What actually happens when you shake it in

Slick Gorilla is a silica-based powder, not a wax, clay or gel. You sprinkle a small amount at the roots of dry hair, rub it through with your fingers, and it grips the strands to create lift and separation. The silica soaks up excess oil at the same time, which is why the finish comes out matte rather than shiny, and why the volume tends to hold rather than collapse into a greasy flop by lunchtime. The 20g tub also lists glycerin and dimethicone in the mix, which are there to keep the hair feeling smoother rather than chalky, and the whole thing is designed to wash out with normal shampoo.

The effect that keeps buyers coming back is that instant fullness on hair that is naturally flat or fine. "A tiny bit of this at the roots acts like a scaffold for your hair," wrote Callum Garratt, one of the most detailed reviewers. Craig Carey described "that effortless, gravity-defying hold that lasts all day without feeling stiff or crunchy." The trick people mention most is that the product is invisible once it is worked in: your hair just looks thicker and textured, with no visible product sitting on top. That is the core promise, and for the people it suits, it lands.

Featured

15% OFF*Limited offer

One Sunday. A week of food, sorted.

23 high-protein recipes, cycle-synced for women who lift.

23 recipes · 60-page PDF · Instant download

£19.20 £16.32

See it on Etsy→

*Seller's discount on Etsy - may end at any time.

The no-grease payoff that converts wax users

If there is one thing that turns first-time buyers into repeat buyers, it is the escape from sticky hands and heavy, wet-looking hair. Buyers keep framing it as a straight upgrade from their old wax or gel. Akhil bought it "after years of sticky wax, clay, spray products and will never go back," praising "noticeable volume in your hair + a very strong hold without any crunchiness." Marco called it "very handy" because it styles "without making it feel greasy like normal wax," and Scott Gilchrist, who had drifted to a big high-street brand, came back and rated this "1000% better" because "it washes out no problem and does not leave a sticky residue feeling."

The matte, natural look is the other half of the appeal. Jack J bought it for his son and liked that it "gives a natural matte finish without making it look greasy." Maria19811, in the single most-upvoted review here, bought it for her sons and husband and said all three "absolutely love it" for the volume and texture "without making it look greasy or heavy," adding that it holds the style but still lets the hair move. That reworkable quality gets a lot of love too: several reviewers point out you can run your hands through it hours later and reshape it rather than fighting a set crust. Want to see the current finish and shade of the tub? You can check today's price and photos on Amazon.

Argument one: a small tub with a big price tag

Here is the complaint that shows up even inside five-star reviews: for a 20g pot, it is not cheap, and buyers feel it. John O'Neill gave it five stars and still opened with "It works but is very expensive for what you get." Katie, also five stars, said her husband likes it "but it's quite expensive and you can get cheaper in the supermarket." Jack C. summed up the fan's position neatly: "expensive hair product v the high street however the quality and feel of the product is great... really worth the money and seems to last an age."

The unhappier reviewers go further. Deb dropped to three stars because the price "recently gone up nearly £3 and I think it's a rip off now," and mazen jaber found it "too expensive for it size." A few buyers also felt the tub arrived under-filled: Foxtrot said it "always arrives half full," and Kelly E compared her second bottle to "as little as a tablespoon amount," noting the bottle looks far too big for what is inside. It is worth flagging that the shaker bottle is deliberately roomy so the powder can move and dispense, so a tub that looks part-empty is partly by design, but the feeling of paying premium money for a light pot is real and it recurs.

The counterweight is longevity. Because you use so little per application, the heaviest users report the tub lasting a remarkably long time. Joshua Houghton uses it daily and says a tub "can honestly last me anywhere between 3-6 months," and Alex got "around 48 hours" of hold per application from his. If you rate cost per use rather than cost per gram, the maths looks a lot friendlier. Check today's price on Amazon before you decide which way that maths falls for you.

Argument two: does it protect your hair or punish it?

This is the split that surprised us most, because reviewers land on completely opposite sides of it. Some buyers see this powder as the gentle option that rescued their hair from harsher products. Joshua Houghton, a man in his thirties who noticed extra hair loss from waxes and clays, said this "doesn't feel like it puts any stress on my hair whilst styling" and that "water alone seems great at pulling the product out," which he believes helped with his shedding. Scott Gilchrist made a similar point about how cleanly it washes out compared with a rival that felt "horrible" even after shampooing.

Then there is the other camp, and their reviews are blunt. Harry Parker's two-star headline is simply "Be aware," followed by "Works well but makes your hair fall out." JoeBart said that a day after applying it, "your hair is so tangled and dry" when you come to wash it. Ethan's one-star review is the harshest, claiming it tangles the roots and "rips your hair out." Anna B, though positive overall, flagged that it can be "hard to wash out of hair" and needs a few washes to shift.

So which is it? The likeliest explanation running through the reviews is dose. The powder absorbs oil and grips the hair, so pile on too much and you get that dry, tangly, hard-to-rinse result that the critics describe. Use a light amount, as the fans and the instructions suggest, and it rinses cleanly. It is not a claim we can settle for your particular hair, but the pattern is clear enough to take seriously: start small, and pay attention to how your hair feels at wash time.

Getting the application right (and the shaker gripe)

Most of the frustration in the lower reviews traces back to how the powder is used rather than the powder itself. A handful of buyers reported little or no hold: Amznsmts said it "gave no hold or volume at all," and Daniel Bridges found it dropped out of his nine-year-old son's hair "within the hour." Set against dozens of reviewers getting all-day and even next-day hold, that points to technique. Matthew T. admitted he "needed to watch a YouTube video on the best way to apply it" as a first-timer, and once you know the move it is simple: a small sprinkle at the roots of dry hair, worked in with fingertips, ideally on hair that is fully dry or only very slightly damp so it sets into shape.

Two practical niggles are worth knowing. First, it can be messy: Leigh Caller still gave five stars but warned "the powder does go everywhere" and is "possibly not good for you to breath in," so apply it over a sink and avoid a big cloud near your face. Second, Jim Bailey's three-star review flags that "the holes in the top of the bottle are so small they constantly bung up," which can make dispensing a faff. Neither is a dealbreaker for most people, but they explain a chunk of the mid-range ratings.

It is also fair to say short and mid-length hair is the sweet spot. Johnny Robson found it "works best for short hair," while Dan, who runs mid-to-short hair, called it "extremely overrated" for his length even after trying it five different ways. If your hair is very short or very fine, the odds are strongly in your favour. If you are after heavy sculpting on longer hair, temper your expectations.

The verdict: who should shake this into their hair

Across 100 recent reviews Slick Gorilla averages 4.26 stars, with 69% at the full five, and that split matches what we found reading them. If you have fine, flat or thinning hair and you are tired of the greasy, sticky, wet look that wax and gel leave behind, this is one of the easiest wins in men's styling. The matte finish reads as natural, the volume is real, it reshapes through the day instead of setting into a crust, and for daily users the tiny tub stretches remarkably far. The barber recommendations that fill these reviews tell their own story.

Go in with two caveats. It is a premium price for a small pot, so judge it on cost per use rather than the sticker, and use a light hand: over-apply and you invite the dryness and tangling that the unhappy reviewers ran into. Get the dose right and this is a professional-grade texture powder that does exactly what the chair-side hype promises. For most short-to-mid-length hair, it is an easy recommend.