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What's This About:
Men's hair products are bought on two measures: hold, from light to firm, and finish, from matte to high shine.
The category names on the tub describe tendencies rather than fixed performance, because hold and shine are set by the formula: clays tend towards firm hold and a matte finish, pomades towards shine, pastes towards the middle of both, creams towards lighter hold and a natural finish, gels towards the firmest hold and the most shine, and waxes towards light hold with some shine.
Every one of those is a tendency with exceptions inside it, including gels and creams.
One maker's cream pomade and its classic pomade sit at opposite ends of the shine scale, so the label on the back decides, not the word on the front.
Match the product to the style you want, read what the maker claims for that particular tub, and use less than you think.
This guide answers the questions men ask standing in front of a shelf of identical tubs, such as:
– What is the actual difference between pomade, clay, paste, wax, cream and gel?
– Which one do I need for a quiff, a slick back, a crop or a side part?
– Water-based or oil-based pomade?
– Which suits fine, thick or curly hair?
– How much do I use, and how do I get it out again?
and many more!
Every product is in one table by hold and finish, then matched to the haircut and the hair type.
Key Points:
01Two measures decide the purchase: hold (light to firm) and finish (matte to shine). Every product below occupies a range on that grid rather than a fixed point, and the maker's own description of the individual tub is more reliable than the category name.
02Clay for matte texture, pomade for shine, paste for most styles: if you buy one tub, buy a paste; if you buy two, add the one your style actually needs.
03Water-based usually rinses out in a normal wash, oil-based usually does not: an oil-based pomade generally takes repeated washes or a clarifying shampoo, and it restyles for days, which is the trade.
04Use a fingertip, not a fingerful: warm it between the palms, work it from the back forward, and add more only if the first amount does nothing.
The answer
The short answer
There are six kinds of product on the shelf and two questions worth asking about any individual tub: how firmly it holds, and how shiny it leaves the hair. The category name narrows the answer; it does not give it.
Regal Gentleman's guide places them on that grid. Pomade is "a product that gives a medium to high shine and a medium to strong hold", split into oil-based ("High shine, high hold. Hard to wash out") and water-based ("Medium to high shine, high hold, easily washable"), and it suits "Your classics. Side parts, slick backs and pompadours." Clay gives "medium hold" with a "matte, natural looking finish" and suits "Crops, textured quiffs and crew cuts." Paste is "Easily washable, medium to strong hold, low to medium shine" and works for "almost any style". Gel is "High hold with a high shine", with the caution that it leaves hair "too shiny and also be doing too stiff". Wax is "Low to medium hold, medium to high shine", to be used sparingly.
Seven Potions adds the application rules: pomade goes on damp rather than wet hair starting with a penny-sized amount; clay contains bentonite, "a form of volcanic ash", gives "firm hold which should usually last throughout the day", and goes on blow-dried or towel-dried hair, warmed between the palms; wax "requires completely dry hair"; and sea salt spray gives a medium, flexible hold with a matte finish and works on damp hair before a blow-dry.
One manufacturer's own range shows how far the names stretch. American Crew describes its Cream Pomade as being "For light/medium hold with low shine" and its Pomade as being "For medium hold with high shine", so two pomades sit at opposite ends of the shine scale. Its Matte Clay and its Defining Paste are both described as "medium hold with low shine", which puts a clay and a paste at the same coordinates, while its Molding Clay is "For high hold with medium shine". Its Fiber is "For high hold with low shine" and its Forming Cream "For medium hold with medium shine", which is firmer and shinier than a cream is usually assumed to be. Read the hold and shine claim on the tub in front of you.
The rest of this page is the grid, the product-by-product detail, the match to the haircut, the match to the hair type, how much to use and how to wash it out.
The grid
Every product by hold and finish
| Product | Hold, typical range | Finish, typical range | Applied to | Washes out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay | Medium to firm | Matte to low shine | Towel-dried or blow-dried hair | Usually in a normal wash; most are water-based |
| Pomade, water-based | Medium to strong | Low to high shine, by formula | Damp hair | Usually in a normal wash |
| Pomade, oil-based | Strong, and restyles all day | High shine | Damp or dry hair | Poorly; usually repeated washes or a clarifying shampoo |
| Paste | Medium to strong | Low to medium | Damp or dry hair | Usually in a normal wash |
| Cream | Light to medium | Natural to medium shine, by formula | Damp hair | Usually in a normal wash |
| Gel | Light to very firm, depending on formula | Matte to high shine, depending on formula | As the product label directs | Usually in a normal wash; a firm gel can flake if brushed once dry |
| Wax | Light to medium | Medium to high shine | Dry hair, unless the label says otherwise | Less readily; shampoo rather than water |
| Sea salt spray | Grip rather than hold | Matte, at the roots | Damp hair, before drying | Usually in a normal wash |
| Texturising powder | Grip and lift | Matte | Dry hair, at the roots | Usually in a normal wash |
Read down the hold column for how long the style survives the day, and down the finish column for how it photographs. The ranges are where the category usually lands; an individual formula can sit outside them, and the maker's description settles it.
The products at the top of the hold column trade flexibility for staying power: a gel sets and then cracks if you touch it, where a clay can be pushed back into shape at lunchtime.
One by one
What each product actually is
Firm and matte
Clay
Clays are built on a clay mineral, usually bentonite or kaolin, and the mineral is what absorbs oil and gives the flat finish. Seven Potions calls bentonite "a form of volcanic ash"; more precisely, Britannica defines bentonite as a "clay formed by the alteration of minute glass particles derived from volcanic ash". Where the mineral came from does not change how the tub behaves, so read the hold and shine the maker states for that formula.
It adds visible thickness, which is why it is the standard recommendation for fine hair, and it is the product for a textured crop, a messy quiff or a crew cut. Regal Gentleman's list is "Crops, textured quiffs and crew cuts. Short to medium length messier hairstyles."
It can look dull on grey hair and dry on very coarse hair; a paste is the softer alternative in both cases.
Strong and shiny
Pomade
The classic product for combed styles, and the one with the water-based and oil-based split that causes most of the confusion on the shelf.
Water-based: medium to strong hold, shine that varies with the formula, and it usually rinses out in a normal wash; it can dry hard and can lose hold in heat. Oil-based: higher shine, restyles all day and for several days, and is "harder to wash out", in Seven Potions' words, which is the real cost.
It is the product for a side part, a slick back or a classic pompadour, and it is the wrong one for a textured crop, where it flattens the texture the cut was made for.
The all-rounder
Paste
Thicker than pomade, with medium to strong hold and a low to medium shine; Regal Gentleman calls it a "Versatile hair product for almost any style or hair type."
It is the one tub to own if you only own one: it holds a side part, it texturises a crop, and it neither shines like a pomade nor dries like a clay, which is why it covers most styles.
Warm it thoroughly between the palms first, because a cold paste applies in lumps.
Light and natural
Cream
Light hold and a natural finish, closer to a conditioner than a styling product; it controls frizz and adds softness rather than shape.
It is the product for long hair, curly hair and a soft, unstyled finish, and it is the one to use on a long slick back that is meant to move.
A light cream usually does little on very short hair, which is why men who buy one for a crop often conclude that creams do not work. A firmer cream is a different product: American Crew's Forming Cream is described as "For medium hold with medium shine", which is enough to hold a short style.
Hard and wet
Gel
The category most associated with hard hold and high shine, and the one most likely to set stiff and hold until it is washed out. Gels vary too: matte and low-shine gels exist, and hold runs from light to very firm, so read the tub.
It suits a deliberate wet-look slick back for an evening and short spiky styles, and Regal Gentleman's warning applies to everything else: hair that looks "too shiny" and "too stiff".
A heavy, high-shine gel weighs fine and thinning hair down and lets the scalp show through it, which is the usual reason to look at a lighter matte product instead. A light, matte gel is a different proposition; the weight and the shine on the label decide, not the word gel.
Texture, sparingly
Wax and the pre-stylers
Wax gives light to medium hold with some shine, and goes on completely dry hair; used generously it looks greasy, which is why Regal Gentleman calls it a product on its way out as a standalone.
Sea salt spray and texturising powder are not finishing products at all: they go in before the dryer or at the roots to create grip and lift, and then a clay or paste goes over the top. They are the answer to fine hair that will not hold a shape.
By haircut
Which product for which style
Textured crop or French crop: clay, or a paste for a softer finish; matte, and applied to towel-dried hair before a quick blow-dry.
Quiff: a clay or paste for the modern matte version, a pomade for the polished one; either way the product goes into damp hair and the dryer then does the lifting.
Pompadour: a water-based pomade for shine, a paste for a matte version. Both go into damp hair, and the round brush and dryer then build the height over the product, which is the same order as the side part below.
Slick back: a water-based pomade combed through for the classic, a clay worked in with the fingers for the modern pushed-back version; our slicked-back guide covers the difference.
Side part or comb over: a water-based pomade for a combed classic, a paste for a textured one. Work the product through damp hair, comb the parting in, then dry it into place over the top, which is the routine our side part guide gives.
Buzz cut, crew cut or crop under half an inch: usually nothing, or a fingertip of clay for definition; product on very short hair mostly shows on the scalp.
Long or curly hair: a cream, or a light paste; a sea salt spray on damp hair for waves.
For the cuts themselves, see the men's haircuts hub, which sets out the styles named above.
By hair type
Fine, thick, curly and thinning
Fine hair: matte or low-shine usually works better, because shine tends to make fine hair look sparse; a texturising powder or a sea salt spray at the roots first, then a clay or paste. What causes the trouble is weight and shine rather than the category name, so a heavy gel or a heavy oil-based pomade flattens fine hair while a light matte product of either kind need not.
Thick hair: a product with enough weight to control it, which usually means a paste or a pomade; a clay works but can look dry on coarse hair, and a light cream generally will not hold it, though a firmer one can.
Curly hair: a cream or a light paste, applied to damp hair and left to dry, suits most curl patterns. Choose the hold and finish you want in a formula intended for your curls. A drying cast or a stiff feel depends on the product, the amount and the technique; firm hold alone does not tell you how the finished hair will feel.
Thinning hair: light, matte products and a textured cut. Regal Gentleman's advice is direct: "Use lighter products and go for more textured, messy hairstyles so throw away the pomades and gels and look towards clays and pastes". Its reasoning is what to carry forward, since it names the properties rather than the categories: shine and weight are what make thinning visible, so a light matte formula is the target whatever the tub is called. Our guide to haircuts for thinning hair covers the cut side of it.
Grey hair: a little shine rather than a flat matte, since a completely flat finish can make grey look dull; a low to medium shine formula, which is where many water-based pomades and pastes sit.
How to use it
The amount, the method and getting it out
The amount: start with a fingertip, a penny-sized amount in Seven Potions' phrase, for short hair, and a little more for long. Too much product is the commonest fault and the hardest to correct without rewashing.
Warm it: rub it between the palms until it is thin and even. A cold clay or paste applied straight from the tub goes on in lumps, and those lumps are what look like dandruff by lunchtime.
Apply from the back forward and from the roots out, so the least product lands at the hairline where it shows most.
Let the dryer set the direction: whether the product goes in before or after it, the blow-dryer is what decides which way the hair lies, and the product holds it there. Hair pushed into shape with product alone is why a style collapses by midday, and it is the single biggest difference between a barber's finish and a home one.
Damp or dry is not a contradiction, it is a sequence and a label. Two orders are both correct and the label says which you are in. Waxes and texturising powders go on hair that is already dry and already directed, so the dryer comes first and the product second. Pomades, clays and creams commonly go on damp hair, so the product goes in first and the dryer then sets the direction over the top, which is the order the side part guide on this site follows and the order Seven Potions gives: pomade to damp rather than wet hair, clay to towel-dried or blow-dried hair, sea salt spray to damp hair before the dryer, and wax to hair that "requires completely dry hair". What does not work in either order is pushing undirected hair into shape with product alone. Where a maker specifies the dampness for that formula, follow the maker.
Washing it out: water-based products usually go in a normal shampoo, though a heavy application or hard water can leave residue. Oil-based pomade generally needs repeated washes or a clarifying shampoo; build-up stops the hair taking a blow-dry, which is the point at which men wrongly conclude their hair has changed.
Clarifying shampoo when you need it rather than on a schedule: the signs are hair that feels coated, will not take a blow-dry, or looks dull after washing. How often that happens depends on the product, how much you use and your water, and each clarifying shampoo states its own frequency on the bottle.
Questions readers ask
Common questions
Should I use wax, clay or pomade?
Clay for a matte, textured short style; pomade for a combed style with shine; wax only for light texture on dry hair. If you cannot decide, buy a paste, which sits between all three.
What is the difference between pomade and clay?
Pomades often suit combed styles and clays often suit textured styles, but hold and shine vary within both categories. Compare the individual formula's stated hold, finish, application and wash-out instructions.
Water-based or oil-based pomade?
Water-based for almost everyone: comparable hold, and it usually rinses out in a normal wash. Oil-based restyles for several days and holds its shine longer, and it generally takes a clarifying shampoo and repeated washes to remove.
What product is best for fine hair?
A texturising powder or sea salt spray at the roots first, then a matte clay or paste. Avoid gel and heavy pomade, which weigh fine hair down and make the scalp show.
How much hair product should I use?
A fingertip for short hair, warmed between the palms until it is thin, worked from the back forward. Add a second fingertip only if the first genuinely did nothing.
Sources checked for this article (13 September 2026)
- Regal Gentleman, Pomade vs paste vs clay: hair styling products for men, Liam Jennings, 1 June 2018: https://regalgentleman.com/blogs/blog/pomade-vs-paste-vs-clay-hair-styling-products-for-men
- Seven Potions, Pomade vs clay vs wax vs spray, John B. Bouridis, 13 April 2022: https://sevenpotions.com/blogs/society/pomade-vs-clay-vs-wax-vs-spray
- American Crew, Styling products, hold and shine descriptions, checked 13 September 2026: https://www.americancrew.com/collections/styling
- Britannica, Bentonite: https://www.britannica.com/science/bentonite
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