Hair wax is a thick hairstyling product

Hairstyling product

Hairstyling products are used to change the texture or shape of the hair, or to hold it in place in a certain style. Applied properly, most styling products will not damage the hair apart from drying it out; most styling products contain alcohols, which can dissolve oils...

 containing wax

Wax

thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...

, used to assist with holding the hair. In contrast with hair gel

Hair gel

Hair gel is a hairstyling product that is used to stiffen hair into a particular hairstyle. The results it produces are usually similar to, but stronger than, those of hair spray and hair wax, and weaker than those of hair glue.-Types:...

, most of which contain alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

, hair wax remains pliable and has less chance of drying out. Consequently, hair wax is currently experiencing an increase in popularity, although it is rarely referred to as such, instead given names such as pomade

Pomade

Pomade is a greasy or waxy substance that is used to style hair. Pomade makes hair look slick and shiny. Unlike hair spray and hair gel, pomade does not dry and often takes several washes to remove...

, putty, glue, whip, molding gum, or styling paste. The texture, consistency, and purpose of these products varies widely. For example, some of these products promise a shinier look, while others aim to give a matte effect (although technically a product that gives a sleek shiny look is a pomade, the difference between hair wax and pomade has become ambiguous). Often times, wax itself is not an ingredient in many of these products, as a variety of substances have become available that achieve the same goal.

Hair wax has been used for many years and in fact, a waxy soap

Soap

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...

-like substance was invented by the ancient Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

s as a hair styling agent and was not used as a cleaning agent until many years later.

Ingredients

The following are some of the ingredients typically found in commercial hair wax products.

• beeswax
  Beeswax
  Beeswax is a natural wax produced in the bee hive of honey bees of the genus Apis. It is mainly esters of fatty acids and various long chain alcohols...
  
  
• candelilla wax
  Candelilla wax
  Candelilla wax is a wax derived from the leaves of the small Candelilla shrub native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, Euphorbia cerifera and Euphorbia antisyphilitica, from the family Euphorbiaceae...
  
  
• carnauba wax
  Carnauba wax
  Carnauba , also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte. It is known as "queen of waxes" and usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown...
  
  
• castor wax
  Castor wax
  Castor wax, also called hydrogenated castor oil, is a hard, brittle, vegetable wax. It is produced by the hydrogenation of pure castor oil, in the presence of a nickel catalyst...
  
  
• emulsifying wax
  Emulsifying wax
  Emulsifying wax is a cosmetic emulsifying ingredient. The ingredient name is often followed by the initials NF, indicating that it conforms to the specifications of the National Formulary....
  
  
• japan wax
  Japan wax
  Japan wax is a pale-yellow, waxy, water-insoluble solid with a gummy feel, obtained from the berries of certain sumacs native to Japan and China, such as Rhus verniciflua and R. succedanea ....
  
  
• lanolin
  Lanolin
  Lanolin , also called Adeps Lanae, wool wax or wool grease, is a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Most lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep...
  
  
• ozokerite
  Ozokerite
  Ozokerite or ozocerite is a naturally occurring odoriferous mineral wax or paraffin found in many localities.-Sources:...
  
  

Recipes

Some stylists prefer making their own blends of hair wax customized for their clientele. Various recipes exist, including some with "secret" ingredients. Many recipes contain the following core ingredients:

• 1 part beeswax
• 1 part aloe juice

Ingredients can be blended together in a double boiler

Double boiler

A double boiler, also known as a bain Marie, is a stove top apparatus used to cook delicate sauces such as beurre blanc, to melt chocolate without burning or seizing, or cook any other thick liquid or porridge that would normally burn if not stirred constantly. It consists of an upper vessel...

and brought to a boil.