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Side by side

American Crew Grooming Cream vs American Crew Pomade - 3.0 oz

50% function match · 3 of the 8 functions we compared match Formula overlap 21%. American Crew Grooming Cream and American Crew Pomade - 3.0 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
  • Pomade - 3.0 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 Pomade - 3.0 oz — container, alternate view American Crew

Pomade - 3.0 oz

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$18–23 3 oz · $6.66/oz
$29.99 3 oz · $10.66/oz
Value / price positioning
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 59% of the 92 pastes we’ve priced
Priced above most pastes $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs more than 77% of the 92 pastes we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Curly–Coily A heavy formula: coarse, curlier strands carry it without flattening. Your hair
Wavy–Coily The brand’s own claims name curly or textured hair. 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 Differs
Little Nothing here is built to reduce combing force. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. 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 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 (as stated)
—
Medium A medium 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
—
Present Fast-drying alcohol is present — it speeds drying and can read dry on the hair. 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
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
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
  • Very dry or damaged hairit contains fast-drying alcohol
  • 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
Stylercream
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
—
mediumMedium hold
Finish
—
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 CreamPomade - 3.0 oz
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Lanolin
Buildup
#2Leading
#4Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#20Below the 1% line
#16Below the 1% line
Limonene
Fragrance
#22Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line
Citronellol
Fragrance
#23Below the 1% line
#22Below the 1% line
Linalool
Fragrance
#25Below the 1% line
#17Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Grooming Cream

Pomade - 3.0 oz

Full ingredient list — Grooming Cream (29)
Full ingredient list — Pomade - 3.0 oz (29)

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 CreamPomade - 3.0 oz
Supported
1
3
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
0
2
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.

Pomade - 3.0 oz

  • flexible alternative to styling gelsSupportedNatural movement without stiffness.
  • tremendous shineSupportedReflects light for visible shine.
  • pliable holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • works well for curly hairStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • classic, slicked-back looksStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.

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.

American Crew Pomade - 3.0 oz draws complaints about weight.

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.

Pomade - 3.0 oz

Switched to this pomade after a prior favorite reformulated and became glue-like; this one did the job

reviewer Karen, Thornton CO

Users with short, spiked styles find the hold and texture works well for that look

reviewer dria, Miami — men's short/thick hair

A longtime user found it too greasy for a short, spiked style

reviewer Ardele, SC

Longtime fan of the line but recent jars arrived visibly disturbed (finger marks in the product), a quality-control complaint separate from performance

reviewer Billy, Midwest City OK — repeat buyer

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.

$6.66/oz vs $10.66/oz — American Crew Pomade - 3.0 oz costs about 1.6× more per ounce than American Crew Grooming Cream.

$1.50/oz median $7.92/oz $73.33/oz $6.66/oz Grooming Cream $10.66/oz Pomade - 3.0 oz

Every mark sits on one distribution because these are compared against the same set: 92 pastes with a computable unit price.

Value readGrooming CreamPomade - 3.0 oz
Label
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for pastes per ounce.
Priced above most pastesCosts more per ounce than most pastes; nothing in our library matches it closely for less.

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 matchPomade - 3.0 oz vs EIMI Nutricurls Soft Twirl Anti-Frizz Styling FoamWella · 87% function matchGrooming Cream vs 90 Proof Strong Hold Matte PomadeBlind Barber · 89% function matchPomade - 3.0 oz vs Sumotech Flexible Hold Cream SolidBumble and bumble · 83% function matchGrooming Cream vs Strawberry Gum Grip Styling StickBondi Boost · 89% function matchPomade - 3.0 oz vs Pomegranate & Honey Curl Defining Mousse with HoldMielle · 83% function matchGrooming Cream vs Blue Extreme Hold Matte PomadeREUZEL · 83% function matchPomade - 3.0 oz vs Sweet Tobacco Soft Hold, Medium Shine Hair Styling Paste18.21 Man Made · 81% function match

Grooming Cream · Pomade - 3.0 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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