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Side by side

Axe Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste vs Redken Brews Molding Paste

83% function match · 6 of the 8 functions we compared match Formula overlap 21%. Axe Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste and Redken Brews Molding Paste share 2 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.

  • Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste — curl definition
  • Brews Molding Paste — curl definition

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
Axe

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste

  • Styler
  • Drugstore
Redken Brews Molding Paste — 5 oz container Redken

Brews Molding Paste

  • Styler
  • Masstige
  • Sulfate-free
  • Strong hold
Price, size & price per ounce
$7.99 2.64 oz · $3.03/oz
$23–24 5 oz · $4.80/oz
Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most pastes $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 93% of the 90 pastes we’ve priced
Lower cost than most pastes $$$$$ Masstige tier · costs less than 82% 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 Same
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. 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
Moderate Conditioning agents are present, lower in the list. 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
Silicone / wax buildup Differs
None Nothing here needs a detergent wash to remove. Your hair
High Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them. Your hair
Clarifying wash needed
Low Your hair
Moderate Your hair
Protein
—
Minor Protein appears, low enough to be a supporting ingredient. Your hair
Hold system Same
Mixed Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Mixed Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Oil absorption Same
Some Absorbents appear, low in the list. Your hair
Some Absorbents appear, low in the list. 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
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
  • Soft-hold stylesthat should stay touchable
  • Tight budgetsit sits in the lower price tiers
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • Coarse or dry hairthat absorbs everything you give it
  • Soft-hold stylesthat should stay touchable
  • Very dry hairno fast-drying alcohol in the list
Why you might skip it
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a scent
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
  • Scents bother youthis product carries a strong scent
  • Curly-method routinesthese silicones need a detergent to remove
  • Oily scalp or fine hairthat gets weighed down
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
Target · Walmart · Drugstore …
Ulta
Free of
—
  • sulfate-free
Cruelty-free
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Not cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Scented, not described
Scented, not described
Hold
mediumMedium Hold (verbatim, product name/front panel)
strongUlta lists product under "Strong Hold" styling category; multiple reviewers describe "great hold" and "excellent hold without feeling stiff or sticky"
Finish
matte
matte
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

$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

IngredientAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair PasteBrews Molding Paste
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Petrolatum
Heavy
#2Leading
#4Supporting
Fragrance
Fragrance
#12Below the 1% line
#14Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste

Brews Molding Paste

Full ingredient list — Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste (27)
Full ingredient list — Brews Molding Paste (30)

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.

VerdictsAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair PasteBrews Molding Paste
Supported
2
1
Partly supported
1
0
Stated by brand
1
2
Potential conflict
0
0

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste

  • Medium HoldSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Low ShinePartly supportedA hint of gloss.
  • FlexibleStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Paraben-freeSupportedPreserved without parabens.

Brews Molding Paste

  • Strong holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Matte finishStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • Reworkable textureStated 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.

Both praised for a light feel and a clean rinse-out. Axe Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste draws complaints about hold.

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste

Works with a very small amount, isn't sticky, and feels natural rather than product-heavy

long-time user of the product

Holds well but washes out easily, which the reviewer likes for using it on young children's hair

parent buying for their sons

Feels like a 'watered down' version of the paste they remember buying in the past

longtime user disappointed by an apparent reformulation

Recent batches feel more like a lotion than a paste, with noticeably less texture and hold than before

returning customer comparing to prior purchases

Brews Molding Paste

A little goes a long way and it's easy to work through hair

verified Ulta reviewer

Gives great hold and a pleasant, long-lasting scent

verified Ulta reviewer

Excellent hold without feeling stiff or sticky, works well on oily/frizzy hair without extra grease

verified Ulta reviewer

A clear liquid separates out and comes out of the tube first, so it needs shaking before use

verified 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.

$3.03/oz vs $4.80/oz — Redken Brews Molding Paste costs about 1.6× more per ounce than Axe Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste.

$1.50/oz median $7.92/oz $73.33/oz $3.03/oz Axe Styling Messy Look Med $4.80/oz Brews Molding Paste

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

Value readAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair PasteBrews Molding Paste
Label
Lower cost than most pastesCosts less per ounce than most pastes we have researched.
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.

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste vs Tousle Texture Dry Texture SprayAveda · 89% function matchBrews Molding Paste vs Curl Defining Hair MousseBumble and bumble · 85% function matchAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste vs Sweet Tobacco Medium Hold, No Shine Hair Styling Clay18.21 Man Made · 83% function matchBrews Molding Paste vs Re-Works Styling CreamPaul Mitchell · 85% function matchAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste vs Harry's Texturizing PuttyHarry's · 83% function matchBrews Molding Paste vs MITCH Clean CutPaul Mitchell · 83% function matchAxe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste vs Fiber Pomade Flexible Hold Low ShineREUZEL · 83% function matchBrews Molding Paste vs Sweet Tobacco Medium Hold, No Shine Hair Styling Clay18.21 Man Made · 81% function match

Axe Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste · Brews Molding Paste · 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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