cubancurls

Vacationing here in Phoenix & my pm round trip with deva curl gel made my hair a frizz ball. Can't believe how dry it is here. Can any desert curlies suggest a proper gel that i can buy at sallys/drugstore/target?

dusalocks

I don't live in the desert but surprisingly my climate is fairly arid nonetheless. It is difficult to think up a gel that is glycerine free or low on the humectant ratio. If there is a Whole Foods nearby you could go check out Aubrey B5 Design Gel. I used it and liked it but have yet to repurchase. If there is a Target or yes a Whole Foods again try kinky curly curling custard. Also maybe it's a case of you just need to up your emollients. Put in more leave in condition and seal your hair with a light, non penetrating oil (such as jojoba, got that tip from aqualily) to protect it from the climate. Some people put heavy leave ins or curl creams before their gel. I have Shea Moisture's (which is definitely drug store) curl enhancing smoothie. It's so rich I think I may use it to deep treat. I've also heard good things about the milk. But of course I'd try your normal daily conditioner as a leave in and see if that works.

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3A. Coarse/Porous/Medium-High Density/Semi-Arid Climate
CG since Nov. 2012.

Poos: SM Moisture Retention or Yucca Baobab (1x a wk), TJ Tea Tree Tingle (to clarify as needed)
Condish: TJ Tea Tree Tingle*, SM Restorative, Curl & Shine, + Yucca Baobab, Tresemme Naturals
Stylers: KCKT + KCCC**, FSG*, SM Curl Enhancing Smoothie* + Curl & Style Milk, CJ Pattern Pusha
Sealers: Jojoba or grapeseed oil or smoothie*

* = HG

SpiralSpunk

Kinky Curly is humectant free if you like that, but my staple is Aussie Instant Freeze Hard Hold Gel.

One tip: make sure your hair is really well moisturized, maybe consider sealing. My hair is always a lot better if I sleep with conditioner in and shower cap on overnight and just add my stylers in the morning. If you don't want to do that try putting your leave in on in the shower and letting in soak in. That may be a low-porosity thing, but it works really well for me.

asugirl

I'm a Phoenix girl - what type of hair do you have? My hair is fine and wavy/curly and this time of year I don't use gel. I just started using a Tresemme mousse that some of the girls like on here from the Flawless Curls line and it's working great. That and lots of conditioner!

Aqua_Lily

I really like this one: Kiss My Face, OHC, Upper Management, Styling Gel, Grapefruit, 8 fl oz (236 ml) - iHerb.com

It only has pathenol really low in the list. Humectants are also really bad in high humidity. I live in a VERY high humidity area and this gel saved my hair! I also used Kinky Curly Knot Today (humectant free) as leave in and that also really helped!

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Natural blonde going for 40 inches length!
F/med por/iii

Lo-poo: Nature's Gate CR*
CW: Elvive VCSC*
RO: EO Keratin cond*, GF FP, AO MAO+AS
LI: KCKT, Elvive VCSC*
PT: Home made recipe*
Style: JC spray gel, JC mousse*, Kiss My Face*, TBS CCB, Studioline*
Oils: argan*, EVCO*, EVOO, JB castor*, grapeseed*, sesam, shea butter
Other: plop*
*=HG

iherb.com 5-10$ discount code: VHT541 Many natural hair products

squalene

Hmm, but that contains hyaluronic acid, which is an humectant. A very effective one at that.

kathymack

I'm not a desert curly, but our dewpoint was -6 this week! I never use a lot of any product, but when it's like this, I use a DT as my leave in. So far this week, I've used CK Curlycue ReNew and CJ Curl Rehab. If you have something like that with you, it's worth a try.

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3a (Corkicelli), highlighted, fine, low porosity
modified CG, since April '07
CG since 3/11/08

SE PA

HGs: Curly Kinks Satin Roots, Curlycue ReNew and Coil Jam; homemade FSG and okra gel; soap bars; DM MiraCurls Curling Gelly; UFD Curly Magic; Shescentit LIs; Sevi conditioners; Botanical Spirits Puree, CJ Repair Me

Jessiebanana

Ditto hyaluronic acid is what they recommend for use on the face as well. It's very effective. I'm not sure if it's technically a humectant, but it behaves that way.

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multicultcurly

I also live in Phoenix but have medium-coarse low porosity hair. I'm actually leaning toward not using gel this time of year too. I leave lots of conditioner in and sometimes seal with a little olive and Rosemary oil and that seems to be working for now. It has to be the time of the year. Generally I use KKCC. Also don't use anything with glycerin high on the ingredients list.

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3b/c, medium-coarse, low porosity, low density
HG: Jessicurl Too Shea and Kinky Curly Curling Custard
Shampoo: nonsulfate shampoo and Suave Naturals sulfate shampoo when needed