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Slicked-back ponytails and buns are an easy way to look put together in between wash days. But it’s hard to achieve the perfect slicked-back style when your flyaway hairs won’t stay put, making you look like you just left the playground rather than on your way to a sophisticated work meeting.
To tame those flyaways and baby hairs, our editors put dozens of styling products to the test to find the ones that actually work. For three months, we tried out popular taming wands, wax sticks, styling gels and more across various price points and put them up against specific testing criteria.
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This Dae taming wand is a favorite among our editors, who say it keeps frizz, flyaways and baby hairs at bay all day. “To me, Dae’s Styling Wand is the blueprint; I think it’s the wand that really started the trend and that other brands copy,” says NBC Selected reporter Zoe Malin, who owns at least three and keeps one at home, one in her bag and in her office desk drawer. “I use it to touch up my hair whether it’s up in a ponytail or bun, half pulled back into a clip or just down (especially day two hair). I love that the product inside the tube is a styling cream, not a gel, so it never makes my hair look or feel crunchy. It actually softens my hair.”
Over time, however, the bristles on the wand’s head start to splay, and they can sometimes get tangled in Malin’s curls. “I just don’t press the brush against my hair too hard, and I stick to using it around the top of my head,” she says. Compared to other taming wands our editors have tested, this one has a slightly larger, mascara-like brush, which is great for thick hair but still small enough for touch-ups and more precise styling.
Since I take oral minoxidil for hair growth, I have a ton of baby hairs, which make it difficult to achieve a good slicked-back hairstyle. Of all the wax sticks I tried, this one kept my frizz and baby hairs at bay best. It has a strong hold that lasts all eight hours of my workday, which is much more than most other sticks I’ve used in the past.
NBC Selected associate social media editor Caitlin Cusack used this wax stick for a slick-back ponytail, walked around all day and barely noticed any flyaways, even up to her nighttime shower. “I liked the applicator a lot: It was easy to use and covered a lot of surface area, so I didn’t need to spend a ton of time slicking back my hair,” she says. However, it can leave hair looking slightly greasy. “I reach for this only when I know I’ll be washing my hair that same day,” says Cusack.
If you’re looking to achieve a slick-back look without damaging your hair, or simply hoping to make your hair look healthier over time, this Vegamour styling wand is what you need. The wand is soft and flexible, so it won’t tug at your hair as you apply it, and the lightweight gel has peptides and exosomes to strengthen your hair and keep it healthy.
“It doesn’t have that thick, gel-like texture, so my hair doesn’t look or feel stiff or oily,” says NBC Selected editorial operations associate Jem Alabi, who uses it to slick down her baby hairs at night before bed. “It also feels good to know that my hair is getting stronger and longer. I love that I don’t have to wash anything off because my hair absorbs the product.”
Since I have very fine hair, I don’t tend to use hair gel for slicked-back styles because it can make my hair feel overly greasy or crunchy. This gel solved that problem instantly; it’s super lightweight yet has a strong hold so I don’t need to use much product to keep my flyaways down. The styling gel comes in a typical squeeze bottle, or as a travel-friendly tube with a mascara wand, so you can easily fix a hair that’s out of place. “Ceremonia’s styling wand is by far the most versatile option I’ve tested because it has a three-in-one applicator. There’s an edge brush for baby hairs, a comb for flyaways and a mascara brush to slick back frizz and baby hairs at once,” says Malin. None of the applicators get stuck in Malin’s curls, which is another huge plus.
This set comes with two taming wands: one with a strong-hold gel and another with a lightweight gel, so you can choose which one to buy based on your hair type and the styling you typically do. “I have both wands, and I use the strong-hold one for touching up slick back buns and ponytails (especially when it’s hot and humid out), but the lighter hold one for taming frizz, baby hairs and flyaways when I wear my hair down,” says Malin. The wands are also double-sided, with a traditional mascara-applicator brush at one end to tame flyaways and a comb at the other for more precise styling.
“Being able to choose which type of applicator you want to use gives you more control and lets you be much more precise,” says Malin. “Both gels aren’t sticky or greasy at all, and they don’t make my hair look or feel crunchy. The applicators are on the smaller side, so they’re best for touch-ups and detailed styling, in my opinion.”
“In the past, I’ve had rough experiences with using sprays or gels to tame my baby hairs, so I was skeptical about this wand. But it felt like magic the first time I used it,” says NBC Selected intern Lily Stern. “The mascara wand applicator makes it easy to brush a small amount of product on my frizz and flyaways to make it look smoother and shinier. I’m not a fan of an overly-slicked back look, so I appreciate how subtle these results are.” Plus, it won’t leave your hair looking greasy, wet or sticky, and the tube fits in most purses and pockets to reapply it on the go.
This styling gel comes recommended by experts in our guide to styling natural hair. It’s great for most curly and coily hair types and helps control frizz without drying out your hair. The gel has silk protein and flaxseed oil, which provide a long-lasting hold, especially for wash-and-go styles. It also doesn’t leave a flaky residue, which is a common issue with styling and edge gels.
