Slick Back Effect on a Natural Hair

[Meli]

Okay...I am so tired of doing twists and twistouts. My hair has grown and I can finally fit it into a ponytail. I read the other threads about smoothing down the edges but what about the top of my head. The crown of my head is very thick, lacks curl definition. When wet lays down but when dry it starts to puff back up. I want to do protective styling by slicking my hair back into a ponytail and covering with a drawstring 'phonypony.'
1. What can I use to help my hair lay down on the crown of my head? (please don't say the scarf cause I need more help than that---that part of my hair is just not long enough to fit into the ponytail)

2. Would mousse help or would it damage my hair with it's drying effects?
3. What can I use to accentuate my ringlets on the days I do not wear my phonypony? Jessie's Rockin ringlets?

 

[Meli]

Bumping please

 

[sunshinelady]

Cantu leave in conditioner in the tub has been doing great things for me. I have to wet my hair everyday to get it to lay down however. It is a lot of manipulation. You may be better off with braids.

 

[Meli]

Bumping for more responses....

please don't let me beg....

 

[Meli]

Cantu leave in conditioner in the tub has been doing great things for me. I have to wet my hair everyday to get it to lay down however. It is a lot of manipulation. You may be better off with braids.

Thanks for your advice. I want to use something that I don't have to wet my hair. I don't mind making my hair damp but just not wet because of the weather in NY...it's getting chilly here already and I am always cold.

 

[so1913]

Fantasia Thick & Shine (brown) Gel is my absolute FAVORITE staple for the past few years to slick back my natural hair.

 

[ToyToy]

You could also try IC Fantasia Gel with Sparklelites, the blue one. That works for me!

 

[Priss Pot]

Gel + a higher ponytail so that the hair in the crown can fit into the elastic, HTH.

 

[MrsHouston]

Believe it or not, sometimes plain old Vaseline works for me... I've stretched for 27 weeks before too.

 

[glamazon386]

You could also try IC Fantasia Gel with Sparklelites, the blue one. That works for me!

Cosigning! That's what I usually do.

 

[Meli]

Thanks ladies....I wanted to check with you first before I went to the BSS, which I'm about to do now. In using these gels, can I use them everyday without having any damaging effects or are these just for once in a while?

 

[SouthernTease]

I use Salerm 21 or ORS Olive Oil... works for me.
But, the scarf is always the final touch.
If it gets frizzy during the day...which is rare...
I spray it with a little bottle I have ¾water ¼salerm
... magic.

 

[pattycake0701]

What I do is after I wash, I towel dry it a little then put it into 4-5 twists or cornrows to stretch the hair and let it air dry. They when I unravel the twists or braids, I moisturize it really well and smooth it back into a ponytail. Sometimes I brush the top down a bit to get it really smooth.

 

[Twisties]

I like IC Products too.

I use the one called IC Frizz Buster Straightening Gel when I want to smooth my hair back.
Don't know if this will work, but I tried to put a picture here.
View attachment 5899

 

[sunshinelady]

Meli,

What is your hair type? That will make a huge difference. Eco-Styler yellow gel worked well for me as well. However, if you are going to use gel, then you need to put some type of leave-in on your hair.

 

[glamazon386]

I like IC Products too.

I use the one called IC Frizz Buster Straightening Gel when I want to smooth my hair back.
Don't know if this will work, but I tried to put a picture here.
View attachment 5899

I tried this one as well as the regular clear ne and I found that they weren't as heavy/thick as the blue one. They didn't hold my hair down as good. To the OP you also might want to try slicking your hair back while it's wet so it'll stay better.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Fantasia Thick & Shine (brown) Gel is my absolute FAVORITE staple for the past few years to slick back my natural hair.

Exactly what this beautiful woman said! When I was natural, Fantasia Thick & Shine saved my life. I was so happy when I was able to slick my hair back in a beautiful curly puff. I think this gel also worked to keep my curls defined. Remember: try not to manipulate too much!

Good luck and keep us posted on what worked for you...

 

[BonBon]

Paltas bkc. If I put it on one night in a baggy my hair can lie extremely flat and silky looking until my next wash day.

Only went back on this for the past two weeks but It does work day after day with no need for messing around

 

[so1913]

Exactly what this beautiful woman said! When I was natural, Fantasia Thick & Shine saved my life. I was so happy when I was able to slick my hair back in a beautiful curly puff. I think this gel also worked to keep my curls defined. Remember: try not to manipulate too much!

Good luck and keep us posted on what worked for you...

YES girl! I LOVE it! The hold is perfect! Just apply a leave in or butter of some sort under it, and it works great for me. It does have a stronger hold than the other IC gels, so if the clear ones don't offer enough hold, you may want to try this one. I haven't had any problems with dryness or breakage using it. I use it on wet or dampen hair with water, brush to smooth and then tie a scarf over it for about 10 mins to hold it down and "set" it. Here are a couple of pics showing results.

 

[Bublin]

so1913 - you are a lovely looking lady.

Are you applying gel just to the top or are you putting it throughout your hair? I have found if i put it just ontop the underneath puffs up.

 

[so1913]

so1913 - you are a lovely looking lady.

Are you applying gel just to the top or are you putting it throughout your hair? I have found if i put it just ontop the underneath puffs up.

Aww, thanks I am JUST applying on the surface of the hair as well, not throughout

 

[MissJ]

so1913, I'm going to try your method today. Your hair looks great like that.

 

[meaganita]

Fantasia Thick & Shine (brown) Gel is my absolute FAVORITE staple for the past few years to slick back my natural hair.

Does this gel get hard and/or flake?

 

[justNikki]

We just discussed something similar on a different hair board. The easiest way for me to get my dry hair to slick down well is to dampen it with a creamy leave-in (I use abba nourishing, blended beauty products or elucence mbc, yep, I put that on dry hair too) and add some coconut oil for shine. Then I can easily comb through my hair (which is very thick). The first day of a bun, I'll apply gel all over the outer top of my hair that's to be slicked down (I've used both Fantasia IC Sparkalites and even better, EcoStyler Protein Gel, it's brown), brush that through and make the pony. After that, tie a scarf on for a while to help it set.

Everyday thereafter, I'm using coconut oil and then a little more gel on the edges and touching up here or there only if needed.

I haven't had any problems with this method, but I do wash and DT my hair at least once a week.

 

[glamazon386]

YES girl! I LOVE it! The hold is perfect! Just apply a leave in or butter of some sort under it, and it works great for me. It does have a stronger hold than the other IC gels, so if the clear ones don't offer enough hold, you may want to try this one.

Really? I didn't know that. I have a tub of it in my bathroom I got in the product swap at the DC meeting but I haven't tried it yet. It doesn't leave brown stuff behind on stuff like the protein brown gels does it? I'm going to test it out when I get home. It's chilly this week and I don't want to wash and go since I already have a cold.

To the person who asked about putting it all through the hair, I have to, to get my hair to lay flat or else the middle will puff up. I try and brush it through but when I brush it all the way through I don't need very much. Also, I don't do the scarf thing. If I did I probably wouldn't have to put the product all the way through.

 

[justNikki]

^ I just wanted to mention that not all protein gels are created equal. I was afraid to try that Ecostyler gel for a long time, but some ladies with some gorgeous hair that have used it long term for styling convinced me to give it a shot...just putting that out there.

 

[bLackButtaFly]

YES girl! I LOVE it! The hold is perfect! Just apply a leave in or butter of some sort under it, and it works great for me. It does have a stronger hold than the other IC gels, so if the clear ones don't offer enough hold, you may want to try this one. I haven't had any problems with dryness or breakage using it. I use it on wet or dampen hair with water, brush to smooth and then tie a scarf over it for about 10 mins to hold it down and "set" it.

That's exactly how I use it. I spray w/ a castor oil, conditioner and water mix, apply the gel and tie down. It's great! I think I have some pics in fotki. I also like carol's daughter Hair honey for more moisture.

 

[BeautifulNameX]

I use the clear fantasia ic gel and then the styling foam i had mass ng and it did wonders fa me. . . . i think it was the moose

 

[Meli]

Hi everyone....I tried the IC brown gel....it worked great...Thanks

 

[Priss Pot]

Really? I didn't know that. I have a tub of it in my bathroom I got in the product swap at the DC meeting but I haven't tried it yet. It doesn't leave brown stuff behind on stuff like the protein brown gels does it? I'm going to test it out when I get home. It's chilly this week and I don't want to wash and go since I already have a cold.

To the person who asked about putting it all through the hair, I have to, to get my hair to lay flat or else the middle will puff up. I try and brush it through but when I brush it all the way through I don't need very much. Also, I don't do the scarf thing. If I did I probably wouldn't have to put the product all the way through.

I used the Fantasia IC Thick 'n Shine (brown) gel when I was bunning during my transition. It didn't leave my hair hard at all. Also, it didn't really flake (if/when it did, it was only a teency weency bit that could be fixed with a spritz of water) until after about a week of build-up (I used it to slick my hair back everyday).

I would say that if you were to just glob it on your hair then it could cause slight dryness and flakes, but since we no longer practice those gel globbing habits since finding hair boards, then everything should be okay with the gel .