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What reviewers say

This is the newer of the two gels, and one reviewer notes it didn't exist when they tried the range, so there are fewer reviews so far. The full review we found is positive: strong hold, a shiny finish, and no greasiness or weight. The reservation, shared by another reader, is the fragrance, described as sickly sweet. Unlike much of the range, it isn't sold fragrance-free.

Praised for

  • Strong hold
  • A shiny finish
  • Doesn't weigh hair down or look greasy

Complaints

  • A sickly sweet scent
  • No fragrance-free version

Every review

  1. Positive

    Strong hold with a shiny finish, not weighed down or greasy. Agrees with others that the smell is sickly sweet.

    u/teamonkfish89r/CurlyHairUK, 2026Original comment

    Read the full comment

    It is for me but it will depend on your hair. I use the mega hold gel and it's really good for giving me a strong hold and leaving it shiny without being weighed down or greasy. Agree with others that the smell is a bit sickly sweet though.

  2. Mixed

    Thinks the extra strong gel would be exactly what they need but it is not offered fragrance-free (fragrance-free is online only for other products); cannot wear the scent all day.

    u/boojesCannot tolerate the scentr/CurlyHairUK, 2026Original comment

    Read the full comment

    They do fragrance free, but annoyingly not in the extra strong hold gel, and only online. I think the extra strong gel would be exactly what I need, but I cannot have that scent around me all day. Bleurgh.

What reviewers use instead

Eco Style

  • Gel (olive oil or super protein) Positive

    Good results as their gel.

    u/EyeSpy1359Original comment

Garnier

  • Method for Curls (air dry cream, spray, gel) Positive

    Likes the air dry cream and spray; the gel is good too but does not create a cast.

    u/GeekysubfrOriginal comment

Harry's

  • Gel Positive

    Small amount on top of Shockwaves for extra hold; works really well for hair/budget.

    u/This_lousy_usernameOriginal comment

Shockwaves

  • Gel Positive

    £3.50 gel that works better for me; used with a smaller amount of Harry's gel on top for extra hold (hairdresser's recommendation).

    u/This_lousy_usernameOriginal commentShop

Umberto Giannini

How we collated these reviews

Our reading of 2 comments in 1 Reddit discussion, not verified customer ratings.

Method and sources

We read every comment in the threads below and logged each product a commenter had an opinion on. The review text on this site is our condensed version of what they said; the full comment is one click away. The verdict is our reading of each comment as positive, mixed or negative. People who said they hadn't used a product are shown, but left out of the counts.