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Side by side

Garnier Fructis Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste vs SEEN Curly Creme

84% function match · 10 of the 13 functions we compared match Formula overlap 21%. Garnier Fructis Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste and SEEN Curly Creme 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.

  • Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste — protein-sensitive hair
  • Curly Creme — 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
Garnier Fructis Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste — 3.4 oz container Garnier Fructis

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste

  • Styler
  • Drugstore
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
SEEN Curly Creme — 6 oz container SEEN

Curly Creme

  • Styler
  • Salon
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
Price, size & price per ounce
$5.99 3.4 oz · $1.91/oz
$29 6 oz · $4.83/oz
Value / price positioning
Lower cost than most pastes $$$$$ Drugstore tier · costs less than 99% of the 92 pastes we’ve priced
Priced above most curl creams $$$$$ Salon tier · costs more than 85% of the 106 curl creams 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
Moderate Humectants in the working part of the formula. Your hair
High Humectants near the top — water-binding is a headline mechanism here. Your hair
Hold (as stated)
Strong A strong hold, as stated by the brand. Your hair
—
Slip / detangling Same
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. Your hair
High Conditioning agents sit high in the list — this is a detangling formula. 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 Same
Mixed Gums and synthetic polymers together. Your hair
Moderate 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
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
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
Complete for its job
Who should choose this
  • Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
  • Maximum slipfor hair that tangles the moment it is wet
  • Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
  • Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
  • 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
  • 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
Stylerpaste
Stylercream
Where to buy
Brand website · Target
Brand website
Free of
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
  • sulfate-free
  • silicone-free
  • protein-free
  • curly-method compatible
Cruelty-free
—
Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Scent
Amber & spice
Scented, not described
Hold
strongThe current product listing states all-day strong hold.
—
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

IngredientSurfer Hair Styling Power PasteCurly Creme
Water
Neutral
#1Leading
#1Leading
Cetearyl Alcohol
Softens
#5Supporting
#2Leading
Phenoxyethanol
Stabilizes
#6Below the 1% line
#18Below the 1% line
Fragrance
Fragrance
#10Below the 1% line
#23Below the 1% line

What only one of them carries

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste

Curly Creme

Full ingredient list — Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste (24)
Full ingredient list — Curly Creme (23)

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.

VerdictsSurfer Hair Styling Power PasteCurly Creme
Supported
1
0
Partly supported
0
0
Stated by brand
3
0
Potential conflict
0
0

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste

  • windblown surfer lookStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • all-day strong holdSupportedStructure that lasts the day.
  • Fruit Micro WaxesStated by brandCan’t be confirmed from label.
  • non-flaking textureStated by brandSoothing, not an active treatment.

Curly Creme

No claims recorded for this product beyond the ones above.

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.

Garnier Fructis Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste draws complaints about the scent; SEEN Curly Creme draws complaints about hold and curl definition.

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste

A long-time user says it gives substantial volume and beach-like texture after application to damp hair and blow-drying.

user seeking a surfer-texture look

A fine, wavy-haired reviewer says the product leaves their hair fuller and softer without a sticky, crunchy, or greasy feel.

fine, wavy hair

Recent reviewers repeatedly complain that a newer container smelled smoky or tobacco-like and no longer held as well as earlier purchases.

long-time users comparing newer formula or batches

Curly Creme

Several reviewers describe the scent as light and clean, though the corpus appears to pool reviewers of both the scented and fragrance-free versions of this product (per the widget's own pooling flag), so this may reflect either variant.

general reviewers commenting on fragrance

Reviewers widely say it defines and softens curls while cutting down on frizz.

general reviewers with wavy to curly hair

A recurring complaint is limited curl hold — several reviewers say curl definition or their wave pattern doesn't last and they wish it held longer or paired it with a stronger-hold product.

general reviewers looking for longer-lasting curl definition

Some reviewers with fine curls or fine hair say it weighs their curls down at the full recommended amount and are still adjusting how much they use.

reviewers who describe their hair as fine or fine-curly

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.

$1.91/oz vs $4.83/oz — SEEN Curly Creme costs about 2.5× more per ounce than Garnier Fructis Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste.

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste

Against 92 pastes with a computable unit price.

Curly Creme

Against 106 curl creams with a computable unit price.

Value readSurfer Hair Styling Power PasteCurly Creme
Label
Lower cost than most pastesCosts less per ounce than most pastes we have researched.
Priced above most curl creamsCosts more per ounce than most curl creams; 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.

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste vs Kristin Ess+ Peptide Boost Volumizing Serum SprayKRISTIN ESS HAIR · 89% function matchCurly Creme vs SEEN Curly Creme, Fragrance FreeSEEN · 100% function matchSurfer Hair Styling Power Paste vs Dove Men+Care Medium Hold Hair Styling PasteDove Men+Care · 85% function matchCurly Creme vs Blow-Out CremeSEEN · 89% function matchSurfer Hair Styling Power Paste vs Men+Care Medium Hold Molding PasteDove Men+Care · 85% function matchCurly Creme vs SEEN Blow-Out Creme, Fragrance FreeSEEN · 89% function matchSurfer Hair Styling Power Paste vs Brews Texture PomadeRedken · 85% function matchCurly Creme vs Glued Spiking Gluegot2b · 86% function match

Surfer Hair Styling Power Paste · Curly Creme · 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.
  • 6 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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