The short answer: pomade for slick, shiny, combed styles. Clay for matte texture and volume, which is what most modern fades and crops want. Cream for light control on longer or curly hair with a natural finish. Pick by the finish you want first, then by how strong a hold your hair needs.
Pomade
Pomade is the classic. It gives shine and a combed, controlled look — side parts, slick backs, pompadours. Water-based pomades wash out easily and hold firmer; oil-based ones stay pliable all day and take real shampoo to remove.
Pomade suits straight to slightly wavy hair with decent density. It is the wrong choice for thinning hair, because shine reflects off the scalp and the weight pulls hair flat — more on that in best haircuts for thinning hair.
Clay
Clay is what most people should be using and are not. It gives a matte, dry finish with strong grip and it makes hair look thicker than it is. That is exactly what a textured crop or a faded top needs.
Warm a small amount between your palms first — clay is stiff out of the jar and applying it cold clumps it. Work it through nearly dry hair, back to front, then shape. Works on straight, wavy and thick hair, and it is the safest single product to own if you only own one.
Cream
Cream is light hold, natural finish, and a bit of moisture. It is for hair you want to look like hair — longer styles, waves, curls, grown-out crops. It will not hold a shape against gravity, so do not expect it to lift a fringe.
Cream is also the right answer for anyone growing hair out, when the sides start pushing outward. That stage is covered in growing out a fade week by week.
The others, briefly
- Paste: between clay and cream. Medium hold, low shine, very forgiving.
- Wax: strong, pliable, slightly shiny. Good for defining a fringe.
- Sea salt spray: pre-styler. Adds grit and volume on damp hair before anything else.
- Gel: hard hold, hard finish. Fine for a slick look, unforgiving of mistakes.
- Curl cream or leave-in: for curls, moisture first and hold second.
Pick by hair type
- Fine or thinning: clay or salt spray. Matte only. Use less than you think.
- Thick and straight: clay or firm pomade — you have enough hair to need real hold.
- Wavy: paste or cream. Enough control without killing the movement.
- Curly: cream or leave-in. Moisture keeps the curl defined instead of frizzy.
- Coarse: clay or wax. Light products will not touch it.
Application mistakes we see constantly
- Too much. Start with a fingertip. You can add more; you cannot remove it.
- Applying to soaking wet hair. Towel dry to damp, or fully dry for clay.
- Only on the top layer. Work it in at the roots, then shape the surface.
- Not warming it up. Cold clay or wax goes on in lumps.
- Skipping the blow dryer. Thirty seconds of drying upward doubles the volume.
The cut has to support the style
No product rescues a haircut that is wrong for the style you want. If you push your hair back, you need length at the front. If you want a textured top, the top needs point cutting, not just shortening. Tell your barber what product you use and how you style it in the morning — that changes how the top gets cut. How to say it is in how to talk to your barber, and side length options are in taper versus fade.
Ask us in the chair
At our shop at 10311 S Central Ave in Oak Lawn, barbers will tell you straight what will work on your hair, and they will show you how much to use and which direction to work it. That advice comes with every $30 men's haircut — the rest of the list is on the haircut prices menu. Regulars from Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Burbank, Worth and Evergreen Park usually walk out styling their hair better than when they walked in.
Walk-ins welcome six days a week, closed Mondays. Hours and the map are on the visit the shop page, or call (708) 351-1770.