Curlsmith Flexi Jelly vs Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Gel

If you have waves or loose curls and you have shopped for a gel, you have almost certainly looked at both of these. Curlsmith's Hydro Style Flexi Jelly is the salon-priced option and Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Frizz Control Sculpting Gel is the drugstore one. Both are pitched as light gels that hold without crunch.

We read every comment about them in our review sheets, which are collected from curly-hair forums, to see where the two actually differ. The short version: the Flexi Jelly is the safer choice for fine hair, and the Curl Talk gel works best on medium hair or mixed with another gel.

At a glance

	Curlsmith Flexi Jelly	Curl Talk Sculpting Gel
Hold	Light to medium, flexible	Medium, firmer cast
Feel once dry	Soft, close to product-free	Ranges from soft to hard, depending on hair
Humidity	Holds up well	Mixed reports
Best on	Fine to medium waves and curls	Medium-density waves and curls
Common complaint	Hold too soft, or gone by day two	Frizzy, stringy or too hard on fine hair
Price	Salon	Drugstore

Curlsmith Hydro Style Flexi Jelly

This is the Curlsmith product reviewers like most, by some distance. People with fine and medium waves and curls call it their all-time favorite. A recurring piece of advice is that if you only try one thing from the brand, it should be this. A little goes a long way, and reviewers who have finished several bottles describe it as consistent from one wash to the next, and resistant to humidity.

The complaints are about hold. For some people it is simply too soft: little or no cast, a slightly sticky feel, or definition that has faded by the second day. One reviewer found it left their hair dry and tangled. Another thought it behaved no differently from a far cheaper gel. If you want curls locked in until refresh day, this is not the gel for that job on its own.

Read every reviewer comment on the Flexi Jelly.

Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Sculpting Gel

The Curl Talk gel splits people more than anything else in its range. Its fans say they can't live without it, that it holds without looking or feeling like gel, and that the scent fades quickly once hair is dry. One reviewer with super-fine 3A/3B hair always comes back to it.

Its critics describe a very different product. They found it frizzy and stringy, too hard on fine curls, or heavy even in tiny amounts on coarse hair. One got a good cast that gave no lasting hold once it was scrunched out. A long-time user found it stopped suiting them as their hair became finer. The pattern is that it works best in the middle: hair that is neither very fine nor very coarse, or used as one gel in a mix rather than on its own.

Read every reviewer comment on the Curl Talk gel.

The Flexi Jelly rarely goes badly. The Curl Talk gel either becomes a staple or goes to the back of the cupboard.

Which to choose

Choose the Flexi Jelly if your hair is fine, weighed down easily, or you live somewhere humid. It is the more predictable of the two. If the hold turns out to be too soft, layer it over a mousse or a cream instead of piling on more gel.

Choose the Curl Talk gel if your hair is medium density, you want a firmer cast to scrunch out, or you are on a budget and happy to experiment. It is also a good mixing gel. Several reviewers cut it with something lighter.

Skip both if your hair is thick and coarse and you need hold that lasts to day four. A stronger gel will serve you better. See The Best Gels for Curly Hair for firmer options.

Getting the best from either

Both gels behave better on soaking wet hair. Applying them to damp hair is the most common cause of the stringy, frizzy result some reviewers describe. Glaze the gel over the hair, scrunch it in, and leave it alone until it is fully dry, then diffuse or air-dry and scrunch out the cast. If your curls have flattened by midweek, a light mist and a small amount of gel will usually bring them back. See The Second-Day Refresh.

The verdict

For fine waves and curls, the Flexi Jelly is the better buy despite the price. It is lighter, more consistent and better in humidity. The Curl Talk gel is the better value for medium hair and a useful mixer, but it is much more likely not to suit you. If you can only try one, and your hair is on the finer side, start with the Flexi Jelly.