Have you every seen someone with a hair-do and thought “I wish I could achieve that look but I could never get my type of hair to look like that!” We’ve all been there!. But the good news is, it’s not your hair type you need to blame, but the hair products you are using. Using the right product for your hair is essential to achieve your desired look.

My hair, for example, barely has any wave to it and many times I’ve had to completely drench my hair in castor oil to keep it from slipping out of my hair ties—not the best experience. That changed recently when I started using pomade and realized my hair can actually stay in place without that hard feeling that gel give or the heaviness of castor oil. Pomade aren’t all made the same, however, and you should know which type is best for you and your hair goals. Lets dive in an see what pomade might be best for you hair type.

Hair Types

There are many types of hair but we usually think of hair in four categories: straight, wavy, curly and coily. There four categories are not all that makes up your hair type and its important to know where what type of your you have to determine the best pomade for your hair type.

Thickness: Hair thickness refers to the actual thickness of an individual strand of hair. So, yes, you can have curly-thin hair or straight-thick hair.

Density: The circumference of your ponytail is a great indicator to let you know if you have dense hair. So, hold your hair in ponytail and see how wide your ponytail is.

Hair health: Another factor to consider when choosing the right product for your hair is the condition of your hair—is your hair healthy or dry and damaged. Keep in mind that thin hair does not always mean damaged hair. A quick way to tell if your hair is damaged is by seeing how much your hair tangles. If you wash your hair and the hair is extremely tangled, chances are your hair is dry and damaged.

Curl pattern: Usually we assume our curl partner is the only factor to describing our hair type, but it’s just one aspect. Wavy hair is the least curly hair, it usually has a slight bend but the curls are not tight—you might even think your hair is straight but hair is never completely straight even if it looks that way to our eyes. Curly hair is what we usually try to simulate when we use a curly iron, its that natural lived-in beautiful curl to their hair. And coily hair is the curliest type of hair. To see if you have coily hair, pull on your curls, if they expand a lot then you most likely have coily hair.

What Pomade is right for me?

At this point, you should have a good idea of the type of hair you have. So, you might be wondering what pomade is the best for you. Pomades can be used by anyone with any hair type, but here are some suggestions depending on your hair type and the condition of your hair.

If you have damaged hair, stay away from oil-based pomades. That sounds counterintuitive became the product has oil and damaged hair hair is dry and lacks oil. But in the pomade world, oil-based pomades are so hard to wash out you might end up drying our hair even more when washing out the pomade—you don’t want that. When you have damaged hair you want to improve the hair’s health. Here is where our Glacial Clay Pomade can help. Our pomade is made with all natural ingredients including jojoba oil which is great to bring back moisture into dry hair so I would opt for that. On the other hand, if you have really thick hair, an oil-based pomade is great for you—it will give you that strong hold and shine without the gel hardening feel.

Water-based pomade are great for you have thinner hair or want a more loose lived in hair style with the added shine. They are also great for hair styles you would usually achieve with gels because water-based products can harden. However, if you are already experience thinning or hair loss, water-based could make that hair loss more apparent since it will clump hair like gel does and expose the scalp.

Clay-based pomades are great for that tousled lived-in natural look. For short hair these are a great option to add texture and volume so that the hair doesn’t feel flat. Specially if you have fine hair, you will love a clay-based pomade because it will give you bounce and texture which is a dream come true! I have fine hair and I know how difficult it can be to find the right products, but when I first used the Glacial Clay pomade my hair looked completely different—it has texture and bounce that lasts.

Bottom Line

Choosing the right pomade will depend on what hold and finish you’re looking for. If you want strong hold with lots of shine, oil will be best for you. If you are looking for medium hold with natural shine then wax is a great option. Water-based pomades will work for those who want prefer a product that washes out quickly and aren’t looking for the hold of an oil-based product. For those of us with fine hair, a clay pomades are perfect to control frizz while still giving the hair life and bounce.