You asked for a guide to men's hair styling products, so we delivered. Over the years we’ve received so many requests for a men’s guide to hair products that we felt compelled to cover nine of the most common types of hair products for guys. From hold, shine, and scent to hair types, styles and pairing options, this detailed hair product guide for men will help you find just what your hair needs to look its best.
Gel Pomade
Want a slick look with great hold that doesn’t require half a bottle of shampoo to wash out? Go for water-based gel pomade with healthy hair ingredients, like argan oil and sustainably-sourced beeswax instead of petroleum.
- Hold: Medium-to-high
- Shine: Semi-matte
- Scent: BOSS scented - clean, fresh, and masculine
- Best for these hair types: Short-to-medium hair of all types
- Best for achieving these styles: Classic and slicked back looks as well as comb overs and pompadours
- Bundles wellwith: Sea Salt Spray and Hair Clay - especially when you want to keep your options open. Grab the kit here.
Hair Clay
Need moderate hold with a rugged, natural finish that’s workable? Hair Clay was made for the minimalist. Formulas that double up on kaolinite and bentonite will give straight strands a thickening boost and effortlessly achieve natural messy styles.
- Hold: Medium
- Shine: Zero, true matte finish
- Scent: None
- Best for these hair types: Short-to-medium hair
- Best for achieving these styles: Textured fades, natural comb overs, and messy looks
- Bundles well with: Sea Salt Spray for natural looking waves and a reworkable matte finish. Get the Power Stack duo here.
Hair Wax
Let’s talk definition and structure without stiffness. Hair wax holds moisture in while enhancing your hair’s shine. We use shea butter and soy protein because they condition and style the hair without ever feeling sticky or stiff.
- Hold: Medium
- Shine: Semi-matte
- Scent: Fresh and masculine
- Best for these hair types: Short-to-medium hair, especially thick hair
- Best for achieving these styles: Quiff, classic side part, comb over, or pompadour
- Bundles wellwith: Sea Salt Spray as a pre-styler to achieve extra volume. Grab it here.
Hair Paste
Do you like to change your style on the fly? Hair paste makes it happen. The lighter texture and combination of castor seed oil and beeswax hydrate hair and give flow and messy styles a touch of hold and texture.
- Hold: Low-to-medium
- Shine: Semi-matte
- Scent: Light, refreshing, and masculine
- Best for these hair types: All hair types, especially thin or wavy hair
- Best for achieving these styles: any messy fringe, comb over, faux hawk, or slicked back style
- Bundles well with: Sea Salt Spray for casual texturized looks with medium hold. Get the Paste Stack duo here.
Sea Salt Spray
Enhance your natural waves or create some new ones with this water-based texturizing spray. Unlike actual sea water, our spray contains hydrating sea kelp extract to soothe hair follicles instead of drying them out. It also pulls double duty as both a pre-styler and a texturizer.
- Hold: Light
- Shine: Natural
- Scent: Aqua musk
- Best for these hair types: All hair types
- Best for achieving these styles: A volumized undercut, post-beach look, the Jesus piece, and natural faux hawk
- Bundles wellwith: pretty much everything. Pick up your dream duo here.
Hair Powder
Don’t let the word “powder” fool you. This charcoal-based texture powder contains thickening rice starch for added lift and volume. It looks and feels natural without being heavy, sticky, or tacky.
- Hold: Light
- Shine: Zero, true matte finish
- Scent: Fresh and masculine
- Best for these hair types: Thin, short-to-medium hair
- Best for achieving these styles: A natural pomp, blunt crop, or texturized messy look
- Bundles well with: A pre-styler for added volume and texture. Get our Hair Powder + Sea Salt Spray Power Stack here.
Hair Moisturizer
Healthy hair is hydrated hair, and using a leave-in hair moisturizer smooths the cuticle and locks in moisture. When used as a pre-styler, it minimizes frizz and primes the hair to make your favorite styling products work better.
- Hold: Not its job
- Shine: Supports but doesn’t supplement your natural sheen
- Scent: Masculine
- Best for these hair types: Dry, damaged, frizz-prone hair
- Best for achieving these styles: Priming, moisturizing, and styling your flow
- Bundles wellas: a pre-styler before using hair clay. Grab the Hydration Stack here.
Hair Cream
If you hate the feel of hair products, give hair cream a try. It tames frizz, keeps stray hairs in line, and makes hair look naturally shiny. The hold is minimal, but a hair cream can supply much needed moisture while strengthening strands.
- Hold: Light
- Shine: Light-to-medium
- Scent: Varies
- Best for these hair types: Frizzy, temperamental, medium-to-long hair
- Best for achieving these styles: Relaxed styles that don’t require strong hold
- Bundles well with: as a styling product you’ll likely need a pre-styler. Consider checking out our Sea Salt Spray.
Beard Oil
No one wants scraggly, scratchy scruff, but you need the right combination of oils to avoid breakouts under your beard. Beard Oil contains hydrating and softening oils for the hair itself as well as itch-stopping, skin-repairing ingredients that won’t cause pimples.
- Hold: Zilch
- Shine: Just your beard’s natural, healthy sheen
- Scent: Our beard oil doesn’t have a over-bearding sent and comes unscented.
Whew! That’s a lot of information to process, but with this hair styling products guide we’re confident that you’ll find at least one product here that will suit your style. But if your still not sure how to choose a hair product for men, hit us up with any additional questions.