Styling hair becomes easy with the best hair gels. From creating bold hairstyles to adding volume, these innovative formulas are perfect for setting a new style statement. Unlike waxes and pomades, hair gels create alluring and natural-like wet looks with a decent finish and keep strands fresh and dapper. Be it a faux hawk or buzz cut to enhance your masculinity or bob or pixie cuts to spice up your feminine look, a styling gel designed for your haircare needs lets you achieve your dream hairstyle. 

Besides, these products are versatile and do more than just styling. They add the required moisture and nourishment to dull and lifeless hair. Some formulas tame frizz and flyaways, while others provide hair protection against heat damage. There is a wide range of hair gels available on the market that solve your haircare problem. 
Based on our first-hand experience, we have enlisted some effective styling gels for all genders with different hair types and haircare needs.

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  Editor's Pick

  VIRTUE 6-IN-1 Styler

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This 6-in-1 styler by VIRTUE is ideal for creating different hairstyles. It holds the hair perfectly and easily conceals frizz, flyaways, and baby hair. The lightweight texture doesn't weigh down the hair or make it greasy. It acts as the perfect primer for your mane while adding softness and shine. Strengthen each strand, and protect your mane from heating tools. The primary ingredients include vitamin B, vitamin E, and strengthening polymers. 

2

Best Overall

Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Styling Gel

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Garnier Fructis gel for hair lets you create your favorite hairstyles every day. Made from naturally sourced ingredients like Acacia Gum, the clean gel offers a strong hold for up to 24 hours. It's suitable for both men and women. Whether it's a stylish masculine buzz cut or a sassy pixie cut, the gel styles all perfectly without leaving a residue. Another star ingredient, aloe vera extract, strengthens hair and conditions the scalp for all-day healthy hair looks.

3

Best All-purpose

Biolage Professional Gelée Styler

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Give your hair a perfect finish with this hair gel for women by Biolage. The all-purpose gel provides a firm medium hold and styles all types of hair like a pro stylist. It gives you the most lustrous hair that is enough to attract eyeballs everywhere. As the product offers maximum control, you can freely style your hair the way you want with no tugging and pulling. It adds optimum volume and definition without weighing down your hair.

4

Best Thermal-resistant

SexyHair Big Blow Dry Volumizing Gel

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SexyHair gel is here to enhance your blow-drying experience. The hair styling gel protects your strands from heat damage due to styling tools. This heat-activated formula is ideal for blowouts and provides thermal protection up to 450˚F. You'd love the fact that the gel offers 94% more volume and lift to keep your hair bouncy and voluminous even on the toughest days. It works on all hair types. Just apply it on damp hair and blowout to expand the volume.

5

Best Shine Formula

Paul Mitchell Firm Style Super Clean Sculpting Gel

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Spice up hair looks by adding extra shine and bold texture. The Paul Mitchell strong-hold hair gel offers maximum control to let you create hard-to-hold styles. This revolutionary formula is excellent for making wet looks. It works well on difficult-to-style hair. The gel spreads easily, from roots to tips, without creating flakes. Upon application, your hair won't feel heavy and weighed down. Your strands will become more lightweight and hydrated for a stunning wet look.

6

Best Curl Enhancer

Ouidad Advanced Climate Control Heat & Humidity Gel

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Designed with advanced anti-frizz nano technology, the Ouidad gel deserves a spot in your curly hair care routine. No matter the season, you can achieve gorgeous and bouncy curls throughout the year. The gel locks moisture and kicks out humidity to tame frizz and flyaways. This best curly hair gel defines your curls while providing a flexible hold. It's formulated with ceramides that infuse optimum hydration to style curls while giving hair a soft and touchable feel.

7

Best Refreshing Formula

Tea Tree Styling Gel

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Combining the benefits of tea tree in a hair styling gel, the tea tree formula is a cult favorite for a reason. The formula refreshes your hair with every use and produces clean styles. You can apply it to wet and dry hair to create your dream styles. Based on our observations, you can use it close to the scalp to build the body or on towel-dried hair to create wet looks and boost shine. The subtle notes of lavender, tea tree, and peppermint awaken your senses and let you indulge in a sweet affair with your hair.

8

Best for Damaged Hair

SheaMoisture Curling Gel Souffle

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Give your thick, curly hair some extra care with SheaMoisture Curling Gel Souffle. This gel for curly hair is a solution to most of your haircare woes. Crafted with natural ingredients, such as agave nectar, flax seed oil, coconut, and hibiscus, the gel souffle acts as a total repair formula for damaged tresses. Agave nectar and flax seed oil define and maintain curls with a soft and supple finish. Coconut and flax seed oil hydrate, nourish, and seal moisture in the hair shaft to defend hair against environmental stressors.

9

Best for Maximum Hold

Aussie Instant Freeze Gel

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Set your hair once and forget the styling hassle. The Aussie Instant Freeze gel is perfect for all hair types and styles strands with a professional finish. This best styling gel is crafted with Australian jojoba oil and sea kelp that empower your style with a firm and comfortable hold. Style your hair in a way that your heart desires. The Australian ingredients restore hair health and strengthen your tresses. Say goodbye to unruly, messy strands as this best gel for hair is your ultimate rescuer.

10

Most Color-safe

Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross Mini Curl Gel

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Packed in a bright yellow tube, the hair gel for curly hair by Pattern is what you need to have free and bouncy tresses. The added ingredients, aloe vera, coconut oil, and cacay oil, make the formula nourishing and moisturizing. Using this formula is no hassle. Its creamy texture allows you to glide it smoothly with zero residue. The Pattern gel gives touchable hold and definition and is great for bouncy wash-and-go's, complex twist-outs, and flexible braids.

11

Moroccanoil Styling Gel

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Just another styling that smoothly designs dry and wet hair looks. The Moroccanoil gel is one of the best hair styling products available on the market. This alcohol-free, argan-oil-infused formulation leaves hair touchable, soft, and hydrated with a long-lasting hold. It never feels sticky and crunchy during application. You can effortlessly create sleek and structured looks without spending hefty amounts on expensive styling products. You'll get salon-like results right from the comfort of your home.

12

Briogeo Curl Charisma

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Here's your ultimate frizz fighter for curly hair. This Briogeo styling hair gel is a natural frizz controller and provides superior definition and shine. The curl charisma is enriched with the benefits of rice amino acids, quinoa extract, tomato juice, and keratin. Rice amino acids seal cuticles to prevent moisture loss and reduce frizz. Quinoa extract enhances and nourishes curls, tomato ferment juice creates curls and infuses definition while keratin protein increases elasticity and prevents hair from breakage.

13

R+Co Motorcycle Flexible Gel

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Revive your flat hair and infuse a subtle natural lift with R+Co Motorcycle Flexible Gel. Infused with coconut oil, keratin, and sunflower seed extract, the moisturizing hair gel provides the ultimate support and control to manage flat tresses. You'll get the best of both worlds- the shine of a wax and flexibility. Your hair will have a high definition with zero buildup accumulation on every application. Besides managing flat hair, the formula also holds and defines all curl types.

14

Davines This is a Strong Hold Cream Gel

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As the name suggests, this best strong-hold hair gel by Davines is perfect for dry hair and adds structure and definition. No more hassle is required to create your favorite on-the-go hair looks. The cream-like gel is easy to use and goes seamlessly from the root to the tip with a precise finish. The formula is lightweight yet offers a stronghold to form well-defined short hairstyles. If frizz is ruining your look, this innovative gel is your go-to partner that tames frizz and leaves hair with a gorgeous wet effect.

15

Oribe Curl Gelèe

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Packed in an elegant, stylish green container, the Oribe Curl Gelèe is meant to maintain the most unruly coily hair. The curl jelly is designed with lush essential oils of neem, Macadamia, and apricot that moisturize and detangle hair. The ultra-hydrating and silky gel tames, styles, and shapes and makes kinky coily strands more manageable. The gel on hair runs smoothly, leaving hair soft and shiny. Other ingredients like watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower extracts protect hair from oxidative damage to minimize keratin deterioration and color fading.

16

GIRL+HAIR Curl Cloud Hair Gel

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For those looking for a soft-hold styling hair gel that doesn't flake, this Curl Hair gel by GIRL+HAIR is your curly hair's BFF. The curl care hair gel is designed for curly, kinky, and coily hair and perfectly styles twists and braids with a soft hold. The infused natural ingredients pimento oil, castor oil, and tea tree oil promote hair growth, reduce inflammation, and improve scalp health. This product is safe for women and kids and can be used on color-treated hair.

17

Sally Hershberger 24K Vanity Hair Shaping Balm

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Stun everyone with your beautiful beach waves. This best hair gel for wavy hair shape strands with the highest flexibility and ease of a pomade. The soft and supple balm delivers the shine benefits of a conventional wax and adds dimension. You can style and shape your waves without fearing frizz, damage, and buildup accumulation. Botanical extracts like soy protein nourish strands to create healthy hair looks. Sally Hershberger's hair gel maintains the gold standard for superior style control and smoothens your styling experience.

Styling your strands with the best hair gels always comes in handy. We hope our recommended products given above will let you find your favorite formula. Now let's go through our user guide below to understand how to pick a hair gel.

Below are some shopping determiners you must check before buying your next hair gel. 

Ingredients 

Find a gel that is crafted with natural ingredients like vitamins, essential oils, plant extracts, etc. These natural blends are safe and gentle on hair and promote a healthy look.

Ingredients to Avoid 

Avoid formulas infused with parabens, gluten, sulfate, etc. These nasty ingredients may irritate the scalp and hair and lead to damaged and unmanageable strands. 

Speaking of nasty ingredients, our contributor Celestine Gitau, a certified trichologist, says, “Harsh chemicals in a styling gel may result in scalp irritation, dry scalp and sensitivity. So, one must go for a product that has scalp and hair friendly ingredients that soothe the scalp.”

Hair type 

Before purchasing a styling gel, know your hair type to find a product that caters to your haircare needs. Hair gels are available for different hair types, from dry to thick, curly, coarse, etc. Those with dry hair may try a gel with moisturizing and hydrating benefits. A formula that defines and volumizes curls is perfect for curly hair, while a nourishing formula that eliminates frizz and tangles is perfect for unruly, thick, and coarse hair.  

Hold 

Styling gels are all about hold. Hair gels that provide a strong hold are ideal for thick hair that keeps strands in place. A light-hold gel works great for thin hair. Tresses with medium thickness can try formulas with medium hold gel. 

After finding your favorite hair styling gel, here's how you can apply it correctly.

Follow the given steps to use a hair styling gel correctly. 

1. Decide what hairstyle you want to create. Not all hairstyles require the same amount of gel. 
2. Pick your favorite hair gel that matches your styling needs. 
3. Wash your hair with a mild shampoo and remove excess water. 
4. Apply gel on slightly damp hair for wet looks or on dry hair as per your preference. 
5. Use a comb to finish up your style. 

Contributor: Celestine Gitau, Certified Trichologist