Fewest-ingredients styling clay?
January 6, 2023 2:10 PM Subscribe
If you're an ecologically-minded person who styles their hair in as low-effort a way as possible with a styling clay, what do you use? Is there something sold, or that I can make, with just a handful of ingredients that will get me good-enough results?
What can I use that doesn't have a lot of ecologically-harmful ingredients and also can make my hair do what I want for approximately 8 hours, with a minimum of gross-hair feel?
I've been using a couple different brands of styling clay for my hair (Victory Crown clay, high hold/no shine; and Victory Barber Claymore, strong hold/matte; yes somehow there are two "Victory"-named styling brands, gods only know) and I really like how no-fuss and low-odor and normal-feeling they are, and water-soluble so if I want to get rid of them at the end of the day it's pretty easy.
This is also the first time I've really been using "product" or cosmetics of any kind. I was telling a friend about the products I've been using and they - smartly! - were reading the ingredients for allergens. Which prompted me to start looking everything up in it and.. there are a lot of oil-derived compounds. Purely for ecology reasons I try and limit the amount of oil-based stuff I buy or use, watching how much plastic is in my packaging, etc, and I wonder what other options I might have.
I've done some cursory internet searching and have found "make your own styling clay" articles and videos but I'm intensely curious for some Metafilter reporting. Have you used any of these? How does it compare with commercially-produced stuff? In what ways is it better, or worse?
What can I use that doesn't have a lot of ecologically-harmful ingredients and also can make my hair do what I want for approximately 8 hours, with a minimum of gross-hair feel?
I've been using a couple different brands of styling clay for my hair (Victory Crown clay, high hold/no shine; and Victory Barber Claymore, strong hold/matte; yes somehow there are two "Victory"-named styling brands, gods only know) and I really like how no-fuss and low-odor and normal-feeling they are, and water-soluble so if I want to get rid of them at the end of the day it's pretty easy.
This is also the first time I've really been using "product" or cosmetics of any kind. I was telling a friend about the products I've been using and they - smartly! - were reading the ingredients for allergens. Which prompted me to start looking everything up in it and.. there are a lot of oil-derived compounds. Purely for ecology reasons I try and limit the amount of oil-based stuff I buy or use, watching how much plastic is in my packaging, etc, and I wonder what other options I might have.
I've done some cursory internet searching and have found "make your own styling clay" articles and videos but I'm intensely curious for some Metafilter reporting. Have you used any of these? How does it compare with commercially-produced stuff? In what ways is it better, or worse?
I’ve made flaxseed gel. It’s very different from a clay and, I would say, only suitable for curls. It’s sticky and spreads well, but it provides zero volume. As a base ingredient, it might work.
posted by Comet Bug at 7:48 PM on January 6, 2023
posted by Comet Bug at 7:48 PM on January 6, 2023
I've used Lush's Dirty styling cream before, it wasn't a good fit for my hair but might be worth a try. It does have quite a strong smell though. If you click on each of the ingredients in the product description it will give you a little spiel about where they source from.
posted by cpatterson at 11:51 PM on January 6, 2023
posted by cpatterson at 11:51 PM on January 6, 2023
If you can access a small bag of finely milled kaolin clay, an easy thing to test is mixing a ludicrously small amount of it into a dime-sized piece of (solid/semi-solid) pure shea butter. The exact mass depends on the degree to which the kaolin has been milled. Once you test proportions you can mix up a pot of the mixture. I tend to keep volumes small, mixing batches as needed, to limit the need for preservative ingredients.
Flaxseed gel is a very different material. It's really great as a shine/gloss treatment, and it sounds like you're aiming to avoid shine.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:18 AM on January 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Flaxseed gel is a very different material. It's really great as a shine/gloss treatment, and it sounds like you're aiming to avoid shine.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 4:18 AM on January 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Looking online, I see that the ingredients of products branded as "styling clays" seem to vary quite widely, and some do not appear to contain any kaolin (clay) at all.
But I have been using a product containing kaolin for a few years now, and it's definitely the best I've ever found for giving my very fine hair a lot more body and shine-free hold.
Unfortunately, the stuff I use is not made any more. (I bought a whole bunch of it when I realized it was out of production, so I'll be set for some years to come.)
The main ingredients are water, cetearyl (fatty) alcohol, glycerin, and kaolin, in that order. Those are all easy to obtain. I bet you could experiment with combining them in different proportions till you find a mix that works well for you.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:36 PM on January 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
But I have been using a product containing kaolin for a few years now, and it's definitely the best I've ever found for giving my very fine hair a lot more body and shine-free hold.
Unfortunately, the stuff I use is not made any more. (I bought a whole bunch of it when I realized it was out of production, so I'll be set for some years to come.)
The main ingredients are water, cetearyl (fatty) alcohol, glycerin, and kaolin, in that order. Those are all easy to obtain. I bet you could experiment with combining them in different proportions till you find a mix that works well for you.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:36 PM on January 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:24 PM on January 6, 2023