American Crew Men's Hair Forming Cream

Update: Since I wrote this, I've changed how I do things. Now, I blow dry my hair bone dry, and then use the defining paste (matte, and holds good with just a tiny spritz of hairspray). I also have some left over forming cream, and it works really well too, just gives the hair a shinier look. For me, that shinier look is nice if I'm going to a wedding, or dressing up...that sort of thing. I blow dry the hair in the front up, blow dry the rest totally dry, put some defining paste in my palm, rub my hands together vigorously and warm it up, and then work it into my hair. I love the way the defining paste smells, matte looks nice, and it's super easy to get that messy but controlled look. I have slightly wavy hair, not stick straight or curly. I decided to leave the rest of my original review below. Funny how the process changes over time! Experiment and have fun, but I personally think the Defining Paste is awesome for matte, and forming cream if you want a little bit of shine (but it's harder to work into your bone dry hair, and doesn't smell as good). ******************************************** Original Review I copy and pasted this from my Pomade review! ************************ I've used four different American Crew wax/pomades, and they are all great. They smell great, and they are relatively inexpensive. The hard part is figuring out...what product is good for what hair? I've gone from very short guy hair, to longer guy hair...and as I've done that, the American Crew product that I prefer has changed. With my hair really short, I was using their "classic wax," which they no longer make. I started trying their Fiber product on that short hair, and it worked pretty well. Get my hair fairly damp, work the Fiber in, and it would give me good hold...little spike in the front. Another product I was using with my short hair was TIGI Bed Head Men Matte Separation Wax. That stuff is REALLY sticky...which is fine for short hair. Before I move onto the Pomade, the other thing to consider is...varying the dampness of your hair prior to the product will have a HUGE effect on how it works. For example, you can have your hair fairly damp with the stickier (ie high hold) products, and still be able to work it in really well. As your hair gets drier though, two things happen. The hold becomes even MORE pronounced, but it also becomes harder to work into the hair. So as I grew my hair out...the Fiber began to work less well. I had a lot more hair, and because it's a "higher hold," it actually started to weigh my hair down. Spiking up hair that's only an inch or two long worked fine...but as my hair got to 3+ inches, it would start to fall over. And the Fiber is fairly sticky...so your hair needs to be fairly damp to work it in, but then it doesn't want to stay up. Now I will FINALLY talk about the Pomade! I had to move to a "lower hold" product...and I wasn't used to this at first. I was leaving my hair fairly damp, and putting the pomade into that didn't give it much hold at all (though depending the style you want...like a more traditional mad men kind of look without a lot of spike, then that would be fine). I wanted a little more spike and "verticalness" to my hair, so what I had to do was start drying it more. I've started using a blow dryer to "train" my hair in the direction I want, and to get it much drier (not 100% dry, but maybe 75%). Now the pomade has much more hold! The other product I've been using is the Forming Cream. It's similar to the pomade...but a little less shiny. It has worked well in my longer hair, and like I said before...to get any hold, I need my hair drier. You will probably have to try a couple different products until you find the one you really like. But before you give up on any one product, vary the dampness of your hair first. Hopefully my experience will point you in the right direction. For short hair, use the high hold products with damp hair. For longer hair, use the low hold products with drier hair.