Curl Cream Vs Gel (How To Use Each Depending On Your Hair Type)

Do you know your hair type? And do you know what products are best suited to your God-given, natural hair? In this article, I’m covering everything you need to know about strand thickness, density, porosity, and curl type, then helping you put it all together so you know which styling products to use (curl cream vs gel), and how much of each!

Curl cream vs gel?

What’s the purpose of each?

Do you need to use both?

Let’s talk about it!

Table of Contents

Curl Cream Vs Gel: Benefits of Each

Both of these products are used often in curly hair routines. Although they both help define curls, they do it differently.

Curl cream provides hydration for curls, which helps define them. Because dry curls are just frizz!

Gel provides hold and definition for curls. This definition helps separate curl clumps and hold the curly shape. Because undefined curls are simply a mass of hair — you might not even know there are curls under there!

The magic comes in when you put the RIGHT amount of these products together on YOUR hair.

And take it from me, the RIGHT amount for you is probably not what you see other people using. Their hair is different. They need more or less of each in order to end up with soft, defined, not crunchy curls.

Figuring Out Your Hair Type

To figure out how much curl cream and/or gel your hair needs, you need to know four things about your hair — strand thickness, hair density, hair porosity, and curl type.

Strand thickness refers to how thick each individual strand of hair is. Compare your hair strand to half of a piece of thread. Most sewing thread is 2-ply, meaning it’s two threads wrapped up into one… so separate the piece of thread into its two thinner strands, and voila! One of those is comparable to a normal hair strand’s thickness. Fine hair is thinner than that half thread, and coarse is thicker.

Hair density refers to how many hairs are on your head. When your hair is parted, can you easily see your scalp (low density), somewhat see your scalp (medium density), or barely see your scalp (high density)?

Porosity refers to how porous your individual hairs are. They are either low (closed cuticles or low absorbency), medium, or high (open cuticles or highly absorbent). You can tell your porosity by how quickly your hair gets fully wet when you hop in the shower — quickly (as in seconds) is high porosity, within a minute is medium porosity, and within several minutes (including some massaging to help it along) is low porosity. The photo above illustrates this.

Finally, curl type. Curl type refers to how curly your hair is, from wavy to curly to kinky, and variations in between. This is probably least important when choosing to use curl cream or gel or both, but is still something to consider when you evaluate your results to see if these products helped or hindered your curls from really shining.

Here’s how to figure out your hair’s porosity, and here’s how to figure out its curl type.

How to Put it All Together

When you evaluate all the criteria above for yourself, you’ll find out that you’re quite unique!

For instance, my “hair type” is fine strands, medium density, and high porosity. My curl type is curly and specifically a blend of 3a to 3c curls (see link above for more info on that).

Here’s how strand thickness, density, and porosity impact the use of products:

use less product for fine hair strands, more product on coarse/thick hair strands
use less product for low density hair, more product on high density hair
use less product on low porosity hair, more product on high porosity hair

However, you might find yourself with contradictions when you consider those guidelines. For instance, with me… since I have fine hair strands, I should use less product. But on the other hand, since I’m high porosity, I should use more product. Which is correct?

Well, for most of us, we instinctively know that one of those factors tends to be more limiting. In my case, it’s the fineness of the strands. I cannot possibly use more product or my hair will go completely flat. I can only use as much product as the fineness allows… which for me, actually means, I have to live with some frizz and less curl definition in order to preserve volume. It’s a trade off. 🙂

On the other hand, consider someone with thick strands and low porosity. Having thick strands means she can use more product, but being low porosity means she can’t overdo the products. Which is the limiting factor? Probably the low porosity is going to raise its hand first and say, “Don’t use too much product!”

So now that you know you are going to have a combination of traits in your hair and at least how to start considering them, let’s talk about how to decide on styling products: curl cream vs gel. Or maybe, both!

How to Use Curl Cream & Gel

You might have noticed that there are light, medium, and strong hold curl creams and gels. Generally, the lighter/medium hold products are best for fine hair strands and low density/porosity hair, while the stronger hold products are better for coarse hair strands and high density/porosity hair. With normal being in between.

However, these guidelines are not absolutes; there are many ladies with fine strands or low density hair preferring stronger hold gels.

In addition, there are more or less moisturizing curl creams. Generally, the less moisturizing curls creams are better for fine hair strands and lower density/porosity, while the more moisturizing are better for coarser strands and higher density/porosity.

Keep these guidelines in mind as you follow the instructions below according to your hair type!

Fine Strands or Low Density

Since I know myself best, I’ll use myself as an example of having fine hair strands! I think these guidelines tend to work for most who have fine hair or low density hair, unless their hair is very dry.

Like I said before, the fact that my strands are fine is the biggest determining factor as to which and how much products I should use. Another important factor is that my hair is not dry. And, I know something else about me: my curls are easily stretched out (they really don’t want to stay curled up).

Thus… in the curl cream vs gel debate, curl cream is less important for me than gel. I don’t need the extra hydration… it weighs down my hair and I lose curls and volume. Now, I do sometimes still use curl cream because I like that it softens gel and prevents crunchiness. When I use curl cream, I literally only use a smear of it… just the tiniest amount (see photo above).

And gel is my most important styling product… because I need the hold and definition for the curls. Yet, I also can’t use too much of this because too much of any product will weigh my hair down. Less is more for me! The photo above illustrates how much gel I use.

Here’s how to apply products for those with fine hair strands… as well as low density.

Thoroughly wet down hair. It needs to be quite wet or sopping wet so the water will dilute the products. Otherwise you can end up using too much product or ending up with too much product in certain spots, and weighing down your curls, losing volume and definition.
Using the photos above as a guide, mix together your curl cream and gel. I’m showing you how much I use of each product, but these amounts will be fairly accurate for anyone else with fine or low density hair, too.
Rub products between your palms and apply evenly to your sopping wet hair. Really squish it in or use a wet styling brush to distribute.
Finally, scrunch dry your hair with a cotton t-shirt towel. This will help leave behind just the right amount of gel for your hair.
Style your hair as usual, air drying or diffusing.
Evaluate how your hair feels and adjust amounts the next time, using more or less of each depending on results.

Coarse/Thick Strands or High Density

Now, let’s talk about the other end of the spectrum… coarse/thick strands or high density hair. The amounts I showed you above would be laughable on these types of hair.

Curl cream? Super important to hydrate the curls so they’re soft, shiny and well-defined instead of frizzy and dry. I personally think curl cream is essential for anyone with these types.

Gel? Yes, please! This hair needs the hold and definition to prevent the curls from being a big, frizzy mass.

Here’s how to apply products for coarse/thick strands or high density.

Your hair should be damp, but not sopping. You don’t want to dilute the products you’re using quite as much, but you do need dampness to help distribute the products through your hair.
Section your hair so you can thoroughly apply a more generous amount to all your hair consistently.
Apply a pea-size amount of curl cream to each section.
Apply a pea-size amount of gel to each section.
Style your hair as usual, air drying or diffusing.
Evaluate how your hair feels and adjust amounts the next time, using more or less of each depending on results.

What About Porosity?

Start with the guidelines above, then…

if you have low porosity, you’ll move toward less curl cream and/or less gel and more water when styling
if you have high porosity, you’ll move toward more curl cream and/or gel and less water when styling

Need Help?

So there you have it… curl cream vs gel and whether you need to use both! Plus how much to use. 🙂

If you follow my tips above and you’re still struggling with gel, you might find these two articles helpful…

And if you’re interested in the products I use and recommend (they’re non-toxic and they work GREAT and I have options for all hair types and issues), go here.

God bless you!

Did you already instinctively know how much curl cream to use vs gel? Did you find these tips helpful? Let me know in the comments below!

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