Why You Might Want To Opt For Other Alternatives Than Hair Gel

Hair gel is great for helping seal the final touches to your hairstyle. However, too much gel can cause long term damage to your hair.

Photo by @Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash

Smothering your hair in gel can cause damage for a couple of reasons. For one, gel is a hardening product and does not allow the scalp to breathe once it is dried. When the scalp does not have the ability to breathe, it causes hair loss as the follicles do not have access to grow. Moreover, most gels contain high alcohol contents which can lead to dry and brittle hair that can lead to lots of hair breakage.

As well as breakage, the high alcohol contents in gel can cause a dry scalp. With a dry scalp comes a multitude of problems such as dandruff. Gel greatly exacerbates dandruff in the hair—so if you have bad dandruff already be especially careful when using gel products. A dry scalp can also cause irritation to your scalp making it itchier and more dandruff.

Now there are plenty of ways to avoid the headache that comes with using gel. If you are not willing to compromise the heavy-duty hold of hair gel that’s fine. Though you have to follow these precautions to ensure that your hair is still remaining healthy.

1. Don’t leave the gel in your hair for more than one day

Oftentimes, people make the mistake of not washing their hair after using gel. However, leaving the gel in your hair for more than a day can lead to increased hair damage. So make sure to wash your hair after a day's worth of gel in your hair.

1. Try using a gel that is alcohol-free

Most gels use alcohol in their ingredients but alcohol-free gels do exist as well. So to avoid the drying factor that comes with using traditional gel opt for an alcohol-free hair gel.

Here are some great ones to use:

Eco Styler Olive Oil Styling Gel

It’s A 10 Miracle Firm Hold Styling Gel

Curl Charisma rice amino + quinoa frizz control gel

Carina Organics Unscented Alcohol-Free Styling Gel

1. If you are okay with giving up gel try other hair holding products

Hair wax is a great way to slick back your hair and hold it down. Albeit it does not have the same hold that a hair gel does but it still does the trick. If not hair waxes, hair pomades are great and don’t leave your hair as crunchy or brittle. I prefer using a pomade. Though the con with pomade is the better one’s do run a little more pricey.

Here are some great waxes and pomades to substitute gel:

She is Bomb Hair Wax stick

American Crew Pomade, 3 Ounce

Suavecito Pomade Firm Hold

With this newfound knowledge on hair gels hopefully you will take it into consideration to switch your gel products or change to a pomade to save your hair from the damage.