Spiral Solutions Firm Hold Gel

sixelamy

I ordered a sample of this back in the fall to cocktail with my Curl Enhancing Jelly. I liked it alright, but the SS jellies don't really work for me in the wintertime, so I kind of stopped using it. The CEJ was my HG last summer, but now I've run out. I decided to give the Firm Hold a try last night, and HOLY COW! Usually my curls flatten out big time when I sleep, but I barely had to do anything to my hair this morning! I think my hair is really loving products with hydroxyethylcellulose, as it gives me a really, really good hold. I think I may like this better than the Mop Top. When my sample runs out, I think I will definitely be purchasing a full size. And I totally love the new berry scent, I just want to sniff my hair all the time

SereneCurls

Did you use it by itself? I'm jealous, I got some fhg in a swap and the fragrance drives me insane. It must have been the old fragrance.

rbb

i used and loved the firm holding gel when she first sold it years ago. stopped using it during the time she had business ups and downs and it wasn't available. i just placed an order for her emollience butter that my hair loves a day before i read this and it has me thinking i'd try it again. however i will wait as the shipping is so high for only one item.
as far as scent goes, on her website she says she is in the process of changing the scents to a very light spa-like fragrance, but so far only one product has that new fragrance (forget which one) and she is waiting for feedback.
her products are quality and her customer service is great.

sixelamy

Yes, I used it by itself. The scent just changed a few months ago. It's not that herby yucky scent anymore, it's a berry-ish scent. I really love it!

I love her products as well, I've never had a problem at all. How is the emollience butter? The only product I've tried that I haven't cared for so far is the Caitlin's Conditioner. But I also tried that when I had hard water, so wondering if I shouldn't try again when she gets it back in stock.

rbb

i haven't tried all her products, but i did try and love the deeply decadent moisturizing treatment but as a leave in. it did not work well as a dt. as a leave in it literally transformed my hair.
however, she went thru a number of scents with it -- the first being a coffee scent which was not a favorited scent for my head, but it was light and diminished. then she did some other scent that was overpowering and gave me a headache. so now it is fragrance-free but the ingredients have their own scent which i can't tolerate. unfortunately i had to give it up.
loved the firm holding gel. the curl enhancing gel was ok but on it's own it wasn't enough. never tried anything else.

rbb

and, of course, i use and love the emollience butter. it is the perfect sealant for my hair, gives it lots of shine and keeps it frizz-free. i honestly don't smell any scent with it so apparently it is very light.

Beebop

So funny you all just brought this up because I have been lurking on her Etsy site tempted to order more firm hold gel because I changed the way I style my hair and recently finished off an old tub of the gel and it has given me the softest shiniest curl and waves but couldn't find any recent talk or reviews about her products or new berry scent. What does the new berry scent smell like because I love fruity products and thought it might blend well with the new Desert essence mango shampoo & conditioner that I'm loving right now.

rbb

beebop -- i am also wary of fragrances, the strong ones that never dissipate as your hair dries. as long as it is truly light and becomes almost not there as it dries, it doesn't particularly matter to me what the fragrance is. however, as we all know there are some hair products with super-strong scents.

here is what she said on her website about fragrances:
****************FRAGRANCE INFORMATION*******************
New fragrances are being cycled in as product inventory is restocked. The new fragrances are light, spa-like fragrances. They are pthalate free, but are not essential oil based unless specified. Fragrances are not customizable... they are offered only in one fragrance. I receive many questions regarding unscented products... the only product in the regular lineup that is unscented is Deeply Decadent Intensive Moisturizing Treatment. All other products are lightly scented and are not customizable. I do not have the capability to manufacture, label, and store a customized inventory. The time and materials needed for me to support fragrance requests (including requests for unscented products) would force me to raise prices prohibitively and I do not want to do that.

Some of the products are predominantly fragranced with lavender essential oils for their therapeutic and aromatic benefits. However, the following oils may or may not also be included in some of the proprietary blends:

Lavender Flower Oil, Tangerine Peel Oil, Orange Blossom Leaf Oil, Ylang Ylang Flower Oil, Coriander Seed CO2, Neroli Flower Oil, Cardamom Seed CO2, Vetiver Leaf Oil, Myrhh Resin Oil, Vanilla Bean CO2, Linden Blossom Flower Absolute, Geranium Leaf Oil, Cape Chamomile, Palmarosa Leaf Oil, Patchouli Leaf Oil, GrapefruitPeel Oil, Chamomile Roman Flower Oil, Australian Sandalwood Oil, Calendula officinalis CO2,

This is NOT an exhaustive list, and as these are handcrafted items and fragrances are sourced from different suppliers, there may be slight variations from time to time. Fragrances are not customizable.

sixelamy

In my opinion, I wouldn't call the berry scent a "spa-like" fragrance, even though she states that on her listing. Spa-like is a very subjective term anyway. When I think of a spa, I think of a clean smell... something like an ocean and calming. This scent isn't exactly calming, it's more stimulative.

I would say it's like a currant smell. Think of a deep dark red smell - if that makes any sense lol. It's not overpowering, but the scent lingers and you can smell it on your hair. I get whiffs of it throughout the day and I'm in love every time! It's not sweet and it's not bitter.. somewhere in between.

Curls80

sixelamy wrote: »

I ordered a sample of this back in the fall to cocktail with my Curl Enhancing Jelly. I liked it alright, but the SS jellies don't really work for me in the wintertime, so I kind of stopped using it. The CEJ was my HG last summer, but now I've run out. I decided to give the Firm Hold a try last night, and HOLY COW! Usually my curls flatten out big time when I sleep, but I barely had to do anything to my hair this morning! I think my hair is really loving products with hydroxyethylcellulose, as it gives me a really, really good hold. I think I may like this better than the Mop Top. When my sample runs out, I think I will definitely be purchasing a full size. And I totally love the new berry scent, I just want to sniff my hair all the time

I'm so sad! I can't try this because it doesn't ship to Canada!

Beebop

I actually love scented products that linger in my hair, strange as it is the only product that made me a little nauseated because it was so strong was the Shea Moisture products, although I reaaly liked it with my first sniff. I love when my hair smells good and I get whiffs of it all day! The berry scent sounds yummy to me but I liked the old scent too but it smelled like ice tea to me. I search for products that leave a lingering smell.

Beebop

rbb i notice you said you seal with the emollience butter? how much do you use and does it make you hair look oily/greasy? I've tried JCNS as well as jojoba & coconut oil in very small amounts but none of them ever work for me and just tend to leave me with shiny greasy frizz versus the dry frizz...

rbb

beebop -- i use very little of the emollience butter. you can always add more. i started with jane carter n&s, but like emollience much, much better. emollience is not heavy or greasy, it just seals in moisture and gives my hair a little 'umph.' with the jane carter i could never get the right balance, it was either too little or too much and was heavy. emollience is absorbed into my hair, doesn't sit on it.

you only need a little bit. i emulsify less than a pea-sized amount in my hands, then rake it thru it the underneath hair, upside down. repeat that with the top of my hair. all this is done on wet hair before i blot excess water. first i use a leave in, then the emollience. many days that is all i use. and get 2nd day hair with it. sometimes 3rd day hair.

Beebop

Thanks rbb!
I just placed an order for the firm hold gel but wasn't sure about the butter since most are too heavy for me but that sounds interesting the way you use it and I may have to try some in the future! I'm excited to get my new shipment with the berry scent and will update you all after I try it.

wavydaze

Sixelamy or anyone else, can you compare the Firm Hold Gel to any other gel you've tried? I'm curious now.

Beebop

Wavy daze,I Just received my order! it took from saturday until today, so really fast shipping to Arizona! I'm going to use it today so I'll update you. The old scent that I used up isn't like any other gel that I've tried before. It gives me more of a soft natural hold, with a ton of shine! Also I'm able to smooth it over the canopy of my hair and bangs to give hold and reduce frizz, like I would normally use my Shaper hairspray. but it leaves it shiny & soft without a wet look like I would get from other gels.

sixelamy

I'd say it's similar to KCCC, but it doesn't leave your hair product-y, and it leaves me more crunchy with a bit more hold. If you've tried the SS CEJ, it's also very similar, but with more hold. I like it better than an actual gel, because it doesn't leave me product-y or plastic-y. It reacted the same as Mop Top Curly Custard did, but didn't leave me as frizzy.

Beebop

Sixelamy,
I guess it's different for different people because KCCC never worked for me, it always left my curls looking wonky & bent in strange directions no matter what amount I used but I agree that it also felt very producty too.

I tried the new shipment I got today & I'm on the fence about it so far, granted my old tub of gel was over 12 months old but it worked great and this new one today has different ingredients and left my hair very undefined with smaller spirals and a little fluffier but still helped with the frizz, I need to use it in different amounts a few more times to decide but if all else fails it's great to smooth over canopy for frizz control, better than anything else I've tried.

rbb

beebop -- you mean the ss firm hold gel? the ingredients changed?

Beebop

Yes but my tub was the old one from 2-3 years ago that had the red current & thyme tea scent, I think it was her original formula and I never ordered a new tub after she took a break for a while...

rbb

so only the fragrance changed? or did some of the main ingredients change? i had an original tub that i finished years ago, so i cannot remember the ingredient list.

Beebop

Some of the ingredients changed too...I'll try & post old ones for you to compare later

Beebop

rbb,
The old ingredients were:distiller water, dehydroxanthan gum, hydroxyethylcellulose, broccoli seed oil, phenoxyethanol and benzoic acid, dehydroacetic acid, silk amino acids, panthenol, polyquat. 4, aloe Vera powder, sea algae, fragrance, tocopherol, citric acid.

The new one has aloe juice & a lot of essential oils, looks like some changes in preservatives and a few other additions but mostly the same holding ingredients. I'll let you compare to her etsy site...

rbb

thank you!
let me know how you like the new one as you use it.

sixelamy

The one I ordered was red currant & thyme

Sent from my Nexus 5 using CurlTalk App

sixelamy

.

Beebop

sixelamy wrote: »

The one I ordered was red currant & thyme

Sent from my Nexus 5 using CurlTalk App

My old tub said red currant & Thyme but the new tub I just got doesn't have a scent name on it, it just says in the description that its scented with essential oils but smells very similar just a little more fruity....

sixelamy

I just have the sample size, I wonder if I order the bigger one if it will be different. I used it yesterday, and I didn't confirm it with the weather site, but it felt like our dew points where really high. My hair was a little poofy, but it wasn't anything I couldn't stand. My hair felt amazing! And my curls were pretty perfect and much more uniform! This gel rocks.

rbb

wanted to give you a heads up -- shantelle posted an announcement on her etsy website last night that as of june 24th she is permanently closing her shop. she is offering 20% discount.
i hate seeing her go, her products were truly quality and her customer service great.
i thought of you, sixelamy, and thought you might want to stock up on the firm hold gel.

Beebop

Well that is terrible news!! Just when I started using the firm hold gel again and there is nothing else like it!

naturecat

I'm going to experiment with firm hold gel again (in small amounts--I've only got two containers, must make them last). I *just* discovered the PT as an awesome leave in, so gutted to see this business go.