Best gels for THICK HAIRED Naturals?

[htown2DAboot]

My natural 4a/b hair is currently laughing at the IC gel I have in my stash...I've been natural for 6 months (pics coming later of my progress), and my hair is EXTRA, EXTRA THICK...I can't get it to lay down for the life of me! It's in that sorta twa stage, where it is and sorta isn't...I at least want to try within the next couple weeks to make some kind of attempt at a puff or just be able to lay the front down...Since the fantasia ic is out, what do you ladies recommend? And how should I go about laying my hair down? I tried this morning, but it didn't work...it looked so WACK I had to rinse my hair AGAIN to get it back to normal...

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Have you tried looking at Hairveda.com......they might have some stuff that could work for you.....

 

[htown2DAboot]

What would you recommend from there?


Bumping for more answers!

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

I have hella thick hair and nothing lays down my edges like Hairveda almond Glaze. Gels really dont' do much for me.

 

[zzirvingj]

Aloe vera gel is decent....I haven't tried the Hairveda stuff yet but I really want to

 

[loolalooh]

The Almond Glaze didn't lay down my hair. Neither the Whipped Gelly. To be honest, no gel or butter that I've tried can alone lay down this mass. I have to mix a few things. What I do is:

-Wet my edges with water
-Apply cheapy conditioner, then coconut oil, then shea butter, then a decent gel
-Brush down with boar brush
-Wrap my edges with a satin scarf
-Once dry, remove scarf, and done!

In my opinion, you may be better off experimenting with something similar.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

The Almond Glaze didn't lay down my hair. Neither the Whipped Gelly. To be honest, no gel or butter that I've tried can alone lay down this mass. I have to mix a few things. What I do is:

-Wet my edges with water
-Apply cheapy conditioner, then coconut oil, then shea butter, then a decent gel
-Brush down with boar brush
-Wrap my edges with a satin scarf
-Once dry, remove scarf, and done!

In my opinion, you may be better off experimenting with something similar.

I also use a boar bristle brush, tie it down with a scarf for a bit, and only do this on wet hair. The technique is just as important as whatever product you use.

 

[Jhuidah]

Maybe your hair is at the point where it just won't lie down anymore. I experienced that early on (several months after my big chop).

The wet hair/gel/scarf technique might work, though.

 

[glamazon386]

My hair isn't thick but, I figured I ask... Which Fantasia gel did you use? The blue one is thicker than the other colors and works best for me. I could get by with the green and the clear but I'd have to use a lot. Aloe Vera wasn't heavy enough. Also have you tried Ecostyler gel? Also are you slicking back wet hair?

 

[lux10023]

Elast qp glaze--will lay down some edges....

 

[htown2DAboot]

I was using the clear IC gel...I haven't tried the ecostyler...and my hair wasn't WET-WET...it was damp...It needs to be outta the shower-wet? And I have a boar brush, but I don't think it's that great...What brands do you use?

And my hair was laying down a little after my bc..but not much, cause it was still thick...but I figure that no matter how big/long it gets, I should be able to lay it down...right?

 

[htown2DAboot]

Later tonight, when I post my progress pics, you'll be able to see what I mean when I say my hair is thick...And it's at the length where I can put like 5 or 6 mini puffs in my head...

 

[zzirvingj]

I was using the clear IC gel...I haven't tried the ecostyler...and my hair wasn't WET-WET...it was damp...It needs to be outta the shower-wet? And I have a boar brush, but I don't think it's that great...What brands do you use?

And my hair was laying down a little after my bc..but not much, cause it was still thick...but I figure that no matter how big/long it gets, I should be able to lay it down...right?

Oh yeah...that clear Fantasia IC sparklites gel is pretty good too

 

[vkb247]

I like really thick gels like Ecostyler to lay down my edges but these gels usually also make my hair too hard and crunchy so its a catch 22. I think that the key to laying your hair down is making sure you have optimal moisture from dcing, having a good bristle brush, and tying your hair down if it really has a mind of its own. It will get easier as your hair gets longer. Sometimes I use a little bit of honey when my hair is being really stubborn.

 

[Princess Tam Tam]

Flax seed gel! :luv2:

Flax seed gel recipe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIPVOBVG_tE

 

[Stiletto_Diva]

Here is what I've previosly posted about laying my edges down:

right after I co wash I blot my hair to get rid of excess water. Immediatly I slap on a good amount of Fantasia IC Gel (This stuff is my life line!!). With a soft boars bristle brush I brush my edges as if I am putting it into a puff. I then run my hand over it a few times to help it lay flat. I then take a knee high and put my hair in a puff. Afterwards, I put a bit more of the gel on my edges and lightly brush the edges again. Tie a scarf on my head tight until the edges are mostly dry. This takes about 10 minutes at the most. The key is to to have the scarf on your head before the hairstarts to dry. At night I put one scarf on my edges to keep them flat, and then another one over that to cover my whole head. I do this until my next co-wash (which is usually a day or two later.)


I now use ecostyler gel and instead of a knee high I use a Goody band. here is how my hair turns out with this routine:

 

[glamazon386]

Elast qp glaze--will lay down some edges....

I used this when I was relaxed but as a natural my hair just sucks it up on the edges. I know it won't hold all my hair down.

I was using the clear IC gel...I haven't tried the ecostyler...and my hair wasn't WET-WET...it was damp...It needs to be outta the shower-wet? And I have a boar brush, but I don't think it's that great...What brands do you use?

And my hair was laying down a little after my bc..but not much, cause it was still thick...but I figure that no matter how big/long it gets, I should be able to lay it down...right?

I usually do it soaking wet. You might have to lay it down in rows/sections to get the middle to lay down and get rid of the hump. I can pull back dry hair but I have to use enough gel to make the hair wet if that makes sense. It looks better and holds longer if I pull it back wet. I have been using the blue Fantasia since I first went natural but I just tried the Ecostyler the other day and I like that better. It's heavier than the IC. It doesn't make my hair shrink up as much either. Neither does regular Clear Ice gel but I try to stay away from that because of the protein. It does hold better though.

ETA: With any gel if you use too much it will make your hair hard but if you put a leave in on your hair before the gel it should cut down on the crunchiness.

 

[alanaj]

This is not a reccomendation for a single product. This girl's recipe for conditioning gel has got me the ONLY gel that works for my hair. I guess its because you get the best parts of a number of different products.
It's worth a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvenOaoz1Vg

 

[vkb247]

^^^ I don't know how she got the Cantu to mix in properly. I tried to do something similar with the products I have and it clumped so badly that I threw it out.

 

[Jazzmommy]

The key for me is to wet the hair first, appy the gel, brush it, and then tie it down while wet with a satin scarf. I have used IC (blue), but I recently discovered the brown one the doesn't flake (IC Thick & Shine...) it's a keeper... slicks down my hair really well...

The Almond Glaze from Hairveda laughs at my hair....

 

[Samchat123]

I believe I'm a 4c (though I do have a little bit of a curl pattern), and I do EXACTLY what Mz. Princess said. I use Eco Styler Gel (brown jar w/white top), a soft bristle brush and a satin scarf and it works great. I can even use the gel with a little aloe vera to produce some "curls"