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Moroccanoil

Texture Clay

Styler / Paste, medium-hold

  • Styler
  • paste
  • cream
  • Sulfate-free
  • Silicone-free
  • Protein-free
  • Cruelty-free · PETA-listed
Size2.6 fl oz
Priceabout $30commonly seen · 2.6 oz
Price / oz$11.54/ozat 2.6 oz
Where to buy7 stores · $21.00–30.00

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.

Manufacturer page: moroccanoil.com

Personal fit

Is this right for you?

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.

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$49 with 60 days of follow-up questions and plan updates

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Upper-mid price for a paste

$11.54/oz at 2.6 oz, more than 73% of the 197 pastes , which mostly run $4.92–11.75/oz. The cost less.

Price and stores

Great for

Protein-sensitive hairthat stiffens when protein is added
Dry, thirsty hairhumectants and emollients both sit up front
Curly-method routinesno sulfates and no water-insoluble silicones
Curl definitionfilm formers hold a clump together
Silicone-free routinesno silicones appear in the list
Soft-hold stylesthat should stay touchable

Maybe skip if

this product has a scent
Stretching wash dayswaxes stay until a detergent wash removes them
Dry or very humid airwhere heavy humectants work against you
Tight budgetsit sits in the upper price tiers

Whether this hold suits you depends on your density, porosity and how long your style needs to last. The consultation works that out.

What the formula actually does

Read from the label, not the marketing

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.

Hold (as stated) Medium

A medium hold, as stated by the brand.

Hold system Mixed

Gums and synthetic polymers together.

Cast risk Unlikely

Softening ingredients sit alongside the film formers, so a hard shell is unlikely.

Weight on the hair Medium

Middle of the range: noticeable on fine hair, light on coarse hair.

Oil absorption High

Absorbent powders or starches high in the list.

Oils and butters Present, lower down

Oils are present, but low enough to be a finishing touch.

Fast-drying alcohol None

No fast-drying alcohol in the list.

Needs detergent to remove Yes

Water-insoluble silicones or waxes: a detergent wash is what removes them.

Fragrance Present

Fragrance is listed; it sits below the working ingredients.

from the formula stated by the brand reported by reviewers Scale: 1 dot low · 5 dots high, within this product type.

Ingredients that matter

The ingredients that change a decision

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.

IngredientWhat it doesWhy it mattersChip
Water solvent The base everything else is dissolved in Neutral
VP/VA Copolymer film former Lays down the film that holds a shape Holds
Bentonite clay Absorbs oil and adds texture Neutral
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride light ester Light slip without much weight Softens
Propylene Glycol humectant Pulls water into the hair Moisturizes
Glycerin humectant Pulls water into the hair Moisturizes
Cetyl Palmitate light ester Light slip without much weight Buildup
Glyceryl Stearate Se emulsifier Keeps oil and water mixed Softens
Synthetic Beeswax wax Adds a little grip Buildup
Tribehenin wax Adds a little grip Buildup
Fragrance fragrance The scent Fragrance
What the list leaves out, and what it carriesNo sulfates, silicones, or drying alcohols. Protein-free: this is built for moisture rather than for strengthening. Contains fragrance.
Full ingredient list (15)

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.

  • 1 Water
    General function

    The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    • solvent
  • 2 VP/VA Copolymer
    General function

    A hold polymer that dries to a clear film. It sets the style and washes out with water.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    May suitClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

    A set polymer film is a physical barrier to humidity, so a style keeps its shape longer in damp conditions.

    May suitMaximum-hold styling

    Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.

    DependsBuild-up-sensitive routines

    Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.

    • film former
    • polymer
  • 3 Bentonite
    General function

    A clay that absorbs oil and gives a matte, gritty texture.

    Leading ingredient

    Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

    May suitFine or easily flattened hair

    Absorbs oil and adds texture, which is what gives fine hair grip at the root instead of slip.

    May not suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    An absorbent solid takes up oil, and hair already short of it has less to give.

    • clay
    • powder
  • 4 Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
    General function

    A light, refined coconut-derived oil that spreads easily and does not go rancid. It gives slip without a heavy feel.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitFine or easily flattened hair

    A light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.

    • light ester
    • emollient
  • 5 Propylene Glycol
    General function

    A small humectant and solvent that keeps formulas stable and helps active ingredients spread.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitFine or easily flattened hair

    Light and water-binding rather than oily, so it adds less weight than oils or butters do.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    A small water-binding solvent. It holds moisture and helps the rest of the formula spread evenly over the strand.

    DependsClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

    A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.

    PubChem
    • humectant
    • solvent
  • 6 Glycerin
    General function

    Glycerin, also called glycerol, attracts moisture and mixes completely with water.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    High-porosity hair loses water fast; a humectant holds some of it in place for longer than the wash itself would.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    Binds water into the outer layers of the strand, and water is what makes dry hair flexible again rather than brittle.

    DependsClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

    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.

    Scientific Reports
    • humectant
  • 7 Cetyl Palmitate
    General function

    A waxy ester used to thicken creams and add a smooth after-feel.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitFine or easily flattened hair

    A light emollient: it softens the surface with noticeably less weight than an oil or a butter.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Spreads thin and lowers friction between strands without the heaviness of a fixed oil.

    May suitMaximum-hold styling

    A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.

    PubChem
    • light ester
    • emollient
    • wax
  • 8 Glyceryl Stearate Se
    General function

    A self-emulsifying version of glyceryl stearate that builds a cream on its own.

    Supporting ingredient

    Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

    PubChem
    • emulsifier
    • emollient
  • 9 Synthetic Beeswax
    • wax
    • film former
  • 10 Tribehenin
    General function

    A plant-derived wax used to thicken balms and give a firm, smooth feel.

    Secondary ingredient

    Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

    May suitMaximum-hold styling

    A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.

    May not suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

    Waxes do not dissolve in water. They need a detergent wash to come off, and they are the classic cause of a coated feel.

    PubChem
    • wax
    • emollient
  • 11 Peg-40 Castor Oil
    • solubilizer
    • emulsifier
  • 12 C18-36 Acid Triglyceride
    • emollient
    • light ester
  • 13 Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
    General function

    Soybean oil hardened into a wax-like fat, used to thicken and seal.

    Secondary ingredient

    Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

    May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

    Forms a physical barrier on the strand that slows water leaving it. Nothing else in a formula holds moisture in as bluntly.

    • oil
    • emollient
    • sealant
  • 14 Cetearyl Alcohol
    General function

    A waxy fatty alcohol - nothing like drying alcohol. It gives conditioners their body and leaves a soft, smoothing film on the hair.

    Secondary ingredient

    Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

    May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

    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.

    May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

    Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.

    PubChem
    • fatty alcohol
    • emollient
    • thickener
  • ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
  • 15 Fragrance
    General function

    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.

    Estimated lower-concentration zone

    It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

    May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

    Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.

    • fragrance
    • declared fragrance

What the whole list adds up to

  • 7 emollients
  • 3 light esters
  • 3 waxs
  • 2 solvents
  • 2 film formers
  • 2 humectants
  • 2 emulsifiers
  • 1 polymer
  • 1 clay
  • 1 powder
  • 1 solubilizer
  • 1 oil
  • 1 sealant
  • 1 fatty alcohol

Ingredient list captured 2026-08-27. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.

Price · 2.6 oz

Commonly seen about $30 Midpoint $30 · 6 stores · checked Aug 30
Good value under $20 Under $7.62/oz it costs less than three-quarters of the 8 products we score as doing the same job

Priced above the products that do the same job. Stores sell it above the $20 line; products that do this job typically go for about $22 at this size.

Show the price ladder
Where we’ve seen it8 listings · 7 stores

2.6 ozusual store sizeBest per ounce

  • Ulta
    $30.00
    Aug 25

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. and 1 listing we don’t count, from grey-market or unverified sellers.

How we work this out
  1. 2.6 oz is the size stores list most often; every comparison on this page is made at it. Other sizes are shown in the Sizes row and the store list.
  2. Commonly seen is the middle half of current prices for the 2.6 oz at recognised stores. We leave out the cheapest and most expensive quarters, so one sale or one overpriced listing can’t move it.
  3. Good value under $20 comes from the 8 products we score as doing the same job as this one. A quarter of them cost less than $7.62/oz; at 2.6 oz that is $20. Under that line you are paying less than most of them.
  4. About $22 is what those same products typically cost at this size: the midpoint of their prices per ounce, scaled to 2.6 oz.

Formula

Formula score
10 of 10

The formula carries the systems a paste is built around, and it sits in the middle of the range for pastes per ounce.

How the score is counted
  • 4 products we score as doing the same job cost less per ounce
  • Costs more per ounce than 73% of the 197 pastes we’ve priced
  • Covers 6 of the 6 things a paste should do
  • Reviewers mention 4 things they like about how it performs
  • A hold systemThe polymer, gum, or wax that holds the shape.3 pts
  • Softeners alongside the holdWhat keeps a film flexible instead of brittle.2 pts
  • No drying alcohol in the first threeFast drying without leading on alcohol.2 pts
  • A humectantBinds water into the hair.1 pt
  • A humidity claim with a mechanismThe claim has a film former or silicone behind it.1 pt
  • Fragrance kept out of the top eightScent as a finishing touch, not a major share.1 pt

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.

REUZELLowest cost per oz Liquid Death Severed Head Pomade $6.35/oz $5.19/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Rich
· Close function
Function
  • Oils and butters
  • Weight on the hair
Also
  • Citrus scent
  • Masstige tier
  • 3.4 oz bottle
Compare
DavinesClose function Styling Paste $8.04/oz $3.50/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Silicone-free
Function
  • Slip and detangling
  • Oil absorption
Also
  • 4.2 oz bottle
Compare
DavinesClose function This is a Medium Hold Pliable Paste $8.04/oz $3.50/oz less
  • Protein-free
  • Curly method
  • Silicone-free
Function
  • Slip and detangling
  • Oil absorption
Also
  • 4.2 oz bottle
Compare

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

Suits every hair pattern

Final decision

Should you buy it?

A solid pick for the hair it suits
Best user

Hair that stiffens on protein who want a protein-free formula and moisture that stays in

Biggest tradeoff

Not ideal for anyone sensitive to fragrance, anyone stretching time between washes, or very dry or very humid climates

Best alternative if not

REUZEL Liquid Death Severed Head Pomade for similar results at a lower price

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

What the brand says, and what the formula shows

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.

2
SupportedBacked by ingredients
1
Partly supportedSome supporting logic
1
Stated by brandNo clear evidence
0
Potential conflictFormula works against claim
medium hold

Synthetic hold polymers are present.

  • VP/VA Copolymer
  • Cetyl Palmitate
  • Synthetic Beeswax
Supported

Structure that lasts the day.

matte finish

Absorbent powders are present, which is how a matte finish is normally produced.

  • Bentonite
Supported

Texture without gloss.

non-sticky, non-greasy

A mid-weight formula: light on coarse hair, noticeable on fine hair.

  • Water
  • Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
  • Propylene Glycol
Partly supported

Depends how fine your hair is.

customizable/workable texture

This is a marketing claim; an ingredient list cannot speak to it.

—

Stated by brand

Can’t be confirmed from label.

How to read this

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.

Reviewers

What people report

Themes that come up again and again in sourced reviews, written by our researchers in their own words. We don’t store or scrape star ratings.

Buildable, adds volume without heaviness, matte finish with no white cast

reviewer with wavy hair

Good for a slicked-back ponytail look and smells great

reviewer with medium-length thick hair

Adds visible texture and body to thin, fine, straight hair

reviewer with fine straight hair, multi-week use

Kept hair in place through the day without feeling greasy before the next wash

reviewer with straight hair

Held little hold and edges reverted quickly, with visible white cast on drying

reviewer with textured hair

More from Moroccanoil

How this page was made

  • Everything above comes from our researched product record: identity, the ingredient list as printed, the brand's own claims, dated prices and review themes our researchers wrote in their own words. No part of this page is written by hand for one product.
  • 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.
  • Both scores out of ten are defined on this page. The formula score is completeness for the job, computed from a fixed per-format checklist shown beneath the gauge; the price score is cost per ounce against every product of this type we have priced.
  • 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.
  • 2 sources consulted for this product (1 manufacturer or regulatory, 1 retailer, 0 editorial), last checked 2026-08-27.
  • Ingredient references are linked for 6 of 11 product-aware annotations on this page. Fit notes are general formulation guidance. They aren’t a verdict on the finished product or on you.
  • We haven’t tested this product in a lab, and we don’t physically test your hair. Formula readings come from the ingredient list. Claims about how it behaves are labelled as the brand's.
  • Ingredient order tells you relative amount only above roughly 1%. Prices are what we saw on the dates shown and can change.
  • Ingredient names link to our ingredient library, where each entry shows what it does, which product types use it, and where it usually sits on a label across everything we have researched.
  • This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
  • Formula readings: derivation v23. Record last updated 2026-08-27.

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