The best product for a slick back hairstyle - Natural look
Now that I have grown my hair longer to rock a slick back hairstyle, the products I used to style my hair when it was shorter don’t really work anymore. So I decided to test different products to find out which one will have the strongest hold and work best for me. I chose to test only water-based products, so it’s easier to wash them out with water. I have to point out that I want my hairstyle to look as natural as possible; I don’t want to look like a 60s gangster with shiny, tightly combed-back hair. This means that products that make the hair shiny and hard like plastic won’t work for me. I want it to be as matte as possible and something that I can still fix or re-style if needed. Also, I want to get as much volume as I can with the amount and length of hair I have. I don’t use a comb, instead, I style my hair with my hands to get a natural finish.
I researched the market to see what products were available and also asked my followers for their recommendations. The same brands and products kept popping up. Even when narrowing the selection down to the most recommended products, it was still a long list. So I decided not to include items that are not available in the EU and to try the rest. Below is a list of all the products, along with my descriptions, experiences and my conclusion at the end of this article.
After using all of them for at least a few days, I figured out how to properly apply them. I found that for hair this long, all of these products work best when applied to towel-dried hair and then left to dry naturally or with a hair dryer. I also realized that to achieve as much volume as possible, you should first apply the product from back to front to create a stronger bottom layer, providing a good foundation for the top hair to sit on. Tilt your head down and apply the product on towel-dried hair from your neck to your forehead. Don’t forget to do this on the sides as well and try to get the product as close to your roots as possible. When you think you’ve applied enough product, it’s time to start applying it from front to back and shaping that slicked-back hairstyle. When you're done, you can let your hair dry naturally or dry it with a hair dryer.
These are different types of products - pomades, clays, pastes, etc., so they have different textures and feel different when applied. Some are much smoother and easier to apply than others, some wash out more easily, or have a stronger smell. So, I created a system to rate them. These are the things I find important.
Hold - How strong is the hold? Will the hair stay in place if you move or tilt your head?
Matte - How matte or shiny does the hair look? A score of less than 6/10 means it's shiny.
Flexible - Can you re-style your hair, or is everything stuck together and hard to restyle?
How long does it last - Will it last only a few hours or from morning to evening?
Sticky hair - A higher score means the hair smoothly sticks together without any visible clumps.
Smell - How nice is the scent? (Not the intensity.)
Ease of application - Is it smooth, or does it pull your hair when applying?
Washability - How easy is it to wash out with just water?
Total Score - The average score.
Value - My subjective rating based on the price and total score.
Hanz de Fuko heavymade - 28€ (56g)
Hold - 4/10
Matte - 9/10
Flexible - 3/10
How long does it last - 4/10
Sticky hair - 7/10
Smell - 3/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 9/10
Total Score - 5,9/10
Hanz de Fuko Claymation - 28€ (56g)
Hold - 6/10
Matte - 7/10
Flexible - 9/10
How long does it last - 7/10
Sticky hair - 8/10
Smell - 1/10
Ease of application - 7/10
Washability - 7/10
Total Score - 6,5/10
Things I like: /
Things I don’t like: You can’t easily fix or restyle your hair and it doesn’t really help because it doesn’t hold well. It doesn’t completely wash out with water alone, you need to use shampoo. The texture and ease of application are worse than other clays I tested.
Reuzel Extreme Hold Matte Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 9/10
Matte - 7/10
Flexible - 3/10
How long does it last - 8/10
Sticky hair - 7/10
Smell - 6/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 8/10
Total Score - 7/10
Things I like: Strong hold for longer hair.
Things I don’t like: It makes the hair stick together and weigh it down, causing you to lose volume. The texture makes your hair completely hard, like plastic, and you can’t restyle it. You can see that there is a lot of product in the hair because of the texture and shine.
Reuzel Blue Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 9/10
Matte - 6/10
Flexible - 1/10
How long does it last - 9/10
Sticky hair - 7/10
Smell - 7/10 -
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 9/10
Total Score - 7/10
Things I like: Strong hold for longer hair.
Things I don’t like: It makes the hair stick together and weigh it down, causing you to lose volume. The texture makes your hair completely hard, like plastic, and you can’t restyle it.
Reuzel Red Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 5/10
Matte - 4/10
Flexible - 2/10
How long does it last - 4/10
Sticky hair - 3/10
Smell - 8/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 9/10
Total Score - 5,4/10
Things I like: /
Things I don’t like: It makes the hair stick together and weigh it down, so you lose volume and your hairstyle loses its shape pretty quickly. This product is too heavy for longer hair.
Reuzel Fiber Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 7/10
Matte - 6/10
Flexible - 2/10
How long does it last - 6/10
Sticky hair - 3/10
Smell - 8/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 9/10
Total Score - 6,1/10
Things I like: Very nice minty smell (mild).
Things I don’t like: Instead of providing texture, the fiber pomade makes the hair stick together in bulky, uneven clumps, so you can’t restyle it throughout the day.
Reuzel Concrete Hold Matte Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 9/10
Matte - 7/10
Flexible - 2/10
How long does it last - 8/10
Sticky hair - 5/10
Smell - 6/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 10/10
Total Score - 6,9/10
Things I like: Very easy to apply on clean, towel-dried hair. The smell is very fresh - a minty scent. This is a softer clay with a consistency similar to cream.
Things I don’t like: Instead of providing texture, the Concrete Hold Matte Pomade makes the hair stick together in bulky, uneven clumps. It’s not flexible, so you can’t restyle it throughout the day.
Reuzel Clay Matte Pomade - 18€ (113ml)
Hold - 9/10
Matte - 8/10
Flexible - 8/10
How long does it last - 9/10
Sticky hair - 9/10
Smell - 9/10
Ease of application - 10/10
Washability - 7/10
Total Score - 8,6/10
Things I like: Very easy to apply on clean, towel-dried hair. The smell is very fresh - a minty scent. This is a softer clay with a consistency similar to cream.
Things I don’t like: It would be perfect if it washed out just a little easier.
Moroccanoil - Texture Clay - 28€ (75ml)
Hold - 8/10
Matte - 10/10
Flexible - 8/10
How long does it last - 8/10
Sticky hair - 10/10
Smell - 3/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 7/10
Total Score - 7,8/10
Things I like: This clay guarantees solid hold and durability. It is fairly flexible, so you can fix or restyle it if needed. But there is nothing about it that I would specifically prefer over any other clay product.
Things I don’t like: The smell is a mild, plasticky clay scent.
Kevin Murphy - Free Hold - 32€ (100g)
Hold - 4/10
Matte - 8/10
Flexible - 8/10
How long does it last - 5/10
Sticky hair - 9/10
Smell - 2/10
Ease of application - 10/10
Washability - 9/10
Total Score - 6,9/10
Things I like: It is easy to restyle and fix. The hair doesn’t become hard and unmanageable.
Things I don’t like: It doesn’t hold well if you have longer hair - you have to fix it constantly and it doesn’t last long.
Uppercut Deluxe - Deluxe Pomade - 22€ (100ml)
Hold - 6/10
Matte - 6/10
Flexible - 2/10
How long does it last - 7/10
Sticky hair - 8/10
Smell - 7/10
Ease of application - 10/10
Washability - 10/10
Total Score - 7/10
Things I like: Very easy to apply and easy to wash.
Things I don’t like: It makes the hair hard and impossible to restyle, and it’s a bit too shiny for my preference.
Uppercut Deluxe - Featherweight - 22€ (100ml)
Hold - 7/10
Matte - 5/10
Flexible - 2/10
How long does it last - 7/10
Sticky hair - 8/10
Smell - 10/10
Ease of application - 10/10
Washability - 10/10
Total Score - 7,4/10
Things I like: Very easy to apply and easy to wash.
Things I don’t like: It makes the hair hard and impossible to restyle, and it’s a bit too shiny for my preference.
Uppercut Deluxe - Clay - 22€ (100ml)
Hold - 9/10
Matte - 8/10
Flexible - 8/10
How long does it last - 9/10
Sticky hair - 9/10
Smell - 4/10
Ease of application - 8/10
Washability - 6/10
Total Score - 7,6/10
Things I like: It is easy to restyle and fix. The hair doesn’t become hard and unmanageable.
Things I don’t like: It doesn’t wash out well with just water, and application on the hair is not very smooth - the hair gets sticky and can cause discomfort when pulling it.
Uppercut Deluxe - Matte Pomade - 22€ (100ml)
Hold - 7/10
Matte - 9/10
Flexible - 6/10
How long does it last - 7/10
Sticky hair - 9/10
Smell - 5/10
Ease of application - 10/10
Washability - 1/10
Total Score - 6,8/10
Things I like: Very smooth application on towel-dried hair and a perfect matte visual effect, making the hair look the most natural of all - product not visible.
Things I don’t like: Very hard to wash out with just water.
I have tested all these products on my longer, thinner hair with higher density. So far my favourite is Reuzel Clay Matte Pomade. If you have shorter hair, all of the products mentioned above should have a strong hold, so deciding which one to get will come down to your personal preference for texture and finish.
This list will be a constant work in progress as I plan to continue trying new products. Feel free to let me know your experiences and which products you prefer."