Old Spice For The Hair: The Good Kind of Smelly

old spice for the hair review

Swagger vs. Fiji vs. Spiffy

Zack has bulky hair that he’d have to wrestle to get under a hat, and I have short hair. Like, the fuzz of a tennis ball is covering my scalp. I’m not balding and don’t have thinning hair, I guess I just like tennis? Anyway … I dumped Swagger ($4 @ Amazon.com) and Fiji ($4 Amazon.com) shampoo-and-conditioner onto my head, as well as globbed on some Spiffy pomade. Here’s my take …

Swagger
Arguably the better-smelling and worse-named of the two shampoo/conditioners, it’s not like your grandfather’s Old Spice. It smells like the reboot, or Gramps 2.0. It’s more fresh and sporty, but doesn’t bombard the nostrils with a smell so intense that you can’t escape; rather, it maintains a soft, subtle and ultimately satisfying presence for a surprisingly long time.

Also: 7 hairstyles for guys with thinning hair

Fiji
We anticipated Fiji smelling like a tropical paradise that’s been polluted by mankind. As you can tell, we don’t frequent Fiji. However, we’re happy to report that Fiji from Old Spice smells far better than that. It doesn’t remind you of the classic Old Spice scent, and that’s a good thing. There is a hint of citrus notes but won’t leave your hair smelling like palm trees or coconut oil.

Old Spice Spiffy Pomade
You know that stuff you work into your hair to keep it looking Michelangelo-David sculpted? This is it. It keep your hair soft-to-touch, smelling nice, and generally in-place for the rest of your day. Its hold isn’t perfect, that’s for sure — the bottle says “moderate,” so I wasn’t expecting a fortress — but it won’t turn your hair to stone. If you’re after that, I’d like to suggest another product: mud.

— JUSTIN