Have I finally found a gel that checks all my boxes, including lasting days without a refresh? I put the new Tootilab Extreme Weather Styling Water to the test over four days. The week went from pouring rain and humidity to cold, dry air, and then I compared the gel to some of my all-time favorites.

As a Curl Coach, I’m extremely picky about gels, and I test them with clients of all different hair types. That’s also why brands come to me to help test their gels while they’re still in production, including Tootilab.

I first tried this gel as a lab sample back in January. This is my first time using it since its official launch, and the weather is very different now.

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How I Tested It

I kept everything the same and consistent:

• I shampooed and conditioned with the Tootilab Gentle Shampoo and Detangling Conditioner, one of my all-time favorite sets.
• I used the gel on its own, with nothing underneath, so I could judge it accurately.
• It rained on wash day, which made for a good humidity test.

Here’s what I’m judging it on. I want strong hold that lasts. If I get a cast and my hair frizzes as soon as I break it, that’s not hold to me.

I want to break the cast and have my curls keep their shape and the frizz stay tamed, even in humidity. It might sound like I’m asking for a unicorn gel, but if this one performed the way I remembered, it’s one of those gels.

​Tootilab Detangling Conditioner​

​Tootilab Gentle Shampoo​

Applying It: Consistency, Feel, and Styling

The consistency is thin, almost watery, which is why it’s called a styling water. When I rub it between my palms, it turns slightly white and milky and feels very soft.

Tootilab says it’s weightless and especially great for fine hair. So I paid close attention to whether it would weigh down hair that gets weighed down by any bit of conditioning.

When I tested the lab sample, it felt like it had just the right amount of conditioning to be usable for everyone. Gaia and the Tootilab team gathered feedback from many different hair types while developing it, and I was honored to be one of the testers. The fragrance-free version is huge, because there just aren’t enough fragrance-free products out there.

​Tootilab Extreme Weather Styling Water​

• Hold: Strong
• Texture: None
• Slip: High
• Conditioning: Low
• Protein: None
• Heat Protection: Yes
• UV Protection: No
• Unique Benefits: Comes in fragrance-free; humectants moisturize without weight; humidity-blocking ingredients

​Tootilab Extreme Weather Styling Water Gel​

Application:

1. Mist to evenly wet. I misted my hair with my Bouclème Flairosol Mist Spray Bottle until it was evenly wet. That’s my usual amount of water: not soaking and dripping, but not just damp either.
2. Rake it through in sections. I picked up small amounts at a time, never a whole pump at once, and added more as I worked around my head. I go by feel. If my hair feels like it has product in it, good. If it feels like clean hair with no product, I add more.
3. Finger coil the top. I did a lot of finger coiling on the top section, because that’s how I get the most volume and curl definition.
4. Praying hands, then scrunch. Praying hands blends your sections together, tames stubborn frizz and fixes stringiness. Then I gave everything a good scrunch.
5. Microplop. Once I was happy with how my curls looked wet, I gently scrunched with the same damp hair towel I used out of the shower, my Hair RePear Towel. This is one of the key steps in my Strong Hold Method. You can style on the wetter side for definition and clumping, then remove the excess water so your hair doesn’t take as long to dry. To get the most hold out of any gel, follow the full method step by step with my free Strong Hold Method Cheat Sheet.
6. Glaze. I went back in with an extra light coat of gel. This layering is key for maximizing hold, no matter what styling product you use.
7. Diffuse. With my Curlsmith Defrizzion Hair Dryer & XXL Diffuser, I focused on the top first, then worked my way around my head. I combined scrunch diffusing, to bring out my curl pattern, with lift diffusing, using the prongs to get volume at my roots.

It took about 11 minutes to diffuse fully dry. My quickest is about nine minutes and I average around 10, so that’s pretty standard for me. The more conditioning in my routine, the longer my hair takes to dry.

​Bouclème Flairosol Mist Spray Bottle​

​Hair RePear Premium Cotton Hair Towel, Not Dyed​

​Curlsmith Defrizzion Hair Dryer & XXL Diffuser​

​Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly Detangling Brush​

Day 1 Results

• Cast: It was very strong and even throughout, strongest at my front pieces and corners where I added extra gel. As Tootilab’s packaging puts it, a cast is good: it’s temporary, and it’s what gives you hold.
• Breaking the cast: It broke easily with dry hands. It doesn’t dissolve right away, but it isn’t a hard cast I can’t get out, so I didn’t have to wait until day two for good results.
• Definition: I had a ton of definition.
• Volume: Volume on top was solid, though not my maximum. Products with texture and grit give me more, but I’ll take full frizz control and this softer, slippery feel instead.
• Frizz: I had just a little normal flyaway frizz. Even my grays were tamed, which is hard to do when I’m diffusing with the prongs.
• Feel on the hair: It felt soft, lightweight, airy and clean, not weighed down. Before I broke the cast, it felt slightly damp, which I think is the humectants locking in moisture without heaviness. That’s great if you live in a dry climate.

The Strand Test

The strand test is how I check a gel’s longevity: I find an intact curl clump and lightly run my dry hands down it, mimicking how your hair gets touched all day. This one held up really well, while gels without enough hold make the clump break apart and puff up. The one spot that puffed was actually three or four clumps I’d over-clumped, which can create frizz because they go in different directions. I could also dry finger coil the frizz back in, which means the gel didn’t flake off or evaporate, and refreshing will be easier.

Day 2: No Refresh After a Day of Rain

It had been about 24 hours, and all I’d done was put in a headband. Wash day was pouring rain, and I walked my dogs four or five times with my ends sticking out of my hood. The next morning I worked out and showered, protecting my hair both times.

• Frizz: I had some, which I expected after the rain. Most of it was at the front, where short baby hairs can’t hold into a clump as easily, but the clump shape was still there. A couple of random spots came from hairs I’d pulled out of their curl family on wash day.
• Definition: The heavily clumped side looked less frizzy, because the clumps hold the frizz in.
• Volume: It looked better than wash day. The locked-in moisture made my hair a little flat on Day 1, and once it evaporated, my hair looked fuller.
• Length: My hair looked shorter. That’s partly a recent haircut, and partly that next-day hair loses the moisture that elongated it on wash day.
• Refresh: I did a dry refresh only, with dry hands. I shook out my roots, adjusted the shape and separated large clumps, then dry finger coiled to tuck in the frizz. Afterward my hair looked full, and tucking in the frizz added volume.

This is part of my Minimal Refresh Method, and you can grab the free Minimal Refresh Method Flowchart. Starting with your hands keeps you from over-refreshing by reaching for water or product before you need it. I skipped water on purpose to test the gel, since I already know it reactivates well with just water.

Day 3: A Quick Water-Only Refresh

On day three, I still hadn’t done anything beyond that dry refresh, and I’d have been comfortable wearing my hair out as is. I had a couple of frizzy spots in my problem areas. Even so, those sections looked better than they usually do with my best products, and that area almost always needs a touch-up.

It looked the same as day two. Some curl clumps were still defined with no frizz, and the frizzy ones weren’t bad. The frizz just gave me volume. I did not expect it to look this good on day three with no refresh.

My drier problem areas had a little bit of a dry feeling, which makes me want to try this gel with a leave-in next. It didn’t feel bad or like I needed to wash, and losing some moisture there is expected. That’s why I like that this gel isn’t too moisturizing to begin with: you can layer if you need more, and it won’t weigh down hair that doesn’t.

The soft finish areas underneath felt great, with no dryness. They were still very soft and defined, with virtually no frizz.

To tame the frizz so my hair would last even longer, I did a water-only refresh, focusing only on the curls that needed it:

1. Dry refresh. Shake out the roots, separate clumps, and remove loose hairs with dry hands. Once you add water, the hair can stick to itself.
2. Isolate the frizz. Work one frizzy section at a time.
3. Spray your hands, not your hair. Add a little more water if a section needs it.
4. Smooth over the hair to tame the frizz.
5. Rake to reclump, or finger coil to bring back the curls.

Only add more gel if you can’t get your cast back or truly need slip. Even if you don’t feel slip right away, it can form once you add water. A truly long-lasting gel reactivates, which tells you it didn’t just disappear. Gels that don’t adhere well tend to flake off and evaporate.

I usually diffuse after a water refresh, but I let it air dry because I used very little water and didn’t stretch my hair much. The cast came back, and once it was dry, I broke it again.

My hair looked a little flatter after refreshing, but the frizz was tamed, so it would last even longer. Compared to wash day, it looked a little fuller, in a good way.

Day 4: Just a Dry Refresh

By day four, after only that small water refresh, I didn’t feel like I needed to refresh at all. The back was a little frizzy and separated, but that’s from my habit of constantly touching my hair, removing loose hairs and separating clumps. That’s nothing a little water can’t fix.

I had even more volume than the last couple of days. Up close there’s normal, natural frizz, but from a distance you wouldn’t even know it, and it makes my hair look fuller.

I usually wash every four to five days, and by this point I’d normally need a full refresh or a wash. Instead, I just did my dry refresh, separated some clumps, and planned a little water in the back. Then I put in a headband to keep the fuzz off my face.

All photos are prior to refreshing

How It Compares to My Favorite Gels

• ​AG Liquid Effects and Ouidad Advanced Climate Control: These have a similar runny consistency and lasting power. The Tootilab gel gave me stronger hold, more humidity control and longer wear.
• ​Innersense I Create Curl Memory: The hold is similar, but the Tootilab gel lasted longer with more frizz control. Innersense’s cast can be hard to break, and it’s easy to overdo.
• ​Curlsmith Fragrance-Free Strong Hold Gel: This is one of my all-time favorites in hot, humid weather, but it’s a thick gel with a texturized feel. The Tootilab gel lasted longer, held stronger and was easier to apply.
• ​Rizos Curls Strong Hold Gel: It can feel drying on me on next-day hair. Even on day four with the Tootilab gel, my hair didn’t feel like it needed moisture right away.
• ​Tootilab All Weather Styling Gel (the original, medium hold): It doesn’t last as long for me in humidity, even though it’s called All Weather. If you’re in a drier climate and like medium hold, you might still prefer it.

Every one of these gels has worked for some people and not others, but I think the Tootilab gel may be the most user-friendly and work more across the board.

Tootilab Extreme Weather Styling Water vs. My Top Gels

Do You Need This Gel?

Start by asking whether your current gel is doing its job. This is exactly what I do with my clients. I don’t have them run out and buy new products all the time. We work with what you have and figure out whether you can get the results you want with those products, or whether a new product is the fix.

You should not have to restyle your curly hair every day, whatever your hair type. Some hair types do tend to need refreshing, but it should be fairly minimal, not a full soak down every day. If you’re saturating your hair daily, something in your wash day routine needs adjusting, and that might be your gel.

If your gel isn’t getting you through the end of the day, and you’ve truly ruled out how you’re applying it, that usually points to the gel itself. Here’s the bar:

• Soft finish hair: It’s normal for your hair to fall or go a little limp or straight by the end of the day. You should still get through Day 1 without a lot of frizz or your curls falling completely straight.
• Rough finish hair: It’s normal for your hair to feel a little brittle or start to frizz, because it typically has more bends and turns and a coarser texture. It won’t always look super smooth, especially in humidity. But your curl shape should still be there, and the frizz should be manageable.

If your gel isn’t meeting that bar, this one might be right for you. To check, grab my free How to Pick Gels Cheat Sheet. It’s a completely revamped version of my how to pick gels chart, and it shows you how to choose a gel based on your hair’s signs and symptoms and your goals.

You can also adjust this gel to your hair:

• Need texture and grit? Layer in a texturizing spray or hairspray.
• Need more conditioning? Layer a leave-in or curl cream underneath. It’s a lower-conditioning gel, but it isn’t drying because it has humectants, so layering gives you more control.

If you’ve decided it’s right for you, get the Tootilab Extreme Weather Styling Water with code GENAMARIE to save 15%. It also comes in mini travel sizes, which are an excellent way to test it.

Tried Everything and Still Not Getting Results?

If nothing seems to work for your hair, that’s exactly what I help with in my Curl Coaching Program.

I watch how you style, help you work with the products you already have, and show you whether a new product is actually the fix. These are the same methods I’ve tested on real hair of all different types.

If you’ve tried everything and you’re tired of product hopping, or you just want a second opinion, this is exactly what we do. Enrollment is closed right now, but the winter season starts in December. You can request your seat now to grab a spot early and get access when the program begins.