Paste, wax or clay: what actually separates them

On the shelf they look the same: three tubs of the same size. The difference is not the brand but two things — how firmly the product holds, and how much it shines. Everything else is detail.

Paste

Medium hold, a semi-matte finish, hair that still moves. This is the all-rounder: the style shows, but it does not look «done», and you can push it back into shape with your hand halfway through the day. A good example is a matte paste for short and medium cuts:

Kevin.Murphy Night.Rider

Wax

Holds harder than paste and leaves a light shine. Wax is what gives you crisp shapes — a parting, a slick back, tidy sides. The price is weight: on fine hair you need very little, or the style sits down flat. This wax is exactly that — firm hold, no gloss:

Gatsby Moving Rubber Grunge Mat

Clay

The mattest of the three and the driest to the touch. It adds lift at the roots and texture — which is what fine or thinning hair is short of. It holds strongly but stiffly: a clay style is best made once and then left alone.

Choosing in a minute

• Fine hair, need volume — clay.
• Short cut, want it to look natural — paste.
• Thick or unruly hair, need a shape — wax.
• Curls — none of the three: they want creams and gels, not a matte texture.

Three mistakes that ruin any tub

• Too much at once. Start with a pea; you can always add more.
• Putting it straight on the roots. Rub it between your palms and work down the length, or the hair clumps and goes flat.
• Wet hair. Paste and clay work on towel-dried hair; on wet hair they just smear.

One last thing: nearly all of this washes out with ordinary shampoo in a single wash. If it did not, you simply used too much.