How to Get the Best Results from Styling Gels

No doubt, styling gels provide the perfect finish to hairstyles - whether you want to use them to define the hairstyle or lay your baby hairs.

You may have been using styling gels on your hair for as long as you can remember. Hair gels are every black girl's key hair styling product especially now that wearing natural hair and wigs has become the norm, people use hair gels now more than before.

Styling gels are great, but you need to learn how to use them well for the best result.

You will learn how to use styling gels the right way in this article.

Why You Need to Use Hair Gels the Right Way

5 Easy Steps to Apply Styling Gels for the Best Results

Why You Need to Use Hair Gels the Right Way?

Before we go into the process of how to use styling gels right, it is good you understand why you need to use styling gels the right way.

First, applying hair gels the right way ensures that you achieve your intended hairstyle.

Using styling gels the right way helps to prevent hair damage.

Getting the best results from styling gel is not difficult, you just need to understand the best practices.

5 Easy Steps to Apply Styling Gels for the Best Results

These 5 simple steps will guide you on how to apply styling gels to get the best results from your hairstyles.

Step 1: Know what you want to achieve with the styling gel

This is a very important step. Knowing what you want to achieve with the styling gel will guide you on other factors like; the quantity to use, the best application method, etc.

Deciding on the hairstyle that you want to achieve makes the process a lot easier. It is like going on a journey with a destination in mind.

Different hair styles require different amounts of gel, and different application methods to get the best results.

For example, you will require more quantity of gel to sleek down your natural hair into a ponytail than you would require if you just want to tame your edges.

Whatever hairstyle you choose, it is better to know in advance before you start applying your styling gel.

Step 2: Choose the right hair gel

To get the best results from your styling gel, you need to choose the one that is right for you.

There are tons of styling gel products in the market with great features, but any styling gel may not work for you.

Why?

It is because different people have different hair textures, and different hair/styling gels work better for different hair textures.

Let us take a look at styling gels for different hair textures

The major distinguishing factors for styling gels are product consistency and hold. The consistency of the product shows how thick or how light the styling gel is. The hold shows whether the styling gel has a strong or light hold.

So, we are going to look at different styling gels for different hair textures based on product consistency and hold.

• Water-based light hold styling gels

These types of styling gels are less greasy and provide moisture to the hair. These styling gels are ideal for people with 4A hair texture or an even finer hair texture.

These styling gels are easy to wash off or break down. They are great for laying hair around your edges.

• Medium hold styling gels

Just as the name implies, medium hold styling gels provide a great hold but are not as firm as a strong hold styling gels.

Medium hold styling gels work well for people with 4B hair texture or hairstyles that do not require strong hold. They work perfectly if you want to use them to tame stray hairs or define your curls.

• Strong hold styling gels

Most strong hold styling gels have a thick consistency. That is what makes the styling gels hold the hair for a long time.

Strong hold styling gels are great for people with 4C natural hair. 4C hair texture is usually thick, kinky, and coarse. If you want to wear a sleek down bun on your 4C natural hair, then you need to use a strong hold styling gel.

Once you know your hair texture, it will be easy for you to choose a styling gel. The good thing is that most styling gels indicate the type of hold, so you can easily make a choice.

Step 3: make sure your hair is clean

Your hair needs to be clean to get the best results from styling gels. You may be wondering why it is important to keep your hair clean before applying styling gels.

Well, you need to keep your hair clean before applying styling gel for the following reasons:

Washing your hair before applying styling gel prevents product build-up and flaky edges

Cleaning your hair before applying styling gels ensures that the useful ingredients in the styling gel get absorbed into your scalp.

You will achieve a more attractive finer finish when you apply styling gels to clean hair.

Step 4: Moisturize your hair

Before you start to apply styling gels to your hair, it is important to moisturize your hair. Moisturizing your hair keeps it healthy and prevents brittleness and breakage.

Many styling gels contain alcohol, alcohols make the styling gel dry up fast. You also don’t want the styling gel to dry your hair up.

You can use leave-in conditioners and essential oils to moisturize your hair.

Step 5: Carefully apply the hair gel

This is one of the most important steps in the process. We will guide you through easy steps to help you carefully apply styling gels to your hair.

Start by putting your hair in sections

Depending on the hairstyle you want to achieve, putting your hair in sections helps you work faster and helps with the even application of the styling gel.

If you just want to lay your edges, then you can skip this process.

• Use the right tools for your hair

Before you start to apply styling gels to your hair, make sure you are using the right tools. Tools like a wide tooth comb, hairbrush, defining comb, and a silk or satin scarf.

• Comb out your hair

Comb out your hair with a wide tooth comb to prevent breakage. Combing your hair ensures that there are no creases.

• Use the right hair brush

Your hair texture will determine the hairbrush that you will use. If you have fine hair, you should use a soft brush, if you have thick hair you can use a firmer brush.

• Use the right quantity of styling gel

Your choice of hairstyle will determine the quantity of styling gel that you need. If you want to define a path or your curl, then you need a small quantity.

If you want to sleek down your entire hair into a bun, then you may need more. Your texture will also determine the quantity of styling gel that you will need.

If you have thick hair, then you may need to apply more quantity of styling gel.

• Use a satin/silk scarf to define your hairstyle

You can use a silk or satin scarf to define your hairstyles. After applying styling gels to your hair, you can use a silk/satin scarf to define your hairstyle or tame stray hairs.

Styling gels can provide the perfect finish to your hairstyle if you use them rightly. These steps will ensure that you get the best results from your styling gel.

Do you have any questions? Let us know in the comment section.