Old Spice For The Hair: The Good Kind of Smelly

old spice for the hair deadlock cruise control forge

All of Old Spice’s new line of 2-in-1 shampoos and conditioners and hair puttys and pomades and goops all make your hair smell good. There are different levels of scent (some have fruity notes, others smell like the upgrade of your gramp’s Old Spice cologne from the 1980s). Point is, if your hair reeks like sweat, grease, and desperation — like ours — these can hook you up with more pleasant stank and the ability to mold or shape it into something new and improved.

Unruly paste vs. Forge putty vs. Cruise Control Natural Hold & Shine vs. Deadlock Ultimate Hold & Shine

I’m a hairy guy — on top of my head, you skeevy perv. My hair is bulky and wavy, and there’s a lot of it. For me and my mane, the best Old Spice options were the Forge ($6@ Amazon.com) putty and Cruise Control Natural Hold & Shine ($8 @ Amazon.com) . They provided enough manipulation without reminding me I was using product. The differences between Forge and Cruise Control were subtle; a decent scoop of either enabled me to flex, flip, and flop my hair how I pleased, which was typically a George Washington-style coif.

Overall, the edge went to the Forge for providing more control. The Cruise Control left my hair my hair feeling slightly crisper. Think of a French fry that’s hit its climax of golden deliciousness and then stays in like a minute too long. It’s not enough to destroy the taste, but you notice that extra crispness. And that’s not a bad thing.

Also: 10 Impressive Haircuts From Movies

For me, too much crispness — or a charred fry, if you insist on continuing with that dumb French fry analogy — would be the Deadlock ($3 @ Amazon.com). It’s spiking glue, so if you’re looking for something that will crust over your head like a cocoon and hold your hair in place so tight a goddamn hurricane couldn’t blow a hair out of place, then Deadlock’s it. But I don’t spike my hair. Hell, I don’t even comb my hair. So it’s not as valuable to me. There are pros to it compared to other gels, however. Deadlock only left my hands with a faint sticky feeling after application; typically those types of products  — much less than that typical gels — but it fades within a few minutes.

The Unruly ($6 @ Amazon.com) was sort of the runt of the litter. It’s nearly on par with the Cruise Control but it’s just a little weaker. I’d take it over the Deadlock, but it’s riding pine until Forge and Cruise Control are unavailable.

— ZACK