Needed: pomade or gel that smells good but also has hold
February 21, 2013 7:58 AM Subscribe
So hair technology has changed since the nineties and my last product-requiring hairstyle. I now have a perfectly standard irritating men's style-blogger/Talented Mr. Ripley haircut and I require something to keep the damn thing out of my eyes. But since my hair is not quite long enough to stay back really well (it's at that stage where it's too long not to use product, but not quite long enough to be easy to style) and my hair is very straight, thick, coarse and willful, I require a hair product that has some hold.
I've tried several gels and pomades, and while they are huge improvements over the nineties in that they don't crust up into stiff spikes, they also don't have much hold, even the maximum-ultra-manly-vice-grip-hold versions. My hair is soft to the touch and smells very nice, but it's also awfully floppy.
What I'm looking for: a product with hold that is not greasy and smells nice, price no object. I have this Aveda gel, which smells wonderful and does not make my hair feel gross, but which is next door to just blow-drying my hair and using no product; I've also used various Crew-brand pomades that smell less good and do no more.
All suggestions welcome!
I've tried several gels and pomades, and while they are huge improvements over the nineties in that they don't crust up into stiff spikes, they also don't have much hold, even the maximum-ultra-manly-vice-grip-hold versions. My hair is soft to the touch and smells very nice, but it's also awfully floppy.
What I'm looking for: a product with hold that is not greasy and smells nice, price no object. I have this Aveda gel, which smells wonderful and does not make my hair feel gross, but which is next door to just blow-drying my hair and using no product; I've also used various Crew-brand pomades that smell less good and do no more.
All suggestions welcome!
I really like the Got2B products. There are usually coupons and it's available in Drugstores and Supermarkets.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:11 AM on February 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:11 AM on February 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I like Schwarzkopf got2b iStylers Restyler Fibre Paste. My hair is curly and wanton, but this stuff makes it think the style I want it to have was its own idea. (Not enough to pull off the Mr Ripley look, unfortunately!) It doesn't really smell of anything except hair product, but maybe 'fibre paste' is the search term you want and you can find a brand that smells delicious.
posted by daisyk at 8:12 AM on February 21, 2013
posted by daisyk at 8:12 AM on February 21, 2013
If you like the way Garnier Fructis stuff smells, I use their fiber gum on hair that sounds a lot like yours. It's discontinued but I still find it at a lot of bargain basement type places or if you read the comments on that page, it's been reborn as power putty fiber spikes. Not greasy, pretty heavy, I don't get build up.
posted by jessamyn at 8:38 AM on February 21, 2013
posted by jessamyn at 8:38 AM on February 21, 2013
I've been using American Crew products ever since my product of choice went off market. I use the Fiber because I have a shorter spikier cut, but the cream should work nicely for your cut.
posted by FlamingBore at 11:25 AM on February 21, 2013
posted by FlamingBore at 11:25 AM on February 21, 2013
What kind of look are you going for? I keep my pompadour in good working order with Layrite if I want a shiny, vintage look. That's a nice product because unlike petroleum-based pomades, it washes out with water. And it doesn't goop up your pillowcases.
If you're going for more of a matte finish, you could try a hair clay. Baxter of California makes one that smells divine.
Also, how often are you washing your hair? You might want to consider letting it dirty up a bit. I wash mine once a week and even that feels like too much sometimes. Using this product occasionally keeps it from being oily. Clean hair is way floppier and more difficult to style than dirty hair.
posted by Lieber Frau at 11:37 AM on February 21, 2013
If you're going for more of a matte finish, you could try a hair clay. Baxter of California makes one that smells divine.
Also, how often are you washing your hair? You might want to consider letting it dirty up a bit. I wash mine once a week and even that feels like too much sometimes. Using this product occasionally keeps it from being oily. Clean hair is way floppier and more difficult to style than dirty hair.
posted by Lieber Frau at 11:37 AM on February 21, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I will look at all of these.
The thing is, I have to wash my hair (or at least get it really, really wet even if no shampoo is used) every day, because my hair is very straight, thick and coarse, and unless I wear it long (like, girlie long, not just shaggy), sleeping on it produces hilarious smushed sticking-up hairstyles that will not comb out. On weekends, I leave them in but they are totally unsuitable for work. It's not really about the oiliness, at least not unless the weather is really hot and gross.
posted by Frowner at 12:18 PM on February 21, 2013
The thing is, I have to wash my hair (or at least get it really, really wet even if no shampoo is used) every day, because my hair is very straight, thick and coarse, and unless I wear it long (like, girlie long, not just shaggy), sleeping on it produces hilarious smushed sticking-up hairstyles that will not comb out. On weekends, I leave them in but they are totally unsuitable for work. It's not really about the oiliness, at least not unless the weather is really hot and gross.
posted by Frowner at 12:18 PM on February 21, 2013
It's worth taking a trip to a fancy hair stylist for a shampoo and a cut, and ask for product recommendations.
If you're nice, they might even try something and wash it out again to try something else. Hair product sales is high margin, and it's nice for tips especially on less busy days.
posted by porpoise at 8:02 PM on February 21, 2013
If you're nice, they might even try something and wash it out again to try something else. Hair product sales is high margin, and it's nice for tips especially on less busy days.
posted by porpoise at 8:02 PM on February 21, 2013
I have no idea about products, but on the sticking-up chunks of second-day hair, you might try running over the offending bit with a small flat iron... I do this for touch-ups when I have my hair straightened, so that I don't have to re-wet it daily; just in case that's something you'd want to do if it were an option.
posted by celtalitha at 8:44 PM on February 23, 2013
posted by celtalitha at 8:44 PM on February 23, 2013
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posted by Grither at 8:08 AM on February 21, 2013 [1 favorite]