I Tried A $14 Hair Gel On My 4C Natural Hair
If you're a girl that has gone natural, is natural, or is in the in-between stage, you've likely got tons of products under your sink, in baskets, in drawers, and wherever else you can hold them scattered throughout your bathroom. Or maybe that's just me, and I just told y'all my deepest darkest secret. Either way, we've all tried a product(s) that haven't vibed with our hair texture.
I've been natural for about six years, so I know what works and doesn't work for my hair, but lately I've been struggling to find the right gel that gets my curls to pop without it possibly affecting my health (hey, Eco Styler), or that leaves my curls with flakes of gel shaking down like snow — oh, and let's not forget, one that doesn't have a pricey price tag.
After Google searches, watching YouTube reviews, and checking out consumer reviews on Target.com, I sprung for a $14 eight-ounce jar of Kinky Curly Curl Custard Gel. I recognize the $14 price tag is a little much for gel, but if it works, it's always worth it.
I wanted to see how it would work with my 4c coils with a wash and go. With nearly a five-star review on Target.com, I had high hopes, but many reviewers noted that the gel didn't work well for 4c hair because it didn't help stretch the hair. Since I am a 4c girl that doesn't mind shrinkage and a kinky 'fro, I still went for it.
Step One:
To prep my hair, I washed it and deep conditioned it, but instead of towel drying my hair, I left it soaking wet. The directions on the side of the jar recommends that curly girls with "thick coarse curls" apply to hair when dripping wet. Before I hopped out of the shower, I sectioned my hair into six sections, sprayed my hair with Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave-In (a must have for me), and got out the shower with my hair dripping wet.
I started with the back of my head, first gliding a touch of jojoba oil onto my coils before adding the gel section by section. One thing I noticed right away, since I can be heavy-handed when applying a product, was that I needed very little to get my coils defined.
Step Two:
After I was done with my entire head, I covered my face with a towel and shook my head from side to side with my head upside down to get my curls to separate without touching them. The more you touch your hair, the more frizz you'll get as your hair dries. Since my hair is thick, I blow dried my hair on the lowest heat setting and let my hair do its thing. I'd come up now and then for cool air and to shake my curls with my head turned upside down.
The End Results Looked Like This:
Before I headed out for my audition, I touched up my lipstick and separated my coils, and to my surprise, there was no flaking, and my hair felt moisturized. Success!
I Tried It One More Time and Got This:
This time my hair shrinkage was tighter, but I also was in a rush and didn't take the time to add the product in small sections as I'd done before, but I still loved how it turned out.
I recognize that this isn't a product that everyone will love, especially if you're a curly girl that loves a stretched style. Will I try other gels in the future? Yes. But, for now, I am pleased with my results — shrinkage and all.
Featured image by Bianca Lambert/Instagram
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here and check out the related reads below:
I Tried 3 Gels On Type 4 Natural Hair
Curl Transforming Smoothies Your Hair Will Love
4 Black Women On Their Relationship With Their Hair
I Tried 4 Vegan Natural Hair Products
Originally published on February 23, 2019
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- 11 Easy 4C Natural Hairstyles To Try - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- How To Reduce Natural Hair Shrinkage - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
Bianca Lambert is a proud Atlanta native soaking up the Los Angeles sun. She is the founder of Mae B: a stationery company for women of color and a digital content creator on a mission to elevate the voices of women of color everywhere.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images