8 Reasons You Are Not Getting a Gel Cast

A good gel cast is a desirable property to protect curls from frizz forming external factors like humidity, wind, heat etc, as it dries. Cast does not determine the hold of a gel, so if your results are good even without a cast, there’s no reason to be bothered. Check this post to know everything about gels, including how to break a gel cast – Curly hair gels : Everything you need to know

Here are 8 reasons why you may not be getting a gel cast –

1. Your gel doesn’t have enough film forming ingredients. Film forming ingredients like polymers and humectants do just that – form a film/cast around hair. Check this to know more about such ingredients – Ingredients to Look for in a Hair Gel

2. You have applied a really oily product underneath the gel. Gels cling best on clean hair.

3. You have applied too much of a product underneath the gel. Gels cling best on clean hair.

4. Your hair moves a lot as it is drying. For e.g it rubs on your sofa, or pillow. Or you step out into a windy day with wet hair. Cast can form only if the hair remain undisturbed. Diffusing instead of air drying helps. But if you don’t have the time to diffuse till it is fully dry, the easiest way is to diffuse until a cast is formed and then air dry the rest of the way.

5. Your hair has buildup or is over conditioned. Gels cling best on clean hair(the same principle as point 2 and 3). Clarify using a good clarifying shampoo.

6. You are not using enough gel. Kind of self explanatory I guess 🙂

7. You plop for too long. Plopping for too long can absorb some of the gel too, in addition to the water. Plopping for about 20 minutes works best for me.

8. Your hair is dripping wet while applying gel. I put this point as the last one because styling on dripping wet hair gives the best frizz control. So I would take this into consideration only if you have become adept at styling your hair and know how to experiment with it. Just squeeze out a bit of the water before applying the gel.