Review: L.A. Looks Power Spikes Gel

Most curlies will tell you that our hair changes as the seasons change. During the summer my hair has volume, it’s bouncy, it’s generally manageable and easy to style. During the winter, it’s another story all around. The loss of moisture in the air seriously affects my hair, and I have to tweak my routine to get the curls I want. Lately, I’ve noticed that my hair seems to have developed an aversion to glycerin, in my stylers anyway. Glycerin seems to turn my hair into a rat’s nest. It’s loses definition, it gets crazy frizzy, and looks a hot mess. So…….it was time to hunt for a new glycerin-free gel. Enter L.A. Looks Power Spikes Gel.

L.A. Looks Power Spikes Gel is a seriously hard-hold gel. It’s a 12 hold, on a scale of 1-12. L.A. Looks didn’t even have a 12 point scale until they came out with this gel, it only went to 10. In my opinion, Power Spikes is a fantastic alternative to Biosilk Rock Hard Gelee. It’s got just as much hold, and you get more than 3x the product for a fraction of the cost. I paid around $2 for a 20 oz container of Power Spikes at Wal-Mart, and in comparison I paid around $13 for a 6 oz container of Biosilk Rock Hard Gelee at CVS.

So how do I use L.A. Looks Power Spikes Gel? So far, I’ve only really used it in the winter, when my hair need more moisture. I typically use Boots Curl Crème, aka Pink Boots, right after my leave-in. Then I take a dime size amount of Power Spikes and start scrunching it in. Usually I do this 3 times, so I end up using probably slightly more than a quarter size amount of gel. Some days maybe a little more or a little less, depending on the weather and how my hair is behaving. Then I continue with the rest of my usual routine.

Power Spikes is one of the only drugstore gels that I've found that can give me the hold I need. The only drawback I've noticed is that it sort of smells like a man. Like men's bodywash or something. However, I don't mind, because the smell dissipates as soon as my hair dries. All in all, Power Spikes is a keeper.

Have you tried it?