“I’ve decided I want to go with it,” I told my hairdresser. I’ve booked myself in for a curly trim and style. I savagely cut my type 4b hair two weeks ago in the confines of my bathroom, before throwing on a wig and pretending it didn’t happen. But now, I’ve decided that I’m going to embrace it. “I doubt I’ll go short again so let’s do this,” I add.
As someone who regularly wore wigs and weaves, going natural is a huge step, let alone after a big chop, and I didn’t really grasp what it would mean to have to style my natural hair everyday until this moment. I’d asked around and the main piece of advice I received was to “find a hair gel that works for your curls.” Huh? You mean the plethora of gels, creams, leave-ins I have at home wouldn’t just automatically work their wonder on my coils. Short answer: No.
Great hair, don't care.
I was quickly thrown into the world of product compatibility, fuming as one highly recommended curl-defining gel failed to hold even the loosest ringlets of hair. Then there were ones that I thought were great, until hours later when it had fully dried and my hair felt as crunchy as a packet of Doritos. And the flaking … oh, the flaking. Around 80% of the hair gels I’d known and loved for my hair extensions were rejected by my natural curls, in the form of white, dandruff-like flakes falling from my strands.
After searching far and wide, lapping my local Boots, Superdrug and hair stores, scrolling for hours through TikTok reviews of a product that would work for me and trying a conveyor belt of products from my own little beauty cupboard of gels I’d accumulated over the years, the Aveda Be Curly Advanced Coil Defining Gel hit my desk and the rest, as they say, was history.
Part of their Be Curly Advanced range, this coil-definer “protects coils and tight curls from humidity while providing shine and definition.” I was promised 72 hours of frizz protection, double the shine and replenished for my coils, backed by expert stylists. This pretty much ticks the boxes for the ideal hair gel if definition is your name priority. “Products with no silicone or alcohol will ensure even the tightest curls are defined, avoid a crisp finish and help to lock in moisture,” hairdresser and owner of Divine Hair Salon, Nadia Dedier, says.
According to Dedier, this is key if you want to keep your curls nourished and hydrated too. “When you’re looking for hair gel for tight curls, you’ll want to find a product that’s alcohol-free, silicone-free and most importantly, non-drying,” she adds.
The Aveda Coil Defining Gel does this with apple extract and castor oil, the latter you’ll have heard lots about thanks to its soothing and nourishing benefits which are also at play here. The apple extract ensures a silky soft finish without curls feeling brittle or damaged.
Dedier also tells me that the more lightweight a gel is the better, which was new to me. I had no faith in a lightweight gel doing anything for my curls, but Aveda’s has proved me wrong and I think this is down to the gel’s ability to work with the moisture in your hair.
Also: manageability. Finger coiling can be a long process, with water-wrinkled fingers, damp hands and damp hair (not ideal, trust me), and with the wrong gel, too much slip is enough to push you over the edge. But Aveda’s gel gives enough grip for me to move from section to section without leaving my curls feeling dry. As soon as I start styling my hair, I can feel the gel working with the water in my curls to create definition, rather than leaving a cast, a common issue I’ve come across with other products.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the shine this gives. In the past, I’ve used different types of hair sheens or curl sprays to add an artificial glow to my hair but achieving a natural one has always been tricky for me, whether it was due to frizz or the natural colour of my hair. It took me a while to learn that the right curl-defining gel will keep a moisturised, almost wet look to your curls, to enhance the definition you’ve spent ages creating. It was the Aveda gel that taught me that.
In short, I can confidently say this is the best coil-friendly gel I’ve come across since going natural. Learning what works for my type 4b hair hasn’t been easy, in fact, with the amount of products I’ve experimented with, I deserve a white coat. But thankfully, the Aveda Be Curly Advanced Coil Defining Gel means one step in my hair routine is finally complete.
