Um, Does anyone NOT like Ecostyler Gel?

[SheenaVee]

So, I finally found Ecostyler gel. (Turns out it was in my local BSS all the time, I just never saw it) My local BSS has the pink, the blue and the brown. I bought the blue, which has a hold of 5. (maximum hold is 10)

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So anyway, here's my review/thoughts.

I don't like it.

1) It's hold is only 5 and yet my hair was ROCK SOLID and crunchy. Wth are the ones that have a hold of 10 like?? Fantasia IC 'Firm Hold' has less hold than it.
But I don't really mind crunchy TOO much, because I like my curls really defined and my ponytails slicked down, BUT along with the crunchiness...

2) It FLAKED a heck of a lot! I sat under the dryer after I applied it for my wash and go. When my hair dried like, only halfway, I shook it and WHITE BITS fell all over my shoulders!!

3) It was STICKY! It felt really sticky on my shoulders and neck where my hair brushed, after I applied it.

4) It was DRYING! My hair was really dry after I used it for a wash and go.

5) It didn't wash out with just water like Fantasia IC and caused lots of build up.
And on Saturday, I didn't fully rinse out my conditioner before I applied it, like I normally do with Fantasia IC, and it had some weird reaction with the conditioner (Herbal Essences) and my hair was covered in these horrible little white clumps! I had to shampoo it to get them out.

---​

Ok, good points.

1) It defined just as well as Fantasia IC.

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Needless to say, I will not be buying it again.

I was so excited about it I bought two of them, and they're freakin' huge and there's no way I'm gonna use them up.
It cost £2.50 which is the same price as the Fantasia, and Fantasia is in a way smaller tub but I don't care, Fantasia IC works much better with my hair.

So I'm gonna see if I can return the tub I haven't opened and exchange it for a tub of Fantasia IC gel seeing as they're the same price. If they won't let me do that, then I'll just leave it to sit in my bathroom and only use on the days when I run out of gel and am desperately in need of some and can't get to the shop. LOL.

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Who else has had a negative experience with Ecostyler gel?

 

[RedVelvet310]

I;ve never tried it and have no desire to.. I agree with you on the 1st one... hard crunchy wet looking hair is not my cup of tea.

(Sending you a PM)

 

[NikStarrr]

I thought I hated it when I first tried it. I bought the clear one. I finally got around to trying the green/olive oil one and it's totally different to me. I LOVE IT. I've been faithful to Fantasia IC since before I was fully natural. I think the Olive Oil EcoStyler may have converted me--and the price is the cherry on top.

 

[MrsHdrLe]

It turned my 1B hair 2 with reddish highlights NOT what I wanted. I figured out ESG was the culprit b/c that was the only new addition to my regime. (Anyone in L.A. want my two jars? I have the clear and olive oil ones). I much prefer Kinky Curly products for defined curls.

 

[KnottyGurl]

I agree with Nikstar, except I like the clear gel after I mix in castor oil. You listed everything but the Olive Oil and Krystal Clear gel. Whenever I've heard people talk about Ecostyler, they specifically refer to the Olive Oil version. You might be missing out some good stuff by writing off the whole line over a bad experience with one version. There's always Fantasia IC though.

OT: I the red in your hair. You make me want to dye mine.

 

[NikStarrr]

I agree with Nikstar, except I like the clear gel after I mix in castor oil. You listed everything but the Olive Oil and Krystal Clear gel. Whenever I've heard people talk about Ecostyler, they specifically refer to the Olive Oil version. You might be missing out some good stuff by writing off the whole line over a bad experience with one version. There's always Fantasia IC though.

OT: I the red in your hair. You make me want to dye mine.

I still have my huge jar of the clear sitting under my sink. I may have to mix some castor oil in it and give it a try. Thx for the tip!

 

[poookie]

interesting... i have the Krystal eco-styler gel, (with the max hold of 10) and i LOVE it! it's not the least bit drying. it definitely helps my clumpage factor, & makes my coilies pop. the only reason i don't like it is because you do have to use a lot of it... and to really get coil poppage on fine 4B tiny-coiled hair like mine, you have to continuously apply globs of it and rake your hair in a certain way all while holding the dryer in the other hand to get it to set before it shrinks back up... so i rarely do that often.

i mainly use it to smooth down my edges when i wear a puff, and, when combined with the Scarf method, it's been PERFECT!

i want to try the olive oil variety. if i love the maximum hold stuff, then i'm sure i'd be all about the more moisturizing ones, too.

 

[KnottyGurl]

I added Castor Oil to the clear b/c Sally's was out of the Olive Oil gel and I was out of Olive Oil. I just couldn't pass up a pound of gel for $3. I figured I'd make my own. I only make a small amount in a separate jar periodically. Let me know how it works for you.

Sorry op, I don't want to jack your thread. I know you want to hear from those who DON'T like it, not those who DO.

I still have my huge jar of the clear sitting under my sink. I may have to mix some castor oil in it and give it a try. Thx for the tip!

 

[zazzi]

I love Ecostyler gel -- I use the clear one and the pink one. Regarding the clumping you experienced, I've found that that's what happens when you mix it with a conditioner with cones. I use it over Suave Tropical Coconut & Castor Oil with no issues. The other day I tried it with HE Hello Hydration and I saw the tiny white clumps, which reminded me why I don't do that. Besides that, I've never experienced any flakiness or dryness with it.

Did you put any moisturizer/sealant on your hair before applying the gel?

 

[natalie20121]

I don't really like it. I tried on more then one occasion but it is extremely drying to my hair. I've tried mixing it and although the results are fabulous as far as curl definition... It's not worth drying my hair out. It always takes days for my hair to feel normal again.

 

[Janet']

And here I thought that I was the only one! The clear gave me major flakes, but I would be willing to try the olive oil formula.

 

[SheenaVee]

^^^ Thanks!

@ zazzi. No, I don't use any moisturizer or sealant, just leave in a little conditioner.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

Eco Styler gel does not play well together with Herbal Essences conditioners. A friend also has gotten the white clumps.

However, I do like the olive oil eco styler gel (green one). I used some tonight on my crochet braids.

 

[IrisDaVirus]

Eco Styler gels give my hair major crunchies, no matter what I do to ease the crunchy factor. Lately I've been adding coconut oil to my IC Fantasia gel (blue color) and it's worked wonderfully. I might try it with some Eco Styler if I ever get another jar.

 

[PlatinumBronze]

I HATED IT!!!! I also hated the Fantisia IC gel. My all time fav goes to Aloe Gel.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

I use mine with some activator gel underneath. I get no crunchiness at all, and good curl def.

 

[SignatureBeauty]

I hate it also, but I love my Fantasia IC Frizz Buster Gel, But I will try the Olive Eco=styler if I can find it, all they ever have is Clear 10 Maximum hold, and my hair also clumped and was sticky with white film all inbetween the hair.

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

It turned my 1B hair 2 with reddish highlights NOT what I wanted. I figured out ESG was the culprit b/c that was the only new addition to my regime. (Anyone in L.A. want my two jars? I have the clear and olive oil ones). I much prefer Kinky Curly products for defined curls.

I'll take them!

 

[jada1111]

I didn't know they had so many colors, but I've only tried the brown and the Krystal clear ones.

I didn't like either one. Don't remember what happened with the brown one, but I wasn't impressed. The Krstal took away the volume in my hair no matter how little I used and there was no way I could fluff it up. I did like it better than the brown one though.

See if you like LaBella Lots of Curls (Pink color). It's under $3 and you can find it at CVS in the "ethnic" section. I like this, but like the Krystal it takes away volume. Only used it once, but plan on experimenting more with the amounts when I get the time.

 

[classychic1908]

I tried the Eco Olive and I hated it! I tried it in so many different ways and finally just decided it wasn't for me. It made my hair feel hard and just wrong. KCCC is my absolute favorite gel, but I was trying to find a cheaper alternative for when I'm stretching my haircare dollars. Maybe, I'll try the krysatal...

 

[þÈÄRL£êK]

I love it for slick back styles, but not for wash and go/shingling for some reason my hair always gets the frizzy look. Its crunchy like but not hard (makes sense?). I prefer the kinky curly custard even tho it does make my hair harder than the eco-styler gel, I like the look better.

 

[yardgirl]

I don't like any kind of gel

 

[tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT]

So, I finally found Ecostyler gel. (Turns out it was in my local BSS all the time, I just never saw it) My local BSS has the pink, the blue and the brown. I bought the blue, which has a hold of 5. (maximum hold is 10)

---​

So anyway, here's my review/thoughts.

I don't like it.

1) It's hold is only 5 and yet my hair was ROCK SOLID and crunchy. Wth are the ones that have a hold of 10 like?? Fantasia IC 'Firm Hold' has less hold than it.
But I don't really mind crunchy TOO much, because I like my curls really defined and my ponytails slicked down, BUT along with the crunchiness...

2) It FLAKED a heck of a lot! I sat under the dryer after I applied it for my wash and go. When my hair dried like, only halfway, I shook it and WHITE BITS fell all over my shoulders!!

3) It was STICKY! It felt really sticky on my shoulders and neck where my hair brushed, after I applied it.

4) It was DRYING! My hair was really dry after I used it for a wash and go.

5) It didn't wash out with just water like Fantasia IC and caused lots of build up.
And on Saturday, I didn't fully rinse out my conditioner before I applied it, like I normally do with Fantasia IC, and it had some weird reaction with the conditioner (Herbal Essences) and my hair was covered in these horrible little white clumps! I had to shampoo it to get them out.

---​

Ok, good points.

1) It defined just as well as Fantasia IC.

---​

Needless to say, I will not be buying it again.

I was so excited about it I bought two of them, and they're freakin' huge and there's no way I'm gonna use them up.
It cost £2.50 which is the same price as the Fantasia, and Fantasia is in a way smaller tub but I don't care, Fantasia IC works much better with my hair.

So I'm gonna see if I can return the tub I haven't opened and exchange it for a tub of Fantasia IC gel seeing as they're the same price. If they won't let me do that, then I'll just leave it to sit in my bathroom and only use on the days when I run out of gel and am desperately in need of some and can't get to the shop. LOL.

---​

Who else has had a negative experience with Ecostyler gel?

i haven't gotten to the point of even needing a gel but after seeing mahagonycurls on utube i slammed on the gas towards the beauty supply story swearing on mother earth that my newly BC'd fro would surely turn out like hers by doing the CG method (she then used) and shingling (whatever the hell that was) applying eco styler gel after dripping dry like MC! Needless to say my TWA still looked like a TWA only wet when I completed all of her steps. My family was quite puzzled... no insults, NOOOO COMPLIMENTS, just continuous blank emotionless stares
hmmmmm guess her hair texture is just that... hers! So now i have the largest tub in the fridge b/c i've mixed it with aloe vera juice, aloe vera gel, and a little olive oil
I again have no reason to use it... but it does not have any crunchiness with these ingredients
(green- olive oil kind)

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

ME!!! I did not like it, it was just gel. My hair doesn't care for gels too much. I later purchased KCCC which many say is similar or the same but the two are NOT the same at all! KCCC has a totally different texture, it may work similarly but definitely not exactly. Overall I don't like any gel type product, they make my hair unmanageable. Actually my hair hates ANYTHING with hold except organic coconut oil which stiffens my hair a bit. So if you don't like gel, you probably won't like Ecostyler.

 

[SheenaVee]

Thanks for all the responses!

If I can find the Olive oil one, I will probably give it a try.

And my review is over the course of a few days. I tried it many different ways, on soaking wet hair, damp hair, tried using just a little bit. Then I thought leaving a bit of conditioner on would make it less hard. In fact, the tub I opened is only half full now because I tried it so many times. I wanted it to work for me!

And normally, any gel works with my hair. If I can't get to my bss sometimes I just get any cheap ole gel from a shop near my house or something, and they work fine. It surprised me that Ecostyler didn't.

 

[LilMissRed]

hmm I like the clear and olive oil ones (??) sorry u had negative results.. maybe u used too much or u didnt need the XTRA hold erplexed

 

[JinaRicci]

Me neither! I've only tried the clear one and it made my hair sticky and hard. I had to do a serious DC to get my hair feeling ok again. Maybe I'll try mixing it with castor oil like someone said or try the olive oil one but it was only $2 so I won't feel bad if I dump it.

I tried it too because it was supposed to work like KCCC but to me there really is no substitute.

 

[SelfStyled]

I did not like it either OP. I tried the clear one and found that it gave me no hold. My bun was just as frizzy as I don't know what. I was suprised because the clear one is the one with Maximum hold.

I love: Fantasisa Olive Oil, Elasta QP Elucent, KCCC

Maybe one day I wil try the Olive Oil one....

 

[ashleymichelle1]

I honestly hate gel...the only gel i use is KCCC. Ecostyler makes my hair extremely flaky and cruncy and I was not heavy handed with the product at all . I threw it away Lol .