20 Best Gels for Curly Hair of 2022 Best Hair Gel for Curls

Table Of Content

• Sexy Hair Ultra Curl Support Styling Creme-Gel, $18, ulta.com
• Tea Tree Lavender Mint Conditioning Leave-in Spray
• Best Gels for Curly Hair and Coils That Won’t Cause White Flakes or Leave You With Stiff Strands
• The Best Curly Hair Gels for Every Coil and Wave
• Innersense Organic Beauty I Create Hold Gel
• Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Style Gel

It coats every last coil with intense moisture to eliminate static and dryness. To prevent frizz and add shine, you can rub a few drops of a lightweight hair oil between your hands before scrunching out the crunch (finer hair types might want to skip this and just use clean hands). If you’ve never had a curling iron in your hair arsenal — or worse, have had one in your lineup but have been left unsatisfied — there is a lot to consider before investing, especially for these notoriously tricky tools. You’ll need to consider your natural hair type, the health of your hair, and (of course) the look you’re trying to achieve.

Sexy Hair Ultra Curl Support Styling Creme-Gel, $18, ulta.com

Aveda's curl cream boasts over 2,400 reviews on Nordstrom averaging almost five stars and is a great prep step for creating curls in straight hair. "I have very straight hair, but this product really helps when I want to add a bit of curl," a reviewer noted. "It's the best product I've found that makes my normally flat hair hold curl." It’s always great when you can stroll into the supermarket or drugstore and find quality haircare at an affordable price. This gel has hair-healthy ingredients like sugar beet root, vegetable glycerin, and wheat protein.

Tea Tree Lavender Mint Conditioning Leave-in Spray

Both organic and cruelty free, this gel smells like honey and orange blossoms. A little bit goes a long way for all-day hold, touchably soft curls, and an ingredient list you can feel good about. All you need for perfect curls is to use a leave-in conditioner followed by this gel. "You don’t have to do this whole series of creams, and it's not going to flake," says Hardges.

Best Gels for Curly Hair and Coils That Won’t Cause White Flakes or Leave You With Stiff Strands

Our product testers tried some of the top-rated products for weeks at a time, taking note of how well they delivered results as well as any extra product features. For sponsored content, the Shop TODAY editorial team independently chooses, tries and reviews products to recommend that are sold by the advertiser. One of my favorite oils, this one has a nozzle tip to easily drip it directly onto my scalp before massaging.

Best for Shine

This gel runs the gamut from looser waves to tighter coils, and delivers the hold of a gel but with the flexibility of a hair wax. After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the "best" for people over 50 if the only testers we've solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We're proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet. This GH Beauty Award winner is packed full of ingredients like glycerin, castor oil, and aloe, which work to hydrate curls instead of making them crunchy or sticky.

’Hair saviour’ cream over 16.9 million love - news.com.au

’Hair saviour’ cream over 16.9 million love.

Posted: Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Redway says heatless curlers are the trick to achieving cowgirl curls (more on those below), but the best place to start is with a hydrating leave-in product to help to keep those curls in tact. Use the product overnight to avoid tangling and frizzing while you sleep, and during the day to give your style moisture and hold. Odele’s leave-in conditioner packs in moisture that detangles and defines. Plus, it's made with amino acids which improve hair health over time, per the brand. If it means you're able to swap out your hair dryer, flat iron and curling tools for one item, though, we think it's justifiable.

In other words, you can shop gels for curly hair by looking for formulas that target frizz control or by hold level. “Styling products like gel are always added to the hair after the hair has been cleansed and conditioned,” Strickland says. "A gel will provide that separation that you like to see when you have curls, and it's also going to give you a little bit more definition," says Leigh Hardges, a Chicago-based hair stylist. "Because of the way it coats the hair, it's going to help prevent frizz." According to Hardges, hair gel works best on 3A (loose, springy ringlets) to 4A (tight, defined, S-shaped curls) hair types.

Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Style Gel

Another great way to tame coarse, flyaway hair is to use a relaxing balm. This one by Phyto helps to loosen the curls so they start to straighten, but not so much so that you lose texture or volume. You'll love the lightweight consistency that won't leave your hair feeling greasy. Designed specifically with heat and humidity in mind, this gel works wonders to deflate your tresses.

Now, for my final thoughts on longevity, frizz, and moisture...

When it comes down to specific looks, you can create a tighter curl by using your iron just off the scalp. Meanwhile, you’ll achieve a looser style if you skip the root and start wrapping your hair about a third of the way down the shaft. “Holding the curl horizontally will make the curl fuller, vertically will provide a more relaxed look,” adds DiGregorio. If you’re going for a beach wave or modern vibe, Reed loves to curl hair in different directions to prevent uniformity or an overdone look. “If you’re looking for classic curls, keep the iron going in one direction,” he says.

20 Best Curly Hair Products to Strengthen and Hydrate in 2024 - Cosmopolitan

20 Best Curly Hair Products to Strengthen and Hydrate in 2024.

Posted: Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

“My curls were not only soft to the touch but defined, and the moisture lasted all week,” she writes. SheaMoisture’s entire Coconut & Hibiscus line is loved by curl whisperers, and this gel is no exception. Its alcohol-free formula prevents hair from drying out while keeping flyaways in check.

Beginning in 2010 with a business plan no longer than a paragraph, Kitsch now supplies a full range of beauty favorites in over 20,000 retail locations worldwide. A prominent entrepreneur featured in Forbes and Inc., Cassandra continues to create elevated, sustainable beauty solutions for every moment of the day. While we haven't formally tested this exact model in the Lab yet, Drybar's curling wand has performed well in our Lab tests, so it's no surprise this three-in-one pick is a fan favorite. For hair that falls into this category, aim for a temperature of 350 degrees or below. Look at the Hot Tools Pro Artist Black Gold Digital Curling Iron, which features a very low starting temperature of 265 degrees, or an air-powered model, like the Dyson Airwrap or the Shark Air Styling and Drying System. The only downside of this tool is the temperature gauge — there are almost too many options to choose from and we’re still not exactly sure what some of the settings do (we’re talking to you, Boost mode).

This gel is packed with strengthening ingredients like aloe vera and coconut oil. "The gel isn't like your typical super crunchy and defined gel," notes one reviewer. "It focuses more on moisture and a slight definition, which is great if you want to keep your hair soft and slightly defined." If your curls are in a perpetual state of dryness, please try this (silicone-free!) hair oil. It's filled with a mix of oils (like safflower, sweet almond, argan, and castor) to smooth and define your hair without feeling as heavy as classic coconut oil-based formulas. Massage it into your scalp as a pre-poo treatment, or smooth it over your wet and dry ends to lock in moisture and add shine.

Enriched with natural and nourishing ingredients, this light-weight gel works on all hair types from 2A to 4C, but Amos especially loves using it to style thick, coarse 3A to 3C hair textures. "I love it because it gives that thick, coarse type 3 hair enough strong hold but with the rice amino acids and quinoa extract, your curls are left soft and flexible." Interestingly, the iron only has one heat setting (365 degrees); it’s considered a safe temperature for most hair types, so it didn’t really bother us. However, when we tested the iron on very fine hair, the heat zapped too much moisture from our strands and left our hair steaming after just a few seconds. In fact, when used on type 2 and 4 textures, our curls maintained their shape for days. Our team of InStyle editors rigorously tested the 14 buzziest and most popular curling irons out there.

All of the products consistently pull in rave reviews, but if you’re going to try just one, make it this leave-in, a true hero SKU that gets tons of five-star reviews. It hydrates, seals in moisture, and detangles while also helping to enhance curl definition. "It softens and defines curls in just one step—pretty revolutionary for someone who typically uses a slew of other curl-defining products as well," says senior social media editor Star Donaldson. It's ideal for tight curls, and it's formulated with sweet almond oil to keep them nourished.