Lottabody UK.

A setting lotion brand that moved with the times

Lottabody made its name on setting lotion, the concentrate you diluted in a bowl of water before rollers went in. That original product is still here in a 450ml bottle, and it still works the same way. What has changed is everything around it.

The current range covers co-wash, conditioner, curl milk, custard, edge control, blowout lotion and foaming mousse, so a whole routine can be built inside the brand.

The concentrate and how to use it

The Texturizing Setting Lotion Concentrate at 450ml is not meant to be used neat. Mix roughly one part lotion to three or four parts water, adjust to taste, and apply to damp hair before rolling or wrapping. More concentrate gives more hold and more stiffness.

The Coconut and Shea Oils Style Me Texturizing Setting Lotion at 354ml is the ready-diluted version. Less faff, less control, and it costs more per use. Worth it if you set once a fortnight rather than twice a week. The plain Setting Lotion at 236ml sits between the two: quick drying, shine forward, and aimed at waves, wraps and sets.

Coconut and Shea versus Milk and Honey

Coconut and Shea is the lighter of the two sub-ranges. Clean Me Co-Wash at 300ml, Sleek Me Blowout Lotion at 236ml and the Style Me setting lotion sit there, and it suits hair that gets weighed down easily.

Milk and Honey is richer. Restore Me Cream Conditioner at 300ml is the deep conditioning step, and Tame Me Edge Control at 63.7g is the hairline product. Choose this side if your hair is dry, coarse or damaged. Control Me Edge Gel, also 63.7g, is the third hairline option, with a firmer hold than Tame Me.

Sets, wraps and wash-and-gos

For roller sets and doobies, dilute the concentrate, apply to damp hair, roll, then dry fully under a hood or overnight. Taking rollers out of hair that is even slightly damp costs you the whole set.

For wash-and-gos, Shape Me Custard Gelee at 198.4g gives definition with a soft cast, and Moisture Me Curl and Style Milk at 236ml goes underneath it as the moisture layer. Wrap Me Foaming Mousse at 7oz covers wraps and blow-dried styles, adding shine without a sticky finish.

British weather notes

Summer humidity between 75 and 90 percent is exactly what setting lotion was made for. A properly dried set holds through a damp day far better than a heat style, which is why sets stayed popular in this country long after they faded elsewhere.

Winter is drier indoors, near 30 percent, and hair goes static. Milk and Honey Restore Me Cream Conditioner and a lighter hand with the concentrate suit those months, and Sleek Me Blowout Lotion is the one to use before heat.