Pattern Beauty is one of those rare brands that consistently leaves my hair feeling shiny and thick. The new hair-care brand is the brainchild of Tracee Ellis Ross, the award-winning actress who stars in Black-ish and is the daughter of the legendary singer Diana Ross.

Honestly… I’m not at all surprised about Ross’s hair-care launch. After all, she’s been working on Pattern for over a decade and consistently posting her curls on Instagram. Her love of everything hair-care can be traced back to her early teen years when, according to a Glamour article I read, her mother warned her about her product addiction: 

“I went through this phase where I tried every hair product in the world. My mom said to me, ‘Listen to me: You either need to get yourself an incredibly good job, or’—and by the way, this is generational, but she did put job first—’or a very wealthy husband to pay for your hair products alone, because they are going to break the bank. Call it quits on the hair products. I can’t deal with it.’ “

I bought these three products from her line at my local Ulta store: leave-in conditioner, hydration shampoo, and styling cream. I love the sunny, positive vibe of the display!

Pattern’s Leave-In Conditioner

My absolute favorite product from this line is the leave-in conditioner. I’ve always been wary of leave-ins because they usually leave my hair droopy and overly conditioned, but this one did the opposite and left it defined and springing with life.

I can safely put a quarter-size amount of this product in my hair and not worry about a greasy mess (I usually add a splash of water to my products and scrunch it into my hair). It still held up nicely the next couple of days.

It’s also the first time I didn’t feel required to use my Devacurl blow dryer. It looked frizz-free and volumized– two things that are usually hard for my hair to pull off without using a bit of heat. 

It all comes down to this: This leave-in conditioner is one of the best things I’ve ever put in my hair, a miracle worker. Probably the best product on the market right now. Unless they change the formula–please don’t Pattern!!

Pattern’s Hydration Shampoo

The hydration shampoo (the only cleanser in the beauty line aside from the clarifying shampoo) didn’t over-hydrate my strands and I loved the silky texture of it, but I probably won’t continue to use it, at least not with the leave-in cream. 

I noticed my hair wasn’t as shiny and defined as when I use other brand shampoos in addition to the leave-in conditioner. 

In other words, it wasn’t until I started using the shampoo in conjunction with the leave-in cream that my hair started rebelling and not doing what I wanted. 

Both ingredients list biotin, so maybe it was more biotin than my fine hair could handle. Nonetheless, the oil-infused shampoo did hydrate and cleanse like it promised it would and it’s silky, pearlescent texture is unlike any other.

Pattern’s Styling Cream

Styling creams are usually a staple in my bathroom, but this one didn’t quite cut it for me (I got the mini version). The buttery texture was just too thick for me (I’m more of a fan of milky cremes) and it left my hair stringy and not as shiny as the leave-in. No matter how many times or ways I tried using it, it just didn’t work as well as the leave-in conditioner. 

The cream’s rich texture didn’t deter me from trying it as a curl refresher (added a bit of water) though! Surprisingly, it did better at that! It left it better than other re-activating curl sprays/lotions I’ve tried in the past. 

What Pattern says about their styling cream: “Styling Cream provides superior moisture penetration & the ideal oil-rich, touchable hold Shea Butter, Cacay Oil & Sweet Almond Oil.” Looking at it more, I realized this product may be targeted more towards women who wear their curls in twist-outs, braid-outs, and bantu knots. 

One of my favorite things about Pattern Beauty is that they carry products that are free of SLS/SLES (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate) are color-safe, free of cyclic silicones (may be toxic to the reproductive system and environment), and phthalate (may disrupt hormone activity) and formaldehyde-free (skin and eye irritation).