By Jake Hamlet & Adam Muncy — the two barbers who make it. Samson's Barbershop, Kalamazoo, MI.
We've put clay on a few thousand heads since 2016, and here's the honest truth: most "it didn't hold" moments are really "used it wrong" moments. Not your fault — nobody teaches this. The jar doesn't come with a barber attached.
Well. Ours kind of does. Here's the exact method we teach every client in the chair. It takes 30 seconds, and it works whether you're using our Dead Sea Clay or somebody else's tub.
The 30-second barber method
1. Start with a dime. Seriously.
The #1 mistake we see — by a mile — is scooping like it's peanut butter. A dime-sized amount is plenty for most hair. Too much clay is why product feels heavy, greasy, or "stopped working by lunch." You can always add a pea more. You can't un-add half a jar.
2. Warm it up between your palms
Scrape it out, then rub it between your palms for a good five seconds until it goes from clay to a thin, even film. It should almost disappear on your hands. Cold clay applied in a clump gives you clumps; warmed clay gives you even hold from every angle.
3. Towel-dried or dry hair — your call
Both work; they give different results. Towel-dried (damp, not wet) spreads easiest and dries into a natural, lived-in finish. Fully dry gives you more texture and grit right away. What you don't want is soaking-wet hair — water keeps the clay from gripping.
4. Work it back to front, root to tip
Start at the back of your head — not the front. Everybody starts at the front hairline, which is exactly why everybody's fringe ends up carrying 80% of the product. Work the clay through from roots to tips, back to front, until it's even. Roots are where hold lives; tips are where texture lives. Hit both.
5. Shape it — and relax
Style with your fingers for texture or a comb for something sharper. Then leave it alone and let it set for a couple minutes. That's it. That's the whole method.
The part most clays can't do: restyle at lunch
Mineral clay is remoldable. Hat head at 10am, gym at noon, dinner at 7 — wet your hands slightly, rework the shape, done. No new product needed. The water reactivates what's already in there.
That's the practical difference between Nourishing Hold and what we call Synthetic Hold — the old wax-and-polymer approach that dries stiff, flakes when you touch it, and makes you choose between holding your hair and liking your hair. Our clay is built from Dead Sea minerals and Black Hawaiian Sea Salt instead, so it holds all day without going crunchy — and it won't dry out your hair.
"I have to wear a hat everyday for work and it's easily restyled… Easily my daily driver."
— Jeremy D., verified review
Dial it in for your hair type
Fine hair
Less than a dime — half, even. Apply to fully dry hair, roots first, and keep it off the tips so nothing gets weighed down. A blast of cool air from the dryer after styling sets it without collapse.
Thick or coarse hair
You've got permission for a full dime, maybe a touch more. Towel-dried hair helps distribution. Take your time working it to the roots — thick hair eats product that only sits on the surface.
"I have very course hair and this stuff holds it all day… not greasy and has a matte look."
— Steven A., verified review
Wavy hair
Apply to towel-dried hair and scrunch upward instead of raking straight through. You'll keep the wave pattern and lose the frizz, without the crunch a gel would give you.
The hat test
If you wear a hard hat, a beanie, or a fitted every day: use slightly less product, style as normal, and let it fully set before the hat goes on. When the hat comes off, wet your fingers and spend ten seconds reshaping. This is the exact situation this clay was built for — half our barbershop clients are tradesmen, and "survives a hard hat" was the design brief.
Washing it out
Water. That's the answer. Samson's Dead Sea Clay is water-based, so it rinses out clean in the shower — no double-shampoo, no waxy film still riding around on day three. If you've used petroleum-based pomades before, this part feels like a magic trick.
"Light… easy to apply… not tacky… perfect matte finish… washes out effortlessly."
— Richard G., verified review
Quick answers
How much clay should I use?
A dime-sized amount for most hair. Half that for fine hair, slightly more for thick or coarse hair. Start small — you can always add.
Wet or dry hair?
Either. Towel-dried for a natural finish and easy spreading; fully dry for maximum texture. Never soaking wet.
What hold and finish is this?
Strong, all-day hold with an ultra-matte finish — no shine, no grease. And it stays remoldable all day instead of setting like concrete.
Will it dry out my hair?
No — that's the whole point. It's made with naturally-derived key ingredients — Dead Sea minerals, Black Hawaiian Sea Salt, beeswax, apricot kernel oil — chosen to nourish and condition while it holds. Full ingredient list is printed on the jar and published on the product page. Nothing to hide. No backdoor chemist.
Does it really wash out with water?
Yes. It's water-based. One normal shower, gone.
Honest note: what's it like in the jar?
Warm grey-brown, matte, a little grainy. One of our favorite verified reviews says it "looks kinda gross in the container, but disappears when applied." Accurate. That's what clay that's actually made from clay looks like.
Grab the jar
Samson's Dead Sea Clay — strong, all-day Nourishing Hold, ultra-matte finish, washes out with water. Made by hand in Kalamazoo, Michigan by two working barbers. $24 for a 4 oz jar, and a dime a day means it lasts months.
Questions about your specific hair? Reply to any of our emails — Jake or Adam will answer. Not a bot. A barber.