Naturals who wet bun, which is better...

Which gel gives better results?

  • IC Fantasia Styling Gel

    Votes: 9 25.0%
  • Eco Styler Gel

    Votes: 13 36.1%
  • Other - please specify below

    Votes: 14 38.9%

  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .

J Hazel

New Member
In your experience, which of these two gels do you think give a better result for laying the hair down when doing a wet bun? I haven't added aloe vera gel to the poll as it's a protein and as I would like to wet bun more often, would rather not use so much protein in my hair.

TIA!
 
I like POOKA's hair butter. I works great for slicking down also they have great ingredients. It's sold at the wholefood stores:grin:
 
What is wet bunning? Just wearing freshly washed hair in a bun?

The best gel for me for slicking back is the Haiveda gel cream stuff (forgot the name and I finished it). Also been using the Curls gel in the pump bottle. Hairype is 3c in some arts in front, 4a elsewhere. Wear a scarf over it too to really set it.
 
hmmm I don't gel for laying my hair down. I add Aussie sidney smooth conditioner to my hair after cowashing (with some other array of cheapie conditioners). I leave the Aussie con in and smooth into a bun with my hands. If necessary I wrap a scarf around my edges til I'm ready to roll; or if I'm in a rush I add a couple light light strokes with my boar bristle brush (to my edges only).
 
If my hair is curly, Ecostyler all the way. If I don't want to use gel then I use shea butter.

If my hair is straight then I will use either Afroveda Shea Amla or all natural shea butter.
 
When I bun with my phoney pony the only thing that works is Garnier Fructis Pliable Clay. That stuff is very versatile too. I found mine at the Dollar Tree. I think they discontinued it. :perplexed
 
used to use regular ol' kirkland/costco brand conditioner and then wrap my bun.

now i use a mix of melted food grade cocoa butter, unrefined shea butter, 1/2 of an avocado, coconut oil, castor oil, and olive oil in a food processor. i co-wash w/ costco brand then apply this mix throughout my hair, wrap my hair around itself, baggy, apply an ouchless band to the baggy, then put a little more of this mixture on my fingertips around the edges and smooth down. the end.

i can't even remember the last time i used gel.
 
Aloe vera gel with castor oil over it. Make sure your hait is fully moisturized underneath, helps with the puffyiness.
 
I love and use this (from Sally BSS - been using it for years):

SBS-631012

 
Hold up, this is what I don't get: when I was lurking, I read tons of posts about how "wet hair is more fragile and should not be manipulated a lot."

Pulling your hair into a bun while it's wet must surely be a major no-no then, right?


If my hair is curly, Ecostyler all the way. If I don't want to use gel then I use shea butter.

If my hair is straight then I will use either Afroveda Shea Amla or all natural shea butter.

Wait, you're natural, right? How can you do a "wet bun" on straightened hair without it reverting?

Aloe vera gel with castor oil over it. Make sure your hait is fully moisturized underneath, helps with the puffyiness.

Doesn't the castor oil stay oily all day, though and never fully absorb? I know my hair is fine and that might be part of the problem , but that stuff is very heavy, even for thicker hair types, I'd imagine.

My sister kept asking me today why my fingernails were wet, and I couldn't tell her it was because I had just reached up to scratch my (castor-oiled) hair. She would have kicked my butt. :grin:
 
Im not natural but im 6 months post today and my mom is natural and we love IC, but when we run out imma get Eco cause its cheaper and bigger.
 
I use gel only on the edges but to wetbun I use some kind of butter/cream. Lately, Qhemet Biologics AOHC or Burdock Root.

ETA the gel I use on the edges is Olive Oil Ecostyler
 
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I'm not natural but I'm almost 8 months post (transitioning). My edges are shorter than the rest of my hair, tightly curled, and a BEAST!!! Ecostyler gel is the ONLY product that lays my edges down and keeps them smooth all day. I use it throughout my hair to keep my hair slicked down. I use a scarf and a little coconut oil too.
 
Hold up, this is what I don't get: when I was lurking, I read tons of posts about how "wet hair is more fragile and should not be manipulated a lot."

Pulling your hair into a bun while it's wet must surely be a major no-no then, right?




Wait, you're natural, right? How can you do a "wet bun" on straightened hair without it reverting?



Doesn't the castor oil stay oily all day, though and never fully absorb? I know my hair is fine and that might be part of the problem , but that stuff is very heavy, even for thicker hair types, I'd imagine.

My sister kept asking me today why my fingernails were wet, and I couldn't tell her it was because I had just reached up to scratch my (castor-oiled) hair. She would have kicked my butt. :grin:

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it's not a lot of manipulation at all. I cowash in the shower, add about a quarter size of IC fantasia in my hands, rub my hands together and smooth it on my hair. From there, I use a ponytail holder, and pins to pin it up. When I get out the shower, I might brush it to make sure it's smooth. I apply my scarve, and that's it. It's take 5 minutes tops, and not a lot of manipulation at all. (oh yeah, I usually don't wash out all the conditioner)
 
Hairveda alMond glaze is the only thing I've tried that really smoothes my edges, no gel works completely for me

I love the almond glaze. It doesn't slick my hair down, but I apply it to grease my scalp whenever I wash my hair.
 
I don't know about anyone else, but for me it's not a lot of manipulation at all. I cowash in the shower, add about a quarter size of IC fantasia in my hands, rub my hands together and smooth it on my hair. From there, I use a ponytail holder, and pins to pin it up. When I get out the shower, I might brush it to make sure it's smooth. I apply my scarve, and that's it. It's take 5 minutes tops, and not a lot of manipulation at all. (oh yeah, I usually don't wash out all the conditioner)

That's a good tip about not washing out all the conditioner.

Do you keep the bun in until your next wash--and if so, how soon is your next wash?

If not, what styles do you do after takin down the dried bun---I would imagine the natural pattern of your hair would be all stretched out and wavy or straight-ish depending on what pattern you began with. I like my curls as tight as can be, so I wouldn't take down the bun.
 
That's a good tip about not washing out all the conditioner.

Do you keep the bun in until your next wash--and if so, how soon is your next wash?

If not, what styles do you do after takin down the dried bun---I would imagine the natural pattern of your hair would be all stretched out and wavy or straight-ish depending on what pattern you began with. I like my curls as tight as can be, so I wouldn't take down the bun.

I usually wash once a week and cowash every other day. I wear my hair in a bun for like two days, take it out, cowash and bun it again. Not very creative, but it's very low manipulation for me. My hair isn't long enough for me to wash n go, braidout, etc and be happy with it. I don't like to straighten.
 
I try not to do wet buns too often because I've found my hair stretches and compromises the integrity of the stands. When I do I use shea butter and a little Elasta QP on the ends in the front and lay it down with a scarf until only the edges are dry.
 
I am not natural, but I am 6 months post. When I wet bun (which is about 20 days per month), I slick the ends down with Garnier Fructis Brilliantine Water Based Wax :drool:! I leave full-strength conditioner in my hair to help me smooth it, but lately as I get more new growth, I've noticed it's harder to slick down w/o waving up. I have Eco styler and plan to start using that to help.

I cowash daily when my hair is bunned and re-bun daily. Manipulation doesn't bother my hair...I still retain a lot of length b/c it's up and my ends are tucked and not being damaged. I have a buns album in my profile. HHG! :)
 
In your experience, which of these two gels do you think give a better result for laying the hair down when doing a wet bun? I haven't added aloe vera gel to the poll as it's a protein and as I would like to wet bun more often, would rather not use so much protein in my hair.

TIA!

Is aloe vera gel really a protein? I had no clue! No wonder my hair got really hard when I used it solo but when I used used it on top of my leave-in, my hair was soft but held the curl.

How should aloe vera gel be used?
 
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