Gels an the white buildup

Hello beautiful naturals,

I can admit. I am a lurker and this is my first post on this blog. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I am kind of in a rut I have very thick coarse curls that has a curl pattern but it needs assistance to define the pattern. I have only used clear gels like eco styler, ampro, hello hydration set me up, etc. I started to use cantu-shea butter and gel to do my twistouts, but that did not work. Then, I started to use cantu seperately from the gel and it worked a little but I got buildup so I looked at my ingredients on both and stopped using the cantu. Too much cones and parabens for me. I decided to use the gels for my twist-outs which worked perfect for some reason doing my twists alone with just water and oils did not work my twist pattern was not defined so I used the gell so that I can have more of a wavy curly pattern than a puffy afro curl thing.

Still I am facing an issue with putting the gel on my hair line. This is my process I would wash my hair and apply a oil like olive oil or coconut oil on my wet hair then I would use the gel (eco styler or hello hydration) on my edges. Well to tell you I keep having bad results. I am having the same white build-up that I had from using the cantu shea butter. I have washed my hair with a sulfate shampoo to clean my hair of the build up (plus am trying to do the CG method), but when it dries my hair has these bulby white sticky things stuck inside of my curls. I have not tried leaving in conditioners on my hair because I have read and saw on youtube that keeping your hair clean and applying gel is the best, but am still having problems. I just need your help and your techniques. From a lonley lurker just trying to get my edges to stay down without being clumpy . Thanks so much for your help. I will try to post pics and get more involved I guess am shy. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

do you smooth in the gel enough ?

Yes, I use a comb to first smooth it in then I use a brush. I also tie it down with a scarf so that it can lay flat.

Wow. i have absolutely no idea why that is happening to you. what type of gel are you using ? It doesn't go away during the course of the day ?

I would add in a proper leave in instead of only oil
Also, what gel are you using? Some gels are notorious for flakes

I am currently going between eco styler and hebal essence hello hydration. The build up does not go away during the day. It actually gets worst and starts to flake. I am right now looking at my hair and it is flaking as I write this down. I did try leave-ins whether they were light or heavy and it still does not work. I am about to just stop applying gel completely. If my hair does not lay flat in the front so what. I can do twist outs a different way. Because I am so confused and I think I have tried everything.

Bump! Any other suggestions?

I would suggest a different gel. When I use eco styler i sometimes have buildup. Fantasia IC gel works great for me with no bulid up. Its just as great as eco styler in that it doesnt have alcohol that will make your hair dry. Hope this helps.

I would switch gels also and lighten the load. IC is a goodun

I saw clumps when I did this same thing. Try using a leave in that is spray the a glycerine for added moisture THEN the eco.

I would LOVE to find a cream leave in that is gel friendly and have yet to find it! The only one I have ever found that was, was by Dark and Lovely and they discontinued it about 5-6 years ago. Darn, I should have bought a CASE! LOL.

Let me know if that works!

i mixed some HE Totally Twisted and distilled water in a spray bottle and sprayed it on my hair and then used Elasta QP Glaze over it and my curls really popped....also i like Elasta QP Feels Like Silk...sometimes i use cantu or giovanni direct but what i do is put whatever conditioner/moisturizer in then put gel and then coconut or jojoba oil (or shea butter, but thats harder to rub in) on top and rake through and smooth with my hands

It's essentially a chemical reaction - your hair is either oversaturated with leave in conditioner or isn't absorbing it at all. I had this same problem when I used HH as a Leave-In - turns out it was simply too heavy for my hair texture. However, if you want to give the HH another go-round, I would recommend using some sort of "sealant" in between the leave-in and gel application. You can also try "watering down" your leave in (especially if you're using hello hydration which is quite thick).

However, I'd first try a different gel or leave-in conditioner.

Not to beat a dead horse, but finding what works for your hair is truly a personal journey (lawd knows I've spent $$$ on stuff that I had no business because it worked for someone else). If its broke - fix it!

Some lighter conditioners-as-leave-ins you may want to try:
- Suave Humectant
- Suave Coconut
- Abba Nourishing (I think they actually call it "Pure" now - it's the one that can be used on hair or skin - but I wouldn't recommend it on the skin)
- Giovanni Tea Tree or Leave-In Creme

just 2 add a side bar regarding white flakes...i was on u-tube and someone mentioned alcohol mixed with some gels causes white flakes. i checked my suave & noticed it has cetyl alcohol. i googled & found out that at room temp it takes the form of a waxy white solid or flakes. Bingo, thats what i had been getting. in hair products this type of alcohol smooths & softens the hair. i also found out that its derived from coconut oil. i have silver grey hair(smiles) so it does show up so bad but it gets all over my hands & cloths. i hope this helps. have an awesome week....chosengurl