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Side by side

American Crew Grooming Cream vs American Crew Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

50% function match · 3 of the 8 functions we compared match Formula overlap 16%. American Crew Grooming Cream and American Crew Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz 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.

  • Grooming Cream — curl definition
  • Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz — 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 Grooming Cream — 3 oz container American Crew

Grooming Cream

  • Styler
  • Masstige
American Crew Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz — brand photograph American Crew

Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

  • Styler
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$18–23 3 oz · $6.66/oz
$13.44 8.4 oz · $1.99/oz

Compared at different sizes — 8.4 oz against 3 oz. Per-ounce prices favour the larger bottle.

Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 60% of the 90 pastes we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Salon tier · costs less than 53% of the 157 gels we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Moisture level Differs
Low Humectants appear, but low enough to be a minor part. Your hair
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
Hold system Differs
Moderate Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Synthetic polymer Synthetic hold polymers — the firmest of the hold systems. Your hair
Slip / detangling Same
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
Weight on hair Differs
Rich Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients. Your hair
Medium Middle of the range — noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair. 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
Silicone / wax buildup Differs
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Moderate Your hair
Low Your hair
Hold (as stated)
—
Light A light hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
Protein
—
None No protein or amino acids in the list. Your hair
Oil absorption Same
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
None No absorbent powders or starches. Your hair
Oils and butters Same
Present, lower down Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Present, lower down Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch. Your hair
Cast risk
—
Unlikely Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol
—
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
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
Why you might skip it
  • 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
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Styles that must holdthe brand states a light hold at most
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers
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
Stylergel
Where to buy
Brand website
Ulta · Brand website
Free of
—
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Hold
—
lightLight hold
Finish
—
high-shine
How often
—
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

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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

IngredientGrooming CreamLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
VP/VA Copolymer
Holds
#6Supporting
#2Leading
Fragrance
Fragrance
#20Below the 1% line
#16Below the 1% line
Limonene
Fragrance
#22Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line
Linalool
Fragrance
#25Below the 1% line
#19Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Grooming Cream

Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

Full ingredient list — Grooming Cream (29)
Full ingredient list — Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz (20)

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.

VerdictsGrooming CreamLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz
Supported
1
4
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
0
1
Potential conflict
0
0

Grooming Cream

  • High hold and high shine for sleek stylesSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Conditions while repelling excess moisturePartly supportedSome hydration, at a low level.

Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

  • Light holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • High shineSupportedReflects light for visible shine.
  • Non-flaking formulaStated by brandSoothing, not an active treatment.
  • Alcohol-freeSupportedNothing that flashes off dry.
  • Non-drying to scalpSupportedNothing in it flashes off dry.

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.

Grooming Cream

Several reviewers describe a reformulation that made the cream oilier and less able to hold hair in place.

Long-time customers, some using it since the 1990s, call it their favorite pomade for a classic slicked-back look.

Multiple reviewers say it washes out easily with cold water and leaves no residue.

A few reviewers find the scent unpleasant even while praising the hold.

Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

Lightweight application that doesn't weigh hair down or feel heavy

repeat Ulta buyer

Non-flaking formula holds up to the claim, no white residue after it dries

Ulta reviewer

Fragrance is pleasant and not overpowering

Ulta reviewer

One reviewer described the gel as goopy and said it didn't work well for their hair

dissatisfied 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.

$1.99/oz vs $6.66/oz — American Crew Grooming Cream costs about 3.3× more per ounce than American Crew Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz.

Grooming Cream

Against 90 pastes with a computable unit price.

Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz

Against 157 gels with a computable unit price.

Value readGrooming CreamLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for pastes per ounce.
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for gels per ounce.

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.

Grooming Cream vs KILLER.CURLS Anti-Frizz Defining CrèmeKevin Murphy · 89% function matchLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz vs American Crew Firm Hold Styling GelAmerican Crew · 100% function matchGrooming Cream vs 90 Proof Strong Hold Matte PomadeBlind Barber · 89% function matchLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz vs 121 Proof Thickening Style GelBlind Barber · 93% function matchGrooming Cream vs Strawberry Gum Grip Styling StickBondi Boost · 89% function matchLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz vs Bananas Xtreme Hold Hair GelThe Doux · 93% function matchGrooming Cream vs Blue Extreme Hold Matte PomadeREUZEL · 83% function matchLight Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz vs Rose Water Curl Defining Styling GelTGIN · 93% function match

Grooming Cream · Light Hold Styling Gel - 13.1 oz · 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.
  • 8 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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