Embarrassing First World Problem/Question

September 7, 2013 12:41 PM

I can't tolerate scented skin and hair products. The later are the worst and impossible to find. But my hair needs help.

Can someone recommend a hair product for men (or it could be for women, I'm secure enough in my masculinity) that has no scent and acts like some of the more popular paste or old butch-wax brands.

I'd used Aveda's Control Paste for years, but after Estee Lauder bought the company they've slowly upped the fragrance level to be intolerable now.

A friend suggested Bumble and Bumble to me the other day, I ordered some of their styling creme but once on my head, again, the scent was awful and overpowering.

Thanks.

posted by zenpop to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (13 answers total)

Straight beeswax is great for this. A friend uses this brand and his hair always looks very good and has no smell.
posted by k8lin at 12:52 PM on September 7, 2013

Also, unflavored gelatin. A bit unorthodox, but completely odor free. Use about 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin to about 8 ounces of water. It's cheap and it works about as well as regular hair gel. You have to store it in the fridge but otherwise.

I think flaxseed hair gel has a better reputation for working well--here's instructions at the Hairpin--but I've never used it.

We used to do the unflavored gelatin route in college cause it's super cheap.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:56 PM on September 7, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks k8lin, though the Amazon page for that beeswax product notes that it does contain fragrance.
posted by zenpop at 1:19 PM on September 7, 2013

pure aloe vera gel can be used as hair gel, and it has no scent at all
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:02 PM on September 7, 2013

You might try the Free and Clear brand-- maybe the styling gel?

It contains: Water (Purified), VP/VA Copolymer, Panthenol, PEG 45 Palm Kernel Glycerides, 1,2 Hexanediol, PEG 14, Acrylates/C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PEG 33, Caprylyl Glycol, PEG 8 Dimethicone, Amino Methyl Propanol, Tetrasodium EDTA

Or Magick Botanicals Hair Styling Gel Fragrance Free: PVP-K30, propylene glycol, carbomer, polyquaternium 10, triethanolamine, methylparaben, propylparaben, and disodium EDTA.
posted by charmcityblues at 2:28 PM on September 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Was coming in to suggest the Free and Clear Styling Gel. I have not used the styling gel, but I use the shampoo and it is fragrance free and effective.
posted by nightwood at 2:56 PM on September 7, 2013

Jack Black Hair Gel is fragrance-free.
posted by Pizzarina Sbarro at 3:29 PM on September 7, 2013

If you want a cream instead of a gel. Beautiful Curls has a cream (I use the Curl lotion on my super short hair, but they also have a sculpting wax)

I went in the bathroom and checked, and it says no fragrance added, and it doesn't have much scent at all. It also doesn't need to be used only on curly hair (my hair is so short you can barely tell it has any wave at all).

I got it at Whole Foods, but you can also get it on Amazon, I think.
posted by bibliogrrl at 3:35 PM on September 7, 2013

I put pure coconut oil in my hair...I don't know if the "fragrance" of it ("fragrance" in that it isn't added fragrance, but I mean, it's still coconut oil) will bug you or not.

I got a jar of it at Trader Joes for five bucks.
posted by obviousresistance at 4:48 PM on September 7, 2013

American Crew Grooming Cream has little fragrance and it dissipates once it is on your hair. I have used it for years on my short hair and like it a lot. It is waxy, not a gel. A little goes a long way, it works well, and adds a nice shine. Compared to any Aveda product, old or new, the Grooming Cream is neutral. Some of the other American Crew styling products do have fragrance--the Fibre smells like lemon frosting--so do the sniff test at Target or Ulta. It is pretty easy to find. Note, though, that I have used the Bumble and Bumble Styling Cream and don't find it has much fragrance.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 8:36 PM on September 7, 2013

I use this hair clay -- it's scentless (other than that it smells vaguely like the clay it is) and works well with my short/medium hair.
posted by kylej at 4:04 AM on September 8, 2013

I'm a big fan of lanolin -- good hold, scent-free, makes grey hair look silver. Bonus: you're actually using it the way nature intended, though definitely not the way the drugstore intended.
posted by naturetron at 5:02 AM on September 8, 2013

I smelled both my friend's hair and stuck my nose in the jar of Murray's beeswax and smelled nothing. I am pretty sensitive to fragrances. I might still give it a try were I you.
posted by k8lin at 7:58 AM on September 8, 2013