Shapes and sculpts
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
Styler / Paste, mixed-hold
Add it to your products. We’ll tell you if it’s ever recalled.
Scent:
The ingredient list declares fragrance. What it smells of is not stated, and we do not guess.
“Delicate rosewood fragrance” (Brand page)
Listing used for research: dermstore.com
Personal fit
Complete the consultation to see how well this product fits your hair and your goals. With 6,000+ products in our library, we can match you to the right ones.
$49 with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates
$99 with 12 months. Pay once; the year renews only if you choose.
The rest of what your plan weighs on this product.
The consultation builds your hair profile, checks every factor in this table against it, and tells you where this product fits or what to use instead.
Start your consultation$49 once, with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates. Nothing renews, and you never have to buy a product.
Your avoid-list
Same job for less elsewhere
$37.87/oz at 1.69 oz, more than 99% of the 197 pastes , which mostly run $4.92–11.75/oz.
Great for
Maybe skip if
What the formula actually does
Each row says where it comes from: F means we derived it from this product’s own ingredient list, S means it is a claim the brand makes that the formula neither confirms nor contradicts.
Gums and synthetic polymers together.
Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely.
Heavy butters and waxes in the first eight ingredients.
Absorbent powders or starches high in the list.
Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch.
No fast-drying alcohol in the list.
Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them.
Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.
Ingredients that matter
The workhorse ingredients, plus anything lower down that changes a decision. The chips name what an ingredient does. They are not safety scores, and no ingredient here is rated good or bad on its own.
| Ingredient | What it does | Why it matters | Chip |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaterAqua | solvent | The base everything else is dissolved in | Neutral |
| Rhus Verniciflua Peel Wax | wax | Holds shape and adds weight | Buildup |
| Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax | wax | Holds shape and adds weight | Buildup |
| Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil Polyglyceryl-6 Esters | emollient | Softens and smooths the strand | Softens |
| BeeswaxCera Alba | wax | Holds shape and adds weight | Buildup |
| Kaolin | clay | Absorbs oil and adds texture | Neutral |
| PVP | film former | Lays down the film that holds a shape | Holds |
| Jasminum Grandiflorum Flower CeraJasmin Grandiflorum (Jasmine) Flower Cera | wax | Holds shape and adds weight | Buildup |
| Jojoba Esters | wax | Adds a little grip | Buildup |
| FragranceParfum/Fragrance | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
| Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax | wax | Adds a little grip | Buildup |
| Linalool | fragrance | The scent | Fragrance |
In the US, ingredients above 1% are listed from most to least. Below 1% they can appear in any order. Each note keeps three things apart: what the ingredient generally does, its role in this type of product, and what its position can tell you.
The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A wax from Rhus Verniciflua. Waxes give balms and pomades their firmness and grip, and take a real cleanser to remove.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A hard palm wax that gives firm hold and shine.
Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.
A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
Waxes do not dissolve in water. They need a detergent wash to come off, and they are the classic cause of a coated feel.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
A firm natural wax that grips and holds hair in place. It resists water and can take repeated washing to remove.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
Forms a physical barrier on the strand that slows water leaving it. Nothing else in a formula holds moisture in as bluntly.
It does not disperse in water at all: removing it means a detergent wash, and until then it stays exactly where it landed.
A soft white clay that absorbs oil and adds body without much grit.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Absorbs oil and adds texture, which is what gives fine hair grip at the root instead of slip.
An absorbent solid takes up oil, and hair already short of it has less to give.
A classic hairspray polymer. It gives firm hold but attracts moisture, so humidity can soften the set.
Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
The film takes up water from the air. The patent work that produced the VP/VA copolymers describes a PVP film turning sticky after time in a humid atmosphere, and being dependable only where humidity is low — so hold and feel both move with the weather.
Glycerin, also called glycerol, attracts moisture and mixes completely with water.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
High-porosity hair loses water fast; a humectant holds some of it in place for longer than the wash itself would.
Binds water into the outer layers of the strand, and water is what makes dry hair flexible again rather than brittle.
Water moves both ways. Measured across concentrations, glycerin solutions give water up in some conditions and take it from the air in others. What it does for you depends on how much of it is there and on the air around it.
Cupuacu butter, a rich butter that holds water unusually well for its weight.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.
A jojoba-derived wax that gives a soft, cushioned finish and light hold in balms.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.
Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.
A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
A positively charged conditioning polymer. It leaves a thin film that cuts static and eases combing, and it survives rinsing better than a simple conditioner.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
Cationic polymers hold a curl loosely and stay soft, which is why they turn up in definition products rather than firm-hold ones.
A cationic polymer stays on the hair through rinsing, which is what keeps static and combing friction down after the wash.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
A positively charged conditioning agent. Damaged hair carries a negative charge, so it deposits where the damage is and makes wet hair comb through.
Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.
A cationic conditioning agent: it binds to the damaged, negatively charged parts of the cuticle and lowers combing friction there.
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.
Substantive by design. A routine with no detergent wash gives it nothing to leave with.
An undisclosed blend of scent ingredients. Regulations let it stay unlisted, so a fragrance-free product is the only way to be certain what is not in it.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.
A wax from Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus). Waxes give balms and pomades their firmness and grip, and take a real cleanser to remove.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
A coconut-derived preservative booster that also softens.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
An amino-acid-derived cleanser, among the mildest in common use.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
The detergent class most curl routines are built around: it lathers and cleanses without stripping the strand back to bare.
A gentler detergent leaves more of the surface oil that slows water loss from coarse or porous hair.
Cleanses with less sebum removal than a sulfate detergent, so hair that is short of moisture keeps more of it through the wash.
A fatty alcohol used to thicken creams and add slip. It softens rather than dries.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
The waxy solid that gives a conditioner its body. It deposits a soft lubricating layer, which is most of what makes hair feel smooth after rinsing.
Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.
A floral fragrance component listed separately as a recognised contact allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A sugar-derived, low-foam cleanser used in gentle and curly-method shampoos.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Mild cleansing leaves more surface lubrication in place on hair that dries out quickly.
A sugar-derived non-ionic detergent, among the gentlest in use. It cleanses with little foam of its own and little sebum removal.
Gentle cleansing leaves water-insoluble deposits largely in place; they come off with a stronger wash, not this one.
A soft floral fragrance component named separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A mild cationic conditioner known for heavy detangling with a light rinse-out feel. Common in curly-hair conditioners.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
A cationic conditioning agent: it binds to the damaged, negatively charged parts of the cuticle and lowers combing friction there.
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.
Substantive by design. A routine with no detergent wash gives it nothing to leave with.
A citrus-smelling fragrance component that EU rules require to be named separately because some people react to it.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A coconut-derived preservative booster that also binds trace metals.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.
Copper and iron carried in tap water deposit on the strand and read as a dull, warm cast on gray or light hair. A chelator holds those metals in solution so the wash carries them off.
A violet-like fragrance component named separately as a recognised allergen.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
One of the 26 scent components the EU requires to be named individually above a threshold. It is named because it is a known contact allergen, not because it is unusual.
A soy- or sunflower-derived lipid that helps conditioning ingredients spread evenly on the strand.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A strong base used in trace amounts to set pH; it is fully neutralised in the finished product.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
pH adjusters are how a formula is brought to a chosen acidity, and an acidic formula keeps the cuticle lying flatter than an alkaline one. Which way this one moves the pH depends on the formula, and the finished pH is not on the label.
A workhorse emulsifier that holds oil and water together in a cream.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
An emulsifier that also softens, often added to make a cleanser feel less stripping.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
Used to bring the product to a slightly acidic pH, which helps the cuticle lie flat. It is almost always near the end of the list.
It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.
Holds hard-water minerals in solution so they rinse away instead of depositing on the hair.
The acid side of pH adjustment, and the reason it matters is measured: alkaline formulas raise the fibre's surface negative charge, increase friction between strands and lift the scales, while lower-pH ones do the reverse.
Where a warm cast comes from water minerals rather than from the hair itself, holding those metals in solution is what removes it.
Ingredient list captured 2026-10-17. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.
Price · 1.69 oz
Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $9 line; products that do this job typically go for about $12 at this size.
Sorted by price per ounce. Dated observations from our research, not live prices. Direct store pages, no affiliate links. We don’t sell this product.
Formula
The formula carries what a paste is built around, and 8 products we score as close matches cost at least a quarter less per ounce. The difference is the label, not the formula.
The formula score measures completeness for the job: a weighted share of the systems this product type is usually built around that we find in this list. It does not rate how well the product works or its quality, and it never compares across product types.
Does the same job, for less
Formulas that do the same things (cleanse, condition, coat or hold) for less per ounce. Scent, texture and where you buy them can still differ.
See more alternatives in the product library
These products do a similar job. We haven’t matched them to you. Find the one that fits your hair, routine and budget

Final decision
Hair that stiffens on protein who want a protein-free formula and a curly-method-compatible formula
Not ideal for anyone sensitive to fragrance, oily scalps and fine hair, or anyone stretching time between washes
We do not sell products or take placement fees. This page states what the formula and the prices show; the consultation is what matches it to a person.
Claims check
Claims are quoted from the brand. We mark a claim supported, partly supported or conflicting only when the ingredient list speaks to it. Everything else stays "stated by the brand". That isn’t a criticism: most claims can’t be checked from a label.
Shapes and sculpts
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
boosts volume
Heavy emollients sit high in the list, which usually works against lift.
Likely to weigh hair down.
adds texture and support
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
matte finish
Absorbent powders are present, which is how a matte finish is normally produced.
Texture without gloss.
no stiff effect
This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.
—
Can’t be confirmed from label.
non-greasy formula
Heavy emollients sit high in the list.
Expect it to sit on the strand.
rinses out easily
Waxes or occlusives sit high in the list, and those do not rinse out in water alone.
Expect to need a real cleanse.
We look at the first 10–15 ingredients and what they do in a formula, not at the marketing. If the list doesn't speak to a claim, we don't assume.