Products: My hair appreciates moisturizing products. So far, this means shampoos and conditioners that don't contain drying ingredients and also have more natural ingredients than chemicals. Leave-in's that moisturize my hair are the creamy-type and they contain mostly natural ingredients. Products containing such ingredients as Alcohol and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate will dry my hair.   I avoid products with Mineral Oil, Petrolium, or Petrolatum because from what I've read they clog the pores on the hair and scalp. I now make sure that the first product listed is Water.  Most products work best when applied to wet hair.  I've found that even a mostly natural product containing beeswax will make my hair feel greasy or sticky, and will draw a lot of dust to it (which is really disgusting).   As for gels, my hair is too thin/fine to take well to them. I have to apply glops lot of gel to my hair and tie it down with a scarf for me to see the slightest change in shine and waves.  It gets hard easily, and depending on the brand, it may start to flake off if I try to manipulate it like scratching my head or even as my curls are trying to breaking loose to expand.  I'm currently experimenting with gels to find the right one for my hair.