Skala hair creams from Brazil, sorted by curl

One jar, two jobs

Skala built its name on one shape: a wide jar holding a full kilo of treatment cream. Most jars are sold as a 2-in-1. You can work the cream through washed hair as a mask and rinse it out, or comb a small amount through damp hair and leave it in.

That double use is why a single jar lasts so long on a bathroom shelf, and why Skala buyers talk about price per wash day instead of price per bottle. A kilo is also heavy. The jar is made to stay by the shower, not to travel.

A colour for every line

Every Skala line has its own jar colour and its own character drawn on the front. Blue Mais Cachos is for curls, brown Mais Crespos is for coils and purple Mais Lisos is for straight hair. The names are Portuguese, and most of them say what the jar is for.

Once you know a handful of words, the shelf reads like a map. Children's lines swap the adult character for a child, and the fruit lines drop the character for a fruit pattern.

Plant oils on the label

Skala says its whole range has been vegan since 2018. On the jars you will see shea butter, castor oil, passion fruit oil, aloe vera and patauá, an oil pressed from the fruit of a Brazilian rainforest palm.

Most packs also state what is left out, usually parabens and silicones. A few do not, and one newer line lists parabens among its ingredients, so go by the pack in your hand.

Check the back label when an ingredient matters to you. The printed list has the final word, and it can change between batches.

For smaller heads

Three Skala creams are for children: Mais Cachinhos, Mais Crespinhos and Divino Potinho. The jars are the same one-kilo size as the adult lines, with younger characters on the front.

A children's shampoo, conditioner and leave-in sit in the Crespinho Divino line.

When the label names no curl

Some Skala jars are sold by ingredient, not by hair type. Bomba de Vitaminas, Potão do Amor and the fruit jars fall here. They suit a mixed household where one jar has to work for everybody.

Skala creams are rich and scented. If your hair is fine and goes flat under heavy products, start with a small amount as a rinse-out mask before you try any of them as a leave-in.