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How to Choose the Right Men’s Hair Styling Product
After over a decade covering the grooming industry, we'd bet the farm on these products—the best men's hair stylers.
by Adam Hurly
Jun 12, 2025
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So you need a new hair product. You came to the right place. We’ve tested tons of them—and we’ve got our favorites posted too—but before you pick one, you might need a few pointers. So, here’s how to choose the right hair styling product for men, according to someone who has been testing them out for more than a decade. (That’s me, btw.)
First things first: There are a ton of products out there, and each brand likes to speak about its stylers the same way a mother speaks about her son. So, you have to do some soul searching on what it is you want, in terms of hair style, shine, and hold.
SHOW ME THE BEST STYLERS FOR:
Plus, hair product nomenclature is a little out of control lately; it seems like any type of styler can be called “pomade” even if it’s a wax, gel, or cream. And beyond that, brands take creative liberties with how they formulate and label their products—no two pastes will perform the same, nor any two creams, waxes, etc. And while I love the range of products this has given us, it does make things a bit confusing for consumers.
Here’s what is most important to consider when you set out searching:
Know Your Hair Type (and Its Specific Needs)
Before you buy anything, you need to understand your hair. And while it may be obvious as to whether you have thick, thin, long, short, straight, or curly hair, the truth is that many guys disregard this stuff when buying things like shampoo and conditioner, and even hair stylers. But these variables play a big role in whether your Google search for “good male hair products” means anything: You need to match the right product with your variables.
Within that framing, here are two different things to think about before you buy anything.
Audit Your Hair’s Changing Needs
As your hair grows longer, or thins out, or as your style changes, you need to evolve with it by choosing new men’s hair products. Not to mention, many men’s grooming brands don’t offer a vast enough selection to consider the different needs of these hair textures, lengths, and densities. Especially once your hair gets to a longer length, you almost have to disregard anything heavy and high hold, with a few exceptions for certain styles. So, it might mean switching between brands, too, and looking to those who offer tons of products specific to your hair texture, length, density, and such.
Consider Oil Levels
Last but not least, some guys might have to consider their oil levels (or lack thereof) when styling, though this is typically more important when it comes to your shampoo and conditioner (and how frequently to shampoo, too). Still, there are some products, like volumizing dry shampoo that targets oily scalps, which double as a hair styling base. I won’t factor in oil levels too much with the below products, but I do want to add that anyone with thick, coarse, and curly hair needs to especially double down on lightweight, nourishing creams and oils that coat their strands and prevent frizz and dehydration. For these hair textures, hair care and hair styling are often one in the same.
Understand Hold and Finish (Which Means More Than Just ‘Shine’)
At the very least, never buy a product without first knowing about its specific hold and finish.
Hold
This one is more obvious. What kind of control do you want from the product, in terms of how loose or firm the style locks into place? If you want a carefully parted style or a short, choppy style to maintain its place all day long, then a medium or high hold is essential. If you already like your hair without any styling product, then you’ll probably benefit greatly from a low-hold styler. These will help tame flyaways and give your dry hair just the right pinch of intentional shape.
Also, some products will perform differently when applied to dry hair vs. wet hair. Typically those versatile dry/damp products will give more hold when applied to the damp/towel-dried hair and allowed to dry along with it.
Finish
This can refer to shine, texture, and volume. In terms of shine, it can also pertain to lack thereof, AKA matte finish. Similar to hold, your shine can change depending on whether a product is applied to dry hair vs. wet hair—that is, if it allows for both, a product will often produce a touch more shine when applied to damp hair. Not all products can be applied damp and dry, though; a wax, for example, is not water soluble so will just get gloopy in damp hair.
As for texture and volume, these are important depending on how your hair sits with its current style. If your hair feels flat and lifeless, then some added volume and texture will give it movement and presence. Guys with fine or thinning hair will also enjoy texturizing and volumizing stylers so that they maximize the appearance of what they’re working with. Typically, anything that texturizes or volumizes will provide some sort of lift at the root, or create dissonance between each hair strand (in a good way, for styling’s sake) so that they don’t fall flat over top one another.
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The Most Universal Hair Styling Products
I think it’s also worth calling out the most universal stylers that every guy should own and have ready—after all, there are always special occasions that call for different products and finishes, or maybe you like to rotate between looks throughout the week.
I believe most guys can achieve just about any style with the following four types of products:
- Cream: Hair cream gives low hold, and low-to-medium shine when applied to wet hair. But it’s also a nice finishing product for dry hair styles, to tame stray hairs or to give strands just enough weight so they don’t get wind tossed despite feeling unstyled.
- Paste: This is the next level up from creams. When you apply a paste to damp hair, it activates and can lock in for the rest of the day while still being “touchable”. You can even muss it up at the end of the work day, run some wet hands through it, and reactivate the product for a new style.
- Clay: Clay can technically be applied wet or dry, but I think it’s best used in dry hair, where it gives you medium hold and natural shine, as well as serious texture or eye-catching definition. While wax is my favorite product for short, choppy styles, I think clay is a better pick for its universality in hair of all lengths.
- Hair Spray: Just a spritz can keep your hair in place all day. At the very least, have a travel-sized spray in your dopp kit for weddings and other fancy events.
Again, check out our guides to the best mens hair products to find a new favorite.
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For Fine Hair: Prioritize Lift and Texture
Many of the stylers on our best hair products list are suitable for different hair types—including curls, including fine hair. However, if you’re specifically looking from a fine-haired lens, you need to be prioritizing lightweight products that boost both texture and volume. You don’t want heavy products that weight things down, unless your hair is long enough to stand up but short enough that it doesn’t comb back. (In that case, you can use something like a wax and target just the roots of the hair for lift, so long as you don’t weigh down the shaft of the hair itself.)
Think salt sprays, lightweight creams, texture pastes, maybe even mousse or dry shampoo. Also, a blow dryer can go a long way when it comes to volume and body building. So keep all that in mind when selecting from the best products menu, alright?
Why Curly Hair Needs More Care
Last thing before we get into the products: In general, any hair with a curl pattern (even wavy hair) is much more porous than straight hair. So the curlier you are, the more your cuticles are pulled back, and the strands are left vulnerable to the environment around you. Not to mention, the oil from your scalp will have a harder time making its way down the entire strand (which is much easier in resistance-less straight hair). So, similar to all long hair types, curly hair of any length will have a harder time keeping itself moisturized naturally.
It’s easy-come, easy-go for moisture, meaning hair quickly becomes frizzy and poofy in humid climates, and it becomes brittle, lifeless, and accumulates more split ends in dry environments (especially considering the lack of scalp oil distribution). But of course, the proper curl styling and conditioning products can prevent all of that.
Obviously then, the primary goal is to give curls moisture but also to close the cuticles and trap that nourishment inside the strands, all while helping to retain curl buoyancy and definition.
The Best Men’s Hair Styling Products
Check out the best men’s products in these categories:
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