mousse? gel? spray? products on a budget...

curlieann · December 2010

Hey! I am a 3b with pretty long hair. I just ran out of hair product and am looking for a new kind. Which is best for our type of hair? Mousse, or gel? are there products you can buy at target, wal mart, or any other relatively inexpensive store?
thanks.
Elizabeth

Here is a photo from a good hair day. I haven't had many recently due to not as good product

beautifulRain · December 2010

Hi Elizabeth! Your curls are so pretty! Of course there are lots of "drug store" brand products that are good for curlies

Every hair product I have ever used came from WalMart, Target, CVS, etc. Do you have a Sally Beauty Supply store near you? I've found great things there too for cheap. if you don't have one to shop in person. Are you following the "Curly Girl" method that many members here do? All of the products I use are "CG" in that they do not contain any of the forbidden ingredients (sulfates, silicones, mineral oil).

I've had good results with these gels: LA Looks Sport, La Bella Lots of Curls, Suave Gel, Smooth & Shine Curl Activator gel, and Ecostyler Krystal. I have not used hair spray or mousse in months, but I did just buy a new mousse at Target by Salon Grafix to try (haven't tried it yet). I just ordered Ecostyler Olive Oil gel and Biotera gel from Sally's to try also - a lot of people here like those for their curls. I am relatively new to the Curly Girl method and using only CG products, so I am still experimenting with different things. There's really no right or wrong, just what works for you. Even within the "3b" hair type there is a lot of variation in which products work well for people because of hair texture and porosity differences. There is a lot of information here so you might want to take some time to read up and then decide what kind of products you think will work best for your curls. It is still a lot of trial and error, though.

Good luck and let us know which products you find that work for you! Also you can check people's signatures, most people list the products they are using there.

happycurls24 · December 2010

Products on a budget!

Mousse:

Herbal Esscences Totally Twisted: CG, smells good and pretty cheap. I think it is under 5 dollars for a good sized bottle. Only problem is that it is loud coming out of the bottle and if too much is used curls can get pretty crunchy.

Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam (Sally's Version): six dollars. Very conditioning. Smells good. Quiet. Downside: Cheap version is only at Sally's. Regular Paul Mitchell is 20 dollars a bottle and it isn't CG.

DO NOT BUY THIS MOUSSE:
The John Freida one is absolutely terrible.
Garnier was okay but didn't hold much.
Pantene made my hair producty.

Gel:

LA LOOKS: I like Curl or Sport but I do prefer Sport because it has much more hold. One bottle of this will last me forever. (longer than half a year). Huge bottle for very cheap. Better than any other gel I have tried.

GEL I DIDN'T LIKE:
Herbal Esscences: I know a lot of people like this gel but I was not a fan. It was too sticky. My hair was sticky all day.

Eco Styler: This is another big one on here but I found it only mediocre. It wasn't terrible but it didn't work as well for me as the LA looks. I know many disagree. I also hated how I had to scoop gel out of a big tub. Gross.

Hope this helped.

stefflynh · December 2010

I just bought the LALSG last week & love it!! I use some pricey products, but this gel does wonders for my hair & it's so cheap!! I think many curlies have success with it as well. I also like that it can be used on wet and\or dry hair. My curls are so curly right now & I have super low dews. In fact I need to update my picture because it looks like I have a whole new head of hair.

All I've been using is a dimes size of CCCClite & about a quarter (maybe smidge more) of LALSG. I think I found my combo for the winter. Love it.

anonymous_60337 · December 2010

curlieann wrote: »

Hey! I am a 3b with pretty long hair. I just ran out of hair product and am looking for a new kind. Which is best for our type of hair? Mousse, or gel? are there products you can buy at target, wal mart, or any other relatively inexpensive store?
thanks.
Elizabeth

Here is a photo from a good hair day. I haven't had many recently due to not as good product

your hair is beautiful! what are you using then?

curlieann · January 2011

Thank you! I think I was using a Garnier-Fructis mousse

Thanks for all the replies

My mom just bought me LA looks Cashmere Curls gel, which works ok. I feel like when I use it sometimes my hair is super frizzy, but I dont know if thats from combing it too much, or from my towel.

kristie911 · January 2011

I have used the GF mousse from time to time but don't care for the hold. My favorite drugstore combo is the HE Totally Twisted products. I use the gel on my very wet hair then the mousse after it's started to dry...it seems to control my canopy frizz better than gel alone. After I diffuse dry, I spray a bit of the spray gel as a hairspray for a bit of hold.

anonymous_60337 · January 2011

curlieann wrote: »

Thank you! I think I was using a Garnier-Fructis mousse
Thanks for all the replies My mom just bought me LA looks Cashmere Curls gel, which works ok. I feel like when I use it sometimes my hair is super frizzy, but I dont know if thats from combing it too much, or from my towel.

what hold is that one? 8? I've never seen it at any of my drug stores

kristie911 · January 2011

curlieann wrote: »

Thank you! I think I was using a Garnier-Fructis mousse
Thanks for all the replies My mom just bought me LA looks Cashmere Curls gel, which works ok. I feel like when I use it sometimes my hair is super frizzy, but I dont know if thats from combing it too much, or from my towel.

A lot of curlies don't comb at all...it could definitely be the cause of your frizziness. Try finger combing your conditioner through in the shower, scrunching your product in and then trying to keep your hands off while it dries.

And don't rub with your towel, just scrunch your curls dry.

curlieann · January 2011

The problem is that when I try to do it with my fingers I still get knots and snarls

thescholar · February 2011

happycurls24 wrote: »

Herbal Esscences Totally Twisted: CG, smells good and pretty cheap. I think it is under 5 dollars for a good sized bottle. Only problem is that it is loud coming out of the bottle and if too much is used curls can get pretty crunchy.

I love this stuff too. I love when it goes on sale for $2.50!

1001waves · February 2011

I would also advise that it is good to have a sense of whether or not your hair likes protein and oils, whether the individual strands are fine or coarse, and whether your hair is porous or non-porous. The thickness of an individual hair strand can tell you if your hair is likely to get weighed down easily, if your hair needs more protein (fine hair) or if you would want to avoid protein but search for more moisturizing ingredients (coarse hair). These factors can be more important in hair products than how spirally is your hair. You might want to find a 'hair twin' whose hair has the same thickness, porosity, elasticity, and curl pattern to have the best chance of products being a good match for you before you buy. Good luck! And if I am not making sense, check out this thread that has good links to some other threads: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/67218-texture-porosity-other-hair-type-madness.html

KrazyCurlyHair · February 2011

Hello

I love your hair, so pretty!
I answered this in another post, I don't really like gel or mousse (though I like mousse a lot better than gel)

What I do love is Garnier Fructise curl sculpting cream gel. It doesn't make my hair hard, and it helps with frizz. It is about $4-$5 at places like CVS pharmacy, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.

ssourgirl · February 2011

I use Paul Mitchell Soft Sculpting Spray Gel. Its not the cheapest but it lasts a really long time and its a spray on so its easier to get it evenly through longer hair. It doesn't dry all crunchy. I really dislike mousses for that reason.

ohbangladesh · February 2012

You still get snags when you use a really thick conditioner in the shower? I comb my hair in the shower with a wide tooth comb from conair and I put as much conditioner as possible on everywhere but my roots. I start combing from the bottom up. It takes me a good 5 maybe even 10 minutes to get all the snags out without pulling too hard.

ohbangladesh · February 2012

curlieann wrote: »

The problem is that when I try to do it with my fingers I still get knots and snarls

You still get snags when you use a really thick conditioner in the shower? I comb my hair in the shower with a wide tooth comb from conair and I put as much conditioner as possible (everywhere but my roots). I start combing from the bottom up. It takes me a good 5 maybe even 10 minutes to get all the snags out without pulling too hard.

Linds1987 · March 2012

i will agree with combing in the shower. i keep a wide-tooth comb in my shower and only comb it while i am in there. and i only use the comb if my fingers arent quite doing it.

i recommend starting at the bottom and working your way up. if it helps, put some conditioner on your fingers to help detangle.

mousse? gel? spray? products on a budget...

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