Want to recommend some products of your own? Look here, my friend. I'm especially interested in anyone who knows of a good hairspray (I've been using my Paul Mitchell bottle for, seriously, the last 4 years and am ready to move on). My hair product philosophy is that all products have some sort of merit - you just have to use them for the right occasion.

These prices once were current, but may no longer be. Please do that sort of confirmation on your own.

Favorite products of the moment!
KMS Hair Play Molding Paste, $13, good for defining. The more I use this stuff, the more I'm hooked. Get yourself a gallon. Molding paste/mud seems to be the thing these days- a stringy, sticky, thicker kind of pomade, less oily, that you gives you targeted control. In small quantities, this is a great product. Not only will this terrific "fruit" scent follow you everywhere, but your hair will have this cool raged look to it that stays there all day long. Remember, moderation though: use a handful of this stuff and your hair becomes rather like concrete. Which may be a look you want, who knows.
Also recommended (by someone other then myself!): American Crew Fiber. About $13.50. Anne writes: "It's much stronger than wax or pomade, and not greasy at all. I guess it belongs to the'"mud' family of hair products. My hair is the straightest hair in the world, and left to its own devices it lies limp and flat. Fiber gives it personality and life and zippiness. I plan to stockpile it when the revolution comes." And a brief DMU note: some stylist once used this on my hair, and if my bathroom wasn't way too full of hair products, I would have bought it. Seemed like a really cool product. Let me just mention here that American Crew for some reason is under the impression that they sell "quality grooming products for men."

 

Hair product/ Price/ What it's good for Comments
American Crew Pomade. $12.50. Use for shine and scent (and nothing else) They claim this pomade "holds" but don't hold your breath on that - I use it as a fragrance only because it has a nice clean scent of men's cologne. Works nicely when a small dallop is used with Fix Design Pomade.
Aveda Brilliant Forming Gel. $12.50. Use mostly for scent and shine. This pomade-like gel never worked really with my hair - it leaves your hair soft and undefined, best for longer styles. But the smell! Oh, the smell that better than a billion roses and fills your car and stays with you for hours. Use it as a cologne.
Aveda Flax Seed/Aloe Strong Hold Sculpting Gel. A very reasonable $10. Makes hair stiff and keeps your hair looking wet I've had this bottle for years and can't part with it - because it smells good but also, with the right hair cut, gel can look pretty cool. Works best on medimum-short hair when you want to look like you just stepped out of the shower. Is that ever a cool look? I don't know...
Aveda Self Control Hair Styling Stick. $15.50. Offers some definition. Oh what to say about Aveda other than they really have the best smelling products here on Earth! This sweet smelling pomade stick doesn't have a whole lot of hold - and what hold it has doesn't last for a very long time. But the stick looks cool and it's fun to apply (don't rub stick directly on head though! Rub first on hands).
Bed Head Tigi - A Hair Stick for Cool People. $17.50-$20 (ouch!). Makes your hand stand straight up and look cool. How can one not be flattered when given "a hair stick for cool people" as a gift? This is my evening hair product, on those special non-work related nights when hair should be spiky, cool, and dramatic. You don't have to use much to effect.
Conditioner/lotion. Cheap. Gives softness-shine. A tip from my beloved Vidal Sassoon stylist in NYC who was surprisingly anti-product - either leave your hair productless (works for medium/short hair) or add a small bit of conditioner (the kind you're supposed to rinse out) or lotion to your hair. Worked pretty nice when my hair was a few inches long.
Fix Hair Care Design pomade. $3.95 (can purchase online at folica.com). Use for greasing up your hair. I've been using this for years as my base - gives control, gets rid of feathering, and isn't too greasy. Vidal Sassoon used to carry this before going to a higher-priced line of their own. But you can still find it online.
Fix Hair Care Stix Fix (Design polish). $3.95 (can purchase online folica.com). Use for really greasing up your hair/vertical lift-off. This is a little harder product to use. If you put a bit on and blow-dry it, your hair will shine and shine and also be very sticky and stiff. Use with hair-spray to help balance out greasiness.
Paul Mitchell Dry Wax. $14.50. Use for definition. This was always too expensive just to use by itself. Okay, so it's also my boyfriend's. So I've used it usually at the end of the day, when certain pieces of my hair need more definition. It's hardly greasy at all and has a nice, refreshing floral scent.
Redken Water Wax. $12.50. Could be used as a general base pomade. The great thing about this pomade is that it's water-based, so it actually washes off your hands (and your hair) really well. It's also a pretty iridescent sparkly color in the container and has one of the more mellow, fresher smells of a hair product. Maybe because it's water based, it seems a little gentler of a hold - you could probably use it on your entire head and not feel too greasy.
Vidal Sassoon Defining Wax. Medium priced. Gives a greasy/cool sort of definition. Smells great, but you're just to use it to accent certain parts of your head (put it on your whole head and you'll be a greaseball) (put it on sparingly and the day after you're a greaseball). A good secondary pomade for the parts you want to stand out (looks nice when used on the hair around your face).