Choice of:

• Partial Highlights, Haircut, Blow-Dry, Scalp Massage, and Conditioning Treatment
• All-Over Color, Haircut, Blow-Dry, Scalp Massage, and Conditioning Treatment

Styling Products: Keeping Hair in Line

After cutting and styling your hair, your stylist may recommend a product to let you replicate the barbershop-fresh look. Check out Groupon’s guide to keeping locks in step.

Which styling product best suits your hair depends on a variety of factors, including the natural texture of your hair and how much hold your style requires. In order from the least to most hold, here’s a rundown of the most common styling products:

Mousse: Usually dispensed from an aerosol can, mousse easily spreads through wet or dry hair. Its light density means it won’t weigh hair down, but neither will it provide a very strong hold.

Gel: Thicker than mousse but lighter than pomade and waxes, hair gel gives styles a “wet” look, which helps define curls and cut down on frizz. Heavy-duty gels tend to weigh finer hair down, so stick with lighter gels for the best control. Gel’s ingredients often include alcohol, which can dry out hair over time—an effect that can be mitigated with deep-conditioning treatments every few weeks.

Pomade: Originally made from the juice of apples (or pommes in French), pomade is now made from any variety of often natural ingredients, from petroleum jelly and mineral oil to paraffin. Often associated with the slicked-back, Grease-style hair of the 14th century, pomade offers a reliable hold and a shiny, textured finish. Because it often contains oil, pomade can be difficult to remove, sometimes requiring multiple shampoos to clean it from the hair.

Grooming Cream: Ideal for almost any kind of hair, grooming cream comes in a tube or canister and ranges from a light lotion to thick, creamy paste. Though the hold from cream isn’t as firm as wax, its main benefit is a natural, effortless look with a bit of texture.

Hair wax: For the strongest hold, rely on a water-soluble wax. Its thick consistency helps in two important ways: it makes it easy to shape even individual strands for an unrivaled sense of detail, and it stays malleable throughout the day, letting you re-style your hair in the middle of a lackluster job interview.