“Make it a ‘Stiffie’”

Making it a “stiffie” does not refer to anything to do with the bedroom.  

Shame on you, and get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert.  This infamous line – more like famous last words – was an enthusiastic admonition to a long-suffering bartender at last call many years ago, when three friends were celebrating a birthday.  I was one of those friends, and the “stiffies” we all downed circa 2 am were double whiskeys.  Bad, bad, bad idea after the evening of eating and drinking that had preceded the evening-ending stiffies.  Actually, the evening really ended with trips by all three musketeers to the bathroom, to pay the piper by praying to the porcelain god.

Today, though, we’re talking about hair care, not liver abuse.

Aveda’s Control Force, available in the company’s stand-alone stores, in Aveda salons and online, is a super strong hair spray.  It comes in a metal canister that operates with an old school aerosol type spray mechanism.  No, not as old school as your granny’s 1950’s Aqua Net can!  Or, if it’s not aerosol, it boasts an even stronger velocity – on the level of those blasters that use forced air to clean computer keyboards.  (Side note to reassure all you tree-huggers worried about the aerosol – there’s a whole paragraph on the can explaining how Aveda offsets the product’s CO2 by funding renewable energy.  ALL CAPS, so you know they mean it.)  The dispenser is efficient and modern-looking with grey, silver and charcoal colors, plus a cool grid background.  It’s compact and easy to store too.

It’s not quite as easy to use, though.  The pressurized container is so strong that if you spray it directly onto your hair, you can mess up the hair style you just set up.  Kind of like the grass under a landing helicopter, your hair may not snap back into shape.  So I suggest you hold the can at arm’s length in front of you when you spray.  Or have your other half spray it in front of you, and then walk through the mist like ladies do with perfume testers in department stores.

If all this sounds like too much trouble to go to for a hair spray, you may want to opt for a different type.  But if you’re willing to work around the challenges, the payoff of Control Force is its look, feel and utility.  The aromatics are really nice – sort of a light citrus scent.  More importantly, the product is very effective at keeping your hair in place all day, come wind, humidity and even rain.

To sum up, Control Force has some pros and cons.  On the credit side of the ledger, a pleasant scent and efficacy at doing the fundamental job of any hair spray – keeping hair in place.  On the debit side, it’s a little tricky to use given its uber-ultra-powerful blast capability.  Finally, at $28 for a 9-oz container, the price is higher than many competitors.

Bottom line?  It’s worth a try – maybe the 1.4-oz $9 size.  Not having to worry or re-adjust your hair five times a day makes up for the minor hassles I encountered with using this product.

by ManPossible