label.men Deconstructor Matte Paste
VALUE RATINGS
- For the average hair type (rating 7.1/10), Label.men Deconstructor is a versatile product well suited for various styling options. If you like a semi-matte finish in your hair, it could make for a good daily driver.
- If you’re on a budget (good value rating 6.9/10) and just need a product to cover the essentials then the Label.men Deconstructor does that, but it only comes in a small jar, and which makes it as expensive as other more premium products.
- If price isn’t an obstacle and your opinion of value is just the product’s quality (your expected value is 6.4/10), then for the price there are better products out there with more hair benefits than Label.men Deconstructor Paste.
OVERVIEW
Suited for: Short hair
Finish: Semi-Matte Finish
Hold: Medium hold
Ingredients: Neutral
Best suited for: Natural Messy Looks
Blow dryer required: No
Works best: On its own, without other products.
Product Type: Wax/paste
The Label.men Deconstructor does most it says on the jar, delivering volume, lasting thickness, and root lift with a firm yet natural matte look. Though to benefit from this, you have to apply it to clean dry hair and use no other products, otherwise, it doesn’t work well at all.
While it took me a while to get used to only using 1 product to style my hair, it makes for a really convenient solo daily driver. It works really well to reshape naturally dried hair on its own, so a blow-dry isn’t required. When used correctly, the hold can last most of the day if left untouched in calm environments, but if you’re more active, you will need to rework your hairstyle several times to get through the day, which will cause it to lose hold and some of its matte finish.
WHAT IS IT
Label.men Deconstructor is a matte paste with a complicated formula that works best when with no other products. It can be applied to dry hair to create a wide variety of styles and delivers a long-lasting medium hold.
WHO IS IT FOR
The styling power of the Label.men Deconstructor makes it a dependable power that works on its own. I think it is great for the average guy, who wants a simple hairstyling routine with just 1 product.
Its medium hold matte finish and easy application makes it suitable for most hair types for short to medium in length. In my opinion, it works best for creating messy quiffs and side-swept styles.
PRICE AND AFFORDABILITY 6.9/10
$$$ Premium Price Range
Label.men is a pretty big salon brand, so its products are quite widely available. In the US and UK the Deconstructor Paste is affordable in the mid-level price range. However, once you consider that it’s only in a 50ml jar, and other more premium products commonly have 80-100 grams in a jar are prices at around $5-10 more, it’s not really any cheaper in the long run. But if you’re one of those people who likes trying different products and never finishes a jar anyway, then the lower price is appealing because it is a good quality product.
WHERE TO BUY IT
It is available from the US, UK, and EU online for reasonable shipping and prices. It is also widely available in many independent salons, and their brand’s Toni and Guy salons. The brand Label.men is also commonly known and referred to as Label.m, so you might also see this product mentioned as Label.m Deconstructor.
You can find it on Amazon by clicking here – https://amzn.to/3mYf5Sk
HOW AND WHEN TO USE IT
Use on its own and in clean dry hair. Work through the hands and evenly distribute throughout dry hair, while working the hair into place. Apply more product depending on your desired level of hold.
HOLD 6.8/10
Medium Strength Hold
For me, I had mixed results when I first started using this product, and I thought it had a greasy finish and no hold. But then after studying the ingredients, I realized it was a highly complex formula that doesn’t work properly when mixed with other products. Because it has ingredients that bond and absorb into your (which is what helps it to add thickness and structure), it can’t react properly with your hair if there are other products interfering. And while it most still works with some other products, from my experiences, it works so much better on its own.
I was actually really surprised by the reliability of the hold and structure. When applying it to your hair, the product really allows you to lock in the shape of your hair. So even if it falls a bit throughout the day, it can be easily pushed back into place.
It’s not the strongest hold, but it’s quite firm and lightweight, and when combining that with the shape and structure the product gives, it feels like a nice hold.
APPLICATION 7/10
While styling results for the messy finishes this product creates are reasonably versatile, it isn’t very versatile when it comes to the method. From my experience, the only way I had reliable good results from the Label.men Deconstructor was when I applied to clean dry hair. When I used it with other products, damp hair, second-day hair, or before blow-drying, the product was useless and I got a shiny finish with little hold.
The good news is, the consistency of the product is really smooth and easy to break down by rubbing between the palms of your hands. And it applies smoothly to dry hair with a very little tug. So really, there’s not much need to apply it in different ways.
After applying in clean dry hair after blow-drying:
SCENT 6.8/10
The smell is a bit nice, with a manly cologne smell, but it is a bit synthetic and chemically.
DURABILITY 7.3/10
From my experience, I found the Label.men Deconstructor to be quite durable, and for the average day, it was enough to keep my hair well styled for the whole day (or at least until I finished work).
Its matte finish helps keep the hair looking fresher for longer. It is reworkable, and the structure and shape last all day, even though the hold slightly reduces after each time the hair gets reworked.
I would say that the Label.men Deconstructor is life proof.
INGREDIENTS 6.0/10
Label.men claims their Deconstructor product uses Carrot Root which enables you to model any style with lasting texture and separation; and a semi-matt finish. I can’t say if it’s just the Carrot root of the calculated combination of dozens of other ingredients, but I would still say the result is accurate when used correctly.
It has quite a hectic list of ingredients that they don’t disclose online, probably because they don’t want to scare people off. But a lot of the ingredients are beneficial for hairstyling are and from what I can see contribute to quite a well-rounded product. Label.men is quite a big brand that is conscious of hair health, and while I don’t think this product has any benefits for your hair, I don’t think it’s bad either. In this case, I trust that they have used experts to design products to deliver optimum performance.
Label.men Deconstructor ingredients: Water, Lanolin Wax, Cetearyl Alcohol, Tribehenin, Propylene Glycol, PVP, Fragrance/Parfum, PEG-40 Castor Oil, PEG-* Beeswax, Ceteareth-35, Tridecyl Strearate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Tea Tree Leaf Oil, Sandlewood Oil, Clove Flower Extract, Peppermint Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Carrot Root Extract, Carrot Seed Oil, Butylene Glycol, Dextran, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Clover Extract, Polysilicone-15, Acerola Fruit Extract, Olive Extract, Avocado Extract, Dipentaerythrityl Hexacaprylate/Hexacaprate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Alcohol Denat, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Methylparaben, Hydroxycitronellal, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxylsohexyl 3-Cyclohexene, Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Sodium Hydroxide.
WASHABILITY 6.4/10
It has some resistance to water and humidity, their use of film-forming ingredients, which keeps the hold in effect longer. As a result, it does take a good shampoo to wash out completely.
I feel rinsing the product out with warm water still leaves my hair a bit greasy, but with the use of decent shampoo it washed out without a problem.
FINISHED LOOK 6.8/10
This became my daily driver for a few months because once I learned to use it, it delivered a reliable and consistent finish with the simplicity of just using 1 product. While yes, I could still achieve better or more complicated products with a combination of 3-4 different products, that can take more time and be often less consistent.
I would say the finished look of this product doesn’t completely match what is says on the jar, but when used correctly, it does deliver a good matte finished look, that I personally really enjoyed.
After a day at work:
WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN
Yes. When I have shorter hair, for days when I want simplicity, I found I could really rely on this product. And because I’m always rotating between products and only use a small amount, for the £ that is cost me, even in the small 50ml size, it lasts me a really long time. So I would consider buying this again in the future.
VALUE CHART
Is it right for you? Find out below by looking up the rating out of 10 for your hair type.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Well my recommendation is to not use any other products with the Label.men Deconstructor, so I can really recommend any co-styling products. But if you’re looking for an alternative, you might also like to check out my reviews on these products:
Mid-Range
Label.m Matte Paste – https://www.comparegrooming.com/label-m-matte-paste-review-unbeatable-value/
Premium
Shear Revival Northern Lights Matte Paste – https://www.comparegrooming.com/shear-revival-northen-lights-matte-paste-review/
