Customer Reviews

Aveda Control Paste Finishing Paste with Organic Flax Seed, 1.7-Ounce Jar

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The other review here was from a girl with long hair that didn't like this stuff. I am a guy with short hair. I think that's what makes all the difference. If you have short hair and want that separated yet natural look that movie, music, tv stars often have than this is the product to do it. It can recover you from a bad haircut. They say to use an amount the size of a pea or a dime or something like that. If you have so much hair that you need to glob the stuff on it will not work well. You should use just a little right after a shower while your hair is damp (not soaked, but not yet dry). Give it a good toweling then apply immediately. Have fun with it.. it can shape your hair anyways you want yet when it dries it looks like it was supposed to be shaped that way. Not like some pomades that leave you looking like a greased weasel. Also it smells really good, but not too strong and washes out completely.

I've tried lots of different brands of styling wax and keep coming back to Aveda despite it being relatively difficult to find (Aveda controls who can sell many of their products and I don't like having to walk into snooty salons to buy this stuff where they try to sell you tons of product). Aveda Control Paste is the only styling wax that will give me a textured look without making my hair look greasy or weighing it down.

I have very short-to-medium length fine hair and unless I use a post-styling product, my hair just looks limp and thin. Control Paste gives it a little bit of extra body and volume and again, gives my layers a casual "piecy" look. I've even tried AVEDA Custom Control Gel Wax 3.4 fl oz/100 ml and this stuff is much much better -- the gel is too heavy and weighs down the layers.

While at first glance, it is expensive, one container lasts a LONG time -- over a year for me. You don't use very much -- just enough to get your finger tips sticky. Also, be sure to put the lid on tightly so that it doesn't dry out.

[NCJAR]

I am a woman with just below the jaw length, heavy thick hair with a natural wave. I let my hair air dry after I wash it, and put this in when either still a bit damp or totally dry. It's fantastic! It smells great and makes your hair look wonderful. I agree with the other reviewer that your hair looks better as the day goes on. Many times I get up the next morning to my hair still looking great. I can't live without this.

My boyfriend has been using this product for several years now. He's experimented with just about every pomade, wax, paste or clay at every price level, but keeps returning to Aveda Control Paste as his default styling medium.

The product's best feature is its ability to give a sexy, tousled "bed head" style that looks natural, not artificial. Most products are too heavy, causing the hair to clump together in spiky pieces. And most products are either too shiny or too dry. Control Paste strikes the perfect balance: it offers just the right proportions of shine, hold, and definition to make the style look natural. On top of it, it's perhaps the best-smelling personal grooming product I've ever smelled!

I've used this product for about five years. It works particularly well on short hair. Nice hold, not too stiff. Smells incredible. Also Aveda changed the formula about two years ago so it doesn't contain parabens anymore.

I've been using this control paste for several years now. It is messy, as the other reviewer pointed out but it works great. I don't know why someone would mix it with water. You put some in your palm and rub hands together to emulsify the product. It makes your hair look fantastic! And holds great. I have thick, heavy hair with a natural wave and this stuff is perfect for me.

I completely agree with D. M. Uncles that this product is awesome. It was created for short hair. I also cannot live without this stuff. I have tried every other pomade-like product out there and for my short hair nothing compares to this stuff. I have thin blond hair and if I just towel dry my hair and apply this product, my hair looks awesome for the rest of the day. I find that my hair even looks better at the end of the day as the natural oils mix with this product and create a different consistency. I can still manipulate my hair after this product has been in there for hours. It does dry with your hair if you apply it to towel-dry hair, but as the day progresses and your hair develops natural oils, it works with it, not against it. If you just use a dime-size amount, it leaves your hair non-greasy and goop free. It is not sticky at all. This product is all I use and if I run out of it, I freak out. Amazon also offers it at a great price with no sales tax and free shipping. You absolutely cannot beat that deal compared to local San Francisco Aveda salons. I have used it for probably 5 years now. If you are a guy with thin-ish short hair, this is an awesome product. It also works for my friends who have short thicker hair. And I agree that it smells awesome. I get so many compliments on the smell.

Aveda Control Paste smells like massage oil. The smell is too strong and overpowering. It would be an excellent smell for a massage oil, but it is not suited for hair.

Although the product washed out easily, the smell stays on your hair and your hands. Drove my GF crazy; I myself could not sleep even after showering - I stopped using it after one use.

The product seems to be a hardened, cake-paste, like Jonathan Dirt, which is what I prefer. However, once you scoop some out, it seems the hard-paste consistency is only one-layer deep. The product itself is mushy and soft, kind of like the consistency of Alterna Hemp styling mud. The consistency is a a little oily, although it doe snot make the hair oily.

When running hands through the hair, it feels like if there was sand in your hair.

PROS: Ease of use. easy to wash out.

Cons: SMELL - which remains even after washing out product, hardly any hold, too thin a consistency.

Hold: 2 - next to having no product. About the hold of a leave-in conditioner.

Control: 5 - it allows fine hair to be managed and styled, but nothing special.

Smell: 0 - zero points for smell - worst aspect of this product, although the smell is typical Aveda.

Washing Out: 8 - washes out easy. Did not give it a 10 since the smell is hard to get rid of, even after washing.

Ease of Use: 10 - no science, just scoop, rub palms together, and apply.

Feel in the hair: 9 - feels like there is no product in the hair.

Humidity Resistance: 2 - will eventually get puffy in humid weather.

Bottom line: No real hold at all, and no real texture. It is an OK product. Nothing special - overpowering smell, not suited for hair.

A much better (similar) product, with more hold, more control and an EXCELLENT smell, that, while seems overpowering from the container, is not overpowering in the hair (and is appealing after applied), would be Jonathan Product Dirt Texturizing Paste - 1.7 oz..

I occasionally try a different paste, thinking I can save a few bucks... and always come back to Aveda. This stuff is absolutely the best!

My hair is currently cut into a layered bob that reaches about two inches past my ears, and I'm trying to grow it out a bit more. This product was recommended to me on a beauty forum as a great product to "piece out" the layers. While I love the smell and the texture of it, I've found that it just doesn't hold my layers in place in a lasting way.

According to the product description, Control Paste is meant to help create texture: "Loose and piece-y, or stand-up and messy-new Control Paste gives hair a high-textured, low-sheen look that's smooth, not sticky." When I first apply it, the layers in my hair really stand out, but they disappear in less than an hour. I've even tried zapping my hair with hairspray, and have tried layering other products on top of the Control Paste, but nothing seems to keep those layers standing out. Perhaps my hair is too thick, but the layers just sink back into the rest of my hair a short while after using this.

I've also experimented with various methods for applying it, and it seems to work best if you emulsify it between your fingertips (not in your palms) for a few seconds, and then use your fingertips to go down individual chunks or sections of that hair that you want to piece out.

One thing I do really like about this is that it's great for keeping those pesky gray hairs flat. I get my hair colored, but the grays love to stick up along my part and hair line, and this does an excellent job of smoothing them down and keeping them there all day.

Overall, I love the idea of using an organic product on my hair, but this just doesn't provide the lasting hold I need to bring out my hair's texture and layers, even though it's designed to do just that. For that reason, I would give it 3 1/2 stars.