The lowdown on using Matte Clay.
What is Matte Clay?
Hair gel and the light at the end of the tunnel. Lets take a minute to jump into our finely honed time machine and travel back the year 1998. France ’98 ensures many men’s eyes were glued to the TV. Apple reveals the iMac (Google it). The Titanic sails into cinemas. DVDs are the shiny new media format *snigger*. Robbie Williams, Boyzone, Aqua and the Spice Girls are ruining radio speakers everywhere.
Men’s hair was in a dire state. DVDs weren’t the only thing that was shiny. We were living in a time where Hair Gel was the order of the day and everyone including DiCaprio and even Becks were using so much of the stuff that the Titanic probably wouldn’t have sunk if all men washed their hair in the sea at the same time. It would have just stuck there after striking the iceberg. Frozen in place. Like so many mens hair styles at the time. Imagine it now. Wet look spikes with frosted tips. Eurgh. That actually happened.
Fortunately at some stage sense kicked in with the advent of Matte-look styles well after the Millennium bug had come and gone. Matte clay was medium-to-firmly the product of choice for many men to style up and style out any and all styles packing texture. Incidentally (just in case) Matte means ‘no or low shine’. So, literally the opposite of hair gel.
Matte Clay is a scoopable product that is highly versatile and easy to use, and wash out (with our water soluble formula). Best warmed in palms first and applied to dry or towel-dried hair, Matte Clay enhances, holds in place, and adds definition to many styles with texture – but with no shine.
Our Matte Clay has been developed to provide a generous firm but reworkable hold with a natural low-shine matte finish. It features an addictive exotic coconut fragrance so hair will look and smell at it’s best.
TLDR:
- Matte Clay is a scoopable product for achieving enhanced hair texture and low shine.
- The benefits are great definition, increased texture, a matte finish and a firm yet reworkable hold.
- Can be used on dry or towel-dried hair.
- Versatile enough to be ideal for many short and medium textured styles.
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What does Matte Clay do?
Matte Clay is most prized for its low shine finish that enhances texture. Any style up to medium length can be firmly held in place without hard setting. Tweaks to the style throughout the day are possible due to Matte Clay’s pliable and reworkable nature.
Why would you use Matte Clay?
Dark Stag’s professional barber Matte Clay is a product that gives a great matte finish, firm hold, and enhanced texture to a huge variety of short to mid hair styles of most hair types.
It is an ideal product for short to medium length styles with lots of choppy texture such as a textured quiff or modern mullet. It can ensure textured cuts look at their best with a matte finish without being too rigidly set.
Reasons to choose Matte Clay:
- If your hair is too short to comb – less than a couple of inches or so – shiny products might make it look greasy. Matte Clay is ideal.
- If you want more of a carefree relaxed off-duty look, Matte Clay offers a look that is the complete opposite of try hard shiny slicker.
Try the combo!
Sea Salt Spray is also an ideal preparation product in conjunction with using a hair dryer to give greater control to hair, and boosted volume before finishing the style with matte clay for your definition and hold. Read on for tips on how to do this below!
A hugely versatile styling product, most hair styles – barring super short or long – can benefit from Matte Clay.
Dark Stag’s Matte Clay has been years in the making.
ASK YOUR BARBER is a new styling range made in England by Dark Stag with a game changing ethos based around respecting and supporting Barbers. Part of the range is our Professional Barber Matte Clay. It is a proven winner shaped by extensive barber testing and real world barbershop feedback. We adjusted the formulation until our barber tester panel told us we had absolutely nailed it. SPOILER ALERT: it smells incredible.
Since 2017 Dark Stag have crafted products thousands of barbers the world over trust and rely on every day. And if they love it, you know its good.
When to use Matte Clay
The best time to use Matte Clay is on clean and dry (or towel dried) hair as a finishing product. This means you could use a priming product first such as Sea Salt Spray first.
To dry hair with a hair dryer – with or without spritzing Sea Salt Spray first – use a medium temperature and power and use fingers to guide and separate the hair. The direction to dry the hair in depends on the cut, but as a rule look to finish on the front section or fringe, and dry hair in the approximate direction it will sit when finished. E.G direct the air upwards to apply volume or downwards to flatten.
This helps by moving the hair into the shape that provides the best structure and canvas for finishing and styling your desired style.
Using a hair dryer or Sea Salt Spray is not essential – but texture and volume are increased when hair is primed with heat, air, and additional product in this way. If you don’t want to use a hair dryer or Sea Salt Spray simply towel dry.
When hair is dry and it is time to finish the style, that is the time to use Matte Clay!
How to use Matte Clay
Scoops Ahoy!
- Starting with dry or towel dry hair, scoop a small amount of Matte Clay from the pot – start with enough to cover your finger tip.
- Warm the Clay between both palms to ensure it is pliable.
- Apply through hair from back to front making sure not to use too much in one area.
- Begin to shape and refine the style with fingertips.
- If more definition or hold is needed repeat the process with a little more Matte Clay.
