It has been almost 4 years since my last failed wash and go and it ended up looking like this: Undefined, dry with an abundance of flakes.

Edge Booster Strong Hold Gel

It's always important to turn and learn our ingredients to understand what they mean and why they're important for our intended results . The Edge Booster Gel is pretty simple and straightforward when it comes to the ingredients.

The first on the list is of course water then Glycerin as the third, which is an excellent humectant that can be found in our skin. Normally, I keep a cautious eye on Glycerin as it can actually make my hair feel drier depending on the climate.

Another notable ingredient is Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil, this is also a humectant that draws moisture to the hair and moisturises, it is derived from seeds from Green Tea. Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil is rich in antioxidants and has a great antibacterial properties. In hair care, it can improve gloss and strength. The rest of the ingredients are emulsifiers, preservatives and fragrance.

Texture

On the surface the gel looked solid whilst inside the jar but when placed upside down, it didn't move but had a bonce to it similar to that of a hair glaze.

The texture remained the same when scooped up with the spoon that comes with the gel and I could almost tell by looking at the texture and doing a palm test that it had a strong hold.

Scent

I purchased the Sugar Melon scent it has a very light refreshing smell to it personally, I prefer scents that are more obvious. Perhaps, I should've purchased the Pineapple or Blueberry Scent. Nonetheless, Sugar Melon is good for those that like really faint smells.

Application Process

I used the Curls Dynasty Smoothie Leave In Conditioner and gently brushed my hair with the Tangle Teezer brush which did an excellent job of detangling and smoothing my hair.

Due to my low porosity strands, I left the leave in conditioner for 15 minutes with my deep conditioning cap to aid in penetration and prevent the leave in conditioner from sitting on my hair, which normally causes flaking.

I then sectioned my hair into 4 sections and used half of my hair only for the Edge Booster Gel. Placing that side into even smaller sections. Using a good amount of gel, I started at my roots and spread the gel from root to end ensuring each strand was coated for my wash and go.

Slip & Spreadability

Slip is important to me even when it comes to a gel, this is because I don't want to work extra hard to spread the product on each strand and I want to reduce over manipulation and unnecessary breakage- I guess we can call this spreadability too.

Now, I found the Edge Booster Gel okay, it applied well on my hair and I didn't see any small pieces of broken hair which usually indicates breakage. I do think that when paired with the right leave in this shouldn't be much of a problem.

Final Thoughts

The Edge Booster Strong Hold Gel did an excellent job on my hair. I wish it had more slip and perhaps more oils to give my hair extra shine. Nonetheless, the Edge Booster Gel claims to provide your hair with a natural textured look in terms of shine and providing an excellent hold as per the description.

It clumped my curls really well and my curl definition lasted the entirety of the week with barely any frizz. This is amazing considering that I exercised regularly. In terms of shrinkage, it did not elongate my curls and they shrink up to their usual size.

Once application, I was so weird about flakes, as the gel and the Curls Dynasty Leave In left white bits of residue particularly in the front of my hair. But after sitting under a hooded dryer for an hour. My hair dried clear and I'm yet to see any flakes.

In conclusion, it is an excellent gel to try, I had no reaction to it or any itchy eyes. This gel is for those that love a crunch and like a longer lasting wash and go. It is also perfect for those SLEEK hair styles too.

Aunt Jackie's Ice Curls Glossy Curling Jelly

The Aunt Jackie's Jelly includes more moisturising ingredients which separates it from being a gel to a jelly. The second Ingredient is Glycerin and it includes botanical ingredients such as Grape Seed and Sweet Almond Oil- these are soothing and moisturising to the hair.

It is not completely Curly Girl approved as it contains Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein and Rice Amino Acids. For those who are protein sensitive or have normal hair it may make your hair feel stiff and dry and it is a great addition if you have damaged hair. I consider my hair to be normal and it didn't leave my hair dry or stiff. In fact it was the softer side of the two.

It does however, include Tetrasodium EDTA, which is an excellent preservative that stops products from growing bacteria and mould. But can cause irritation to some people. Some sources say that this ingredient is safe due to the low concentrations and others recommend to used it sparingly. I would advise to do your own thorough research.

Texture

The texture of the Aunt Jackie's Ice Curls Jelly is very similar to the Edge Booster Gel. Even though it is in-fact a Jelly. It also doesn't move when placed upside down and actually has less of a bounce. It does look slightly more water based than the Edge Booster Gel.

Scent

The scent is amazing and reasonable grapes very well, it isn't powerful and overwhelming which is just how I like it. I will note that after a few days the smell hasn't lingered which is a shame because I would've like for it to last a bit longer. Although, this might be prefect for those that dislike after smells from their products.

Application Process

The application process was exactly the same as the Edge Booster Gel. My hair was split in the middle and the Ice Curls side was made into smaller sections.

Slip & Spreadability

As mentioned above, The Aunt Jackie's Jelly stole the show for slip. It applied much easier and had a lot of slip which meant this work for me. It was the clear winner for this category.

Final Thoughts

I loved the Aunt Jackie's Ice Curls Jelly and now I can see why it is very popular. The slip was amazing and it gave my hair an excellent shine. My curls were very defined and dried with a softer crunch than the Edge Booster Gel.

However, the Aunt Jackie's is a Jelly so I did not expect a strong hold. My curls stayed very defined for a few days but after regular exercise, it lost definition in the back and started to puff up at the roots unlike the Edge Booster Gel.

I think it would work significantly better for twist outs and braid outs- making it multi-purpose.

I had exactly the same amount of shrinkage with this as the Edge Booster Gel. Instead of clumping my curls, I found myself doing the shingling method due to all that slip.