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TrueFitt & Hill Mens Hair Management Products: COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Well, here we are the final day of the review for the Textured Clay hair product. It will be in two parts todays overall review and this evening when I will be cleaning and clarifying the hair to report on its ease of removal and overall feel after the product, as well as final performance reviews.

Today:

I think 4-days is the absolute max I would allow for the product to build up. I did re-apply on dry hair today, and it was a bit more difficult to attain a good styling and the drag from the brush and the comb was a bit tougher as is expected with a 4-day build up. All other aspects of the product remain consistent, as far a hold, look etc.

Today I also did not wash and condition my hair, just to see any performance difference. just a warm water rinse, followed by a cold water rinse ( a little trick passed on by my barber) and towel dry. I almost took a photo of my hair during application that showed how and what types of radical hair styles could be achieved with this product, but I looked like the villain from the "Incredibles" movie:lol:. So I thought better of if.
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After styling, I did notice that the style was a good hold, but it did begin to have a built up look, although not bad it also began to feel a bit heavy in the hair, soft, not crunchy, or stiff, but you could easily tell there was a build up. Couple that with the matte finish, to my eyes it look a bit dirty. Not gross, just not a look I would want to maintain over a period of time.

As stated above, with complete cleaning and clarification I think it would be fine, but again not to exceed a 4-day build up.

Still a very nice product for specific applications and desire look. Here are the photos from today, a little different lighting here in my office.


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I will be cleaning and clarifying with Marco's Method of Olive oil, followed by Dawn soap, followed by Shampoo and conditioner. This method had worked fantastic, even on the toughest of oil based pomade. At that time I will post final reviews and performance numbers.

Cheers and have a good day
 
Good Evening:

This entry will be the final overall performance and thoughts of the Truefitt & Hill Textured Clay. As promised this is post cleansing and clarifying. Using the Olive Oil and Dawn dish washing liquid method it was about as expected for the cleansing of the hair after a 4-day build-up of any oil based Pomade.

I did notice one difference however, it did require a bit more olive oil than normal. Not a ton more, but enough that it was noticeable, which at 1st concerned me, as it seemed as if the product was just absorbing it. Left that on for about 10 minutes and then applied the Dawn. It immediately reacted with the oils and with a few additions of some water made a real heavy lather, again similar to removing other pomades.

After a shampoo and condition the hair s back to its natural state, with one difference. In my experience, freshly clarified hair was left, somewhat stripped and took a day or two to get back to the soft feeling, I assume that is because of the dawn stripping some essential oils from the hair. This however felt tremendous the hair was soft, shiny, but in a natural sense.

I waited an hour after it dried and only repeated the process to rule out that the softness was not residual product in the hair. Again the hair felt wonderful and looked great and non-stressed after drying.

For your pomade, or actually any hair product users, I recommend using this clarifying procedure once a month just to get everything out, as you may or may not know, even the best products leave something behind over time, and with some of the environmental items are hair goes through it is a good thing to do.

Ok, that being done lets get into the final review of the Textured Clay.

Overall I liked the product. Although, I do not normally like a matte finish, it was a nice change up from a semi-shiny to full on wet shiny look. For those with lighter colored, or fine hair, this is a home run! For those with lighter hair that have issues with pomade making your hair look dirty, or greasy this is a great solution. For those with fine hair it will add tons of body. It also allows any sculpting or Textured look without a comb or brush, and you can achieve any look from mild to wild without the "Crisp" feeling, and you don't have to worry about breaking your style as so many other product will do.

Absolutely no additional product is needed for an all day and evening hold, with reasonably easy re-styling.

A nice build up over the days but will remain a Matte finish. You can get a bit of shine but not much. Can be applied to both damp and dry hair, depending on your style choice.

Long hair or short can benefit with this, and as stated earlier my spouse even tried it and she stated she would use it again.

Here are the smilies:


  • Product used::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Application & grooming ease::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Fragrance (if applicable)::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Hold over a full days period::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Sheen::001_smile
  • Ease of removal and re-application or re-activation::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile (only three as like any other pomade I would not exceed 4-days of build-up)
  • If product layering is needed::001_smile
  • Performance::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Overall and recommend to try:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile.5 ( only 3.5 because it is a product for those that specifically want a matte look, and :001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile for those with lighter, or fine hair and those that like a quick product that can be styled by hand.

Very nice.

NEXT UP: Truefitt & Hill Styling wax ( oil based )

UPCOMING SOON:
T & H Styling Paste
T & H Pomade

Cheers and see you tomorrow:thumbup1:
 
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Dave, thank you for such a thorough review. It is nice to have such a clear picture of how a product works. Not only does it help regular users of various hair dressings get an idea of whether they should approach this product, it will be an even bigger help to those just starting out.

That's where I was last year when Marco posted his renaissance of pomades thread. I had been at traditional wet shaving for over ten years but had only marginal to sometimes outright horrible experiences with pomades. That thread helped me tremendously. And I think superb reviews like this will do the same for all members. We'll done sir. I look forward to the next in the series.
 
Morning Gents:

1st off I want to apologize for an error in my last posting. the Styling wax is a Water based pomade not oil , as previously reported. I was looking at the Styling Paste, which is next up after this review.


Here we go:

For you gents that like a slick, wet, close style, then these next 8-days are for you. I am in that bunch, but will try to remain as un-bias as possible to ensure a good review, but I would be lying if I said I was not very excited for these next two products.

The Styling Wax, although water based does have some Castor Oil and glycerin, so I would expect a small bit of build up to occur over the next 4-days. Again I will be doing both wet and dry applications with pictures and the overall performance review at the end.

For those have you that have used "Prospector's brand Pomades, this is very similar in look, although clear, and has the same fragrance notes of the C.A.R. cream, although not as strong. very pleasant.
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The look in the can is completely clear, which lends itself to all hair colors, and is a hard stiff pomade in the can


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The amount used, could have probably been more, however I wanted to keep the "snurdle" consistent throught the range of products


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Although thick in the hand at initial application, it very quickly becomes warm and EXTREMELY easy to apply. Again today was on damp hair and I found it as easy, or even easier than most of the water based pomades I have used in the past. initial brushing and part forming was with ease, and subsequent combings with Coarse and then Fine went extremely smooth. I did add a bit of water while in the final styling and combing step and it really took on a very nice sheen.

I wanted a wet look and it was achieved. I was initially worried that maybe an additional product such as hair spray my need to be applied to ensure a good hold, but so far almost 6 hours later the hold is still very good. I do have some outside appointments today and with Tucson being right at 100 degrees today, it should also be a good test on drying out issues, hold, and re-styling later this evening. I will report on that in tomorrows post.

The fragrance lingers for a bit, but settles down nicely and would compliment any AS/Cologne / EDT you may use. Unlike Prospector's ( the comparative), it's fragrance will not over power.

The biggest take away from day 1 is that, your hair feels alive, refreshed and even a bit of a cooling sensation, even after 6-hours. Very, very nice. There is no menthol, or other ingredients in this product that would account for that, so it nay be just the combination of ingredients.

Again as stated early on I will post all the product ingredients of all products at the end of the entire review.


Here will hopefully show the sheen this product holds with only a nominal amount of water. I will increase this on Day-2 under the dry application to see what happens.

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Well if 1st impressions are any indicator of the rest of the test period, we have a clear winner for me. However so far I have been impressed with all the products to date. Tomorrow I will take photos in the sunlight to give some contrast, and then the final day in the office under "office lighting", to give an overall look in varied conditions.

Cheers Gents and Have a wonderful Wednesday!:thumbup:


 
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Hello Folks:

Day 2 with the styling wax and a dry application. As mentioned yesterday, I would give a report on two items:

  • overall hold without any additional product
  • was there any build-up due to the Castor Oil content, although a water based pomade.


I wore the style from approximately 0600 to 0130 when I went to bed. So, roughly 19.5 hours and had no need to re-style, and it held very nicely and notice no breakdown in the 100 degree temps during the day, nor did it take any work at all, other than running your hand through it to break down the style. Also not residue on pillow case in the morning.

After shampooing, I did notice a very small change in the way my hair felt when dry so there is a bit of build up happening, but not too perceptible.

Today for the "dry application" I have to use two "snurdles" to get the product fully distributed and the hold factor did seem a little higher on the dry hair. Still plenty of sheen and if using a comb dipped in water the sheen would have been on par with the wet application.

Depending on your preference of sheen, the dry method may be an good alternative for those that want a bit of shine, but not quite the "wet look"

Again, the product feeling in the hair is the biggest take away so far, fresh, clean and almost cooling in nature. This will last the whole day an the hair just feels alive, with no "weightiness" on the hair.

today's pics are outside, however we are expecting some rain so it was cloudy and the contrast is not so good. I would say on the "sheen" level for today with a dry application it is on par and matte shiny look if that makes sense.

Again no additional product was used, just he styling was alone.

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See you on Day 3. thanks for following this thread and have a wonderful Thursday:thumbup1:
 
Hello:
In keeping consistent with the usage between products, today was no shampoo day just a rinse with hot water and a finishing rinse with cold water. No detectible excess build up noticed. Although there is an oil component to this pomade it is truly living up to its name as a water based product.

Applied again to damp hair and used a bit more product to determine the right amount, and see if there was any difficulty in styling. Also today I did not do the refined combing at final styling, and just used the Vent brush for a more textured look , to determine if the hold would remain throughout the day without having to re-style. I have a date night with my lovely wife tonight, and will report on the overall condition of the style tomorrow to test it's longevity.

No other product, such as hair spray, was used.

Overall styling was as easy as before and I do notice that it can attain the hold and look of some other "water based" products without having some of the "thickness" that I have experienced with those other products. The fragrance, again, is still subtle but very clean.

The cooling "very alive" feel is still there even with a rinse only hair treatment. I had done this experiment to remove the factor that it may have been the shampoo and conditioner, but alas it is not, just this product.

Another great day with this product, and a great alternative and addition to the stable of Water based pomades that you may have. A reminder that the product is completely clear, lends to the variety of hair colors this may be used on.

Tomorrow, the final day, I will complete the recommendations and overall performance review, before moving on the 'Styling Paste" a true oil based product, and then finally to the "named" pomade to finish out the entire review.

Have a good day folks.

Pics of today:

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Have a great day Folks

More Tomorrow...:thumbup1:
 
Thank you for these, Dave. I really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to put this review together. Most helpful, especially for someone like me who is looking to make a change in hair products. From your reviews, I gather that, at this point, the Textured Clay is more akin to the Redken Maneuver product - particularly since the Styling Wax and the Pomade appear to produce more of a wet look. I will continue to keep up with this review - great stuff!
 
Thank you for these, Dave. I really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to put this review together. Most helpful, especially for someone like me who is looking to make a change in hair products. From your reviews, I gather that, at this point, the Textured Clay is more akin to the Redken Maneuver product - particularly since the Styling Wax and the Pomade appear to produce more of a wet look. I will continue to keep up with this review - great stuff!

Thank you sir, and yes the clay is the closest to the Manuever of all the products to date. At the end of the review, along with the ingredient lists, I will list some comparative products to these to give a better picture of what these are similar too.

Thanks for following and your comments
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Dave, you are doing a GREAT job and your efforts are certainly much appreciated. From the pics I've seen it seems that the T&H wax is behaving like a quality water based pomade with some good shine to it. Are my impressions correct?

P.S. Your handlebar stache looks stunning, my friend. :thumbup1:
 
Dave, you are doing a GREAT job and your efforts are certainly much appreciated. From the pics I've seen it seems that the T&H wax is behaving like a quality water based pomade with some good shine to it. Are my impressions correct?

P.S. Your handlebar stache looks stunning, my friend. :thumbup1:

Marco, Thank you and indeed it is very much like some of the best water based I have used with much easier application, thanks for commenting
 
Good afternoon my friends:

To follow up from last night, washed hair at 2330 hours and hold was still solid.


Sorry for the late entry however I was up with the dawn patrol headed out on carving up some mountain roads on the Motorcycle and just made it home. Actually the ride today had some benefits as well. It would put the styling wax to a true test, being in a full faced, flip-up helmet and 750 miles of rather warm weather, as I am a "full gear" rider.

So after the shower, shampoo and conditioner, again just the slightest trace of build up that was barely perceptible. Today was another wet day and application was very easy, and as stated earlier much easier than some of the water based products I have used. I almost deferred the usage one day, since I was going riding, but figured this would be a true test of how it held under warm conditions in the helmet and a reasonably warm day.

Did the full style today with coarse brush, medium and fine grain combs and used the finger snurdle as done before. I took on last look at the style. thinking full well, that when I arrived to our starting location and removed the helmet, not only would I scare small children, but the hair style would be trashed, not to mention a film all over the lining of my helmet, so I took the product with me just in case

Much to my surprise, upon the 1st removal of the helmet and ear buds it was perfect, maybe one or two hairs out of place but relatively intact. Now, that was only a 15 minute ride so it may be a fluke, but was enough for the other riders to give me crap, since I shaved and styled my hair and Handlebar, to call me a refined Dick Dastardly:lol:

The next test would be at the 225 mile mark which is normally our 1st stop. Again style held, minus a few hairs and there was no perceptible goo in the helmet, although it has a nice fragrance from the Pomade.

Next stop was a 500 miles in Alpine AZ for lunch after tackling US 191 or better know as US 666, a 165 mile jaunt from Safford, AZ to Alpine with 400 switchbacks, 1200 total curves and about 7000 ft in elevation. A technical road, so I was assured the hair would be a bit soppy. We arrived for lunch and it was a bit more messed up, however I went to the Restroom, dampened a comb and it re-styled perfectly with no additional product. Again my buddies asked if I had just gone to the barbershop.

The remainder of the day, two more stops and home. This is an actual picture of my hair with only a small comb touch up at the computer as I write this, so longevity it fantastic and the style memory is good as well with only minor touch ups and no additional product.

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so here is the final review for the 4-days and performance, but very impressed



  • product used::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
  • Application & grooming ease::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
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  • Ease of removal and re-application or re-activation::001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile
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  • Overall and recommend to try:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile:001_smile

Recommended to those that like a shiny look or even a complete wet look close cropped pomade without the clarification hassles of a Oil Based Pomade, and even easier than most water based pomades. Goes on completely clear so can be used by all hair types and colors. Very minimal to no buildup , can be washed out easily every day. A dry application will result in a slightly lighter shine, however can be brought to a full sheen, with bit of water. All day hold, and the biggest take-away The feel of you hair, cool, alive with just a touch of fragrance.

This is a wonderful product.


NEXT UP: Styling Paste Largest ingredients, Mineral Oil, Water, La
nolin, carnuba. This should be fun.

..and soon The POMADE.

See you tomorrow:thumbup1:




 
Afternoon Folks.
Sorry for the delay in our 1st day of the STYLING PASTE. Got a bit busy at church today, and did not get a chance to use it until this afternoon. So here we go.

After clarifying with Olive Oil and Dawn, and shampoo and conditioner, I just to ensure a consistent starting point for each product. The application would be on damp hair today and all other styling would be as in the previous products

The styling paste is more of a complete oil base with Mineral Oil, Carnuba, petrolatum as well as a host of other ingredients of which I will post inclusive during the Final review and summary of all the products.

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The product is hard product in the can and very easy to get the standard "snurdle" applied and has the consistency of a tub of margarine ( just to give a reference).

Upon warming it becomes almost a thick lotion, or a gluey paste, as the name suggests, and is almost white in color. At 1st this was a concern that it would go into the hair a pasty white, but it did not. Once it his the damp hair, it completely disappeared, and was much easier to distribute that expected for such a high oil content


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The fragrance on this one, I would call medium, but is unlike any of the others. To my nose it had a hint of Bay Rum, a cinnamon, vanilla, as well as maybe even some sandalwood. Very nice. Not overpowering but you knew it was there.

I was also concerned that due to the ease that it may require some other product to keep a good hold, but more on that later. brushing and combing was extremely easy and is reminiscent of one of my favorites and one of the oldest "Brylcreem", but on a higher level. Based on the consistency, I would note that it did a better job that the other products in initial hold and styling and was perfect under the fine comb and final styling.

I expected more shine, but today I did not dampen the comb, during styling and it was a pleasant sheen between the matte and full on wet look. I would imagine if you added more water you could bring up the shine. This was , so far the most "natural" of the shines.

Most notable was again, as most of these product have shown, the feeling in the hair, light, but firm, and a bit of a cooling, or Healthy clean feel. Fragrance was there but hardly noticeable.

As mentioned earlier I was concerned at the ease of styling, that it may require multiple re-stylings, or would not hold up. This is where this product is different and to some very welcome and to others maybe not.

After having it in the hair for about 3 hours at this point the Style was "SET", and does hold some resistance and "hard feel", but not crunchy, and maintains is nice mellow sheen, and would require some water and a comb to restyle. With this product there would be not need to use any hair spray or additional product. At hour 5, although I did not have to I did attempt to re-style with just my comb and some water and is was extremely easy and went in place perfectly. After another hour or so I checked and it was dry to the touch, with no residue and was holding well, although again it had that Hair spray feel without the crunchiness.

Overall 1st impression are good, very much like a stepped up Brylcreem, with better hold and fragrance, and superb re-styling properties and a cinch to use and style. It should be noted that this has the best overall styling hold during initial styling, and will maintain more of a dryer look over time

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See you on Day #2




 
I'll be watching your impressions of this paste closely. The wax seemed like a winner, but this seems more like a product I'm used to. The fragrance is up my alley but I'm not sure about the "hard" feel in the hair...that's something I don't really like. Looking forward to seeing how it washes out and holds up over the 4 days.
 
Good Day Gentlemen, and welcome to Day 2 of the review of the T & H Styling paste, as part of the ongoing review of the Hair care line offered by Truefitt & Hill.

Today, shampoo / conditioner and another damp hair application following my shave. I did notice during the hot / cold water rinse that a bit of build-up was beginning, but far less than expected from such a heavy oil based product. Again I make the comparisons to a classic "Brylcreem" in build-up but it is less than the aforementioned.

I used what has become the standard "Snurdle", so about an almond sized amount from the container, and again it spread quickly and became very firm as it warmed, but once in the hair it absorbed quickly. I also added a bit more after initial brushing as an experiment, but felt no actual difference to the hair. I also added a bit more water during the coarse and fine portions of the combing, and again the sheen was maintained somewhere between the matte and all our reflective wet look.

The ease of styling is what to me is setting this apart from regular pomades, I do not have enough top length to do a pomp, but those of you that do, will have no problem attaining the look you want.

Yesterday I made a comment that if felt hard, and I think I need to clarify those statements as before bed I rant my finger through my hair and although firm, it was not hard, and was very easy to comb back into style. This brings up the point that for those that enjoy a finger type of styling, or more "wherever it falls look", this is certainly an option as I discovered. So, I would recant my statement of hard feeling to that of firm and not blocky or crunchy, with endless re-stylings available, but not really needed as the overall hold is superb. Also no residue on any of the pillow cased for this, or any of the products to date

It should also be noted that it is very breezy here today, and the hold when I have gone outside the office has remained very, very good, but not in a helmet sort of way.

Feeling in the hair is a bit more noticeable today, but still feel fresh and alive, and the small reminders of the fragrance are subtle and will enhance anything else you are wearing.

So far based on overall look, sheen, and hold this has passed the performance of the wax insofar as someone who wants a natural glow, not matte and not shiny.

Tomorrow will be a dry hair application so we will see if any discernible difference is noticed.

just a side note, that overall product usage has been very small, which indicates that these products will last making them very economical as well.

Here are the photos today, in a bit different and non-led lighting conditions.

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Please also note that I am in need desperately of a haircut, and have put that off for these reviews, however I may not make it through the week:w00t:, so please take that into account, when we get to the "Pomade" review later this week.

I failed to mention this before, but if any one has questions, please post them here and I will try to answer as best I can, although I have not tried "ALL" pomades and other hair care products, I have used quite a few, and will attempt to make any comparisons that we have questions on.


Have a great Monday Gentlemen and see you tomorrow for Day 3 of the Styling Paste review:thumbup:

~Dave
 
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Hello Gents.

Here we are on day 3 of the Styling Paste review, and today was an eye opener.

1st off, keeping consistent today was just a hot water/cold water rinse on the mop and a dry application.

Today the differences, and the options available for this product were made very apparent. Still, I do not detect a large amount of build up, in fact a bit less than the Styling Wax and Textured Clay, which again is surprising considering the overall petrolatum, mineral oil, carnauba and so forth.

Upon dry hand application the same almond size amount was used and as it warmed up the true "namesake" of Paste really came through. it expanded as it warmed in the hands, and became the consistency of Elmer' Glue, and somewhat sticky, as opposed to a wet application to the hand where it was very smooth.

Application to the dry hair was more involved, and did not absorb as quickly, so required more time to get the "White to finally incorporate to the hair. now it was acting more like a standard heavy pomade. The big surprise was the Volume this product created in the hair. As mentioned earlier, my hair is in need of a haircut, but still short by most standards. But, BOOM it had huge volume.

Was a bit more difficult to run a brush and comb through and will require a couple of passes to get everything where you want it. The final look was almost a blow dried look with a nice healthy dry sheen, if that makes sense.

Today the product felt a tad heavier in the hair, but the hold was solid and not hard feeling. Still felt alive and healthy.

This style of application is not one I would normally use, however there are major benefits for those gentlemen or ladies that want a dry look, with complete control is giving it a combed look, or a finger textured look. If you are one who like a messy look but not greasy looking this is definitively the application procedure I would recommend, as well as if you are looking for a laid back weekend style. Also folks with light colored, fine, or extremely short hair would benefit to the added volume this application method would bring.

A dry application is surely where the name was derived from. So all in all this product does allow some stark contrast and options for different hair styles. Although a but less hold with this method

Here are some pics:
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Steady as she goes, and final thoughts on day 4 , tomorrow including performance ratings and recommendations, and then on Thursday we begin the "POMADE" product review

Have a great day!

See you tomorrow.....:001_smile
 
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