Cheap and sticky. It's what we need in a hair gel (Wella Shockwaves Ultra Strong Mess Constructor)

Member Name: whining_rhino

Product:	Wella Shockwaves Ultra Strong Mess Constructor
Date:	09/06/08 (348 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Firm hold, option of wet-look if you use enough (if thats your thing)

Disadvantages: Impossible to find in a store

Oookey dokey. An old favourite. Suggested this one myself, so I feel very attached to this review. Enjoy.

Before I go onto the product itself, I have to say to the you the reader that my hair is the most unmanageable kind you can get. As a natural redhead, I have the fewest average number of hairs per square inch on my head, its quite fine too. It grows a bit weird too - mostly from the back of my crown. This along with a bit of an odd shaped head (really selling myself here, eh?) makes keeping my hair in any publicly acceptable state is an arduous task at best.

Wella Shockwaves best marketing decision, at least on a personal level, was when they handed a free sample of this out at my school in 2001. It was tiny, you could probably have just about fit a sewing thimble inside. One good dollop that lasted, I kid you not, over 6 weeks. So we have some longevity. Having finally found a gel that held my hair up, I invested in a few tubs (it was 3 for 2 at Boots as I recall, but this was many years ago). Used daily (and rather generously to begin with), those 3 tubs lasted me a full two years. So I bought 3 more tubs. The last splodge of the last tub is currently (at time of writing) sat in my bathroom now. So I want to buy more but here is the PAIN of this product - I can't find it ANYWHERE. I managed to get a deal on ebay.co.uk for 4 tubs, but the only other place I could find it was Boots online store. Nowhere stocks the stuff.

When I first got my hands on this, it was in a blue tub, but came under the same name. Some places still stock this in the blue tub, but recently I've only seen it in the red one. It's a sticky white paste with a consistency similar to icing sugar when you add the right amount of water, and has a light peachy scent*. I find that it works best with just-washed hair, still a bit damp. Though obviously it depends on personal preference, I think the best way to use it is to put a little bit right through your hair, then tiny bits more onto where you want to shape. After about 15 minutes, it dries to form very respectable hold. If you use enough, you get a wet-look, and can be quite crispy, but if not then you'll find that it'll hold just about any shape you want.

If you DO want the wet-look, the hold is rather delicate. All it takes is some fool to scrub your hair and the wet look is gone, though if you can get to a sink quick enough and run some water through it, there is often a good chance that you control the damage.


*(When it was first made, this was quite a strong peachy aroma. There's an interesting personal story involving a picnic in a park, a bush with a beehive in it, and the wafting scent of sweet sugary peach. I'm sure you can fill in the blanks.).


So to wrap up, this product is extremely good, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a firm hold with potential for wet-look, if you can find the stuff. It is also remarkably cheap. The going rate for powerful hold gel seems to be rather extortionate these days. Unfortunately, I don't know how it would work with lengthy hair - I'd be interested to find out.

Summary: Well, just check the headline