My approach with the Urbanbella Hair Gels and Curl Defining Products...

Whenever I’m making a new product for a Urbanbella I am always thinking about how it contributes to you having your best natural hair. This means the product needs to contribute to your hydration and moisture level in the best way possible --including your styling products. There are a lot of approaches to making hair gel. There are traditional gel bases that tend to be known for their dryness and their flakiness (think Pro-style Gel and Eco Styler) and then there are more botanical approaches to hair gels that you see in the Urbanbella Gel Collection. These gels tend to be more flexible-- laying on the hair and allow you to tweak your hairstyle without causing flaking. 

Each hair gel that I have made in the Urbanbella Collection started with fixing a problem for a client or group of clients in the Urbanbella Salon. I was addressing a variety of issues for our customers including flaking, dryness and fragrance.

The Urbanbella gels are different from most styling gels because I really do not use a lot of water. Obviously, our gels have water in them and that’s necessary to even make gel, however you’ll find our gels are not thin and watery like other gels and therefore perform better. Your styles last longer, your hair tends to be shinier, your curl definition is better, and you have less frizz and so on and so on.

What the difference between each gel?

Each gel is made to address varying degrees of hydration level needed and hold needed. These needs are different for everyone and can change throughout the year. The gels are listed below from softest to firmest:

• Neat Extra Soft
•  No.34 Tamu  Curls
•  No.49 Cregel
• No.54 Shine and Define Gel
• Neat Extra Firm
• No.10 Stretch Twist Curl Creme

Here you will find a brief explanation about each Urbanbella Styling Gel and How they Affect Your Hair

 

Neat Extra Soft  This is the most hydrating gel in our collection and has a soft finish. It will leave your hair very very soft and dryer time is recommended to make sure that your hair is not too dewy when you’re finished. We recommend this gel with any other Urbanbella gel in our collection.  It will make your hair softer and fluffier. Because this gel is so hydrating it tends to make curls very very fluffy and bigger while still giving you definition and shine. It is recommended to a firmer gel with this one to give your hair a little bit of hold  We recommend Neat Extra Firm or Cre’gel. 

 

 

Tamu Curls - This is the second most hydrating gel in our collection and has a soft finish. While it is super hydrating it also has just enough hold so that this product can be used alone to style. It can be combined with any other gel in our collection however we most recommend it with No.49 Cre’gel, No.54 Shine + Define Gel or the Neat Extra Firm if you were trying to make any of these gels softer. The most popular combination with this gel is Neat Extra Firm and then the second most popular combination is with blending Tamu Curls with Cre’gel.

 

 

Cre’gel – This is a medium hold gel and reflects the moisture of your own hair. This gel was the first I ever made using a botanical gel base and it has the additional benefit of giving you moisture because it contains oil. The name Cre’gel comes from the word cream and gel which equals Cre’gel.    Cre’gel is known for giving shine and stretch to your curls. Because this gel contains its own oil system we recommend while you’re learning how to use this gel you may want to just use the Urbanella No.9 Hair Shine Butter after styling and then add your Urbanbella No.23 Hydrating and Moisturizing Cream during the week as needed. Because Cre’gel is a medium hold gel it is perfect for curls that are already well hydrated since it is neither firm hold or nor soft.  Cre’gel is going to reflect your hair condition at the time you use it.  It is popular because it defines curls beautifully and gives a nice shine to the hair. So basically … if your hair is dry and you want to try Cre’gel you will need to add a soft gel with to compensate for the hydration you will need. If you love how Cre’gel looks but you need more softness use it with Neat Extra soft or Tamu Curls.  If you love how Cre’gel  looks but you need a more firm hold to your hair you would want to add the Urbanbella need Extra Firm Gel.

 

 

No.54 Shine and Define Gel - I originally made this gel for after swim haircare.  I needed something that would make my curls defined but air dry with a nice finish.  At that time, I refused to sit under a hood dryer in the summer and I went swimming 5 days a week. So ...I made a product for that.  We tested it on clients in the salon and they loved the fragrance and the shine it gave their hair.  I find this gel to be firmer than Cre'gel and has less moisture and hydration. This is going to make curls tighter with an air dry, however with hood-drying we have found it gives a lot of stretch and high shine.

 

 

Neat Extra firm  - This gel is extremely firm and extremely shiny. It's is the least hydrating gel that is in the Urbanbella Collection.  It is meant to be paired with another softer gel such as Tamu Curls or Neat Extra Soft.  You can mix them with 50% of a Soft Gel and 50% of Extra Firm for great results.  This of course can be adjusted based on the hydration needs of your hair which changes with seasons , environment and just life in general.

 

 

No.10 Stretch Twist Curl Creme - This is the first styling product I ever made.  It's a traditional gel and contains a lot of oil.  It's great for Twists Sets.  It leaves the hair very moisturized and very fluffy with a soft hold.  It can be easily blended with the No.23 Moisturizing Cream or Neat Moisturizing Cream for extra moisture and shine.  You can add a light amount of your favorite Urbanbella Gels to the No.10 Stretch + Twist + Curl Creme.  We have found success with Neat Extra Firm and No.54 Shine and Define Gel added on top.  When you are first starting to use this gel, we recommend doing a twist-set or twist out.

 

How Do I select the right urbanbella styling product for me?

Because Urbanbella believes in a full hair care system and consistency ---we recommend when you were first trying our products to strictly use our products.

This will allow you to really see the difference between the Urbanbella products and other products you may be familiar with. Allow us the time to reset your expectations of your hair products and as you begin to understand the differences feel free to try other items so you understand Urbanbella performance versus other product performance.  

With that being said,  if you’re new to Urbanbella we recommend you try our Wash-N-Go Set with Tamu Curls. This will allow your hair to have soft hold which is what most people want. If you already have tried a few of our gels and you’re looking to see what to try next take a look at each gel description above to see what other gels we recommend you try with that. The main thing would be selecting your new Urbanbella Gel not based on your curl type but based on the moisture level you need and the hold level that you need. Take a look at our guide below for suggestions and recommendations.

Concern / Urbanbella Stage	Suggested Urbanbella Gel
Dry Hair	No.34 Tamu Curls or Neat Extra Soft
Hair Soft or Limp	No.54 Shine and Define Gel or No.49 Cre’gel You can also glaze some Neat Extra Firm on top of your Softer Gels
Need Shine	Glaze some Extra Firm on Top of Your Favorite Styler
Stylers Flake Off	Neat Extra Soft and Neat Extra Firm
New to Urbanbella	Try to Tamu Curls

 

Can I get Help Selecting the right Urbanbella Natural Hair Gel for Me?

Absolutely you can. I’m going to post the link below that will allow you to join the Urbanbella beauty group please feel free to join the group and post images of your hair wet and dry. I am happy to make personal recommendations for you about what Urbanbella products to try. I will respond to you via video in the Group.  If we feel our recommendations require more of a personal conversation we will recommend that you email us or message us directly but please start in the beauty group as we love to help not only you but the entire natural hair community and you will find most natural‘s have the same questions and concerns that you have and they love learning more about their hair by hearing other people’s questions. So not only are you allowing us to help you…you are allowing us to help a wonderful community of women just like you!

Click Here for a Consultation and Recommendations in The Urbanbella Beauty Group!