{"id":106707,"date":"2019-10-08T15:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T20:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=106707"},"modified":"2021-07-29T19:14:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T00:14:00","slug":"hair-products-for-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/style\/grooming\/hair-products-for-men\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose the Right Styling Product for Your Hair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Men's<\/p>\n

When I first started styling my hair with product, I was 12 years old and rocked a v-shaped bowl cut with a swoop of bangs in the front. The look paired perfectly with my Bugle Boy jeans. <\/span><\/p>\n

Back then, the only options for hair products were hairspray and gel. I didn\u2019t like how hairspray made me feel like I was getting mustard-gassed when I applied it, so I opted for gel. And for the next 10 years or so, I used gel to style my hair and keep it in place. I used gel in 8th grade to achieve the George Clooney Caesar cut. I used gel in 10th grade to spike up the front of my bangs as was popular for teenage boys in the late 90s and early 2000s; though I never highlighted them, my spiky bangs sure looked great with my puka shell necklace. And I used gel in my early twenties to mold a perfect side-part haircut<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It seemed like gel was all there was, so gel was all I used. <\/span><\/p>\n

But then a decade or so ago, there was a Cambrian explosion of men\u2019s hair products, and the market became a lot bigger and more varied. Pomades made a roaring comeback after 50 years in hibernation. Companies introduced pastes, clays, creams, sprays, and powders all designed to hold hair in different ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the proliferation of hair products for men has allowed dudes to fine-tune their hairstyles, it\u2019s added a lot of complexity to one\u2019s grooming routine. With so many options, it can be hard to figure out which kind to use. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your choice of hair product will depend on a lot of factors, including the type of hair you have, the haircut you\u2019re sporting<\/a>, and personal preference. <\/span><\/p>\n

To help clarify the confusing selection process, I talked to master barber Thad Forrester, co-owner <\/span>of <\/span>Hudson \/ Hawk Barber & Shop<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

After you read our guide below, you\u2019ll know exactly what each type of product does and whether it\u2019s right for the look and feel you\u2019re personally going for with your hair.  <\/span><\/p>\n

The Main Factors to Consider When Choosing a Hair Product<\/b><\/h3>\n

Shine. <\/b>How much the product reflects light and makes your hair look shiny and wet. <\/span><\/p>\n

Matte. <\/b>The opposite of shine. Instead of making your hair look shiny, a matte product absorbs light, making your hair look like it doesn’t have product in it at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hold.<\/b> How well the product holds your hair in place. Products with high hold will keep your hair in place stronger and longer, but may make it look stiff and more obviously styled. Products with a lower level of hold don\u2019t keep your hair in place as well, but result in a more natural look.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malleability. <\/b>Malleability is how much you can modify your hair after you\u2019ve styled it. A product can have good holding power, but be more or less malleable. For example, gel has high hold, but isn\u2019t very malleable. Once the gel has hardened, your hair is pretty much stuck in that shape until you wash it out. Hair wax, on the other hand, has high hold but is pretty malleable. It will hold your hair in whatever style you put it in and if you later modify it, it will hold its new shape. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShine,\u201d \u201cmatte,\u201d and \u201chold\u201d often appear on the labels of hair products; malleability is a quality you\u2019ll typically have to gather from knowing what the product\u2019s base is made from (see below) and from personal experimentation, though it may be alluded to or described on the packaging. <\/span><\/p>\n

How much shine, hold, or malleability you try to achieve with your hair will depend on the hairstyle you\u2019re going for and your personal preference. Some guys like <\/span>the wet, smooth look reminiscent of 1940s stars of the silver screen like Cary Grant<\/span><\/a>; other guys prefer a dry, tousled look, ala 1970s Burt Reynolds. If you\u2019re going for that former slick style, but use a matte, low hold product, or want that latter natural style but are using a high shine\/high hold hair product, you\u2019re going to completely miss the mark.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thad recommends talking to your barber<\/a> about your hairstyle goals and your hair type to figure out what hair product is best for you. With that said, in order to effectively talk to your barber<\/a>, it helps to go into that conversation with a basic understanding of the various hair products on the market and what they do. <\/span><\/p>\n

Types of Hair Products and When\/Why to Use Them<\/span><\/h3>\n

When you start thinking about hair products for men, the first to come to mind is likely “pomade.” But “pomade” can really mean anything. <\/span><\/p>\n

“‘Pomade’ is a French word for ‘ointment’ or ‘hairdressing,’ so anything you put in your hair could be called a pomade,\u201d says Thad. He continues:<\/span><\/p>\n

And this is where things can get confusing. You\u2019ll see some companies that make a product that has a wax base and will call it a ‘wax-based pomade.’ A different company will offer the exact same product and call it a ‘hair wax’ as if it was a separate category of hair product. There\u2019s nothing different between the two except one company decided to call their product a ‘pomade.’<\/span><\/p>\n

So instead of focusing on whether a product is a pomade or not, focus on the base the hair product uses. Is it wax-based? Water-based? Oil-based? Clay-based? That\u2019s more helpful to know because each base offers different upsides and downsides.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With that in mind, for the purposes of this article we\u2019ll classify all hairstyle products as \u201cpomades,\u201d except for gel and sea salt spray, which are never labeled as such. <\/span><\/p>\n

Petroleum-Based Pomade<\/h3>\n

High shine; medium hold; high malleability<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

These are the classic, old-school pomades your grandpa used. They use oil as their base which gives your hair a wet look and a lot of shine. When you think petroleum-based pomades, think \u201cgreasers\u201d or \u201cFonzi.\u201d While petroleum-based pomades offer plenty of shine and hold, they do make your hair greasy and stay in your hair for a long time. <\/span><\/p>\n

After I gave up hair gel, I initially became a regular Brylcreem user, which is a century-old petroleum-based pomade. It made my classic side-part hairstyle look real swell, but in the hot, humid Oklahoma summers, I could feel the Brylcreem come streaking down my face when I sweated, and it caused acne breakouts on my forehead. It would take 2-3 hairwashings for me to finally get all of the product out. The upside of the product\u2019s staying power is that it allowed me to restyle my hair without having to put new product in; even after a couple (showerless) days, the remainder was sometimes enough. Oil-based pomades offer a lot of malleability. <\/span><\/p>\n

Thad says to go with a petroleum-based pomade if you really want to get that classic 40s\/50s look, you don\u2019t mind the grease, and you want a product that will allow you to restyle without having to reapply. This type can also be good if your hair is frizzy, or <\/span>has become wiry as it turns gray<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oil-based pomades to check out:<\/b><\/p>\n