
Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel
Good Ingredients
Okay Ingredients
Cautionary Ingredients
Not Good
I do NOT recommend using this product on locs.
People are always in a rush for their hair to loc and looking for products that will loc their hair even if the cost is heavy build up. One product that is advertised to be for starter locs and offer “superior hold” is the Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel.
In almost any beauty retailer you will find the Taliah Waajid Tight Hold gel next to the Lock It Up gel. The Tight Hold gel however markets promises to hold the hair longer and be better than the Lock It Up gel, so you would likely choose the Tight Hold gel. But the Tight Hold gel comes with the same warning as the Lock It Up gel plus some!
Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel Ingredients
There are 11 ingredients in the Tight Hold gel, 2 of which are not in the Lock It Up gel, and they include:
Water (Aqua), Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Soy Bean Oil (Glycine Soja), VP/DMAPA and Acrylates Copolymer Styrene/Acrylate Copolymer, Yarrow Roots Extract (Achillea Millefolium), Rosemary Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis), Nettle Extract (Citrus Aurantium), Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum)
The Tight Hold gel differs from the Lock It Up gel because it is expected to provide more hold for hair types that are harder to loc and it is done with the addition of two ingredients:
VPDMAPA/ Acrylate Copolymer / Styrene and Soy Bean Oil (Glycine Soja).
Did you know VPDMAPA/ Acrylate Copolymer / Styrene is also found in Jamaican Mango and Lime Locking gel?
Understanding What’s Inside Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel
It is assumed that the ingredients are listed in order of strength, from most concentration to least.
- Water (Aqua) – Good Ingredient – Average hair care products contain about 50% to 90% water. The rest of the ingredients determine the look, feel, and performance of the product and it is standard practice for water to go through a purification process.
- Carbomer – Cautionary Ingredient – Gel-like thickener that tends to flake in high concentrations.
- Triethanolamine – Cautionary Ingredient – Sometimes functions as an emulsifier (keeps the oil and water components in a product from separating) and pH adjuster (it’s alkaline). Known as an irritant in higher concentrations because of its alkalinity, so it may cause problems if it is present in higher concentrations in a product, though it should be fine in small amounts.
- Soy Bean Oil (Glycine Soja) – Okay Ingredient – Derived from Soybeans and acts as a diluting agent for essential oils that can be used to treat your hair.
- VPDMAPA/ Acrylate Copolymer / Styrene – Cautionary Ingredient – Film-forming/ plasticizing polymer. Can build up and get sticky.
- Yarrow Roots Extract (Achillea Millefolium) – Okay Ingredient – Plant-based anti-inflammatory for scalp. In rare cases can cause severe allergic skin rashes and with prolonged use can cause skin photosensitivity.
- Rosemary Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis) – Okay Ingredient – Used as a hair tonic and growth stimulant, and thought to prevent dandruff and premature baldness,.The leaves are known to have relatively high levels of antioxidants. However, in the very tiny amounts found in hair care products, the chances of it being able to do anything are slim.
- Nettle Extract (Citrus Aurantium) – Okay Ingredient – Plant-based anti-inflammatory for scalp.
- Caprylyl Glycol – Okay Ingredient – Used for conditioning and as an emollient that’s made from both plant and synthetic sources, specifically it is made from capric acid and glycol.
- Phenoxyethanol – Okay Ingredient – This is an oily, white to off-white liquid that smells a bit like roses. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that kills bacteria and is believed to be less irritating than others and it can also be used as a fragrance. It also has some conditioning and emollient properties.
- Fragrance (Parfum) – Cautionary Ingredient – The word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the product label represents an undisclosed mixture of various scent chemicals and ingredients used as fragrance dispersants such as diethyl phthalate. Fragrance mixes have been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system.
Professional Recommendation
I would not recommend using the Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel. The addition of VPDMAPA/ Acrylate Copolymer / Styrene and with Triethanolamine, both of which are known to cause build up, puts the health of your locs at risk. As I mentioned before, people are always in a rush for their hair to loc but the price of build up is not worth it. Your hair will loc with or without product, despite what society would lead you to believe, but if you do use products use one that will benefit your crown.
Share your experience with Taliah Waajid Tight Hold Gel in the comments!
Blog Comments
Chandler
May 25, 2016 at 9:17 am
what about ampro pro styl for dreadlocks? That is what i am currently using, I am 6 months into my journey in June. In the budding stage, currently and i use palmers olive oil shampoo no conditioner.
Jocelyn Reneé
September 4, 2016 at 4:19 am
The Brown gel?! OMG! That’s so bad! You’ll have so much build up! Please stop using that and olive oil immediately!
Elijah
January 18, 2019 at 11:25 am
I used the regular tight hold gel to do coils in my hair before I decided to lock it a year ago. It was nice at first, but when I sat under the dryer it was very crispy and my hair wasn’t flexible. Mind you, I’m light handed with products and my hair is coarse and dense. It washed out fine, but I could still smell it in my hair as if it never left.
Jocelyn Reneé
January 21, 2019 at 10:29 pm
Yikes! I’m glad you stopped using it.
Amanda
June 7, 2020 at 7:39 am
been using tight hold for almost two years, no complaints so far. I find it washed out really well.
Jocelyn Reneé
June 9, 2020 at 2:37 am
I’m glad you’re seeing goo results!
Bekks
July 8, 2020 at 1:51 am
What do you recommend using? I’ve been using the lock it up and I haven’t had any too bad build up and it washes off. I just have my starter locs and I have loose curls. I’m wondering what you recommend
Jocelyn Reneé
July 20, 2020 at 3:45 am
You can check out this post “7 Products for Retwisting Locs” for a few suggestions.