REUZEL Adds a Fiber Gel to the line-up

Today’s review is about a new product that was sent to me by REUZEL to try out. Thank you Marta.  Your support of Style4men.ca is most appreciated.  This is a new “type” of product for REUZEL . To date, the REUZEL brand has mostly been focused on the old school barbering approach to styling with products like: pomades, both grease and water based, shaving cream and a traditional alcohol based after shave as well as hair tonics and shampoo. Leen and Bertus’s dedication to maintaining or reviving the barbering tradition is one of the main reason why we love them and by extension, the REUZEL brand.  So, what is this new product to come out of the Scumbags Barbershop? It is the Fiber Gel. Obviously gel is nothing new but it is not something that could be found under the REUZEL brand name until now.

For my taste, pomade is king no matter what hair style or day of the week or trend is happening.  But that being said, pomade is not for everybody and yes, there might be days where something different is needed. This is where the REUZEL Fiber Gel comes in!

Gel is smoother and lighter to work with than pomade while still offering some hold that you would not find in a light pomade for example. Gel is also different in how it transforms itself after application.  Pomade pretty much stays the same.  Gel on the other will dry, firmly.  From my experience (Yes, back in the day when gel was the “thing”, I was using allot of that stuff) gel tends to dry so much that the results are “crunchy”.  But these are the gels of days gone by.  The new generation of gels offer similar hold but no so much “crunch”.

I should also indicate that gel is not necessarily the best solution all hair typse.  Gel tends to be a fairly light fixative solution that has a drying time.  That will means that if your hair is curly for example and you are trying to get it to stand up straight, you are in for some frustration, but it’s not an impossible feat.  You might have to use a hair dryer to accelerate the drying process and you might have to reinforce or lock in the hold with hair spray. Coming back to hair type, gel will be a good candidate for short or straight, or thin hair.

We should mention that not all gel will have the same texture or density.  Some brands will label something a gel, when the product is practically a liquid.  The opposite is equally true, where a paste is referred to as a gel.  Labeling is often driven by marketing and what the “IN” way to call something is.  But because REUZEL is a serious brand, when they say “gel” – the stuff is “gel”!  So, it’s not liquid and it’s not a paste, it’s a sticky, thick smooth jelly. Just as one would expect gel to be!

Gel being what it is, putting it in a jar might not be the best solution. So REUZEL put it in a tube. But not just any old tube! A proper traditional metal tube that can be rolled up. No plastic here baby! Yes, the product line is expanding, but we are not losing the REUZEL authentic way of doing things.

At 100 ml it is well in line with the rest of their hair fixatives portions.

Out of the shower with clean towel dried hair. Which I then fully dry with a cold setting on my dryer.  As I have been getting considerably better results styling my hair once it is dry, I am continuing on this path.  Onto the styling: I poured myself a small portion of the Fiber Gel.  About the size of a Canadian dime.  Spread it in my palms and onto the application.  This Fiber Gel is a bit stickier than pomade, but remained workable while I was styling.  It is nothing like clay or muds that dry almost instantly making them very hard to work with.  This Fiber Gel is no trouble at all.

During application, I was reminded how light gel is and I had to use a bit more product.  I ended up using 3 small portions.   I was able to style a proper clean cut part.  My hair being thick, wavy and somewhat long on top, this was comparable to a light-medium pomade. To keep everything in place I sought out the help of a hairspray.  The hairspray augmented the already present shine from the gel.  That is something that needs to be accepted up front; gel is shiny!

As you can see in the picture, this gel is clear, so no concerns about how it might alter your hair colour.  That being said, gel will make your hair look a shade darker and shiner, as if it were still a bit wet.

I did not blow the gel in place and it dried on its own within about 10 – 15 minutes.  The felling in the hair is firm, but I wouldn’t say “crunchy”.  For that the Reuzel Fiber Gel is considerably nicer than the gels I remember.  It is nice to touch and leaves no residue whatsoever.  Often enough with a pomade, even a water-based one, you will feel some waxy tackiness.  The gel gives a more pleasant experience.  Gel would be a go-to styling solution for an intimate night.

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

• Hold: 2.5
• Shine: 4 (specially with the addition of hairspray)
• Texture: 5
• Feel in hair: 5
• Facility to wash out: 5

The ingredient composition is always a concern at Style4men.ca and we are pleased to report that there are no parabens or alcohols used in this gel.  An ingredient I was somewhat surprised to see here was; witch hazel.  Witch hazel is mostly known for being a natural skin irritation relief (bug bites, sun burns, as an after-shave tonic, etc…).  So what is doing in my hair gel tube?  Gel tends to dry the scalp which can often lead to itchiness.  By adding witch hazel to the mix, we can understand that the goal is to counter that dry-itchy  gel sensation in the hours after application.  I can attest that I was not scratching my scalp while using this gel like I did when using others. As part of the drying issue with gel, they can flake, making you look like you have dandruff.  Not this one!  It’s a nice and clean experience.

We need to touch on the topic of aroma.  As a general rule, REUZEL products are very nicely scented.  It’s original, complex enough to be unique, simple enough to be appreciated and finally not overbearing.  These same principles remain true true with the new Fiber gel.  Here the scent is perhaps more fresh and floral. I almost want to say “green”.  I actually enjoyed it very much as it was a completely different fragrance than the pomade I have been working with lately.

In closing, this Fiber Gel is a logical addition to the REUZEL suite of products and will reach the audience beyond the strict pomade-greaser-rockabilly-surfer-speedsters.

You can shop directly on REUZEL’s site where it goes for $12.95.