Best Hair Gels for Curly Hair
Frizz-free, defined curls are possible with the right curly hair products
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Like any good Dominican daughter, I dutifully accompanied my mom to the hair salon every Saturday afternoon to straighten my curly hair. I had pelo malo (“bad hair” in Spanish), as curly, frizzy hair is still called in many Latino communities, and my mom had no idea what to do about it. She had been straightening her curls since she was a teenager.
During my freshman year of college, I finally began learning to care for and style my curls. I bought dozens of curly hair products at a time, keeping meticulous notes of my results in a spreadsheet for years. I’ve tried every tip, trick, product combination, and DIY concoction you can think of.
- Curly Hair Gels Tested: Briogeo Camille Rose Curlsmith Miche Ouidad Pattern Rizos Curls Shea Moisture
- More Curly Hair Gel Info: Our Panel of Testers Do You Really Need a Hair Gel for Curly Hair? What to Look For in a Curly Hair Gel How We Tested The Bottom Line
A CR staffer's young daughter's curls spring back after applying a hair gel for our test.
Our tests found that no hair gel works the same for everyone. There was no consensus among our testers on which gel was the hands-down winner, though a couple of them, like Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Defining Styling Gel and Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel, worked beautifully for two of our three testers. Every single product presented big issues for at least one tester.
Meet Our Testers
Photos: Jodhaira Rodriguez/Consumer Reports, Karla Noboa/Consumer Reports Photos: Jodhaira Rodriguez/Consumer Reports, Karla Noboa/Consumer Reports
Jodhaira Rodriguez (that’s me) is a CR writer and tester with waist-length, curly hair. Her 2C-3B hair is prone to frizz. She usually wears her hair in a wash-and-go style. Before using these hair gels, she applied Camille Rose Honey Hydrate Leave-in Conditioner and Tresemmé Flawless Curls Mousse to her hair.
Karla Noboa, a research specialist in the fundraising department at CR, describes her shoulder-length hair as very thick 3A-B curls with low porosity and dense strands. She styled her hair with the Ouidad Botanical Boost Multi-Use Curl Foam before applying any hair gel.
Eliana (not pictured) is the 6-year-old daughter of Ginger Cowles, a CR managing editor. Ginger describes her hair as 4A-4B coily curls. Throughout this evaluation, she styled Eliana’s hair in several ways, including perm rod curls, wash-and-go curls, and natural braids (with no hair added). She styled Eliana’s hair with the Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Leave in Treatment and Doux CrazySexyCurl Honey Setting Foam, alongside the hair gels.
Read on to get our test results and take our poll about hair gel.
