What hair gels do you like?

[Electric Warrior]

I couldn't decide if this was better here or in IMHO, mods feel free to move it.

So I am mad at my hair. It's very fine and breaks easily, and it grows very slowly. The worst problem though is that while it is straight as opposed to being wavy or curly, it doesn't usually stay straight, and prefers to dry in all sorts of bizarre and eldritch shapes. I would rather it stay in pretty much one shape, and ideally that shape would be 'the way it looks right after I dry it with a towel', so I have decided to start searching for hair gels.

Does anyone have recommendations for a good, low- to mid-price-range hair gel for fine, straight hair (for reference my genes are Eastern European) that
a) doesn't make hair feel sticky to the touch
b) won't damage my hair and make it hate me even more?

[Staggerlee]

I like this one - http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/alber...y_1_32277.html . It is excellent, until it rains, and then your hair looks like it's lactating.

[EpicNonsense]

Bed Head Manipulator

[silenus]

Turtle wax.

[kenobi 65]

Technically not a gel, but...

Redken Rough Paste

[Electric Warrior]

Thanks everyone! I will definitely check these out. It just occurred to me that I forgot to mention in my first post the somewhat important information that I'm female. And my hair is not quite shoulder length. In any case, keep 'em coming.

[twickster]

Originally Posted by Electric Warrior

I couldn't decide if this was better here or in IMHO, mods feel free to move it.

Yeah, seems more IMHOey to me, so I moved it.

twickster, Cafe Society moderator

[Teacake]

I use a blend of beeswax and olive oil. It's a fantastic multi-purpose product; I originally bought it for excessively dry skin on my hands, then discovered it was great for chapped lips, then discovered it aided healing of small cuts etc., then one day decided to see if it would be good for my hair. And it was. That was years ago and I've never used anything else in my hair since, no matter how long or short I've been wearing it at the time. I have thick, slightly curly hair (though my partner has straighter, finer hair and also finds it the best product). It's in great condition, and even when quite heavily styled (like more wax to flatten the curls down a little when it's short, like now), it still feels soft and you can run your hands through it. I used to use gels, but they're either greasy or they dry hard and then flake when you touch your hair.

[badbadrubberpiggy]

Do you blowdry it after putting gel in? If so, Cocky by Tigi Bedhead is great.

It's not really a gel, more like a thickening paste. You need like a pea-sized amount for the amount of hair you have (it sounds similar to mine) so even though it's more expensive than something from the pharmacy, it lasts forever. It gets stiff and weird if you don't blowdry, though. If you do dry it, it doesn't feel like anything.

[Autolycus]

Paul Mitchell Extra Body has never let me down. I don't have long hair, but for the length I have it's moldable, bendable, pliable, any type of -ble you can imagine. It was worth every dollar out of 15.