My Top 4 Curly Gels and 1 Must Try

What are your “go-to” styling products? Do you find yourself using the same over and over or do you like to mix and match? For me, it can sometimes be mood-dependent, scent-dependent, and the overall style I’m going for, which is often a wash-and-go. While I often stick with the same conditioners and leave-in conditioners, I find myself looking at my wall of curly gels and holds feeling in awe about all my choices! It can sometimes be overwhelming, but I am grateful for the growing options around natural hair products (yay!). That being said, I definitely have my favourites and I want to share them with you! Here are my top 4 favourite curly gels and 1 gel I plan to try for my 3B/C curls.

Let’s start with my most recent discovery. I have come across a wonderful Canadian brand, CurlShoppe. Anything Canadian always gets me excited because I feel like Canadian representation is so important, so I was very excited to try it. The specific gel I used is the CurlShoppe “Butter Jelly - Medium Hold” and it was perfect for my curl pattern, specifically for my wash-and-go. What I loved about this gel was that it had great slip, smelled amazing, and gave my curls a beautiful hold without weighing them down. It was not as thick as other gels and more on the liquid side, which is something I am not used to; however, that is another characteristic that I liked as it was nice to apply and didn’t dry out my hair.

Next up, PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross “Strong Hold Gel”. This product is another go-to when it comes to my wash-and-go. While there is not much of a scent (I do enjoy a nice scent) it is a thick gel while also having great slip. I will always pair this with the PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross “Leave-In Conditioner for Curly & Coily Hair” as they were made to complement each other without leaving that flakey residue. This brand can be found at your local Sephora.

An oldie but a goodie, Camille Rose “Curl Maker”. I feel like this one is pretty popular, and for good reason. This gooey gel-like curl styler is great for defined curls. I don’t have any other way of describing it but whatever it is, it works wonders for me. I will often pair this with whatever leave-in conditioner I happen to have on hand and it still works very well. Not only does it have good slip, but it has a great scent and a really good hold. Again, I will use this product for a wash-and-go as it provides the definition I am looking for but will tend to use this product if I want extra defined curls.

The last of my favourites is ECO Style “Olive Oil Gel”. I have tried many different ECO style gels but this is my favourite. The difference between this gel and the others I have mentioned is that I do not use it for wash-and-go’s. I save this for twist-outs, braid-outs, and all the other “outs” out there. I find it has great hold and it is the least expensive out of all the products; therefore, I don’t feel as guilty using more than I normally would. It also works wonders for pesky edges. I often mix this with whatever leave-in conditioner I have on hand but I’ve noticed for my curl pattern that it mixes the best with Kinky Curly Knot Today “Leave-In Conditioner”.

Lastly, the product I have yet to try is Bumble and Bumble Curl “Anti-Humidity Gel Oil”. I have yet to try a gel/oil combination and am curious how that would work on my curl type. I guess I will find out! Bumble and Bumble products are also available through Sephora.

There you have it! My go-to gels and holds that have proven to work with my 3B/C curls.

As always, much love. Your forever curl friend, Frecklez_n_curlz.