American Crew – Power Cleanser and Fiber duo

Every now and then I pay a visit to one of my local Winner’s.  The range of things that can be found is always surprising.  I initially had not realized that they also carried a variety of personal care items.  I would normally be suspicious about such items in a liquidation store since the products might be pretty close to their end of shelve life if it hasn’t already passed.  That being said, I came across an American Crew box containing a shampoo and a fiber pomade.  Since the box was sealed I concluded that the products had not been opened and might be intact.  The price was also fairly reasonable at $20 for both products.  If anything and as mentioned in my other posts, shampoos have a very long shelf life so in worst case scenario not all would be lost.

The “fiber”and shampoo will be reviewed together as I am going with the rational that they are companion products.  Now having reviewed a few shampoos, I am starting to have more of a reference point as to what a good shampoo would consist of.

At the beginning of the Style 4 men project, I had tried an American Crew product and had decided that it was an expensive brand with limited results.  But I had also acknowledged that this brand had an enormous following.  I am now also realizing that like most other makers, they don’t just make one product.  I am thus more willing to think that what I tried back then was perhaps not a match for the needs of my hair, but that they might have something for me in their full offering: wax, clay, pomade, etc.…  I am inclined to think that what I initially tried was either the forming Cream or the Grooming cream since I distinctly remember working with something that was creamy as opposed to gelatinous.

When looking at the American Crew site, I counted  6 jars that fit in the “pomade” space:

• Defining Paste
• Forming Cream
• Pomade
• Fiber
• Molding Clay
• Grooming Cream

Something nice in these pages, is that they indicate the hair type each product is intended for.  Most of the pomade makers out there are on a smaller production model and might only offer one “pomade”.  A bigger offering is typically: pomade, wax and clay.  Regardless, I like that American Crew is clearly identifying the prototype user for the given product.  It is considerably more useful than the standard: “Ideal for all hair types”.  The information is also laid out in simple terms.  For example on the “Fiber” page, they indicate: “Works well in shorter hair, 1-3 inches in length.”  My bangs are perhaps 4-6” in length, so we can assume that this might not be the best of their product for me, but worth a try.  If these test are positive, it will be grounds for trying out their actual “pomade”.

This test will be specifically against the “Fiber” and I pretty sure that this is not what I had initially tried.

The shampoo that came in this duo is the “Power Cleanser Style Remover“.

This morning was time to give this Fiber a try.  Upon opening the jar I was welcomed by a very nice scent, but I am totally at a loss as to how to identify it.  Maybe something like a spicy soap, if that makes any sort of sense.  The content was a nice looking off-white waxy substance.  Fairly firm, but easy enough to relax in the fingers and palm.  In a few motions, the Fiber was ready to be worked into the hair. As soon as it got in contact with the hair, it became very sticky.  A bit harder to apply than what I am use to, but by no means difficult.  the product went it well and my usual style was achieved very quickly.  As the fiber is sticky, using a comb was OK for the sides and back, but not really for my bangs.  It was shaped by hand.

 

At that point I was actually quite pleased with the result.  It is a very natural looking result with limited shine.  This lasted about 15 minutes. By which time, my bangs started falling. The product also remains sticky for quite some time.  I am writing this about 9 hours after application and the feeling in the hair by now is nice, but for most of the day it was almost too sticky.  Making it a bit hard to restyle.  I ended up moving my bangs back up by hand most of the afternoon.  I suspect that it is this repeated placement that actually ended up removing the stickiness.  As mentioned above, my bangs are much longer than the 1-3 inches which is the suggested target hair length.  In that sense I can understand that we are not working in ideal conditions.

Where does that leave us?  If you are sporting some variation of an uppercut where your bangs are quite long and you want to achieve some elevation as in a pomp, this might not be your best bet.  If you simply want to slick back your hair, this might do fine.  That being said, I am thinking that this product will work better with shorter hair than mine.

Here is the rating on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is a perfect score and/or level of shine:

• Hold: 3
• Shine: 2
• Texture: 3
• Feel in hair: 2
• Facility to wash out:  5

The shampoo

The American Crew shampoo does not offer any volumizing or conditioning or any such bonus features.  It is a very straight forward and deep cleaning option.  Plainly put, this is the type of shampoo you turn too to get rid of any buildup there might be in your hair.  You are also reaching for this bottle when you intend on using a conditioner.  Since it is a deep cleaner, your hair will be squeaky clean.  Squeaky clean is great, but not so easy to work with.  A conditioner will be necessary to bring some manageability back to your mope.

Because it is a deep cleaning shampoo, it is also not a daily use shampoo.  The cleaning is just too deep.  Think of it in terms of car care.  Do you want to be removing all elements of wax off your car every time you wash it and start from zero?  You want to clean the dirt off, but keep all of the protective elements in place.  For the car it’s wax, for hair it’s our natural oils.  In that sense, the American Crew shampoo is a once-a-week thing.  Or the shampoo your turn too,  to remove some seriously nasty stuff.

By comparison, my daily shampoo is the Mark Anthony Repairing Macadamia .  It cleans well and is very gentle on the hair.  It also replenishes the moisture or oil of the hair.  Basically. It makes my hair feel great and totally workable.  That sentence sounded like a voice-over during a Bay Watch scene with a babe flinging her hair.

Shampoo rating:

• Scent: Pleasant and discreet (you won’t smell it after the shower)
• Texture: Thick liquid gel
• Cleaning Power: 5+
• Do you need a conditioner after: Yes
• Squeak Factor: 4