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Side by side

American Crew Defining Paste vs American Crew Matte Clay

52% function match · 6 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 11%. American Crew Defining Paste and American Crew Matte Clay share 1 ingredient among each other's most prominent.

Based on your consultation

Which of these fits your hair?

We check your pattern, moisture need, scalp, fragrance tolerance, weight sensitivity and more against each formula — and say which one lines up.

Your profile at a glance

  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here
  • Your answers appear here

When each one is the right call

What each formula is built for, from its own ingredient list.

  • Defining Paste — protein-sensitive hair
  • Matte Clay — protein-sensitive hair

Side by side

Every trait, aligned

One row per trait, read from each product’s own ingredient list and record. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a “no”.

Trait
American Crew Defining Paste — 3 oz container American Crew

Defining Paste

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
American Crew Matte Clay — 3 oz container American Crew

Matte Clay

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$18–21 3 oz · $6.13/oz
$10.50 3 oz · $3.50/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 70% of the 90 pastes we’ve priced
Lower cost than most pastes $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 88% of the 90 pastes we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
Moisture level Differs
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Hold (as stated)
Medium A medium hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
Strong A strong hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
Slip / detangling Differs
Some Some slip, mostly from esters or silicones rather than conditioners. Your hair
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
Weight on hair Same
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. Your hair
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Protein Same
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Silicone / wax buildup Same
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Hold system Differs
Mixed Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Wax Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Cast risk Same
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Oil absorption Differs
Some Absorbents appear, low in the list. Your hair
High Absorbent powders or starches high in the list. Your hair
Oils and butters Differs
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Present, high in the list Oils sit high in the list — a softening, coating formula. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol Differs
Present Fast-drying alcohol is present — it speeds drying and can read dry on the hair. Your hair
None No fast-drying alcohol in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • Stretching wash dayswaxes stay until a detergent wash removes them
from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.
More facts about each one
Type
Stylerpaste
Stylerpaste
Where to buy
Ulta · Brand website
Ulta · Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Hold
mediumMedium hold
strongHigh hold
Finish
matte
matte
How often
as needed
as needed

Facts as we recorded them. A dash means we have not researched that field for that product — it is not a "no".

The bottom line

The bottom line depends on your hair

Which of these two suits you is a question about your hair, not about them. The consultation answers it — and tells you what your routine needs around it.

Take the consultation

$49.00 once, for your consultation and hair profile. No subscription, no required purchases.

The detail behind the table

Where the readings above come from: the ingredient lists themselves, each brand’s claims checked against them, what owners report, and cost per ounce in context.

Shared and distinct ingredients

Shared and distinct ingredients

Computed from the ingredient lists as printed. "Shared" means both lists carry it; where it sits on each label is stated, because position is what tells you how much.

What both formulas carry

IngredientDefining PasteMatte Clay
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Beeswax
Buildup
#6Supporting
#4Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#24Below the 1% line
#9Below the 1% line
Citral
Fragrance
#31Below the 1% line
#11Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Defining Paste

Matte Clay

Full ingredient list — Defining Paste (38)
Full ingredient list — Matte Clay (19)

Claims check

What each brand says, against what each formula shows

Claims are quoted from each brand. We only mark one supported, partly supported, or conflicting when that product’s ingredient list actually speaks to it.

VerdictsDefining PasteMatte Clay
Supported
2
1
Partly supported
1
1
Stated by brand
0
2
Potential conflict
0
1

Defining Paste

  • Medium holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Low shine / matte finishPartly supportedA hint of gloss.
  • Adds texture or increased definitionSupportedHolds a clump together.

Matte Clay

  • High holdPartly supportedSoft structure, not firm hold.
  • Medium shineSupportedReflects light for visible shine.
  • Long-lasting workable holdStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Builds textureStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Washes out easilyPotential conflictExpect to need a real cleanse.

What owners say

What people report

Recurring themes our researchers wrote in their own words from sourced reviews. We do not store or scrape star ratings, and we never balance one product’s themes against another’s by inventing them.

Both praised for hold. American Crew Defining Paste draws complaints about frizz.

Defining Paste

Consistently works on thick, hard-to-style hair where other pastes have failed.

5-star Ulta reviewer describing years of use on a partner's thick hair

Builds texture and hold without leaving visible product buildup, for a natural look.

4-star Ulta reviewer

A little goes a long way — one fingertip amount lasts all day and the tub lasts a very long time despite the price.

5-star Ulta reviewer weighing cost against longevity

Needed an unusually large amount to work and it made hair look dirty; didn't control frizz as advertised.

1-star Ulta reviewer

Scent is strong and lingers through the day; product needs to be warmed between palms first or it leaves white clumps.

4-star Ulta reviewer noting application quirks

Matte Clay

Easy to work with, provides great hold that lasts all day

Ulta reviewer

Matte finish keeps hair where it's combed, without greasiness

Ulta reviewer

Gives a dry, low-shine, medium-hold look that reads as natural rather than product-heavy

Ulta reviewer

Price check

Cost per ounce, in context

Cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in. Value labels are computed from that percentile and from how many products that do the same job cost less; they are comparisons, not judgements about a brand.

$3.50/oz vs $6.13/oz — American Crew Defining Paste costs about 1.8× more per ounce than American Crew Matte Clay.

$1.50/oz median $7.92/oz $73.33/oz $6.13/oz Defining Paste $3.50/oz Matte Clay

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 90 pastes with a computable unit price.

Value readDefining PasteMatte Clay
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for pastes per ounce.
Lower cost than most pastesCosts less per ounce than most pastes we have researched.

Computed from cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced, and from how many products that do the same job cost less. It is a comparison, not a judgement about the brand.

Compare with something else

Close formulas to each of these, as their own comparison pages.

Defining Paste vs Manipulator Texturizing Putty with Firm HoldBed Head · 93% function matchMatte Clay vs Brews Clay PomadeRedken · 100% function matchDefining Paste vs Fiber Pomade Flexible Hold Low ShineREUZEL · 89% function matchMatte Clay vs Green Grease Pomade Oil-Based Medium HoldREUZEL · 93% function matchDefining Paste vs American Crew FiberAmerican Crew · 89% function matchMatte Clay vs Rosemary Mint Hydrating Styling CreamREUZEL · 93% function matchDefining Paste vs Fiber - 3.0 ozAmerican Crew · 89% function matchMatte Clay vs MITCH Dry PastePaul Mitchell · 89% function match

Defining Paste · Matte Clay · All pastes in the library

How this page was made

  • This page is assembled from the same researched records the individual product pages render: identity, each ingredient list as printed, each brand's own claims, dated price observations, and review themes written in our researchers' own words. Nothing on it is written per comparison.
  • We do not rank these against each other. Which of them suits you depends on your hair, and that is what the consultation works out.
  • The formula similarity percentage is a stored, precomputed number: position-weighted overlap of the two ingredient lists blended with agreement on the attributes we derive. It measures how alike two formulas are, not how well either works.
  • The value band is a fixed label over two stored numbers: this product’s cost per ounce as a percentile of every product of this type we have priced, each at the size it is most often sold in, and how many products we score as doing the same job cost at least a quarter less per ounce.
  • The "Is this right for you?" panel reads only your own consultation answers, and it applies exactly the filters our recommendation engine applies. It is computed when you load the page and is never stored on it.
  • 4 sources were consulted across the products on this page.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are observations on the dates shown and change without notice. We do not sell these products and take no placement fees.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.

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