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Side by side

American Crew Fiber Cream vs American Crew Matte Clay

43% function match · 6 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 32%. American Crew Fiber Cream and American Crew Matte Clay share 3 ingredients 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.

  • Fiber Cream — 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 Fiber Cream — 3.3 oz container American Crew

Fiber Cream

  • 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
$21–23 3.3 oz · $6.59/oz
$10.50 3 oz · $3.50/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced above most curl creams $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 94% of the 106 curl creams we’ve priced
Lower cost than most pastes $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 88% of the 92 pastes we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. 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
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. 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
None No absorbent powders or starches. 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 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
Stylercream
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 (adjustable based on application amount—can reach firm hold with liberal application)
strongHigh hold
Finish
shine
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

IngredientFiber CreamMatte Clay
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Beeswax
Buildup
#3Leading
#4Supporting
Petrolatum
Heavy
#8Supporting
#3Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#25Below the 1% line
#9Below the 1% line
Limonene
Fragrance
#27Below the 1% line
#14Below the 1% line
Citronellol
Fragrance
#28Below the 1% line
#12Below the 1% line
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate
Softens
#10Secondary
#5Supporting
Geraniol
Fragrance
#29Below the 1% line
#13Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Fiber Cream

Matte Clay

Full ingredient list — Fiber Cream (33)
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.

VerdictsFiber CreamMatte Clay
Supported
1
1
Partly supported
1
1
Stated by brand
2
2
Potential conflict
0
1

Fiber Cream

  • Medium hold, adjustable with amount appliedSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Natural shinePartly supportedA hint of gloss.
  • Long-lasting style controlStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Increased textureStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

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.

Fiber Cream

Holds all day and a little goes a long way.

5-star Ulta reviewer

Noted salons use this professionally, and a partner really likes how it styles his hair.

Ulta reviewer

Became the only styling product their son will use.

parent reviewing for a teen/young adult son

Styles hair without the stiff, firm-gel look — gives hold with more natural movement.

Ulta reviewer buying for their kid

Applying too much makes hair hard to brush out afterward, even though the styling effect itself is good.

4-star Ulta reviewer

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 $6.59/oz — American Crew Fiber Cream costs about 1.9× more per ounce than American Crew Matte Clay.

Fiber Cream

Against 106 curl creams with a computable unit price.

Matte Clay

Against 92 pastes with a computable unit price.

Value readFiber CreamMatte Clay
Label
Priced above most curl creamsCosts more per ounce than most curl creams; nothing in our library matches it closely for less.
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.

Fiber Cream vs Strong Hold, Frizz Free Forming FiberVerb · 94% function matchMatte Clay vs Brews Clay PomadeRedken · 100% function matchFiber Cream vs Matte SeparationBed Head · 91% function matchMatte Clay vs Green Grease Pomade Oil-Based Medium HoldREUZEL · 93% function matchFiber Cream vs Miracle Texture FiberIt's A 10 · 90% function matchMatte Clay vs Rosemary Mint Hydrating Styling CreamREUZEL · 93% function matchFiber Cream vs American Crew FiberAmerican Crew · 87% function matchMatte Clay vs MITCH Dry PastePaul Mitchell · 89% function match

Fiber Cream · Matte Clay · All curl creams 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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