I’m excited to announce that this is an exclusive brand battle featuring the brand spanking new matte product, Hairbond Power Professional Hair Wax which hasn’t even officially come out yet. The Hairbond Power Wax is being launched alongside another new matte product, Hairbond Super Professional Hair Fibre and they are likely to hit barbershop and salon shelves just in time for Christmas. The team at Hairbond have been kind enough to send me a couple of prototypes for testing in preparation for their big pre-Christmas launch party. What better way to compare them but to put them up against one of the most popular selling matte products on the market. Today we will fight it out, Slick Gorilla Powder VS Hairbond Power Professional Hair Wax.

We will find out which product ranks better under evaluation from the 7 main categories, which include packaging, application, finish, consistency, hold, overall and what each brand has to say about their product.
What will rank higher? Will it be Hairbond’s new release, or the Slick Gorilla Powder?
Before we decide, lets check out who these brands are and what they claim.
Slick Gorilla
Whilst Slick Gorilla is quite a new addition to competitive hair styling market, I believe their success has grown from the growing trends and demands for matte hairstyles.
The Slick Gorilla brand is run from Leeds, UK. Whilst it is early days for the Yorkshire company, the Slick Gorilla range has started to evolve and diversify as they bring out more hair clays and creams.

Slick Gorilla Say
“A new and emerging brand from the streets of downtown Leeds is about to hit the pavements – well hair, to be honest! We introduce to you the one and only Slick Gorilla. A hair brand created with the urban jungle in mind.
Our first product – one of many we’ll be launching – is a volumising hair powder to give your mane that stand out look. Slick Gorilla’s mantra is to create the best hair products for the discerning gentleman who wants to look great and survive in the urban jungle…
When only Slick will do!“
Hairbond United Kingdom
Hairbond United Kingdom on the other hand is much more established. A range which similarly only started with just a select few products over 12 years ago has gone on to dominate global demand now manufacturing a range of products suited to different hair types.
Unlike Slick Gorilla, Hairbond launched out of Lancashire when multi-brand owner Scott Michaels saw that a premium British label had the potential to represent the best-made quality hair styling products when it comes to world hair styling. Since then Hairbond products have been crafted to be loved by the masses.
After years of worldwide distribution, Hairbond has gone from strength to strength with thousands of celebrity endorsements. Due to the amount of Premier League and International footballers who now use and support it, Hairbond United Kingdom have become known as the “Premier League Of Hair Styling”.
Hairbond say
“Launched in 2008, Hairbond is an authentic British hair brand that produces professional hair products. The brand products are all as a result of progression, innovation, and expression. What Hairbond offers, no other hair brand can claim. It uses the best ingredients to formulate professional products that achieve creativity and style. Hairbond has won many awards across the globe, and rightfully so.
The Hairbond brand is distinctive and luxurious, trading all over the world as the number one men’s hair product. Hairbond’s mission is to bring together different world fashion into one world stage. Therefore, to get the right hair products to achieve your best results, buy Hairbond products.
The philosophy of Hairbond is as true today as the day it was founded. The Hairbond range has intended to deliver its promise of quality by maintaining the highest possible standards, using top of the range product formulations and ingredients to create an authentic British solution for the ultimate hairstyling results.”
Let’s take a look, each category will be marked out of 5, first up is the Hairbond Power Professional Hair Wax!

Hairbond Power Professional Hair Wax

Packaging:
I can’t work out if this is grey or actually silver. Granted my camera lighting isn’t very good at the moment. As with all Hairbond packaging you really get your money’s worth! The level of detail is immense. The best feature for me is the inner tab which is resealable in order to keep your product fresh! Look spot on anywhere in the house, bathroom bedroom you name it. 5/5
Application:
Smoother than smooth. Like their Power Fibre, this Hairbond formulation has one major key ingredient which helps make the application process an absolute breeze. Keratin is a type of protein which actually makes your hair smoother and stronger. I’ve never seen this before in a hair wax. Works great! 5/5
Finish:
Natural matte look, use hairdryer prior to styling for best matte results. 5/5
Consistency:
Smooth and pliable. 5/5
Hold:
Strong 5/5 matte effect which lasts all day 5/5
Overall:
5/5
What They Say
Lets see how Slick Gorilla can compete with that!

Slick Gorilla Hair Styling Texturising Powder

Packaging:
Tidy. The black and white looks fresh. The outer box has been made well. Would give a higher score if the shaker wasn’t half empty, however, they do put it in their disclaimer and it’s still 20g. 4/5
Application:
The Slick Gorilla hair powder works well once you have managed to get it in your hair. Be careful not to waste any more than you need to during the application. Hard to get even distribution, it comes out fast and a lot can go on the floor. 2/5
Finish:
Once you have it where you want it, the volumous look and the results are great. I do however believe that powders are just a prestyling tool for adding volume in the roots and that for the complete professional style you need something else like a matte clay or hair wax to seal the deal for coating of the actual strands of hair. 3/5
Consistency:
A fine powder. 5/5
Hold:
Good hold alone but recommend working additionaly with a strong clay, mud or wax if hold is important to your style. 4/5
Overall:
4/5.
What They Say
“Put a small amount of powder on your palm or apply directly to dry hair
Mess it up and make sure the powder is distributed all over the styling area
Style your hair the way you want
Remember you can rework the powder later or simply add more to get the desired look”

And the winner is..

Scoring an impressive 5/5 overall, the new Hairbond Super Professional Hair Fibre will go far. On this occasion, it beats one of the best selling matte products on the market only ranking a high performing 4/5.
