Curl Keeper Ultimate Gel

Confession time: This is going to be a half-assed review. I say that because Curl Keeper Gel is one of those products that are simply not intended for me. This gel is designed for people with “loose” and “medium” curls. My hair is naturally straight and hates being curled unless tons of hairspray and preferably a professional hair stylist are used. So when I came across this product in one of my past Topboxes, I was initially disappointed (especially because I received two, good-sized samples).

But then I read this product’s description. According to its manufacturer, this “water-based” gel “…leaves no product buildup and supports any curly hairstyle for longer. Great for scrunching curly hair, styling with brushes, blow-drying or drying naturally.” My hair might not do scrunching curls but it can, sometimes, with the product and enough scrunching, do scrunching waves. So I decided to give that a go.

At first things seemed promising. This gel, which is surprisingly non-sticky and easy to work with, did seem to be adding in waves as I scrunched it through my hair. I tried this a couple times with air-drying my hair and another time using the blow dryer and all three times the results were the same: I had nice, soft waves for about 10 minutes and then they started to strengthen.

They never fell out completely and I was left with a sort of textured, morning-after-salon-curls look, which I liked and was a bit different than my normal straight-hair look. But they weren’t the results that I was hoping this product would deliver (and to be fair, it never claims to add or enhance curls or waves in straight hair).

I also tried out this gel with slicked-back ponytails and buns. Here it worked quite nicely to tame frizz and keep everything in place. I will definitely be using my samples for these styles, as it smoothed everything down without creating that "helmet" look.

As I used this product during the winter, I can’t comment on whether or not it is “Effective in high humid weather conditions” but it did maintain “shine and brightness of hair colour” and there was never any product build-up, flakiness or other grossness. Instead, my hair always felt and looked soft and silky.

While my straight hair meant that I never got to experience the true impact of this product, I do feel comfortable saying that I can see the potential in this gel. It certainly did deliver on some of its promises, like not leaving hair “crusty or hard.”

A 100ml bottle of this product retails at $9.99, which seems pretty reasonable, and other, larger sizes are available. While I haven’t seen this item in stores, it can be purchased online.

Would I buy this product: No but then it was never intended for someone with hair like mine.

Should you buy this product: If you have curly hair, check it out but skip it if your hair is naturally straight.