Before the Hype, There Was the Product

Hairbond was five years old when Distorter Clay was named Best Hair Clay by Loaded magazine in 2013.

No global corporation sat behind us.

No supermarket shelf had made us famous.

Hairbond had been founded in Britain in 2008 by professional hairdresser Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels with a simple idea: make professional styling products that worked properly, smelled distinctive and looked like something you were proud to have on the bathroom shelf.

By 2013, people outside the salon trade had started noticing.

And Distorter was right in the middle of it.

Loaded Magazine Names Hairbond Distorter Best Hair Clay

According to the Hairbond archive, Loaded magazine named Hairbond Distorter Best Hair Clay in 2013.

Loaded was one of Britain’s best-known men’s magazines. In its heyday, it sat at the intersection of men’s style, sport, entertainment, grooming and popular culture.

For Hairbond, recognition from a national men’s publication mattered.

Distorter had been created as an alternative to the heavy, shiny products that had dominated men’s styling.

It was a clay.

It gave texture.

It gave separation.

It offered flexible control.

Most importantly, it allowed hair to look like hair.

That sounds obvious now.

It did not feel obvious then.

What Is Hairbond Distorter Clay?

Hairbond Distorter Professional Hair Clay is a men’s styling clay designed for texture, definition and flexible hold with a matte or low-shine finish.

It works particularly well for:

• Textured crops
• Short men’s hairstyles
• Fades with texture on top
• Messy styles
• Natural quiffs
• Thick hair requiring separation
• Styles where shine needs to be kept low

The philosophy behind Distorter has always been simple:

Control the style without making the product the star.

You should notice the hair.

Not the jar that went into it.

Hairbond Was Already Becoming an Award-Winning British Hair Brand

The Loaded award was not an isolated moment.

It came during a period when Hairbond products were beginning to receive wider recognition beyond barbershops and hair salons.

LOOKFANTASTIC Best Hair Product 2012

A year earlier, Hairbond Moulder Professional Hair Scott Michaels, he will tell you there is just one important thing to know about the Cristiano Ronaldo hair style. It should of course be styled properly and elegantly, only using the Hairbond Shaper won Best Hair Product at the 2012 LOOKFANTASTIC and LOOKMANTASTIC Hair & Grooming Awards.

Moulder was one of the products that established the early Hairbond range.

It delivered a dry, flexible finish at a time when many men’s styling products still meant shine, grease or stiffness.

The award remains a significant part of Hairbond history.

Hairbond founder Scott Michaels received the award at the LOOKFANTASTIC event from television presenter Caroline Flack.

For a brand that had begun behind a salon chair only a few years earlier, it felt like a line had been crossed.

Hairbond was no longer simply telling people it made good products.

Other people were starting to say it.

About.com: Best Hair Product Brand

Hairbond’s historical award record also includes recognition from About.com as Best Hair Product Brand.

At the time, About.com was one of the world’s largest information and advice websites, with its Readers’ Choice Awards covering products, brands and services across numerous consumer categories.

That recognition mattered because it was about more than one jar.

It recognised Hairbond as a brand.

Moulder had won for a product.

Distorter would be recognised as a clay.

About.com recognised the name sitting above them.

Hairbond.

Three Awards. One Important Period.

Look at the sequence:

2012 — Hairbond Moulder: LOOKFANTASTIC Best Hair Product

About.com — Hairbond: Best Hair Product Brand

2013 — Hairbond Distorter: Loaded Best Hair Clay

That period helped establish what Hairbond was becoming.

An independent British professional hair brand capable of competing with much larger businesses.

Not through endless launches.

Not through celebrity noise.

Through products people wanted to use again.

Why Hairbond Distorter Worked

Hair clay became important because men’s hair changed.

The wet-look era began giving way to texture.

Barbers were cutting sharper fades.

Short hairstyles became more detailed.

Men wanted movement.

They wanted separation.

They wanted to run their hands through their hair without finding something resembling industrial adhesive.

Distorter fitted that change.

Matte and low-shine finish

A clay can absorb light rather than throwing it back from the hair.

That makes it particularly useful for textured styles where the haircut should provide the definition.

Texture

Distorter helps break hair into visible sections rather than allowing it to sit as one solid shape.

Flexible control

The objective is not concrete.

Good men’s hair should still have character.

Professional heritage

Hairbond was created from professional hairdressing.

The products were not invented because a spreadsheet identified a gap in “male grooming”.

They came from years of actually working with men’s hair.

That difference remains important.

Founded Behind the Chair

Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels founded Hairbond in the United Kingdom in 2008 after working professionally as a hairdresser and salon owner.

He had used hundreds of styling products.

Some were excellent.

Many were not.

The same problems appeared repeatedly.

Too greasy.

Too shiny.

Too stiff.

Difficult to wash out.

Poor fragrance.

Cheap presentation.

Products made for marketing departments rather than the person standing behind the chair.

Hairbond was built as an answer.

The products had to perform.

But performance was only part of it.

They also had to feel special.

That thinking created the distinctive fragrances, packaging and personalities that became part of the Hairbond range.

Distorter became one of its longest-standing products.

Independent Attention Was Building

The award period coincided with growing independent coverage of Hairbond.

Men’s lifestyle publications were reviewing the products.

Professional retailers were carrying the range.

In 2013, England cricketer James Anderson became Hairbond’s first official sporting ambassador.

In 2014, Liverpool and Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet joined Hairbond as an official ambassador.

Hairbond was moving from a British salon brand into sport, men’s culture and international distribution.

Distorter was part of that journey.

More Than a Decade Later

Hair products are easy to launch.

Keeping one relevant is harder.

Trends change.

Packaging changes.

Ingredients change.

Barbering changes.

Social media discovers a new “must-have” product roughly every seventeen minutes.

Yet clay remains one of the fundamental categories in men’s styling.

And Distorter remains part of Hairbond.

That matters more to us than an award sitting in a cupboard.

Awards recognise a moment.

Customers decide whether a product has a future.

How to Use Hairbond Distorter Clay

Start with dry or nearly dry hair.

Take a small amount of Distorter and work it thoroughly between your palms.

Then apply it evenly through the hair before using your fingertips to create texture, separation and shape.

For greater volume, blow-dry the hair into position before applying the clay.

For stronger texture, work from the back towards the front before finishing individual sections with the fingers.

And start small.

You can add more product.

Taking it back out generally involves a sink.

Is Hairbond Distorter Good for Thick Hair?

Yes. Hairbond Distorter is particularly useful where thicker hair needs separation, definition and texture without excessive shine.

For very stubborn hair requiring stronger control, another Hairbond product may be more suitable.

The best product is not automatically the strongest one.

It is the one that suits the hair and the style.

Is Hairbond Distorter Good for Fine Hair?

It can be.

Fine hair often benefits from texture and a lower-shine finish because heavy, shiny products can cause strands to group together and make the hair appear flatter.

Use a small amount.

Fine hair needs control.

It does not need excavation equipment.

Hairbond Distorter: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hairbond Distorter?

Hairbond Distorter is a professional men’s hair styling clay created by British hair styling brand Hairbond. It is designed to provide texture, separation and flexible control with a matte or low-shine finish.

Did Hairbond Distorter win Best Hair Clay?

Hairbond’s historical archive records Hairbond Distorter as being named Best Hair Clay by Loaded magazine in 2013.

What award did Hairbond win from LOOKFANTASTIC?

Hairbond Moulder Professional Hair Shaper won Best Hair Product at the 2012 LOOKFANTASTIC and LOOKMANTASTIC Hair & Grooming Awards.

Did About.com recognise Hairbond?

Yes. Hairbond’s historical award records include recognition from About.com as Best Hair Product Brand.

Who founded Hairbond?

Hairbond was founded in the United Kingdom in 2008 by professional hairdresser and entrepreneur Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels.

Is Hairbond a British company?

Hairbond is a British professional hair styling brand, established in 2008.

What is hair clay used for?

Hair clay is primarily used to create texture, definition, separation and control, generally with less shine than traditional gels or pomades.

Who has represented Hairbond?

Hairbond’s official sporting ambassador history includes England cricketer James Anderson and former Liverpool and Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Hairbond Award History

Brand: Hairbond
Founder: Scott “Matchmaker” Michaels
Founded: 2008
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Industry: Professional hair styling and men’s grooming

2012: Hairbond Moulder — LOOKFANTASTIC/LOOKMANTASTIC Best Hair Product
About.com: Hairbond — Best Hair Product Brand
2013: Hairbond Distorter — Loaded Best Hair Clay