What is a Hair Tonic?

Among the different hairstyling products that are out there for men, hair tonics are the most mysterious ones on the market leaving many with questions such as:

What makes a product a tonic? What exactly can it do for you? And which one should you be getting for yourself?

Hair Tonics are a Miracle Product!

Or at least that's what the marketing of these products has historically been all about.

They were big in the 1950s and 1960s before gels and mousses started to take over. During this time, hair tonics were used by barbers as an all-in-one product that helped break down pre-existing product in the hair, conditioning it, and making it easier to cut [1].

However, it was said the benefits of using hair tonic included scalp stimulation (when paired with a massage), scalp protection, dandruff relief, reversal of hair loss, boosted thickness, and aid in styling the hair [2,3].

Whether these claims were backed by science at the time has yet to be seen. However, there is a resurgence of these types of hair products that throwback to traditional barbershops but with a modern take.

One such brand that is bringing back the old-school hair tonic is Reuzel [1]. They offer a Classic Hair Tonic and a Grooming Tonic.

Both include naturally derived ingredients that aid in hair health and hydration, with the Classic Hair Tonic being used in a traditional sense as a refresher meant to be massaged into the hair [4]. The Grooming Tonic is more of a styling aid that includes heat-protectant agents to ensure your hair stays healthy during blow drying [5].

Are hair tonics the same as salt sprays?

Although both products seem similar with what they can accomplish, there is a unique difference between them in that salt-sprays are only meant to help provide texture to the hair and replicate the beachy waves you get from the ocean.

Hair tonics on the other hand have other benefits to them, depending on the particular product.

For example, if you are looking to add more body, volume, and thickness to your hair then you'd want to try something like the Thickening Tonic from Aveda [6]. Using natural ingredients, this product is known to instantly boost the fullness of hair.

I would prefer a product like this over a salt spray if you have thin/ fine hair as a salt spray can be a bit too drying and can lead to frizzy or brittle hair.

Although salt sprays may have added ingredients to aid in conditioning the hair to help prevent damage, they aren't necessarily going to have the right formulation for boosting hair health. Tonics on the other hand are designed more to help hydrate hair and improve the condition of your scalp.

So then are hair tonics just leave-in conditioners?

There is definitely a lot of overlap between tonics and leave-in conditioners as they share the same purpose of making hair healthier [7]. Both also offer heat protection prior to blow-drying and styling.

However, the main difference between the two is that tonics are designed to help with styling the hair while leave-in conditioners are primarily meant to hydrate the hair. This means that adding leave-in conditioner to your hair could end up weighing it down as it tries to draw in more moisture into the hair strands.

If you are looking for a product that can add volume and texture while keeping your hair healthy, then you'd want to choose a hair tonic and not a leave-in.

In my review for the MoroccanOil Leave-in Conditioner, I had mentioned that the instructions say that it can be used as a pre-styler, but through my own experience, it did not do a great job of helping me style my hair as it left it almost too soft! A hair tonic however will have the right balance so that your hair can still achieve volume and defined texture on top of smooth and soft locks.

Which hair tonic should you get for yourself?

I have mentioned a few tonics already and have heard good things from all of them. I personally haven't tried the Reuzel or Aveda tonics though, so I can't really recommend them with all of my heart.

What I can recommend is a product from the very barbershop I work at. For anyone who wasn't aware of this before, Chin Whiskey has its own line of premium men's grooming products. The Chin Whiskey products include a beard oil, an aftershave balm, and its very own Texture Tonic.

I have personally tried this texture tonic on myself and on many clients in the past few months and I honestly really like how it feels in the hair.

Instead of using regular table salt, this product uses Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) which can volumize hair by soaking up oils that are weighing it down [8]. The same ingredient is known to boost curly hair as it can increase certain bonds and tighten the hair into a curl [9], thus enhancing the texture in your hair.

Magnesium sulfate, like other salts, can be very drying to the hair. The Texture Tonic, like other tonics, is formulated with a handful of naturally-derived ingredients that counteract this drying effect. In this regard, it shares similarities with the Reuzel Tonic as both contain horsetail and nettle leaf extracts that act to strengthen hair, increase shine and improve scalp health [10,11].

The CW Texture Tonic also has rosemary extract, which I had covered in a previous post as a great scalp stimulant that can help slow down hair loss and promote new hair growth.

The recommended use for rosemary oil, from that post, is to massage a few drops into the scalp twice daily for at least 6 months. This can be a lot of effort to keep up with, so wouldn't it be great if you had rosemary already in a product you were probably going to use daily anyways?

With the CW Texture Tonic, I don't see any concerns that would keep anyone from having this as a daily styling product (except for allergies and irritation, of course). It leaves the hair soft after blow drying and creates a light hold that is strong enough to bring out a natural texture and volume for any style you want to try out!

You may think that promoting my shop's own line of products means I get a little, small commission from it, but funny enough, my boss doesn't even know I am writing this. I may have a little bit of bias with this product, but I don't make any money from telling you about it or if you decide to purchase it online. It is just that great of a styling product!

So if you are looking to try out a tonic that embodies the old-school barber traditions while having proven benefits for the modern gentleman, look no further and get your own Chin Whiskey Texture Tonic today!