Poll: Do you use hair gel? WHY?!

[Ambi]

If used right (i.e. not for one of those douche-ey hair styles) it can look good, but on guys I like hair without stuff in it better because I like playing with it without worrying if they'll be mad. Interesting hair styles are well... interesting, but obsessively using that stuff doesn't appeal to me.

I know two younger guys who use it and it dries and goes flaky. They both have naturally nice hair, why must they be so vain?

 

[Xcelsior]

When I have my hair short I spike parts of it up so I use wax rather than gel. When I let my hair grown don't go near any hair product stuff.

 

[A random person]

I experimented with it in 5th grade at a friends advice (I tried spiking it up and greasing it back). I then realized I don't like having dirty hair like that and look better with natural hair styles (people seem to love the haircut I periodically get), so I stopped.

 

[Xkaliber]

How else do I get skanks and bitches when I go out?

On a more serious note, I use Mandom Gatsby Moving Rubber, solely for the fact that I'm mesmerized by the commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIrMl1Rl3jg&feature=related

How does he move like that?!

David Elsewhere did the dancing, with a green-screen style mask, then they glued Takuya's head on it. he probably does the very last move himself though.

 

[SnipErlite]

Girls think it looks good?

There is no other reason why. And it's true for some girls, so yeah.

 

[x0ny]

well how else can I get my hair to be like this guy's for a convention?
http://schala-kitty.net/orglix/chara/demyx.png

Lol, sorry, reminded me of Jedward. >.<

OT: I used to use clay, I went to a new salon for a haircut and they recommended I use this stuff so that I can "define" or "accent" my hair. It was expensive (Sebastian brand, no idea if it's the leader or not), but you don't have to use alot, so it kinda works out reasonably I guess. But after 3 or 4 applications I gave up, cuz to me, it looks exactly the same if I didn't use it.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Well i can understand the use of some hair-styling stuff, if the hair is kinda short. I dont like it either but its ok. But i really dont like it either. Ok i have to confess from time to time, when i can get over my lazyness i plaster my Hair with a good amount of spray-glue (thats a word-by-word translation here, dont know how it is called in english, its just incredibly strong hairspray) to form a beautiful 40cm Mohawk. But the greasy looks of gel are just disgusting.
And it ruins the feel of the hair, which i can imagine can be a big deal for the opposite (or same) sex.

 

[Triangulon]

As I've grown up I use less however I still need some product. My hair needs something to control it, typically a cream-type-thing rather than gel though.

 

[T Dubs]

Quoted for truth. Wax and fibre gum/putty gives you a dry-look hair style, which allows you to mould/spike/whatever your hair and leave it looking natural, rather than slick/wet.

With most good waxes/gums, you can re-mould your hair style/shape as you please too, so even if you don't get it right first time, you can just keep messing with it.

Though the OP appears to be suffering from a paranoia of using hair products because he probably hadn't used the right ones to begin with, this is more just a case of knowing what to use and how to use it.

^Two examples of how to use hair products properly.

How would you style your hair like this? You've said some wort of wax? I've used this stuff called pomade before, and it seemed to give my hair a greasy styled look, rather than the dry-ish look achieved here.

 

[Geekosaurus]

I use it if my hair is short, which it often isn't. And technically I don't use gel, it's more like a putty - it doesn't make your hair greasy or sticky.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I never used hair gel for about 99% of the time. My natural hair is pretty much a bowl type of hair style and I also Chinese so I sort of fit into a stereotype (my hair is like that when it long but it look fine when I get a hair cut). Now some people like my god danm stylist bro say I should gel it but I don't give a danm what other people think. To me my natural hair represent me in that I don't need stuff to cover up.
This doesn't mean I hate gel, I just don't like buying a product that will alter your look temporary and that fact I have to wash my hair to get it off (I'm not dirty, I just don't want a high water bill.
The only time I WILL use hair gel is when I wake up in the morning and a part of my hair stuck sticking out (like from that film "There something about Mary"). Sure I don't give a danm what people think but I don?t mean I don't want to look like a loony for having bits of hair sticking out.

 

[VanillaBean]

While I never use it it certainly comes in handy when trying to throw togethor a costume.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

My hair is just past my shoulders, but it gets frizzy pretty easily. To prevent this, I wet my hands, dab a very small amount (somewhere between the size of a pea and the size of a dime) of good quality hair gel -- the kind you have to go to a salon to get -- onto them, emulsify it, and work it into my hair. It gives just enough hold to keep me from going frizzy, but not enough that it's possible to tell that I'm wearing it, even to the touch. This is something that women with long hair do, and it's a pretty basic part of making long hair presentable. In general, if you can actually feel the gel when you touch your hair, you're either using the cheap stuff, you're using way too much, or you actually want to look like an unholy combination of a Super Saiyan and Ryan Seacrest.

 

[Fridge]

Hey there guys, I just wanted to address something I've been noticing a lot lately...
Hair gel. I hate it.

I find it disgusting. It plasters your hair into little sticky, stiff strings that stick to your scalp or lay on top. It looks especially bad with medium to longish hair, where it just makes it look greasy and dirty. It looks very unattractive. I cannot understand why people use it.

Making hair look nice is all about the cut. Get a decent cut, make sure you wash it and condition it frequently (every couple of days in my case, I exercise a lot), and straighten it if it's your style. You don't have to shape it with this chemical goop every morning.

I have not met a single girl who likes it when guys wear hair gel. One girl even told me it makes guys look like tossers.

Now, having said this, I went through a bout of wearing hair gel for a couple of months. Now I can't stand the stuff. It makes me shudder when I have to look at the back of some guy's greasy, sticky head every morning on the bus. It doesn't exactly feel nice either! Do you want a girl to have to wipe her hand off if she plays with your hair? Not cool.

Anyways, I just want to hear some reasons or opinions.
How do you feel about hair gel? If you DO use it, why?

I personally don't find any need for it. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones...

EDIT:
And yeah, for some guys with short hair it actually looks pretty cool.

And also, I was going to put a /product after the gel, but I thought I would just clump it all under one big banner. My opinion (in bold there for the idiots) entails all hair products in general...

Definitely a no because I have dreadlocks. It would be a completely counter productive, I need to dry my hair out not moisten it.

 

[rokkolpo]

I don't use it.
But if you know what to do with it, it can look really good.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

My bangs are extremely curly and disgusting if I don't use hair gel. I use it quite frequently but only on the about the front inch, I don't spike it up, I just keep it off my forehead. I know plenty of men who do the same because it does make them look better.

I basicly do the same I use a little bit to keep it in shape. I always sigh at my little brother as he almost puts half a tube on his hair.. To me it looks ridiculous a little bit is ok but too much is just ugly.

 

[IcyEvils]

My hair is about 30cm long, and goes into a fro if I don't use any product. With curly hair you need to either keep it wet or moist so it doesn't frizz, Jimi Hendrix style, or use a product that will keep it in place. The first, keeping it conditioned and moisturised, requires a lot of leave-in conditioner. The second is use either hair spray, which is still quite frizzy, or mousse, which is a fixed shape but defines curls. I use mousse, and my girlfriend loves it, her friends keep complimenting me/her on my hair, and even random people ask about it.

It pays to take care of your appearance- I shower every day and get my hair done in 5 minutes. Everyone has a certain product that they use to make themselves look better, so why berate them for using what they want? To the British people by the way, 'Salon Services' or 'Sallys Hair and Beauty' is a retail and trade store for anything hair related, so if you're looking for Fudge or BedHead or whatever just go there.