Star Pro Line Star Wax Premium Pomade, Toffee, 5 fl oz / 150 ml

When I found Redken's Rough Clay 20, it was a match made in heaven. I bought it every time I got a haircut from the salon I use and I never needed anything else. Then, as it often happens, my beloved product was discontinued and Redken didn't replace it with anything similar. I've spent the last five years looking for a product that could duplicate the properties of Rough Clay to no avail.At long last, I've found something that's incredibly similar in this Star Wax Premium Clay. When you open the jar—which is quite large, more than double the amount you'll get with most other products—you notice that the consistency of the product is almost identical to that of the Redken Rough Clay 20. It's very thick, almost looking like actual clay, and matte. There's absolutely zero shine to it, which was something I always look for in a product as many of them tend to make my hair look greasy and unclean. My hair is currently cut into something derivative of a pompadour—longer on top and buzzed on the back and sides with a very minimal amount of fading in between—so the amount that I used was roughly the size of my thumbnail. I put it into my hands, rubbed them together to warm it up a little bit, then combed it into my hair using my fingers.The hold isn't quite as strong as the Redken Rough Clay 20, but it's close. I'd say the Redken was a strong hold, and the Star Pro Line Clay is a medium hold or thereabouts. Aside from the difference in the strength of the hold, styling my hair with the clay was like stepping into a time machine. It felt so much like Rough Clay 20 that I was so relieved for my search to be over. Yes, I'm aware this sounds dramatic, but we all have those products we love and become heartbroken when they're taken away. Using this Star Wax Premium Clay ended a search that lasted several years for me, so I really couldn't be happier.My one gripe is that I wish the hold were a bit stronger, but considering this is the closest I've ever come to Redken Rough Clay 20 and it's almost an identical product otherwise, I'm not going to deduct a star for that. The hold is still adequate, especially with a light spritz of hairspray. It's great for sculptural styles in which you would normally have trouble getting your hair to go or do what you want. Once the product "sets," it looks much like you would expect a pomade-type product to look, giving your hair great texture and definition, but without that shininess that can quickly make your hair look dirty. What's more, the Star Wax Premium Clay washes off your hands and out of your hair extremely easily, which I always appreciate; I've been frustrated at having to use half a bottle of shampoo before to get a product out of my hair, but this Star Wax Premium Clay washes out like conditioner.Also, this product has fragrance in it. It smells like a men's cologne. And it's not a smell that will remind you of cologne vaguely, but rather it smells like it was made with some men's cologne added to the mixture. I don't personally have an issue with that and I find that it smells pretty good, especially compared to the awful smell that some products out there have, but other reviewers have disliked the smell, calling it overpowering or saying that it makes the product smell like a cheap body spray. Again, I really don't mind it and find that of all the smells that could be radiating ever-so-slightly from my head, I certainly don't mind this one.Finally: Price. Yes, it's a bit more expensive than other products out there, but I'm a big believe in the old adage, "You get what you pay for." And with this Star Wax Premium Clay, you're also getting more than 2x's the amount that you get from most other lines, so I'd say there's even more value to be had here with this one.Bottom Line: If you were a fan of the Redken Rough Clay 20 or the Stephen Knoll New York matte clay that was also discontinued not long ago, this is going to be the best replacement that you'll find. Better yet, it's an almost identical product. It's got plenty of hold—though the hold can easily be supplemented with hairspray—and is a joy to work with as you style your hair. The smell is pleasant and not overpowering and it washes out easily. Also, it has great longevity, lasting me throughout the day and even in very humid conditions. I even sweat a little bit in 90-degree heat today and my hair still looked just as it did when I put the product in this morning. If this sounds good to you, look no further. This Star Pro Line Premium Clay is now my go-to styling product and is the only clay/pomade/sculpting wax that I'll ever buy.... until it inevitably gets discontinued, too.

NOTE: Before you continue to read this review, I received the old version of this product. According to Star Pro's website, the newest version claims to be paraben free, and it is indeed paraben free according to the ingredients. However, the old version contains propylparaben which for those who don't know is the nasty paraben. So why the five stars then? I'm pretty young, healthy and not particularly worried about a single tub of hair product giving me cancer. For those of you who are very, very health conscious and want to avoid parabens like the plague, you may wish to steer clear until Igius gets this resolved. I will be contacting Amazon/Igius shortly after this review. I am hoping they could get the stock issue fixed.Now on to the product itself. The Star Pro Premium Pomade, Clay parabens aside, is quite a nice hair product. It's packaged pretty minimally, brown and tan color scheme; nothing you can't see in the photo. Who buys a hair product for its packaging though right? You care about what's inside. The nice thing about the Star Pro Clay is you get a 5 ounce jar of the stuff; most hair products are 2.5 or so ounces which is fine but they can run out fast. Yeah it's twice the price so it's really just the price of two products for the amount of two products but in one container. I don't know. It seems better to me that way, just my two cents.The first thing I noticed upon opening this product is the scent. Some have said it's not too strong but I disagree the scent karate kicks you in the nostrils when opening it and I can smell it through the whole day; the scent doesn't seem to fade easily. Despite this, I like it because this stuff smells GOOD. It has a very masculine, clean cologne like smell. Heck if this was a cologne I would buy it. For those of you who don't like strongly scented hair products look elsewhere because the Star Pro Clay has a strong fragrance. A good fragrance, but strong.The clay is a pretty tough consistency; you'll get a bit of an arms workout getting this stuff in your hair. I feel it's a very dry product; it doesn't feel oily or greasy in any way. For those of you who have used American Crew Fiber, it feels drier than that which feels odd when in your hands and getting it in your hair, and you might think "How is this going to hold?" but it does, and it does well. Once in the hair, it appears slightly white but this goes away upon styling. I use a comb to pull the front of my hair back similar to a pompadour but shorter and this has been more of a struggle with the Star Pro Line yet, somehow, it always ends up in the right place. I don't know how this phenomena occurs but it does. Despite being strong and a little tough to work with, the product does what you want it to do.At the end of the day, step in the shower, rinse and shampoo and it comes off relatively nicely. I will admit, it's not the cleanest rinsing one I've ever had, but it's no Murrays Pomade or classic product that won't come out of your hair short of a flamethrower. If I had to put a scale to it, 10 being comes off completely and a 1 being "Oh my god what is this gorilla glue?!" it's about an 8. I think a clarifying shampoo (Suave sells a daily one cheap as dirt) would really assist with product removal.The Star Pro Clay hs a lot going for it. It smells great, works well, and rinses out pretty well. The issue is the paraben thing which at this point doesn't bug me, but if I keep getting old stock when I re-order then it will become a problem but I am going to try to resolve this one.EDIT 6/26/2014: I have discovered that this product works WAY better when your hair is slightly damp. I've battled with it's tough consistency dry but every so slightly damp hair helps to comb it a lot if you prefer to style it as such. This also does not cause the product to harden, it will dry exactly the same.

A great product with excellent hold. Good for all mid-length hair styles. Leaves a nice sheen to hair and keeps it smelling fresh!

Very good pomade will be buying again, update in 1 and a half months it’s 3 years since I bought the pomade and it’s still the best stuff I have used