Wet Shaving Products Hair Clay En Route

[Phog Allen]

Gents, I needed some more shampoo soap bars and decided to try Wet Shaving Products version. Whilst mucking about on the website, I noted they had some hair dressing products as well. Since autumn is fast approaching(thankfully) I have been getting my modest collection of dressings in order and noticed I had plenty of my old classics Sweet Georgia Brown blue and red, a tin of Linetti, a jar of Yardley London brilliantine, and a handful of water based products and samples.

I recently bought a piglet sized tin of Reuzel matte clay. It is okay but not a favourite. So with the non-traditional products taking a bit of a back seat, I looked at WSP hair clay. I know, another clay. I try them because at times with my blonde hair I daren't use the oil based stuff. Only on the coolest and dry air days can I manage it without looking a bit stringy. They also have a Hair Wax/Balm which has similar ingredients but more shine I believe. In any case it is a modest one ounce sample which was on sale. I will try and make report. If I do not care for it I will PIF and try the balm.

 

[BigJ]

Let us know how it performs (PLEASE)!

 

[Phog Allen]

I certainly will! I just got a new executive contour haircut last week. Thanks to Marco for recommending it. It should be a good plstfirp for trying this dressing.

 

[Phog Allen]

Alright gentlemen, time for first thoughts on these products. First I will go over the shampoo bars and then the hair dressing.

The hair soaps are really nice. I love WSP's old school yet vibrant packaging. Each bar is 4.5oz. and comes in a heavy paper type box about the size of a deck of cards but nearly a third thicker. The name and fragrance is right on the front and the fragrance is in much larger type and easy to see. I like this a lot.

Fragrance is mild and really just about where a hair soap should be. The barbershop is a mild affair much like the description on their site. The tobacco is really mild and only slightly smells of tabacco flower to me. Neither are going scent up the bath when using.

I always cut a sliver of soap off the bars about 1/3 of an inch thick and the length of the bar. This is easy to use and keeps me from wasting extra soap. They are not inexpensive at $8 per bar.

Both lathered up nicely and rinsed very easily. I did not use vinegar rinse with either the first time I used them to see how they treated my hair and scalp. They left my hair feeling extremely clean and well rinsed but not a squeaky clean type feeling which is good. Sometimes these bars, and especially liquid detergent/shampoo leaves my scalp so dry it feels like it is crackling. Not so these soaps. A BIG yes from me.


Next I tried each one with a white vinegar rinse just to see how it compared. Frankly, I didn't really need it but like to do it to keep the hair balanced. As you might have guessed from my comments, I can have dry scalp issues. Both times felt great and left my hair shining and well manageable.

Good hair products are a must for me and these qualify. I want to give them a good two to three weeks but I may have found my go-to hair bar. I am becoming convinced that Wet Shaving Products is one of the best overall toiletry makers out there. And I don't say that lightly.

 

[Phog Allen]

Next up lets take a look at the Hair Clay. As some of you may have read on Marco's great thread about the Renaissance of men's hair dressings, I have a lot of issues with oil based pomades. As in, soft petrolatum based products are almost never a good choice. Only in the driest of weather do they work for me and then only as a light dressing. No greasing it up for me. My hair is full and scalp thick with it but it is fairly fine stranded. It has some natural wave and body to it but oily dressing straighten it right out and can make it look stringy if over used or in hot weather.

Then I discovered dressings that were more wax based. Microcrystalline(super thick petrolatum), beeswax, and synthetics that behave like them work best. This WSP clay is very interesting. It has an all wax and oil base but behaves much different to something like Murray's. In the tin it seems very dense and I was worried it would be quite sticky like some of the synthetics I have used like Uppercut matte. I cannot use it. It is like sticky glue in my hair. But Truefitt & Hill hair styling paste works a treat. And like the T&H product, this WSP clay is workable, restyling is easy as can be, and it does not dry out like water based stuff.

Scent is their tobacco and like the hair soap, it is really mild. I don't get a lot of cologne type tobacco scent and this really is fine. It is old-ish school and like it okay.

I started off easy using about a pea size amount on my fresh executive contour haircut. It was not enough but what was in there felt great. So I doubled the amount and it worked smashing well. It was easy to apply. While it feels hard and dense in the tin, once you get it out and rub in your hands to melt it a bit it smooths right up. And goes into your hair with ease. I was able to quickly comb and brush it in and style my hair which is pretty easy with such short sides. The topknot held really well and never felt heavy. As I said, re-styling was a snap. This stuff never went dry or crunchy.

Okay, next day. As usual, I don't do a lot of buildup. So since they say this washes out easily I used one of their hair soap bars and gave my hair two lathers and rinses. Very clean but I could tell there was some product left. More like an emollient leave in conditioner and no greasy feeling. Both on the day of application and the next day my hair had mild glow to it(blonde so everything looks shinier) and never looked oily or overdone. The next day I used Marco's cleansing method of olive oil and dish detergent. About one tablespoon of olive oil worked over the scalp and one lathering of Dawn dish detergent cleaned the hair perfectly and did not leave me dried out. All in all this is a great product. I would describe the hold as medium or just a bit lighter. For those who do not pomp things up use loads of product, it would do well to invest in one of their 1oz. trial size tins.

 

[BigJ]

Great reviews!! Thanks.

 

[jesseix]

Thanks for the review on this Todd, I didn't realize they'd come out with this product.
How would you compare the strength of the hold throughout the day to other products you've used? I have thick hair as well and haven't had much luck with clays in the past.

 

[Steeleonious]

I appreciate the reviews also.

I have to agree with you on the quality of WSP products. I like almost all of the scents I've smelled from them.

I got the shampoo bar with Tea Tree and Argan oil. I used it for the first time today. It is far superior to any of liquid shampoos that I have used in the past. My hair actually looks different and I noticed that rubbing it on my scalp during the shower felt much nicer than the shampoo I was using. I also didn't use conditioner and don't feel that it is necessary.

Excellent stuff. I love both tobacco and barbershop scents as well. I have certainly found a new go-to.

 

[FarmerTan]

Will be following this thread with interest!