Most people buy the wrong hair product at least once. Usually it happens in a chemist aisle, holding two tubs that look nearly identical, picking whichever has the better label.
I have had a version of the same conversation in the chair for 15 years. Someone sits down, I ask what they use at home, and they name a product that was never going to work for their hair. Not because it is a bad product. Because it was built for a different head.
That is the whole reason No.113 exists. Every product in the range came out of a problem I kept hitting on the shop floor and could not solve with what was on the shelf. There are six of them. Each one does a single job properly. Here is how to work out which one is yours.
Start with your hair, not the product
Three questions get you most of the way there. I ask all three before I recommend anything.
Do you want shine or no shine?
This is the biggest fork and the one most people skip. Five of the six products finish matte. Only the Pomade gives you shine. If you are chasing a slick back or a sharp side part, nothing else in the range will get you there, and if you want a modern textured look, the Pomade is the wrong tub.
Is your hair fine or thick?
Fine hair needs something that builds body from the root before you style. Thick hair needs enough hold to control it. A product built for one will usually underperform on the other, which is why the same tub gets glowing reviews and terrible ones.
Is your hair straight, wavy or curly?
Curl needs moisture and definition. Straight hair needs grip and texture. These are genuinely different problems and they call for different formulations, not different amounts of the same thing.
Answer those three and the range narrows to one or two products straight away.
Compare the range side by side
| Product | Best for | Hold | Finish | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matte Paste Apply to dry hair | Straight and wavy hair, short to medium lengths | Strong, pliable | Matte | 100g30g travel |
| Matte Clay Apply to dry hair | Shorter cuts, quiffs and crops | Strong, firm | Matte | 100g30g travel |
| Traditional Pomade Damp or dry hair | Slick backs and side parts | Strong | High shine | 100g30g travel |
| Sea Salt Spray Towel dry or dry hair | Fine or flat hair, and as a pre styler | Light | Matte | 200ml50ml travel |
| Defining Curl Cream Apply to damp hair | Wavy, curly and coiled hair | Light to medium | Soft, natural | 100g30g travel |
| Texturising Powder Dry hair, at the root | Fine and short hair needing lift | Medium | Matte | 30g |
| Discovery Pack Five travel sizes plus tote | Anyone unsure where to start | All hair types | Varies | 5 piece |
Matte or shine, and why it matters more than hold
People fixate on hold strength. In the chair, finish is the thing that actually decides whether someone likes their hair.
Shine reads as deliberate and traditional. It suits a comb through look, a side part with a hard line, a proper slick back. It is a specific aesthetic and when it lands it looks sharp. That is what the Traditional Pomade is for. Ours is water soluble, which matters more than it sounds. The old mineral oil pomades held beautifully and then sat in your hair for three washes. This one rinses out with water and shampoo.
Matte reads as modern and undone. It is the finish behind almost every current men's cut, and it is what the paste, clay, spray and powder all deliver. If you look at a photo of a style you want and the hair does not reflect light, you are in matte territory.
Pick the finish first. Then worry about how strong the hold needs to be.
Matte Paste or Matte Clay?
This is the question I get most often, because both are matte and both hold firmly. The difference is not strength. It is pliability and hair length.
The Matte Clay is built around kaolin and bentonite. It sets firmer and it thickens the hair shaft, which is why it suits shorter cuts. A quiff, a crop, a textured short back and sides. You style it once in the morning and it stays where you put it. The bentonite is what stops it feeling tacky, which is the usual complaint with clays.
The Matte Paste holds just as well but stays workable. You can run your hands through it at lunchtime and reshape without the whole style collapsing. If your hair is medium length, if you want movement, or if you are the sort of person who fiddles with their hair through the day, the paste is the one.
If you cannot decide: buy the paste. It suits more hair types and more cuts than anything else we make, and it is the tub I reach for most often behind the chair. The clay is the upgrade once you know you want a shorter, sharper look.
The step most people skip: pre styling
This is where the biggest results are hiding, and almost nobody does it at home.
A pre styler goes in before your main product and changes what that product has to grip. Styling product applied to smooth, clean hair slides. Applied to textured hair, it grabs and holds for hours longer.
Two ways to do it. Sea Salt Spray on towel dry hair, blow dried in, then paste or clay over the top. Or Texturising Powder at the root on dry hair, worked in with your fingertips, then clay over the top.
If you have fine hair and you have ever wondered why your styling product seems to do nothing at all, this is almost always the reason. The product is fine. It has nothing to hold onto.
If your hair is curly, ignore most of this
Paste and clay work against curl. They flatten the pattern, clump the wrong sections together and leave you with something heavier and less defined than what you started with. I see this constantly.
Use the Defining Curl Cream instead. It goes on damp hair, defines the pattern that is already there and controls frizz without the weight that kills the bounce. Scrunch it in, then leave it alone. Touching curls while they dry is what creates frizz.
If you want more separation and movement through the top once it is dry, a light mist of sea salt spray over the curl cream works well. Cream first, spray second, never the other way round.
Still not sure? Test before you commit
Nobody should be spending full price to find out whether a product suits them. That is what the Discovery Pack is for. Travel sizes of five products, big enough that you get a genuine sense of each one across a few weeks, packed in the original tote.
Work out what your hair actually responds to, then buy the full size of whichever wins. It also solves the gift problem, because you are not guessing on someone else's behalf.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use two No.113 products together?
Yes, and most people should. Sea salt spray or texturising powder as a pre styler, then paste or clay over the top. The range was designed to be layered that way.
Which product has the strongest hold?
The Matte Clay. Both the clay and the paste are strong hold, but the clay sets firmer and is better suited to shorter cuts. The paste stays pliable so you can restyle through the day.
Which product is best for fine hair?
Texturising powder for instant root volume, or sea salt spray if you want texture through the length as well. Both build body without the weight that flattens fine hair.
Is No.113 Pomade water soluble?
Yes. Unlike traditional mineral oil based pomades, ours rinses out with water and shampoo without leaving residue or that greasy build up across the following few washes.
What is the difference between paste and clay?
Both are matte and both hold strongly. Clay sets firmer and thickens the hair, which suits shorter cuts. Paste stays workable so you can restyle it, which suits medium lengths and looks with more movement.
Do these products leave residue or flake?
No. The range is formulated to wash out cleanly with water and shampoo, without the flaking heavier waxes and clays are known for.
Are No.113 products Australian made?
Yes. Every product is 100% Australian made, paraben free and cruelty free, developed and tested at Brotherwolf Barbershop in Melbourne.
