How Gel-Based Stylers Can Improve Your Moisture Retention

January 28, 2022

Written by Naomi Adams

How Gel-Based Stylers Can Improve Your Moisture Retention

January 28, 2022

Written by Naomi Adams

If you're like me, I always avoided gel stylers on my curly hair for a few reasons. One of them being that I always felt that they kept my hair in this crunchy, immovable state, kinda how it looks if you go out with wet hair in the winter. But, over time, I learned that *hydrating, botanical* curl defining gels have great properties that can help to improve the definition and moisture levels of your hair.

Styling gels contain hydrating and holding ingredients that help to nourish the strand and stop water from exiting it. This helps to keep the strand moisturized and feeling soft for, sometimes, longer than a regular cream based definer. This cast also helps your curly hair strands stay defined, which makes styling and detangling easier at the end of the week. Now... how to deal with the crunch. There's actually a few ways that you can remove that hardened, crunchy feeling that gel's tend to leave on your hair so that you can reap their moisturizing benefits.

Less is More

It's very easy to be heavy-handed when applying your styling products, but utilizing only the amount of product that your strand needs to be evenly coated will help to reduce the level of crunchiness your left with upon drying.

Scrunch, Shake or Stretch Out the Crunch/Cast

For type 2 to 3 textures, scrunching out the crunch, also known as (SOTC) is when you take an oil-based styler or leave-in conditioner, apply it to your hands and lightly shake out your hair strands. This slightly breaks down the cast without disrupting your curl definition too much, and allows your hair to have much more movement and bounce than when the cast is on. Creating a stronger cast during wash-day helps with long-lasting definition when it comes time to SOTC.

For type #4 textures, shaking out your hair or stretching it with a steamer, blow-dryer or elastic bands can help to break the cast that's created on your strands from the gel. Overtime, your strands will loosen and the gel will break on its own, but this is a great way to get the loosening that you are looking for on wash-day. Use the Q-Redew Steamer to elongate your strands while breaking down the cast slightly. Check out the video on our Q-Redew product page to see an example of how this works.

If you've avoided gels in the past, try incorporating these tips into your wash-day routine to receive the moisturizing and styling benefits that hydrating botanical gelles can bring. Three of our most popular botanical gelles include:

Uncle Funky's Daughter Curly Magic Curl Stimulator

The Doux Big Poppa Defining Gel

Kinky Curly Curling Custard