longer length curlies/ wavies- does gel/ mousse protect your hair when down?

[starry]

Im at collarbone (2bfii) after a big dye chop and Im starting to feel like I can do curly girl/ wavy girl method again on a consistent basis. I would like to wear my hair down regularly if not always the longer it gets and I wondered if anybody feels that the application of gel and mousse protects their hair from mechanical damage (re lhc standard advice to wear it up!)

thanks in advance- cant wait to read your answers and get some advice :)

Starry

[Quixii]

I don't use mousse, and don't usually use gel, but I wouldn't say it protects my hair from damage. More just helps keep the curls defined a little.

[Suze2012]

I never wear my hair up.

I'm closer to waist than BSL.

I use very little product..a finger pad sized amount of curl cream (Boots own) and just started trying Glycering & Rosewater as a spray.

I'm curly.
I co wash.
I never EvER run my fingers through my hair, never use a brush, nor a comb.

Gel..real gel would make me want to crunch the crunch out...

[rtree721]

I wouldn't imagine that it would protect the hair from mechanical damage. Sorry.

[MissTulip]

I almost always wear my hair down. I use coconut oil first, then two different gels on top of that. My hair is never crunchy and I know that, at least, my routine keeps single strand knots at bay. Not sure if it helps with mechanical damage, but I must be doing something right for it to be at the length it is :grin:

[starry]

Thanks ladies- great ideas and thoughts so far! You all have beautiful hair :)

[spirals]

I'm a 3a at waist. I never used to comb/brush before LHC, and I didn't get mechanical damage. Both then and now I used gel (plastic then, flax now). If I'm going to brush, which I don't want to stop doing, I'm going to get damage, despite even using detangler. But it's minimal and can be taken care of with S & D. Also, even if I didn't brush, my current length--which I haven't had since 1995--would make mechanical damage inevitable. Do the best you can to baby it and get sharp scissors.

[dulce]

Can't stand gels,they leave my hair sticky and clumpy.I wear my hair down most times, and keep it well conditioned,no brushing,just a wide tooth comb.

[MrsGuther]

If anything mousse and gel make mechanical damage worse! They make my hair sticky and if I try to detangle it while there is mousse in it, my hair goes snap crackle pop! Aka it rips and breaks strands. I hate that, so I avoid mousse. My hair is three inches from classic length and its very wavy with medium course strands.

[DarkCurls]

If I'm going to wear my hair down, I usually use gel in an attempt to keep frizz away, maybe make the curls a little more defined. That's the only thing it does for me. My hair rubs against my back the entire day and end-of-the-day frizz is minimal thanks to gel (but it's still definitely there).
I'm pretty sure mousse and gel do not protect from mechanical damage... I don't see how they would. They're just product, not a wall between your hair and the rest of the world.
Enjoy your hair. You want to protect it, but at collarbone -- even if it's fine -- it's probably not yet at "snags everything it passes" length. It won't suffer that much damage, unless it's very sensitive to mechanical damage.

My hair is curly and past waist.

[melusine963]

I managed to thoroughly wreck my hair using mousse. That said, I would detangle it without first washing the mousse out, so no wonder. I'm not sure if mousse or gel would protect against mechanical damage.

[woolyleprechaun]

I'm fairly curly but henna straightened me out a fair bit. I wear my hair up all the time, so I don't really do anything to help the curl. If I do want it down and looking presentable, the most I will do is spritz it with a bit of water if its dry, and scrunch through a tiny dab of oil. Gels and mouses are unlikely do offer any protction as they are essentially watered-down glues, but a good oil wil help with frizz control and definition. I'm not the best person to advise you, admittedly :P