How To Select The Best Styler 

When selecting a styler, it can feel like you are a kid in a candy store; the choices are endless. There is a wide range available, from gel, souffle, mousse, or lotion, but which ones will deliver on styling for you. There's so much to consider, don't make your choice based on what your friend with amazing curls uses or what products have the best fragrance. To get the best result, you need to know your curl type, texture, and desired styling outcome to help determine your best styler. 

What Influences Styler Choice? 

Curlsmith has stylers that meet every need; let's break down the considerations and analyse the differences between various products to gain a deeper understanding. 

Hair Type

Identifying your curl type before selecting a styler is essential, as some products are suited to a particular category. So save yourself time and money by ensuring you do not skip this step. After all, what would be the use of selecting a product suited to wavy hair if you have coily hair, right? 

If you require help with this, check out our curl quiz to assist with identifying your curl type plus more.

Hair Texture

Hair texture and hair type generally seem to get mixed up, so let's shed a little light on the situation. Hair type refers to the structure of the hair; wavy, curly, or coily. Hair texture refers to the individual strand of hair being fine, medium, or coarse. Now that we have cleared that up, let's move on to how we can identify your hair texture. 

The Curlsmith method to determine your hair texture involves taking a strand of hair between two fingers and rolling it back and forth. Feeling nothing or barely anything indicates fine hair. If you can feel something subtle, you have medium, and definitely feeling the strand rolling around is coarse hair.

How to Choose the Best Styler 

Great now you have got to know your hair and are equipped to choose a styler. However, you may still be confused about the differences between a gel, mousse, cream, and souffle, so let's take a closer look at the features and benefits.

Gel

Gels are great if you require definition and hold. The consistency can vary from runny to thick. The function of a gel is to set the hair into your desired position when styling. Curlsmith has a range of four gels, all featuring different benefits and levels of hold.

Light Hold: starting with our Light hold (level 5) Shape Up Aqua Gel. This gel is great for those with weak, damaged hair. It contains proteins that strengthen and fortify while creating a light cast to set your curls perfectly. 

Medium Hold: For those that require a medium hold gel, try our Hydro Flexi Jelly, which is great for defining curls without compromising on volume. This lightweight formula spreads through and coats hair easily, preventing product build-up; suitable for all curl types. 

Strong Hold: If you want to ramp it up with the hold level, try our stronghold (level 9) Shine Gel. This fragrance-free gel is perfect for most with scalp sensitivities and provides long-lasting definition and protection against humidity, suitable for all hair types. Alternatively, try our In Shower Style Fixer for our strongest hold (level10). This gel creates a strong cast around the hair to offer long-lasting, weather-resistant defined curls; suitable for all hair types.

Foam 

Styling foam is a lightweight liquid that turns into foam once pumped out from its bottle. Foam is a versatile styling product that offers flexible hold, which is great for adding volume from the roots, defining and enhancing curls without weighing them down. Our Bouncy Strength Volume Mousse has a soft hold (Level 2). This styler contains protein, which is great for those with damaged hair; however, the protein at a low dosage is suitable for all hair types.

Styling Cream 

Styling cream is great for adding moisture, definition, and soft hold to the hair, but generally not the sort of hold you would get from using a gel. The Curlsmith range offers two styling creams, Hold Me Softly Balm, which is part of the Moisture Recipe Range. It is suitable for curls and waves and offers moisture, definition, and soft hold without a cast (Level1). Top tip about the Hold Me Softly Balm; it is interchangeable as a leave-in conditioner and a styling cream. We then have the Feather Light Protein cream that belongs to the Strength Recipe Range. The styler provides the moisture from cream with the flexible hold technology of a gel and is enriched with proteins to fortify the hair and promote elasticity. It is suitable for weak and damaged and encourages soft and bouncy curls. 

Jelly

A Jelly is a lightweight gel; our Shine Jelly is a part of the fragrance-free Shine Recipe Range. It is great for most that have fragrance scalp sensitivities as it’s dermatologically tested. The lightweight weight jelly spreads easily throughout the hair, offers medium hold, controls the frizz, and keeps your curls moisturised and defined without weighing the hair down. The Jelly is enriched with a blend of Hop's, Jasmine, and Lemon Peel to enhance shine.

Souffle

A souffle is a great product if you want to use one styler that provides the benefits of both a styling cream and a gel. Our Curl Defining Styling Souffle is a part of the moisture recipe range. It offers moisture and definition with a strong buildable hold (level 8). Featured ingredients include Irish Moss, a natural styling agent that provides hold, flaxseed extract that helps support elasticity, and Shea, Avocado, and Sunflower oil for moisture. This amazing product is sure to deliver to all hair types.

Curlsmith Conclusion

All the Curlsmith stylers are numbered from 1-10 to indicate the level of hold, one being a little hold and 10 being a strong hold. If you like the benefits of a styler with a low level of hold, then it is perfectly ok to layer another styler on top with a stronger hold, such as a gel. Don't be afraid to cocktail your products! We have a range of various styles that suit everyone's needs, so there are no excuses for lifeless curls. If you are still unsure of what stylers would suit you best, head to our Curl Quiz to provide you with the best styles to suit your needs.