The Doux Bananas Xtreme Gel Review
This post is not sponsored, but it does contain affiliate links. If you decide to shop my shelf and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU. Thank you so much for helping me continue to bring you quality content.
Fun fact: I really, really, HATE bananas. I don’t like the taste or texture, and I’m not a big fan of the scent. However, I was very intrigured when I saw that The Doux was releasing a new holding gel named after them.
My favorite styles to wear are updos. I love a sleek ponytail or a bun moment; they feel so classy. However, they take an act of congress to do. I either have to do the tedious blowout or the painstaking layer by layer wet method. Then, I have to hope that it stands up to my workouts and our southern weather.
It hasn’t been until fairly recently that I’ve found a process and products that work, but like all product junkies, I’m always looking for the next better thing. Would Bananas be that thing? I set out on a quest to find out.
What is Bananas Xtreme Gel?
Bananas Xtreme Gel is designed to give shine and maximum hold to sleek, spiked, and slicked styles, as well as long-lasting hold and definition to curly styles.
What are the key ingredients and what do they do?
- Banana Leaf Oil
- Bamboo Oil
- Agave
What’s NOT in this product?
Bananas has no sulfates, parabens, silicones, or alcohols.
The Doux Bananas Xtreme Gel Review
thedoux.com – $16.99 (12 oz.)
My First Impression
If you’ve ever used Gorilla Snot, I feel like Bananas has similar consistency. It smells more perfumey than like bananas.
I saw quite a few questions online about how Bananas worked in comparison to The Doux’s Bee Girl Custard. A lot of naturals like to use Bee Girl for wash-n-gos, but here’s the kicker – I don’t do wash-n-gos anymore. However, I have had good, consistent results using Bee Girl Custard on top of Crazy Sexy Curl Setting Foam for my updos. So, I decided first to test them head-to-head in a middle-part ponytail.
Head to Head: Bananas vs. Bee Girl Custard
This process was a bit daunting because you don’t really want to do a ponytail on sopping wet hair, but Bananas kinda requires sopping wet hair. I ended up using Bananas on one side wet, and the Bee Girl combo on the opposite side slightly less wet.
Bananas was easy enough to apply, but overall, I felt like the hold was softer. Both sides held up well through rain and exercise, but the Bee Girl combo held a harder cast for longer.
Wash-n-Go
For the sake of being thorough, I decided to take a chance on a wash-n-go. I tried my darndest to replicate the steps I saw in the demo reels for this product. Since my hair has a very small curl pattern, I applied in small sections, twirling ends where necessary, and allowed to dry under a hooded dryer for about 20 minutes.
I did not love the results. The positive is that I did see definition in my individual curls. The hard cast was to be expected, but I felt like my hair lacked luster. As the cast broke, my hair was somewhat soft, but it felt a bit dry. I never d
A note about representation
I feel like brands in the textured haircare space have gotten better about product education, but I still feel like there’s work to be done in terms of representation. The Doux is a strong proponent for their products working on all types of hair, which is great. However, when I scroll down my IG feed, I see tons of demos and user-generated content, very little of which represents my hair pattern.
I know you can’t please everyone. I’m not a person who feels like looser curl patterns should disappear in favor of mine, either (THAT’S BANANAS). It’s just hard to know if you’re really using a product correctly until you’ve seen it used on hair that looks like yours. Not all brands make demos at all, but if you’re going to do them (and complain about customers not using the products correctly to get the right results), make sure they are inclusive.
Is Bananas worth buying?
If you have finer hair or a looser curl pattern you might like this product a lot for the amount of hold that you would get. I could see being able to wear your hair for several days with the cast breaking naturally. That said, I don’t forsee myself purchasing this product again. I do plan on trying a braid out just to see how it goes, but for what I normally would use a gel to do, I feel like Bee Girl is head and shoulders better.
