This Is What Happened When I Used 5 Different Gels In My Natural Hair Consecutively For 5 Days

By Yemurai Crawford

I challenged myself to style my hair in one of the most strenuous styles for a consecutive 5 days –The Wash N Go. Not only is this style time

consuming in terms of the preparation, application then maintenance should you decide to stretch it to a multiple-day wear, it is also dangerous to your strands because it causes tangles and knots. I committed to not only styling my hair in the wash n go but I decided to document the styling process and record my thoughts at the end of each day. Sure it sounds oh so do-able but let me also share that I have two toddlers, a husband and a puppy. All 4 plus me have demanding schedules. Alas, I conquered.

It’s safe to say that in the natural hair community, the go-to brand for hair gel is Ecostyle Gel; be it olive oil, argan oil or any other oil infused, this is the brand for people with kinky, curly, coily textures and patterns. I wanted to try some from that brand that were launched not too long ago, and a few from the store shelves that have the potential to be curly-girl friendly. I just like the ability to have options and a variety to choose from.

This post is to merely summarize my thoughts on each gel and let you know whether or not any will make it on to my re-purchase list. Alright, on to the gels in the order of use:

DAY 1 | TRESEMME FLAWLESS CURLS GELS

This gel is light in consistency but defined my curls very well. My hair had shine and was in place all day. If you live in a humid place like I do, this gel is good at fighting humidity. The scent for this gel is very light and clean. There is no perfume or sweet fruity scent which i greatly appreciate. When hair dries, it stays in place and thank goodness there was no crunchy hard feeling to it. I rate the hold as 8 for this gel. As far as my curl pattern, I enjoyed the ringlets that my hair dried in. It gave my curls a tight pattern and I loved it. This gel goes for $3.98 at Walmart. It’s a gel that doesn’t cause drying to your hair and that may be because it doesn’t contain alcohol. For an 8 oz bottle I get 3 uses and for a light gel on my hair I think that’s awesome because at times it takes a lot of product for curls to form and strands clump together.

DAY 2 | SUAVE SCULPTING GEL

This gel was tragic in the end. This gel is $2.94 at Walmart. For a 9oz bottle I got only 2 uses out of it. I was disappointed to have to use half the 9 oz bottle to get my hair style where I needed it. But for the price, I don’t mind getting just two uses. At first application my hair seemed to not react/respond to it. My curls were nonexistent and hair remained frizzy and wet. After applying more my curls started forming and strands clumped together to form these pretty curls you see. Looking at my hair in it’s wet state I was very pleased and hopeful. It didn’t take long for my hair to dry. The scent was clean and a slight perfume could be detected. My frustration came after about 4 hours of wearing this gel in my hair. I ran my hands through my hair, trying to create more volume, shaping it a bit for me to record my review and my shirt was covered in little white powdery flakes. My hair looked dirty like i opened a pack of flour near a fan. The draw back was mostly the flaking.  Everything else about the gel was great. My hair did have movement when it dried so that’s plus.

DAY 3 | ECOSTYLER COCONUT OIL GEL

I’ve watched many reviews on this gel and most were negative but I decided to try it for myself. I wanted to formulate my own opinions and actually see how it would work on my hair because after all everyone’s hair is different. I was really hoping to be one of the few that would love this product. Application was a breeze. This gel is on the thicker side and has a maximum hold of 10. While wet my hair somewhat looked frizzy. I like how some of my curls formed but it wasn’t uniform throughout my head. I bought the smallest jar they had at 8 oz and it cost $2.99. It doesn’t smell like coconuts though. When my hair dried it was stiff and frizzy and I looked as if I had taken a swim and let my hair air dry with a bit of conditioner in it minus the softness. My hair felt dry. It wasn’t crunchy, but really dry.

DAY 4 | GARNIER FRUCTIS PURE CLEAN GEL

And to think I almost left this one at the cash register. This gel has a hold rating of 3 on a 5 scale so that translates to 6 on a 10. It is 98% naturally derived and smells so clean. I can’t place the fragrance but it’s a good one. At $2.96 this gel is a light gel yet my hair just clumped into many happy curls. My hair drank up the moisture from this gel and when it dried it had so much bounce and movements. Sometimes the gel connect the strands and makes it hard to move but this gel seemed to allow me to detangle my hair and after drying my strands were free to fly. My curls stayed in place all day and the sheen my hair had was out of this world. My hair appeared so dark and rich. Sometimes my hair appears ashy but this gel gave me so much shine. I was pleasantly surprised by this gel I was expecting an abundance of frizz. Many times, moisturizing natural products are awesome at infusing the hair with moisture but lack the capability to seal in the moisture so we get frizz. This gel just coated my hair and fought the humidity. Though I will only get 3 uses out of this jar, I am very satisfied with the results of this gel.

DAY 5 | ECOSTYLER BLACK CASTOR & FLAXSEED OIL GEL

Yes yes, in my mind I was thinking to save the best for last based on reviews I came across. I’m glad I did. This gel gave my hair the business. I got this 16 oz jar for $3.99. It’s on the thicker side of gels and also has a max hold of 10. It has some of my favorite ingredients, castor oil and flax seed oils! This gel although thick, allowed me to detangle my strands as I styled my hair. It smells pretty good and adds great shine to my hair. It even made my curls look uniform. I have a looser curl pattern at the front section of my head and those curls look longer and loose when they dry and when wet but after this gel dried, my hair seemed somewhat uniform. This gel is living up to it’s expectation and reviews.

MY OVERALL RANKING

1. Garnier Pure Clean Styling Gel – Girrrl, it’s 98% naturally derived, curls were perfect all day and the shine made my hair look so healthy.
2. Ecostyle Black Castor & Flaxseed Oil Gel – My hair loved it. My curls responded extremely well to it. Nothing at all to hate.
3. Tresemme Flawless Curls Gel – I loved the ringlet appearance my hair had. it was cute and I get all day wear from this gel.
4. Suave Sculpting Gel – I know, with the flakes it should be last but, i think for short term wear you will be fine with no flakes.
5. Ecostyle Coconut Oil Gel – Too frizzy, too dry. Period.

HAVE YOU TRIED ANY OF THESE GELS FOR YOUR WASH N GO? WHICH OF THESE DO YOU LOVE?

Credit : kinky curly coil me