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Side by side

As I Am Smoothing Gel vs Blind Barber 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray

13 of 13 functions match Formula overlap 6%. As I Am Smoothing Gel and Blind Barber 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray 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.

  • Smoothing Gel — protein-sensitive hair
  • 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray — 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
As I Am Smoothing Gel — 8 oz container As I Am

Smoothing Gel

  • Styler
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Blind Barber 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray — 6 oz container Blind Barber

40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$5.11 8 oz · $0.82/oz
$22–24 6 oz · $4.00/oz
Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most gels $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 87% of the 157 gels we’ve priced
Priced with its peers $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 60% of the 58 texture sprays we’ve priced
Best for hair types
Wavy–Coily Co-washes, curl creams, and gels are built around wave and curl. Your hair
Straight–Wavy A light volumising formula — the lift it adds matters most on straighter hair. Your hair
Moisture level Same
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Hold system Same
High Synthetic hold polymers — the firmest of the hold systems. 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 Same
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Light Water-first and light: unlikely to flatten fine hair. Your hair
Fragrance
Present Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients. Your hair
Prominent Fragrance sits in the first eight ingredients — a larger share of the formula. 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
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Low Your hair
Low Your hair
Hold (as stated)
Light A light hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
Cast risk Same
Likely Film formers without much softening them — expect a cast to scrunch out. Your hair
Likely Film formers without much softening them — expect a cast to scrunch out. 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
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
None No oils or butters in the list. Your hair
Fast-drying alcohol Same
None No fast-drying alcohol in the list. Your hair
None No fast-drying alcohol in the list. Your hair
Formula completeness
out of 10
Complete for its job
out of 10
Covers the core
Who should choose this
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Fine hairthat flattens under most products
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
  • Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Anyone who dislikes a castthe film formers here can set firm
  • Styles that must holdthe brand states a light hold at most
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
Stylergel
Stylerspray
Where to buy
As I Am · Target
Ulta · Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Vegan
Vegan · label states
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Cruelty-free · brand states
Scent
Scented, not described
Fresh & airy
Hold
lightLight-Medium Hold | Textured Finish
Finish
shine
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

IngredientSmoothing Gel40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Glycerin
Moisturizes
#3Leading
#13Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#12Below the 1% line
#8Below the 1% line
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#9Below the 1% line
#7Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Full ingredient list — Smoothing Gel (15)
Full ingredient list — 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray (15)

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.

VerdictsSmoothing Gel40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray
Supported
4
2
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
1
1
Potential conflict
0
0

Smoothing Gel

  • secure holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • moisturizesSupportedHelps hair feel hydrated.
  • adds shineStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • rinses easilySupportedComes out in a normal wash.
  • non-drying formulaSupportedNothing in it flashes off dry.

40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray

  • Light to medium holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Textured, beachy wavesStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Water-soluble, easy rinse-outSupportedComes out in a normal wash.

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 the scent, hold, and a clean rinse-out. As I Am Smoothing Gel draws complaints about frizz and irritation; Blind Barber 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray draws complaints about residue or cast.

Smoothing Gel

A slick-back and edge-styling reviewer says it left hair very smooth and shiny without product buildup.

slick-back and edge styling

A reviewer with 4B coils reports that it kept a slick-back bun in place all day without troublesome flaking.

4B hair; slick-back bun

A 3C/4A-haired purchaser says it laid their hair down beautifully and had a pleasant scent.

3C/4A hair; smoothing use

One purchaser reports that the gel increased frizz and did not give the finished look they wanted.

frizz-sensitive user

40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray

Keeps thinning hair in place all day and smells nice

brand-site reviewer with thinning hair ('John L.'), 5-star

Creates a beachy-wave look even on thin hair

brand-site reviewer with thin hair ('Tyler B.'), 5-star

Gives beachy texture without stickiness or greasy residue, described as a favorite

brand-site reviewer describing their son's use ('Amanda H.'), 5-star

A reformulation made the product harder to rinse out and left hair feeling sticky

brand-site reviewer citing the new formula ('Daniel'), 1-star

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.

$0.82/oz vs $4.00/oz — Blind Barber 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray costs about 4.9× more per ounce than As I Am Smoothing Gel.

Smoothing Gel

Against 157 gels with a computable unit price.

40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray

Against 58 texture sprays with a computable unit price.

Value readSmoothing Gel40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray
Label
Lower cost than most gelsCosts less per ounce than most gels we have researched.
Priced with its peersSits in the middle of the range for texture sprays 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.

Smoothing Gel · 40 Proof Sea Salt Textured Hold Spray · All gels 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.
  • This particular combination is not listed in our sitemap: we only submit pairs of comparable products that our similarity data says people would actually weigh against each other.

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