New to wearing my waves/curls & seeking some advice!

A couple of questions: 1. I have not been able to achieve a gel cast, no matter how much I use! Do I need to change gels? Or is it harder for some peoples hair to achieve that? 2. The ends look dry as heck, is that a damage thing, or can that be remedied by a product? The hair stylist told me a curl cream would weigh down my curls, I tried using it once and it didn’t make much of a positive/negative difference. 3. I started doing this about a month ago, I see on social media curls typically improve over time for people. Does this occur from styling it curly over and over? Or is something else at play?

Thank you!!

Routine: (as recommended by the stylist who did my curly cut aside from changed gel to higher hold and added oil) Ouidad climate control shampoo and conditioner I brush my hair out with conditioner in the shower I use it’s a 10 leave in conditioner Then I rake through extra hold ouidad moisture lock gel and use a bounce curl brush I scrunch with microfiber towel and diffuse I use curl smith finishing oil I use the Malibu un do goo clarifying shampoo every other week. That same week I do a deep conditioning treatment.