Hair goo suggestions?

June 14, 2024 7:14 AM

What hair product should I use?

I have short, thick, grey and now turning white hair that I have been trying to grow a bit longer. For the first time ever I've been using hair products to try to encourage what can be a big, unruly fluff more into individual curls. I'm white/jewish hair is wavy to curly. Texture is getting a bit dryer, less distinctly curly as it changes from grey to white.

I don't want my hair to look like it's full of product and I don't want it to be super stiff, but being a bit more distinct curls, a little more contained so there aren't crazy fluffy areas, and possibly so it doesn't look as dry as it has been looking lately, would be great.

I don't like spending a lot of time on my hair in the morning but I'm willing to spend a couple minutes putting some goo in it.

What specific brands of what kind of hair product do you recommend?

posted by latkes to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (14 answers total)

I like SheaMoisture Frizz Free Curl Mousse and used it religiously when I had my hair permed. It’s simple to use, too - just rub it between your palms and scrunch your hair up with your hands. It did leave my hair feeling slightly crunchy, but I haven’t found a hair product (which isn’t an oil) that doesn’t do that.
posted by antihistameme at 7:42 AM on June 14

Do you brush/comb your hair? If you do, stop immediately. That is likely a contributor to your curls/waves losing definition, and stopping it will produce pretty immediate improvement. You might also want to check out the Curly Girl method, although you may end up down a deep rabbit hole, for tips to bring out your natural curl.

With hair similar to yours (although I get mine colored), and notable clumsiness in most haircare routines, I've grown to love Miss Jessie's Jelly Soft Curls so much that it's the only non-salon product I use with my hair. Put some in your hands and scrunch it into your wet hair. Scrunching encourages the curls to stay together, as opposed to combing or finger-combing it in. If you use a hairdryer, use the diffuser attachment to keep from blasting your curls apart. The Miss Jessie's causes a little bit of crunch, but you can break it by scrunching your hair again when it is completely dry, or use a little Deva Curl Moisture Seal in your hands when you do the final scrunching to get rid of the gel cast.
posted by DrGail at 8:14 AM on June 14 [2 favorites]

Second the SheaMoisture Mousse--it's got a softer, more natural look than a gel (doesn't get that crunchy cast). That same line also includes a curl cream that works well layered under the mousse. For any product, you should start off using a small amount, then work your way up until you're getting the results you like.

How often are you washing your hair? Curly hair in general tends to be more dry and grey/white hair in particular has a thin, easily damaged cuticle, so if you're shampooing every day that might contribute to the dryness. Using a moisturizing shampoo or one made for colored (ie damaged) hair, adding in a leave-in conditioner for extra protection, or shampooing less often are some options to play around with. (Other things that can damage the cuticle include brushing, pulling your hair back tightly for long periods, excessive night movement against your pillowcase, or UV exposure.)
posted by radiogreentea at 8:51 AM on June 14 [1 favorite]

I like innersense curl control. I shower, put my hair up in a towel for a bit, hang up the towel (no rubbing my head), put some of this stuff in my hand (just a dab), add a splash of water, rub my hands together, and then smooth it over my hair. Then scrunch at the bottom to encourage the curls.

(I’m white/jewish, fairly curly hair (it makes ringlets on good days), but not a ton of gray yet. So I don’t know how the gray will do. )

Oh, and I wash my hair with hairstory new wash rich. (Just that, no separate conditioner.) Spendy, but it does seem to do good things for hair manageability.
posted by leahwrenn at 9:21 AM on June 14

I use Aveda's curl cream.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:50 AM on June 14

It's pricey, but Oribe's shampoo and conditioner for curls are very hydrating. I rinse it out well because the scent is kinda strong.

For air-drying, I like Oribe's mousse with a little bit of moisturizer on the ends/frizzies. I also use Shea Moisture's "smoothie" standalone sometimes, which is definitely less crispy (and less humidity-resistant) than the Oribe mousse.
posted by Drosera at 11:48 AM on June 14

I use cheap maximum hold gel, which doesn't stay crunchy. And a dime-sized amount of Garnier-Fructis-Anti-Frizz serum. The serum is silicone-based, and makes a huge difference for my frizzy, wavy white hair. I wash my hair @ every 3 days and refresh with water, no extra product. When it's chin-length, I let iy curl/ wave as it chooses. Now it's long and I usually braid it. It's humid where I live, my hair is extremely sensitive to humidity.
posted by theora55 at 1:25 PM on June 14

Google "scrunch out the crunch" to learn a completely different way of using hair products that I was unaware of as a poofy/wavy haired person until recently. Essentially, the product is to help your hair settle into more defined shape as it dries, but you break the resulting cast to leave a MUCH less product-y result. After that it's all about finding the protection (silk pillowcase, bonnet) and refreshing strategies that work for subsequent days.
posted by heyforfour at 1:31 PM on June 14 [1 favorite]

I mix oribe "creme for style" about half-and-half with leave in conditioner (I'm using a free sample of ceremonia's guava version now and like it, but I switch that around). About a tablespoon altogether for my very thick hair that's chin length. I apply it to wet, combed hair, then use my fingers to twirl any sections that have gone flat from combing/handling into curls again and leave it alone until it's dry.
posted by snaw at 3:57 PM on June 14

I have a similar texture to you and I layer in 3 products into my wet hair and then scrunch dry with a diffuser so that the curls/waves hold their integrity. I've had to use more product as I've gone greyer so that I don't get the "helmet" effect.

Start with an anti-frizz serum, like Garnier or John Freida. Then a curl cream (Aveda or Bumble & Bumble are nice), and work that though well. Finally, a touch of mousse. The mousse functions kind of like a lacquer/sealer, giving sheen and hold. I've tried gel instead of mousse, but it ends up feeling more sticky and clumpy and more like you have a lot of product. Also, if you don't like the feel of the silicone in the serums, you can also try just straight up hair oil like argan oil.
posted by amusebuche at 9:37 PM on June 15

Oh, and also, I use this method and only wash every 3 days. On the non-wash days I spritz my hair with water and scrunch to freshen up (no brushing or combing), and in fact, I often feel that it looks better on the second or third day.
posted by amusebuche at 10:30 PM on June 15

Verb Curl Foaming Gel or JVN Air Dry Cream. The former is the lightest hold hair gel that will leave you with curl definition without any crunch. The latter looks and feels like a cream, but acts like a gel and adds medium hold and a lot of definition. Just pick one product, rake it through wet to damp hair with your fingers, the enrich to form curls, and leave it alone until your hair is dry.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 7:25 AM on June 16

I was recently introduce to Loma products and I'm really loving them. I don't have curls, but I've seen a couple people at the salon getting some of their curly care products and they look like they're doing the trick for what you might need. And yeah, most of my curly friends don't shampoo too often, and refresh in between if necessary for controlling the look.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:35 PM on June 17

I've had good experiences using the Color Wow line recently.

I started with Dreamcoat but have recently been using the Shook Mix as a leave-in conditioner with very good results.
posted by Preserver at 10:23 AM on June 21