The best mustache waxes

Three waxes, three completely different behaviors

"Strong hold" is on every tin in this category and it is not a specification. What determines hold is which wax is actually in there, and the difference between them is large.

What this page ranks on

1. Is the full ingredient list published? Both picks here publish theirs in full, which is why they are the picks. A great many waxes in this category publish nothing at all.
2. Which hardening agent, and where it sits on the list. This is the hold specification. Ingredient order tells you roughly how much of it there is.
3. What else is in it. A wax that is only wax is unpleasant to apply and harder to remove; conditioning oils make it workable.
4. Published origin. Both of these publish it, which in a category full of unlabelled tins is worth noting.

What is not ranked: hold ratings on the tin. "Extra strong" and "firm" are brand-relative scales with nothing behind them, and they are not comparable between makers.

The pick: Honest Amish Original Wax

The published list is short and it answers the question directly: organic yellow beeswax and organic carnauba wax for hold, then shea butter, coconut, palm fruit and pumpkin seed oils for conditioning, then four essential oils for scent.

Carnauba alongside beeswax is the whole reason this is the pick. It is the difference between a wax that keeps hair out of your mouth and one that will hold a curled point through a day. And because there are four conditioning oils in there with it, it is not hold at the expense of the hair - the hair stays soft under the set.

Honest Amish publishes that it is made in the USA by hand, which is more than most of this category states.

The honest cons. The tin size is not published on the product page, which for once means we genuinely cannot work out a cost per use - and this site normally can. It is scented with cedarwood, clove bud, star anise and lavender essential oils: natural, and still fragrance, sitting on the skin directly under your nose all day. It is stiff in the tin and needs real warming. And essential oils are a common irritant on the skin under a mustache, which is thinner than the beard skin below it.

For a thick mustache: Extra Grit Wax

The same published-list honesty with a different mechanism. Bentonite clay and black walnut hull powder sit alongside the beeswax, and that is what "grit" means - texture and body rather than a slick set.

The practical difference: clay grips hair against itself instead of gluing it into a shape. On a thick mustache that is often what you actually want, because a hard wax on dense hair produces a solid slab rather than a styled one. Organic palm fruit oil leads the list ahead of the beeswax, so it also goes on noticeably softer than the Original.

The honest cons. No published tin size, same as the Original. The finish is matte, so if you want the classic waxed shine this is the wrong one. Black walnut hull powder is a tree nut derivative, which is easy to miss on a list and matters to some people. And three essential oils, so it is not a fragrance-free option either - nothing in this category is.

The tool that does half the work

Wax without a comb is wax in clumps. A sawcut comb - Kent's is 73 mm, cut from cellulose acetate and hand-sanded in England - distributes the wax evenly and sets the direction, and it does not have the molding seam along each tooth that catches and splits hair.

On a mustache that matters more than on a beard, because you are combing the same short length repeatedly, every day. The comb roundup goes into why sawcut is the specification.

The thing people buy by mistake

A beard balm is oil plus soft beeswax. It conditions well, it adds a light hold, and it will not keep a curl up for five minutes. If you have tried to style a handlebar with a balm and concluded that your hair is the problem, it is not - it was the wrong product class.

Balm for a mustache you want soft and lying flat; wax for anything that has to defy gravity. The oil-versus-balm comparison covers the rest of that distinction.

Applying it, which is where the complaints come from

• Warm it properly. A small amount between finger and thumb until it turns clear and tacky. Cold wax goes on in lumps, every time.
• Dry mustache. Wax on damp hair beads and slides rather than gripping.
• Center outward, then comb. Work from under the nose out along each side, then comb through to distribute and set the direction.
• Less than you think. Excess is what makes a mustache look wet and stiff. Add a second small amount if you need it.
• Never dry-comb it out. Soften with warm water or a little oil first. Dry wax plus a comb tears hair, and that is the only real way wax damages a mustache.