Today’s post is about what I think is the best way to apply gel to curly hair. As it can be quite a challenge to get my curls to clump properly, I had to experiment a bit until I found the best way to apply gel without destroying my clumps.

I mostly either use the MopTop anti-frizz gel or the KCCC as my styler to get frizz-free curls. It doesn’t really matter exactly what styler you’re using, the technique to apply it stays the same. What’s more important, is the styler working for your curls!

What to do before applying your styler

Before I apply gel to my curls, I first shampoo and finger-comb them while they’re soaking wet and covered in conditioner. From this point on forward, I don’t finger-comb or rake my curls anymore, not even when I rinse my conditioner or when I finally apply gel to my curls. After rinsing the conditioner, I apply the gel when my curls are still super wet – I want them to still be soaking wet when I cover them with styler (I don’t scrunch before adding styler)

How to apply gel to curly hair without destroying clumps

Since I’ve often talked about my routine, I didn’t only take photos to explain how I apply gel to my curls, but I also did a short video, in which you can see exactly how I apply it.

Let’s start with the pictures:

1. Take a bit of your favorite styler

2. Evenly spread it in your hands, before you apply it to your soaking wet curls

3. Apply it to your curls by gliding along the “outside” of your curls without raking

4. Take some additional styler (about the same amount as before) and apply it to the “inside” of your curls. Also just glide along, don’t rake through your curls

5. Scrunch your curls with your bare hands. If you feel like you need some more styler you can add some more and scrunch it in. Scrunch until there’s not much water left in your curls.

Watch the following video to see how exactly I apply the styler to my curls:

As soon as my curls don’t release anymore water, I finish my washing routine by plopping and then diffusing my curls. The way I’m adding styler to my curls also is a part of my washing routine to get great clumps – you can read my whole article about clumping on naturallycurly.com!