid. It is thinner than a drugstore sulfate shampoo, so pour slowly or you will waste product.

The conditioner is thick, white and creamy. It holds its shape in your palm and does not run through your fingers.

Scent hits you as soon as you open the caps. It smells like clean laundry with a faint hint of coconut and pear. Pleasant, mild, and gone within a few hours of drying.

First impressions were good. Nothing felt cheap, though the packaging is clearly built for cost efficiency rather than a luxury moment.

Key Ingredients That Do The Work

The ingredient list tells you more than any marketing line. Let me break down the parts that actually matter for waves.

Fermented rice water sits high in the shampoo. Fermentation lowers the pH and increases the amino acid content, which helps strands resist breakage and hold a wave pattern.

The cleansing agents are sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate and sodium methyl cocoyl taurate. Both are mild surfactants that clean without stripping the scalp, and both are common in gentle curl shampoos.

Glycerin appears early in the formula. Glycerin pulls moisture from the air into the hair, which is great in normal humidity and less great in very dry winter air.

The conditioner opens with water, cetyl alcohol and behentrimonium chloride. That last one is a conditioning agent that gives real slip for detangling, and it rinses clean instead of building up.

Argan oil brings shine and softness. Shea butter unsaponifiables add the moisturizing part of shea without the heavy grease of raw butter.

The formula does contain silicones in some versions of the wavy base. If you follow strict Curly Girl Method rules, check your bottle label before buying.

Nothing here is groundbreaking. It is a sensible, modern, well balanced formula rather than a science experiment.

Top 3 Alternative for Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo & Conditioner

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Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Shampoo and Conditioner Set

Last update on 2026-08-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Shine Shampoo

Last update on 2026-08-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil Shampoo and Conditioner Set

How The Shampoo Feels In The Shower

Lather is the first thing wavy people notice with sulfate free shampoo. This one produces a low, creamy foam rather than a big bubble cloud.

I needed two pumps for my roots and one more for the mid lengths. A second wash was necessary whenever I had used a styling gel the day before.

The shampoo feels slippery on the scalp. It spreads easily, and my fingers moved through the roots without dragging.

Rinse out is fast and clean. My scalp felt fresh, never squeaky, and never coated.

The best part is what happens after the rinse. My hair did not turn into the rough, tangled straw that many clarifying shampoos create.

Oily scalps will like this. I stretched washes from two days to three without a greasy root by day three.

Very dry scalps may want something richer. One tester with a flaky scalp saw no improvement after four weeks, so this is not a treatment shampoo.

The conditioner spreads well through wet hair. Two pumps covered my mid lengths and ends, and detangling with fingers took under a minute.

I left it on for three minutes each wash. Longer soaks did not add much, which tells you the formula works fast rather than deep.

Results After Four Weeks Of Testing

Week one felt like an adjustment period. My waves looked slightly limp, likely because my hair was releasing old product buildup.

By week two the pattern tightened. My loose 2B waves formed clearer S shapes from the ears down, and the top section held more shape than usual.

Shine improved noticeably. Photos in daylight showed a smoother surface, and my ends stopped looking dull and ragged.

Frizz dropped by maybe forty percent on normal days. On humid days it dropped by very little, which is honest and worth saying.

Volume at the roots stayed intact. That is the single biggest win here, because most moisturizing duos flatten fine waves within two washes.

My fine haired tester saw the strongest results. Her 2A waves went from barely visible to clearly defined with only a light mousse on top.

My thicker, coarser sections were less impressed. Those pieces stayed slightly dry and needed a leave in cream to stay soft.

Breakage reduced over the month. I found fewer short broken strands on my brush, which suggests the rice water claim holds some weight.

What This Duo Does Not Do Well

Every honest review needs this section. Here is where the set falls short.

It is not moisturizing enough for coarse, thick or very dry hair. Multiple long term users describe the formula as thin and watery, and my own experience matched that on my densest sections.

The conditioner rinses too clean for some people. If you like that slippery, coated feel after conditioning, you will feel like something is missing.

Frizz control fails in high humidity. The glycerin content likely contributes, since glycerin pulls in moisture on damp days.

Curl definition is mild. This set enhances your natural pattern, but it will not create clumps or hold on its own.

Scent lovers will be disappointed. The fragrance disappears within hours and leaves almost nothing behind.

The price is the biggest sticking point. The set costs more than drugstore options that perform at a similar level for many hair types.

The brand also no longer offers true customization the way it did years ago. Longtime customers who loved the quiz and the personalized bottles will feel the loss.

Finally, results take time. The first two washes may look worse before they look better, so do not judge it on day one.

Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo XL Reviewed

Last update on 2026-08-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

The XL shampoo deserves its own look. It holds 22 ounces, which is double the standard bottle.

The formula inside is identical to the regular size. Same fermented rice water, same gentle surfactants, same mild scent.

The value difference is significant. Per ounce, the XL bottle costs far less, and it lasted my household roughly four months with three washes per week.

The bottle is chunky. It stands about nine inches tall and takes real shower shelf space, so plan for that if your shower caddy is small.

The pump cap works better than the flip top on the smaller bottle. One press gives a controlled amount, and there is less waste.

Buy the XL only after you have tested the regular size. Committing to 22 ounces of a formula that does not suit your hair is an expensive mistake.

The matching XL conditioner exists too, sold separately. Many buyers use conditioner faster than shampoo, so buying two conditioners to one shampoo makes sense for long hair.

Price, Sizes And Value For Money

The standard duo usually sits in the mid twenties to low thirties on Amazon. Individual bottles from the brand site start around ten dollars for 11 ounces.

The XL duo climbs higher in total price but wins on cost per ounce. Amazon runs frequent limited time deals on this set, so patient shoppers can save real money.

Compare that to the old custom subscription, which often ran close to fifty dollars per order. The current pricing is far friendlier.

Against drugstore rivals, this set costs more. Maui Moisture and SheaMoisture sell for a fraction of the price.

Against salon brands like Ouidad or DevaCurl, this set costs much less. That places Function of Beauty firmly in the middle tier.

Value depends entirely on your hair type. Fine to medium waves get strong performance for the money, while coarse hair may find better results elsewhere at the same price.

Shipping is free with Prime, which removes the old subscription shipping fees. Target and Boots also stock the line if you prefer to buy in store.

How To Use It For The Best Wave Definition

Technique changes results more than most people expect. Here is the routine that worked best during testing.

Wet your hair fully for at least thirty seconds. Waves need saturated strands before shampoo touches them.

Apply shampoo to the scalp only. Massage with fingertips for sixty seconds, then let the runoff clean your lengths.

Rinse well, then apply conditioner from the ears down. Skip the roots if you have fine hair that goes flat.

Detangle with your fingers or a wide tooth comb while the conditioner sits. Wait three full minutes.

Rinse with cool water. Cool water helps the cuticle lie flat and adds visible shine.

Scrunch upward with your hands while your hair is still soaking wet. Then scrunch again with a microfiber towel or an old cotton shirt.

Apply your styler to wet hair, never damp hair. A light mousse or gel pairs perfectly with this set.

Air dry or diffuse on low heat. Do not touch your hair while it dries, because touching creates frizz.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy It In 2026?

The Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo and Conditioner set earns a solid recommendation with clear limits.

Buy it if you have fine to medium waves that go flat easily. The lightweight formula is the whole point, and it delivers on that promise.

Buy it if you want gentle daily cleansing without sulfates. The shampoo cleans well and treats the scalp kindly.

Skip it if your hair is coarse, thick or very dry. You will find the formula too light and will end up layering heavy products on top anyway.

Skip it if you live somewhere humid and expect frizz proof results. This duo needs a styling product to finish the job.

My overall score sits at four out of five. Points come off for weak humidity performance and for the loss of true customization.

The set is not magic. It is a reliable, well made, gently priced pair that makes wavy hair look like a better version of itself.

That is enough for most people. Test the standard size first, then move to the XL bottles once you know your hair likes it.

FAQs

Is Function of Beauty Wavy Hair Shampoo sulfate free?

Yes. The shampoo uses sodium lauroyl methyl isethionate and sodium methyl cocoyl taurate instead of sulfates, so it cleans gently and suits color treated hair.

Does this set work for 2A, 2B and 2C hair?

The brand designed it for all three wave types. In testing, 2A and 2B hair responded best, while 2C hair often needed extra moisture from a mask or leave in.

Is it safe for color treated hair?

Yes. The formula is sulfate free and paraben free, and my highlighted sections showed no unusual fading over six weeks.

How long does one bottle last?

The 11 ounce shampoo lasted about seven weeks with three washes per week on shoulder length hair. The 22 ounce XL bottle lasted roughly four months.

Does Function of Beauty still make custom formulas?

The brand has moved most of its range to ready made hair type sets like this wavy duo. The old quiz based personalization is no longer the main offering.

Can I use the conditioner as a leave in?

It is built as a rinse out conditioner. A tiny amount can work as a leave in on fine hair, but larger amounts leave a slight coating.

Will it stop frizz completely?

No. It reduces frizz on normal days and helps smooth the cuticle, but humid weather still causes flyaways without a gel or cream on top.

Where can I buy it?

Amazon carries both the standard and XL sets. Target, Boots and the Function of Beauty website also stock the wavy line.