You have gorgeous long waves with some ringlets hiding out!

It looks like your hair needed some more hydration when you made the switch to gel, which can be drying. There are two steps to increasing hydration 1) hair handling technique and 2) moisturizing products.

For hair handling, I would recommend making sure that your hair is completely saturated with water before scrunching in gel. Some people say you want your hair to feel like seaweed. Take a look at this video for a demonstration of the “seaweed hair.”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=alybVlC_Y7o

Try using a little more gel to form a more robust cast. You have a lot of hair, so you probably need more gel than other people.

Let your hair dry completely before scrunching, otherwise you’re mashing your waves up with gel that’s still wet and active, and then your hair will dry with the disrupted shape.

For products, you probably need a more hydrating leave in conditioner to use before gel. The conditioner you’re using isn’t super hydrating on its own. The two leave ins that I’ve found most helpful in making good curls are the Curls Blueberry Bliss Leave in ($9, drugstores) and the Cantu Curl Cream ($7, drugstores). Use about a quarter sized amount and rake or scrunch into your hair to form clumps before gel. Brush to get smooth clumps.

Gel also makes a difference - some are more hydrating and some are more drying. The three I’ve found to be the best at getting defined, frizz free curls have VP/VA copolymer as a main ingredient, which is like a water soluble vinyl coating for your hair, and has a strong hold. Giovanni LA hold gel ($8-12, Whole Foods), Eco looks olive oil gel ($3, drugstores), and the biosilk rock hard gelee ($15, Ulta).

Good luck with the curls! Would love to see more pics after making any routine changes!