As regular readers already know, I have 4c hair. The 4c hair curl type is incredible in terms of its texture; and it needs some tender, loving care. It will take plenty of effort to find the perfect products to keep your curls hydrated, bouncy, and defined. For instance, do you know the best curling gel for 4c hair?
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Take a break from protective styles
You’ll usually find me in one protective style or the other, but sometimes I just like to rock my tresses.
When I’m taking a break from protective styles, I do twist-outs, braid-out, and wash-and-gos.
Since I have 4c hair, it can be quite hard to get any curl definition without using products likes gels and creams.
I go for products that not only define my curls but also help in moisturizing my mane and taming frizz.
The thing is, 4c hair is prone to major shrinkage because of its tight zigzag pattern that makes out kinks less defined.
Secondly, it is delicate and hence more vulnerable to dryness and breakage.
If you’ve been looking for the best curling gel for 4c hair, please go for one that will also aid in moisturization and making your hair soft.
You can have your curls well defined while still keeping the hair supple and lustrous.
Best curling gel for 4c hair
As a self-confessed product junkie, I’ve tried out many curling gels, and to be honest, there are some I’d never dare buy again.
There are some, however, that quickly became my favorites and I’d like to talk more about them in this post.
Design Essentials Natural Almond & Avocado Curl Defining Creme Gel
This product is designed to enhance your curls and give them a more defined pattern without adding weight or a nasty residue to your mane.
The natural Almond and Avocado Curl Defining Crème Gel from Design Essentials has been hailed by many users for its strong hold.
What makes this formula outstanding is that it is packed with natural ingredients like almond and avocado oils.
They create a lightweight cocktail that forms lovely curls, gives your tresses the perfect texture, and prevents frizz.
It also contains jojoba oil and olive oil that come in handy to provide moisture and make the hair lustrous.
Pros
- Creates long-lasting and well-defined curls
- Has a medium to strong hold
- Add shine to the tresses
- Leaves your mane well-moisturized
- Reduces frizz
Cons
- Some users don’t like the scent
Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel Extra Hold
If you want frizz protection and an excellent styling formula in one product, the Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel is certainly worth considering.
This is an award-winning formula that provides a long-lasting hold and defines curls without making your hair feel sticky, weighed down, or crunchy.
It is designed to help your tresses retain moisture while locking out humidity a frizz-free look.
This product boasts of a light consistency that is not too thick, ensuring you don’t get any build-up.
It is clear with a glossy gel-like texture that keeps each of your strands well hydrated, even during the dry seasons.
Some of its best ingredients include wheat amino acids and kiwi fruit extract.
Pros
- Provides long-lasting hold
- Creates well-defined curls
- Lightweight consistency to prevent build-up
- Offers protection from UV damage and heat
- Prevents frizz by locking out humidity
- Keeps your tresses hydrated and shiny
Cons
- Not ideal for users who don’t like wheat protein
Aphogee Curlific! Curl Definer
Here is a product designed with big twist-out and braid-out fans in mind.
The Aphogee Curlific excels for its ability to separate and enhance swirls and loops.
This gives your tresses a long-lasting bouncy appearance with perfectly defined curls.
Some of the best ingredients in this product include humectants and quinoa protein that protect your hair from frizz caused by humidity.
You can use this product irrespective of the texture of your hair.
It has incredible moisturizing power and also contains stearyl alcohol, an emollient that softens each strand and gives it an alluring glossy look.
Better still, this formula has amino acids that strengthen your hair and help maintain the curls for longer.
This curl definer is lightweight, which means it doesn’t leave any build-up.
Pros
- Excels in defining curls
- Provides a soft to medium hold
- Lightweight to ensure no buildup
- Controls frizz
- Helps in moisturizing hair
Cons
- May leave a residue if used in excess
As I Am Curling Jelly
Now, this is a product that makes your curls pop!
As I Am curling jelly creates a great definition for your curls.
For someone whose hair has about 80% shrinkage, I noticed that this product sort of helped to stretch my hair when I used it.
For naturalistas who follow the LOC method of moisturizing hair, this product is great for use as the “C”.
Unlike many products in the market, this one contains no chemicals.
It is packed with natural ingredients that moisturize hair and improve its overall manageability.
Some of its best ingredients include aloe vera, Vitamin E, and sugar beetroot which work together to reduce breakage.
They also give your locks a luscious, bouncy, and voluminous look.
Pros
- Controls frizz
- Great for twist-outs and braid-outs
- Leaves curls well-defined
- Helps to reduce shrinkage
- It’s 100% vegan
- Adds vibrancy to dull hair
- Great at sealing in moisture
Cons
- Can form a white residue on the second day if a lot of product is used
Mielle Organics Honey & Ginger Styling Gel
Finding a product that can help you achieve the styles you love is good.
It is even better to choose a formula that can also encourage healthy hair growth.
The Mielle Organics Honey & Ginger Styling Gel is a product packed with natural ingredients.
These ingredients offer a number of perks such as curl definition and frizz reduction.
Some of the star ingredients in this curling gel include babassu oil, ginger, aloe extract, and honey.
These ingredients deliver a manageable hold and nourish your hair to make it more vibrant.
When I tried out this gel, each application left my hair feeling smoother, and my curls well-defined.
Pros
- Creates an appealing curl pattern
- Provides a good hold
- Contains 70% organic ingredients
- Nourishes and hydrates the hair
- No sticky build-up
- Reduces frizz
Cons
- Offers the best outcome on freshly-washed hair
Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Gello
Life has enough stressors for you to also stress about your hair.
If you need a curling gel designed to take the stress off managing your natural locks, look no further than the Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Gello.
Ladies (and gentlemen) looking for the best curling gel for 4c hair should seriously consider trying out this product.
It is a lightweight gel that does an incredible job of giving curls a soft, hydrated, and long-lasting definition.
Because this formula holds the curls well for 2-3 days, you don’t have to stress about washing your hair and styling it daily.
All you need is a simple and quick curl refresher.
The best part is that this product is lightweight, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with unsightly residue.
Pros
- Leaves the curls well-defined and smooth
- Controls frizz
- Leaves your hair looking shiny
- No flaking or buildup
- Holds for 2-3 days
Aunt Jackie’s Flaxseed Don’t Shrink Curling Gel
If your curls look dry and shriveled up, you can give them a beautiful stretch using Aunt Jackie’s Flaxseed Curling Gel.
This is a formula that elongates hair and ensures that it does not shrink.
It contains a special blend of extra virgin olive oil, moisturizing conditioners, shea butter, and flaxseed.
These ingredients help to leave the hair all soft without any crunchy feel.
Just when we thought a curling gel could not get any better, this product also contains nourishing Omega-3 fatty acids that aid in boosting hair growth.
You will also find the formula exceptionally ideal if you want to enhance your scalp health or treat thinning and damaged tresses.
Pros
- Leaves hair with nice coils and curls
- Perfect for braid-outs and twist-outs
- Anti-shrinkage formula
- Treats thinning and damaged hair
- Excellent for enhancing scalp health
- Designed to protect against flaking and dryness
Cons
- Not the best option for very thick hair
Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Style Gel
This is a perfect styling gel for anyone looking for the freedom to style their hair without fear of flaking and buildup.
The Alikay Naturals Aloe Berry Style Gel is a tropical-scented formula infused with botanicals, essential oils, berries, and natural aloe vera gel that offer a medium hold but provides maximum hydration.
This is a product you will love if you want your hair to remain in place when you are out and about during the day.
It genuinely delivers on its promise to prevent hair from getting sticky, dry, or crunchy.
Pros
- Offers a medium hold
- No buildup or flaking
- Prevents frizz
- Helps to hydrate the hair and scalp
- Increases shine
- Alcohol-free
- Pleasant tropical scent
Cons
- Provides a rather light hold for people with thick hair
SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curling Gel Soufflé
The SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curling Gel is a sulfate-free formula designed to create bouncy and shiny curls for your 4c hair.
It not only contains hibiscus flower extracts and coconut oil but also neem seed oil and silk protein that makes your curls appear more voluminous.
If you want a product that creates the perfect frizz-free twist-outs, this is the best option you have.
One thing that makes this product truly stand out is that it is color-safe.
While it works best for 4c hair, you can also use it on other hair types and expect great results.
The secret behind its stellar performance is its ingredients that work together to provide much-needed hydration to the hair strands.
This helps to promote healthy hair growth, by preventing brittleness and hair breakage.
Apart from giving my curls a radiant shine, this gel also left my hair feeling really soft.
Pros
- Ideal for all types of hair
- Creates bouncy curls
- Leaves hair with a radiant shine
- It’s color-safe
- Designed to give your hair a voluminous look
- Pleasant smell
Cons
- The product is somewhat greasy
Innersense Organic Beauty I Create Hold Styling Gel
Let’s end our review with a bang by analyzing the Innersense Organic Beauty styling gel.
This is a clean and pure formulation that does not contain any damaging chemicals.
It is packed with nature’s finest moisturizers that also do a splendid job of leaving hair stronger, bouncier, and revitalized.
One of the best ingredients of this gel is honey, which offers a light hold to keep your hairstyle intact and treat scalp issues.
The product also contains rice and wheat amino acids that act as perfect skin, hair, and scalp conditioning agents.
Better still, it also contains aloe that leaves the curls with a silky and appealing texture.
Pros
- Provides a firm hold
- No chemicals (100% organic ingredients)
- Best for medium to thick hair textures
- Adds an incredible shine to the hair
- Moisturizes the hair strands
- Ideal for treating dry, sensitive scalp
Cons
- Has a light hold
How to use a curling gel
Curling gels are designed to make your natural hair curls more defined.
The right product can help you achieve that jaw-dropping wash-and-go, twist-outs, or braid-outs.
Usually, curling creams work best on freshly washed tresses.
If you want to revamp your hairstyle mid-week, it will be necessary to do a co-wash (conditioner washing) to avoid piling up the product on the strands and creating a mess.
As long as you use a top-quality product, it will keep your hair looking hydrated, defined, and bouncy.
Here is a simple regimen for keeping your hair looking its best with curling gels:
Pre Poo
This is the process of applying some protein, moisture, sheen, coconut oil, olive oil, or treatment before the main shampoo process.
Pre-pooing helps to create a protective layer that prevents shampoo from stripping your mane of all its moisture.
This plays a major role in preventing breakage when styling your locks.
Shampoo
For you to protect your tresses from getting overly dry, don’t use shampoos that contain sulfates.
They are notorious for drying and stripping hair of its moisture.
This makes them less ideal for 4c curls.
Cleanse your hair thoroughly using a shampoo devoid of sulfates and parabens and avoid using more shampoo than is necessary.
Conditioning
Rinse-out conditioners are great at adding moisture to your tresses.
Apply your product and wear a plastic baggy over your head for about 30 minutes before rinsing.
Apply your curling gel and style
Before you use a curling gel, detangle your locks (preferably using your fingers).
You can then divide your hair into small sections and apply the cream before twisting or braiding (for the best twist-outs or braid-outs).
The longer you can keep the twists in your hair, the better the outcome.
Depending on how much time you have and the style you want to achieve, you can also use styling tools such as curl formers, flexi rods, and magnetic rollers.
Conclusion
Having 4c hair is one thing, and knowing how exactly to go about styling your mane is something entirely different.
If you want your natural curls to be well-defined, it’d be advisable to look for the best curling gel for 4c hair.
These products can help you rock your 4c hair in beautiful wash-and-gos, twist-outs, braid-outs, or flexi rods.