We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
If you have curly or coily hair, you're probably used to layering a few products at a time to style it. I love trying new things, but I'll admit it: Having a routine with multiple products can get pretty expensive — and takes up a lot of storage space.
So, when I started seeing TikToks about this viral "one-product" wash-and-go routine using the Tropical Oasis Hair Gel by Miche Beauty, I was instantly intrigued and bought one for myself.
According to the brand, this gel is designed for curls, coils, and wavy hair. It's supposed to help your hair last longer in humidity and combat frizz. For the viral wash-and-go routine, you simply need to apply the gel to clean, wet hair that is well-saturated with water. Then, dry your hair (preferably with a diffuser or a hooded dryer), and that's it!
In this TikTok from Miche, the results are said to last all week, which sounds almost too good to be true (but I hope it's true!).
When styling my hair, I usually use at least two products on damp hair – a leave-in or moisturizing cream and a gel. So, using one product felt a bit wrong. Like, won't my hair dry out?! But I'd seen enough reviews of people having shiny, defined, and long-lasting curls after using the gel. So, call me influenced! I wanted to try it out.
First, here's a little info about me: I have low-porosity, Type 4 hair. My curls don't last in humidity and become frizzy almost instantly. Here are my natural curls below, but I usually wear my hair in braid-outs instead of wash-and-gos because they last longer and keep my hair tangle-free.
For my usual routine, I wash and deep condition my hair once a week. After styling, I usually refresh my hair throughout the week as needed (by rewetting it with water and applying more products) before my next wash day to keep my curls hydrated and defined.
But to test if this gel is long-lasting, I have two rules: 1) Aside from water, I'll only be using this gel this week, and 2) I'll do my best to leave my curls alone and not refresh them! So, I'll apply the product once on wash day and see how my curls hold up for seven days. Then, I'll evaluate the gel for three categories: longevity, frizz, and moisture. Here's a breakdown below:
I followed my usual routine of shampooing and deep conditioning. Then, I sectioned my hair and began applying the gel, using a brush to distribute the product evenly.
My first impressions: This gel has a fruity, tropical scent, and it literally melted into my hair. My hair absorbed the product immediately, and my curls were shiny, defined, and surprisingly elongated. I loved it, and my hair felt juicy!!!
Again, I'm not a wash-and-go girl, so I'll be doing a braid-out this week to test the gel (and TBH, I was curious to see how it would hold up since I haven't yet seen it done on a braid-out!). But here's what the product looked like on my natural curls before I braided this section:
After applying the gel, I braided my hair into five sections. Then, I sat under my hooded dryer and unbraided my hair once it was fully dry.
Note: You will know when your hair is dry — your hair will likely feel a bit stiff/hard from the gel cast.
DAY ONE: Okay, I LOVED my curls. But I'll start with some bad news first: My curls were *very* crunchy, and I had quite a bit of flaking on my hair from the gel cast. But I wasn't surprised — this gel is supposed to have a strong hold, so the cast helps the curls last.
Now, the good news: While I wasn't the biggest fan of the crunch, I noticed that separating the curls helps to loosen up the cast. I was very impressed with how my curls looked. They were shiny and defined, and my hair still had lots of movement.
DAY TWO: I still loved my curls and had a gel cast. I noticed that my ends, especially on the left side, were starting to frizz up (maybe I didn't apply enough water or gel there?), but the top of my hair, where I usually get frizz, and the majority of my strands were frizz-free, which was amazing.
DAY THREE: With rain the night before and during the day today, the gel was truly put to the test. My curls still held up; normally, my curl definition would be gone with the slightest bit of humidity. By now, there was much less of a cast on my hair, so my strands felt softer, and I had a ton of shine.
But I noticed my ends got even frizzier, and it would probably continue — so, at this point, I lightly refreshed just those frizzy ends with a little water and more gel (because dry ends means breakage, which I'm trying to avoid!).
DAY FOUR: Now, I could see how the rain affected my hair. The cast was gone, but I still had definition; my curls weren't reverting, but I now had more frizz overall. Surprisingly, my hair still didn't feel dry at all, but to me, it started to look less moisturized than before.
l knew I needed to keep my ends protected and moisturized, so I lightly refreshed some of the ends again. After four days and a very rainy week, my hair was holding up!
DAY FIVE: I had some definition, and while I could still wear my curls out without throwing them into a bun, my hair felt drier at this point. It wasn't brittle, but it just didn't feel hydrated. Otherwise, my hair wasn't overly frizzy, and most curls still held in place.
DAY SIX: My curls were getting more stretched out, and I could tell that by now, my hair would continue to lose definition day by day. Despite that, I was surprised that my hair was never stiff; the curls were lightweight and still had plenty of movement.
DAY SEVEN: My hair felt quite dry, and I could NOT go another day without rehydrating my curls. I couldn't wait to wash my hair and apply a leave-in conditioner. Nevertheless, after seven days, I was surprised my curls hadn't completely stretched out; I still had some definition, and I could easily refresh my hair with some water if I wanted to wear the braid-out longer.
FINAL RESULTS: Here are my Day 1 curls vs. Day 7 curls.
Day 1: My curls had a strong gel cast and several small flakes from the product, but they were the most defined. While my curls were crunchy, they were bouncy and shiny! Day 7: My curls lost the cast and had stretched out. I could tell my curls needed hydration and had frizz, but my hair did last the week.
Now, for my final thoughts on longevity, frizz, and moisture...
1) Longevity: Compared to my usual products, the gel is quite long-lasting.
Aside from my ends, I didn't have to refresh all of my curls, but I'm not sure if I could go an entire week without touching up some areas. I could see myself refreshing my hair, at least with some water, on Day 4.
2) Frizz: Yes, it helps to keep frizz away! I encountered a lot of rain this week, and usually, I'd need to restyle my hair immediately. The hold is impressive, and many curls never budged. Now, is it entirely anti-humidity/anti-frizz? No...at least not for me.
Many of my curls stretched out and lost definition as the week went on, but I had minimal flyaways at the top of my hair. Again, you will likely need a touch-up at some point in the week, especially if it's humid, but the gel has worked 100x better than any other gel I've tried so far to prevent frizz.
3) Moisture: I was most nervous about how moisturized my hair would feel without a leave-in. Honestly, due to the gel cast, my hair did not feel super hydrated like it did when I first applied the product on wet hair, but at the same time, it never felt completely stripped of moisture.
If I were to do it again, I would experiment with spraying my hair with water throughout the week to see if it softens my hair faster from the cast and keeps it feeling more hydrated. Maybe I'd even try a moisturizer under the gel to see how my hair holds up with another product.
Overall, I enjoyed trying the gel and would try it again in my routine! This was my first time using it, so maybe I need to apply less or more gel next time. Here's a summary of my personal pros and cons below:
Would I recommend the gel? Yes, it's worth trying, especially if you wear wash-and-gos often and/or want to reduce the number of products you use for styling.
