What Type of Gel Ingredients Should I Look for in a Humid Climate?

What Type of Gel Ingredients Should I Look for in a Humid Climate?
Missmonet asks… I live in MD and even in the cold it be high humidity. My hair always get poofy in a day after I apply gel. I like my hair to shiny, define nice curls,and not to crunchy. I’m African American and if I don’t use a styling gel my hair will look like a [...]

Missmonet asks… I live in MD and even in the cold it be high humidity. My hair always get poofy in a day after I apply gel. I like my hair to shiny, define nice curls,and not to crunchy. I’m African American and if I don’t use a styling gel my hair will look like a Micheal Jackson bush lol.. I did my own research and learned that its the pvp that draws moisture even through I use serum with dimethicone. What ingredients are effective for holding my curls in high humidity?I read of polyquaternium -4 is suppose to be good in holding hair in humidity,little build up, soft feel , good wet and dry combing. Also polyquaternium -11 is good but more moisturizing and pvp/pva is good because of the mixture of both. I was thinking about using Aussie Instant Freezing Sculpting Gel because of the polyquaternium 4. lol help… me….

The Beauty Brains respond:

You’re absolutely correct about PVP. It will give you a crispy feel to your style but it absorbs moisture like crazy so it’s not a good choice when used by itself. A PVP/VA mixture is better but still not ideal. And the Polyquaterniums are good for soft feel and combing properties but they don’t provide a very strong hold.

So which ingredient is best for providing solid hold that’s moisture resistant? The best we’ve ever seen is VP/Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate Copolymer, aka Gaffix™ VC-713 (kinda just rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it?) This polymer provides superior holding power even at low use levels and has outstanding high humidity resistance.  Just be warned that it won’t give you the same kind of crunchy feel as PVP. Here are a few products formulated with this Gaffix.

Best high humidity hair gels

• Pantene Pro-V Curly Hair Style Curl Shaping Hair Gel
• Extra Strong Hold TRESemme Tres Gel Extra Hold
• L’Oreal Studio Line Mega Gel, Max Hold (but it contains alcohol)

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Source: thebeautybrains.com