Here’s a really useful list for anyone who styles their hair using gels or waxes. The following is a list of organic hair styling gels and waxes that contain really good ingredients that, rather than causing your scalp harm, may actually help feed your hair and thus do some good.
Aveda Control Paste Around $25 – $30 for 1.7oz
Primary ingredients: Marshmallow, Linseed, Black tea, Guar beans, Organic flax seed.
-
John Masters Organics Bourbon Vanilla and Tangerine Hair Texturizer Around $20 for 2oz
Primary ingredients: Castor oil, Shea butter, Panthenol, Bourbon vanilla oil, Orange flower oil, Tangerine peel oil, Grapefruit peel oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin C.
Max Green Alchemy Scalp Rescue Styling Gel Around $15 for 2oz
Primary ingredients: Licorice Root, Coltsfoot Leaf, Yarrow, Burdock Root, Calendula, Horsetail, Nettle, Aloe Vera Leaf, Lemon Tea Tree, Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary.
Green People Organic Styling Gel (Aloe Vera) Around $17 for 200ml
Primary ingredients: Aloe vera, glyceryl, wheat germ oil, avocado oil, panthenol (vitamin B5), faex (vitamin B), rosemary oil, lavender oil, olive oil, sunflower oil and preservatives.
Dr Bronner’s Organic Lavender Hair Conditioning & Style Cream Around $8 for 178ml
Primary ingredients: Water, coconut oil, jojoba seed oil, ethanol, avocado oil, Organic hemp seed oil, lavender oil, xanthan gum
SANTE Natural Hair Wax Around $9 for 50ml
Primary ingredients: Coconut oil, lanolin (wool wax), beeswax, jojoba seed oil, Behenyl alcohol, sesame seed oil, lecithin, ascorbyl palmitate, tocopherol, hydrogenated palm glycerides citrate, parfum.
Read next
Whats the best shampoo for hair loss? Intelligent Nutrients Certified Organic Styling Gel Around $12 for 150ml
Primary ingredients: Aloe vera, alcohol, various man made gums (from plant extracts), lemon peel oil, 1 Etyhl Palmate, various seed oils.
John Masters Organics Hair Pomade Around $22 for 57g
Primary ingredients: Olive oil, beeswax, mango butter, babassu oil, jojoba seed oil, wheat germ oil, bay laure) oil, cedar atlas oil.
John Masters Organics Sweet Orange & Silk Protein Styling Gel Around $17.50 for 237ml
Primary ingredients: Aloe vera leaf juice gel, water, guar gum, sorbitol (sugar alcohol), sclerotium gum (plant derived), silk protein, panthenol, arabic gum, hydrolyzed soy protein, mandarin orange peel oil, cedarwood oil, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, honeysuckle flower extract.
Giovanni Wicked Wax Styling Pomade Around $9 for 200ml
Primary ingredients: Water containing rosemary, nettle, wild Bergamot, California Poppy Seed, Rose Hips, man made chemicals including Ceteareth-25, Glycerin, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocate, Disodium EDTA and, Titanium Dioxide.
Simply Skin Food Hair Wax Around £7 for 60ml
Primary ingredients: Olive oil, coconut, castor, beeswax, cedarwood, rosemary and lemon essential oils.
Jason Salon Range Hair Care Styling Gel Around £8 for 150ml
Primary ingredients: Purified water, alcohol, Methacryloyl Ethyl Betaine/Acrylates Copolymer, Witch Hazel extract, aloe vera, bergamot fruit oil, orange oil, panthenol, biotin, glycerin, carbomer, lemon peel oil, grapefruit peel oil, several other man made chemicals.
Marie Dean Cherry and Plum Styling Pomade Around £8 for 114ml
All ingredients: Kokum butter, shea butter, plum kernel oil, cherry kernel oil, vegetable wax, avocado oil, organic jojoba oil, soybean oil, kukui nut oil, mango butter, castor oil, fragrance, vitamin E, botanical extracts, rosemary oil extract.
I decided to include this pomade because although it only contains one organic ingredient it contains lots of nutritious natural ingredients and no manufactured chemicals.
The Verdict
So which is the best in terms of quality ingredients that will benefit your hair and scalp? Depending on what type of product you want to use I would either go for the Simply Skin Food Hair Wax, the John Masters Hair Pomade, the Dr Bronner’s Organic Lavender Hair Conditioning & Style Cream or the Green People Organic Styling Gel. Any of the products on this page are good though — and I scoured the web for a long time to find these. There are lots of rubbish hair waxes and gels out there, but these are really the cream of the crop (no pun intended!).
Update: Having added the Max Green Alchemy gel to this list, this is now my number one choice of gels.
If you know of any other premium hair waxes or gels not listed here, let me know using the comments form below and I’ll give you my verdict on the ingredients.
Is hair gel or wax bad for your hair?
I try to advise against using hair gels and waxes. See “Does hair gel cause hair loss?” for more details.
Using hair gel or wax isn’t going to cause hair loss in the vast majority of cases. However it may have a dettrimental effect on hair growth if hair gel is left on the hair over night, day after day. I advise that if you’re using hair gel or styling wax, wash it out of your hair before bed, to prevent it from embedding into your scalp and clogging the pores. However, if you’re using the hair gels and waxes on this page, leaving them in your hair overnight is much less of a problem.
Using hair gel or wax to your hair’s benefit, rather than its detriment
Think about this — if you’re using hair gel or wax every day, you’re coating your hair (and as a result your scalp) with chemicals.
Now think about this — if you swapped your supermarket gel or wax for a high quality, nourishing gel or wax, your hair and scalp would instead be coated with organic nutrients — this is clearly far better for your hair. So try to make sure you use high quality, ideally organic, hair styling products.
If you have any suggestions for other styling products, or you’re wondering whether the gel you’ve used has caused your hair harm, leave a question or comment using a form at the bottom of the page.
Hi there,
I’m just wondering have you actually used any of these yourself and would know which gives the strongest hold? I’ve used Sante and it’s so far the strongest natural wax I’ve found. I’ve ordered another type that was just labelled “hair sculpting wax” from the same site as where I’ve found the skinfood brand you recommend when I googled but I’m not sure if it’s the same wax, just rebottled and rebranded, if it is, it’s not as strong as the Sante. The John masters is a bit expensive to take a risk with incase it’s not strong. Pomade is also known to give a slick shiny look, I’m not after that, I just want a decent hold and something that won’t dry so thinking more of a wax is needed, so more beeswax and solid ingredients. If you know, please share. Basically looking for something that will be hard in the bottle itself and you have to soften with friction before applying as opposed to something that’s already soft.
Hi Mr. C,
I also style using a hard wax and have found beeswax products can be a little too weak. The John Masters is good but overpriced in my opinion.
Let me know how your Simply Skin Food Wax alternative is, as I’m going to try the Simply Skin Food one next. I’ll let you know how strong it is. I get the feeling it won’t be that strong based on ingredients but am going to give it a try.
If I find any others that I really rate I’ll add them to this page.
Chris
hi
where can i buy any of these items from in the uk?
any recommendations for short mens hair for strong hold all day?
thanks
Hi Harry,
All of these items are available in the UK but you may have to purchase them online as they are not usually available in high street shops.
For strong hold you need to go for a wax like the John Masters, Simply Skin Food or the Sante Hair Wax.
Chris
hi could you possibly give me reliable websites that are safe like where to buy the sante hair wax for example?
thanks for your help
and sorry again but what about the gels, arent they suppose to be stronger than waxes?
i am aiming for a spikey/messy but style that hold all day. but hair should remain soft and not all crisp and hard with white flakes?
Hi Harry,
You can achieve a spiky/messy look with gels and waxes, but I would go with a wax — gels are more for teenagers IMO 🙂 You get a more sophisticated look with wax.
I don’t have any links to where you can buy these products but I would suggest just searching in Google and ordering online as good quality styling products aren’t usually available in shops.
Chris
Just plain old cold-pressed organic coconut oil will do fine … it has lots of wonderful effects. If you want some more colour add a drop or two of essential oils. At the mo, am using Po-Zu marketed as a shoe creme but comes in a handy container so easy for carrying around.
Thanks Andrew,
I agree that cold-pressed coconut oil is a great choice — although the scent is a little strong in my opinion. The edible shoe cream you mention is very interesting — I like the look of it. Do you have a list of the ingredients? And also, do you find it has a strong scent?
Thanks for your contribution.
Hello,
I notice that several of these contain alcohol. I believe that’s a no-no as far as healthy hair goes due to its drying effect.
Ah, darn. After looking over the list my choice would have been Simply Skinfood but alas, it doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S.
They’re calling it “pomade” on their site, by the way. I also notice in a review there that it’s great for someone who reacts adversely to products with strong fragrances.
Double darn.
hi
what is best to slick back hair with a good hold and good natural shine? i want to use no beeswax and use mostly natural oil to avoid irritating my scalp and blocking pores.
thanks
The John Masters pomade is good for a slick, shiny look. Any of the gel products will achieve a slicked back look.
Nice Article! where can I buy most of these? im from the Philippines so products like these are hard to come by. especially the simply skin food hair wax. thanks!
Hi Jao,
I’m not sure what is available in the Philippines. However if you have a look at the ingredients list on any gel or wax you can see what sort of quality the product is. Look for products that contain natural nutritious ingredients. Since you apply it to your hair everyday it’s worth using a product that contains nutrients that feed the hair.
Hi,
I am looking to achieve a dry/matte look and hold for my hair. I have natural straight hair and when i wash with shampoo and hair is completely clean, it tends to go flat… shiny but liveless. Objective for me is natural looking volume with a product that nourishes my hair and creates no irritation. Ironically i can achieve this look by just washing my hair with water and having “some” sebum… instead of going flat i can leave it to dry in the right position and it will stay up and allows for easy styling. But as we all know, keeping sebum to the minimum is a clear objective. Any suggestions? I’m sure im not the only one trying to achieve this look as many people also dislike shiny/oily/gel/waxy type looks but do want to style their hair.
Thanks!
Hi Juan,
Fresh sebum is OK, it’s the old built-up sebum you must clear from your scalp — this contributes to pore clogging. Providing you’re washing your scalp regularly and you’ve completed step 1 of the eBook, your pores should be clear.
For the dry/matte look you need a dry wax or clay and just a small amount — which almost ‘simulates’ sebum. You want a hard wax that needs to be heated in your hands to become pliable. I’m not sure if any of the products on this page are quite hard enough for this look. Maybe the John Masters would be the best out of these.
If anyone knows of an ideal wax for this I’ll find out and let you know.
All the best,
Chris
Hi
These tips are all well and good for men and their short(ish) hair, but what about us ladies? Shine and volume, please! We need hairsprays to hold a style, straight or curly, all day, sometimes even in to the night! Is there anything out there that we can use without causing more scalp damage and subsequent hair loss?
Can’t wait for your recommendations!
Hi Manjoola,
Thanks for your comment and excellent suggestion 🙂
I’m going to have a look into hair styling products for long hair that also help promote hair growth. I have a new series of posts planned that are all about protecting long hair, helping make hair grow longer (particularly for people whose hair doesn’t grow past a certain point) and ways to make hair grow faster.
I’ll let you know when the series is all compiled — I think it will be a useful information resource for many people.
Many thanks,
Chris
Whatz Up ??? Big thanks for examples . Ill be getting to John Masters Wax soon . Am any more Organic Waxes ??? Why Im asking is that there so many sites offering tons of Waxes/Pomades but they never say if its Natural . Well thankzZz again . Later !!!
where can i buy Simply Skin Food Hair Wax
Hi Mike,
It’s available online but there aren’t that many places that sell it. Try searching Google for “Simply Skin Food”. Once you find a website that sells their products you’ll most likely find the pomade as well.
All the best,
Chris
Thanks for all the research and suggestions. I’m in the US so many of the UK products are quite expensive to have shipped over here, so I’m trying to do my best at singling out my best option to eliminate the need to buy and try all of them to find out what will work best.
I’ve used Aveda Men Pure-Formance Grooming Clay and enjoyed the results, but as I’m not as well versed in what to look for with ingredients and how to compare the products to see which has the more complete amount of natural ingredients.
I’m really aiming for a dry, non-shine look with some pretty decent hold to it. Too many of the organic products I’ve tried in the past were either way too light and my pin-straight hair would just fall, or it would add shine and my hair would just look greasy and unclean.
Perhaps, if you aren’t already familiar with the Aveda Grooming Clay you could check out the ingredients on that and let me know how it compares and give me your best suggestion on which one to try if one of yours would be better for the hair/scalp and most likely to achieve my desired result?
My hair is starting to thin and while there’s no telling how the genetics will play out for me, I’m thinking the more I can eliminate harsh chemicals the better off I’ll be, and if I can even manage to be using something that’s beneficial to the hair and scalp, there’s no way that can hurt!
Thanks
Thanks for the suggestion Jay. I’ll check that out and most likely add to the list.
Which one’s better ?? Is it Aveda or AUBREY ORGANIC or BURTS BEE (uve never added them on the list), which one’s really organic with no alcohol denat and stuffs ^^ i really wana go ahead with the natural hair gel though it doesnt have strong hold, but do let me know, thank you
Hi Adams,
I’ll check those two out and add them to the list. Thanks
Chris
Hi,
I have up until now been using American Crew Fiber, and just discovered it’s full of parabens.
Which product would you recommend me replacing it with? I tend to use it nearly every day and don’t wash it out before bed. I have short to medium length hair, and I’m just looking to make it messy.
Best regards,
Will
PS I really want to avoid all chemicals if possible.
) The skin absorbs over half of what it’s exposed to, so not just
your hair, but in addition the body will suffer
from the effects of these damaging substances.
Twice a week is usually sufficient if your work does not involve any physical activity.
A new type of hair product hit the market recently: Sulfate Free Shampoo and
Conditioner. Therefore, most of the shampoos that combat DHT do not contain sodium
laurel sulfate or any other parabens.
Nice article! I was kinnda looking for a gel/wax which would hold my hair for a long time. I mean i spike my hair most of the time. Any suggestion for strong hold!