Following our post that featured beautiful packing-gel hairstyles rocked by our favourite celebs, we knew you would want to learn learn how to do those gel updo styles by yourself. This post will show you step by step how to do 3 beautiful styles of packing-gel hairstyles on medium and short hair. Swipe or scroll down for the DIY video tutorials.
I often hear women ask questions like: How do I get my 4c hair to slick down? Can Natural Hair Do packing gel? Once you can slick down African natural hair, you will be able to style it into many beautiful packing gel styles. after watching the video tutorials below, you should be able to style your own natural black hair with gel.
If you follow along with these video tutorials, you can perfectly do these sleek high-bun bun and ponytail gel styles on your own with natural hair as well as with relaxed hair. Now, get your hair things ready, swipe or scroll down to watch how to do the packing-gel hairstyle yourself, and practice along.
Topics Covered:
- How to Gel Down Short 4c Natural Hair (African Virgin Hair) – Sleek All-Back Gel Style
- How to a Long Ponytail Gel Hairstyle on African Hair
1. How to Apply Gel to Slick Down Short Thick Natural 4C Hair (Step by Step Video)
2. How to Do Ponytail Packing Gel with Long Attachment (Video – Step by Step)
- SEE: Pictures of Latest Packing Gel Hairstyles
- ALSO: 50 Latest Wedding Hairstyles for Nigerian Brides (Photos)
Tools Needed to Gel Down Natural 4C Black Hair
- Styling Gel with strong/ extra hold such as Eco Styling Gel, Got2B, Petals Styling Gel or any other one.
- Edge control (to keep your edges in place and avoid flyaways even in wind or rain)
- Hair brush
- A small brush or an old toothbrush for the edges or to make baby hairs
- Rat-tail comb
- Hair ties and clips
- Styling mousse (optional)
- Hair and scalp oil
- Hairspray for shine (optional, if you already have one)

- SEE ALSO: How to Fix Fake Eyelashes Yourself (Quick Video Tutorial)
- Eyeshadow for Beginners: How to Do it Yourself Step by Step (VIDEO)
FAQs: Tips to Slick Down Natural African Hair with Styling Gel
What can I use to slick down my African Hair? Styling gel is a hair product made to slick the hair down, hold it in place, including the short edges and flyaway strands. You can find affordable styling gel brands across many Nigerian beauty supply stores and markets.
How do you apply hair gel to natural African 4C hair? Apply it section by section to a damp hair – applying the gel in in small sections. The way you section the hair is similar to how you apply relaxer to hair, to ensure that the styling gel saturates your entire hair to slick it down. Next, wrap your front hair with satin scarf or cloth strip and leave it for a while to set and dry.
Can natural hair do packing gel? Yes, of course. Video 1 above shows step by step to slick down thick, natural hair to make a nice packing gel hairdo. The secret is in spraying the hair with water and applying the gel in small sections, until the entire hair is gelled.
Can I do gel hairstyles on short or virgin hair? Yes, you can. Check out the first video tutorial above to watch and learn how to slick down thick, short 4c African hair with gel.
Can styling gel be applied to dry hair? Yes – you can watch the videos above to see it for yourself. For best result, apply styling gel to a damp hair. If your hair is dry, you can spray water on it.
Which styling gel is best for natural black African hair? There are many good and affordable ones in Nigerian market and stores, such as: Petals styling gel (comes in black and white colour), -Eco Styling gel, Got2B gel and holding hairspray, Cantu styling Gel.
How do I remove gel on hair? To remove styling gel from hair, wash with clean water or shampoo.
The Struggle With Finding Natural Hair Salons for Occasion and Bridal Hair Styles
If your hair is not relaxed, you know how hard it is to find beautiful natural hairstyles for occasions. It’s even harder to find wedding-worthy natural hairstyle ideas if you’re a bride planning your white or traditional wedding look.
Hopefully, the above tutorials will help you do an updo gel hairstyle yourself if you are unable to find hairdressing salons in Nigeria that specialize in styling beautiful natural hair that are not the everyday schoolgirl styles (native Yoruba ‘didi’ weaving or thread hairstyles).
I’ve heard many natural hair brides share their frustration with finding a wedding-worthy hairstyles and many of them finally settle on relaxing their hair or wearing a weave-on, against their will (just because they want to look like pretty for their wedding).
If you are a DIY bride, you can do learn from the above videos to learn how to do the packing gel hairstyles yourself or show the video to a friend or sister so they can learn to do it for you.
MORE WEDDING BEAUTY ARTICLES:
- How to Do Your Makeup by Yourself – from start to finish (Video)
- How to Draw Natural-Looking Eyebrows with Eye Pencil Like a Pro
Wrapping Up
I just shared video tutorials of 3 beautiful easy-to-do-yourself packing gel updos perfect for either a wedding guest or bride. The best part is that these styles can also be achieved on a short natural or relaxed hair. If you have short hair, you have to add a hair extension (weavon or attachment), as shown in the ponytail packing gel video tutorial.
Here’s an idea: try each style per week, and there you’ll be serving 3 beautiful updo looks in 3 weeks.
I hope you’ve been inspired by the featured packing-gel natural hair updo hair styles in the above video tutorials. You’ll need to watch the videos again and practice a few more times to be able to do those wedding updo hairstyles on your natural kinky hair.
There you have it – how to do two wedding-worthy and occasion-worthy packing-gel updo hairstyles by yourself. Let me know which of the two styles you like better? Comment below to tell me.
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