Curl Cream and Defining Products

Curl cream, gel and custard all define curls, and they do it in different ways, which is why people who dislike one often get on well with another. Cream softens and clumps with little hold. Gel casts a firm film that holds the shape hard. Custard sits between, with slip and definition and a moderate hold. Most people who get good results use two of them together.

What each one does

A cream moisturizes and encourages curls to clump, giving a soft, touchable result that will lose definition by the second day. A gel forms a cast around the curl as it dries, holding the pattern through the day and against humidity, at the cost of feeling crunchy until you break it. A custard or jelly gives more definition than a cream and more moisture than a gel. Layering cream first and gel over the top is the standard combination, and it gives soft-feeling curls that still hold.

Apply to soaking wet hair

This is the technique that matters most and the one most often got wrong. Curl products define the shape the hair is in when they dry, so the hair should be dripping, not towel-dried, when you apply them. Work in sections, rake the product through, then scrunch upward toward the scalp. Every minute the hair spends drying before the product goes on is definition you have lost.

How much

More than you think for a cream, less than you think for a gel. Under-applying cream leaves patches of undefined hair; over-applying gel leaves a hard cast that flakes. Start at the ends and work up, since the ends are the driest and the roots need least. If your roots look greasy by the evening, you are applying too close to the scalp rather than using the wrong product.

Drying and the cast

Air drying gives the best definition and takes the longest. A diffuser on low speed and low heat speeds it up without disturbing the clumps; a high setting blows the curls apart and creates frizz. If you used gel, wait until the hair is completely dry, then scrunch gently to break the cast. Breaking it while damp collapses the curl you were setting.

Choosing for your hair

Fine hair usually does better with a gel or a light custard, since creams weigh it down. Coarse and dry hair usually needs a cream, with gel over it if humidity is the problem. Low porosity hair, which resists absorbing product, does better with lighter formulas applied to very wet hair. All four Kelly Beauty stores carry the range from light mousses through creams and custards to firm-hold gels.