I've been using this product for several years in combo with a few other curly styling products from a couple of different curly brands. I have 3A curly hair, which is very fine, but also very dense, i.e., there's a lot of it, so it needs a lot of help to create nice curl, because the curl, on its own, isn't very defined. It's always a balancing act to figure out what to use and how much, but I think this gel is a real help, and if I leave it out, my curl is not as defined and doesn't last as well. The other good thing is that I have a lot of allergies/chemical sensitivities and I tolerate this product with no issues.