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Side by side

Odele Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold vs Sun Bum Curls Styling Cream

85% function match · 10 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 35%. Odele Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold and Sun Bum Curls Styling Cream share 2 ingredients among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold — protein-hungry hair
  • Curls Styling Cream — protein-hungry hair

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
Odele Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold — 8 oz container Odele

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold

  • Styler
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Sun Bum Curls Styling Cream — 5 oz container Sun Bum

Curls Styling Cream

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$11.99 8 oz · $1.50/oz
$16.99 5 oz · $3.40/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 65% of the 157 gels we’ve priced
Upper-mid price for a curl cream $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 65% of the 105 curl creams we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Hold (as stated)
Medium A medium hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
—
Slip / detangling Differs
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
Weight on hair Same
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. Your hair
Protein Same
Prominent Protein high in the list — a strengthening formula, not a moisture one. Your hair
Prominent Protein high in the list — a strengthening formula, not a moisture one. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Low Your hair
Low Your hair
Hold system Same
Mixed Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Moderate Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Cast risk Differs
Likely Film formers without much softening them — expect a cast to scrunch out. Your hair
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Oil absorption Same
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Present, lower down Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol Same
None No fast-drying alcohol in the list. Your hair
None No fast-drying alcohol in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Protein-hungry hairthat stretches and stays stretched when wet
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Protein-hungry hairthat stretches and stays stretched when wet
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat goes stiff or straw-like on protein
  • Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat goes stiff or straw-like on protein
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Stylergel
Stylercream
Where to buy
Ulta · Odele.Co · Target
Brand website · Grocery / mass
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · brand states
Vegan · label states
Cruelty-free
—
Cruelty-free · label states
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Hold
mediumMedium crunch-free hold
—
How often
as needed
—

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

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The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free HoldCurls Styling Cream
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#2Leading
#2Leading
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Holds
#8Supporting
#6Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#14Below the 1% line
#8Below the 1% line
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#13Below the 1% line
#17Below the 1% line
Ethylhexylglycerin
Softens
#10Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold

Curls Styling Cream

Full ingredient list — Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold (14)
Full ingredient list — Curls Styling Cream (18)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free HoldCurls Styling Cream
Supported
1
4
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
3
0
Potential conflict
2
0
Vegan
SupportedMatches our researched record.
SupportedMatches our researched record.
Cruelty free
Stated by brandWorth checking on the label.
SupportedMatches our researched record.

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold

  • Medium crunch-free holdPotential conflictExpect a cast you have to scrunch out.
  • Flexible-hold stylingPotential conflictExpect a cast you have to scrunch out.
  • Long-lasting controlStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Clean ingredientsStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

Curls Styling Cream

  • Lightweight styling cream with Kukui Nut Oil and Monoi Coconut Oil that helps nourish hair for soft curls without the crunchSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • Made Without Parabens and SulfatesSupportedGentler on colour and coils.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Both praised for the scent, hold, and a clean rinse-out. Sun Bum Curls Styling Cream draws complaints about the scent and hold.

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold

Manages curly hair well overnight, leaving it non-frizzy and never crunchy the next day

curly-hair Ulta reviewer

Hold level is 'perfect' for their hair and the scent is a standout positive

Ulta reviewer

Works on curly and wavy hair without adding weight or leaving hair feeling dried out

curly/wavy-hair Ulta reviewer

Squeeze-bottle application is easy and delivers strong hold with visible volume, not too thick or watery

Ulta reviewer describing overall use

Curls Styling Cream

Reviewers repeatedly say it defines curls without the stiffness or crunch of gels, describing the result as soft, natural-looking curls with a light hand.

curly-haired reviewers, including several using it on their children

Several reviewers say the whole family, from young children to adults with different curl patterns, use the same bottle successfully.

households with multiple curly-haired family members

The scent is called out often and positively, described as a pleasant, not-too-strong 'summer' or coconut smell that lasts.

general reviewers

A recurring complaint is that the cream gives little to no real hold or curl definition, with a couple of reviewers calling it more like a fragranced leave-in than a true styling product, and one saying it weighed hair down.

reviewers expecting a defined, held curl result

Multiple reviewers say a small, dime-sized amount is enough and that using more than that leaves hair feeling sticky or crunchy, especially on long hair.

reviewers with longer or thicker hair

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

$1.50/oz vs $3.40/oz — Sun Bum Curls Styling Cream costs about 2.3× more per ounce than Odele Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold.

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold

Against 157 gels with a computable unit price.

Curls Styling Cream

Against 105 curl creams with a computable unit price.

Value readFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free HoldCurls Styling Cream
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for gels per ounce.
Upper-mid price for a curl creamSits in the middle of the range for curl creams per ounce.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold vs Texture Tonic Texturizing SprayAveda · 93% function matchCurls Styling Cream vs Curl Defining Styling GelOCOA · 89% function matchFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold vs Morning After Redefining Foam For Styling And Curl RefreshingMixed Chicks · 93% function matchCurls Styling Cream vs Complete Air Dry Cream - 5.0 ozJVN · 89% function matchFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold vs Curl Talk Refreshing Curl FoamNot Your Mother's · 93% function matchCurls Styling Cream vs Advanced Climate Control Heat and Humidity Gel - 8.5 ozOuidad · 89% function matchFlex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold vs Root Boost Uplifting SprayCurlsmith · 93% function matchCurls Styling Cream vs Coco Crème Curl Shaping Cream Gel with Coconut OilCarol's Daughter · 89% function match

Flex Hair Gel for Medium Crunch-Free Hold · Curls Styling Cream · All gels in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 7 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
  • This particular combination is not listed in our sitemap: we only submit pairs of comparable products that our similarity data says people would actually weigh against each other.

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