When it comes to flyaways [2], my hair scores a high 10/10. A few years ago I started to get gray hairs [3], and they sprouted up directly in the center of my middle part [4]. This meant they stuck straight up and were extremely noticeable unless I opted to part my hair a different way (which I would never do because side parts are lame [5]). I recently mastered the perfect slicked-back bun [6], but I was still having some trouble smoothing all my stray hairs. I thought I might just have to deal with my flyaways until the end of time, but luckily, I recently stumbled across the perfect solution.
When scrolling TikTok one night, I came across a video where user Arielle Lorre [7] was talking about her experience getting her hair done with Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber's hairstylist at the Emmys. Lorre said in her video [8] that the stylist told her both models use the Tancho High-Grade Tique [9] ($10, originally $12) to achieve the perfect slicked-back look. Eager to see if the product would work for me and my unruly flyaways, I purchased it immediately.
Besides the mountain of errant hairs that reside on the top of my head, the rest of it is also fine, which means I don't love weighing it down with tons of products. I typically use a pomade when doing a slicked-back hairstyle, but I've found that even with pomades, my shorter gray hairs always pop up eventually.
When I first received my Tancho stick in the mail, the first thing I noticed after I opened it up was the smell. The scent on the packaging is listed as lavender, but the scent was very strong and didn't smell too much like lavender to me. A few TikTok users likened it to a car freshener, but to me, it smelled a little bit like chemicals. I decided to test it out for the first time on day three of unwashed hair, just in case the smell was too much for me and I needed to wash it out at the end of the night.
To test it out, I started by brushing my hair to ensure there were no knots. From there, I parted my hair down the middle as I usually would. Immediately I noticed tiny hairs popping up all along my hairline. Before getting too discouraged, I grabbed my Tancho stick and started applying it to my hair in a downward motion starting at my part.
After just a few swipes, I noticed that it was not only smoothing my flyaways, but it was actually keeping them in place. After I had coated about an inch of my hair all along my part with the Tancho stick, I started brushing everything back into a low ponytail. When none of my stray hairs popped up even after securing my ponytail, I started to get excited, but I knew I would need to wait until the end of the day to see if this product would really work for me.
When 5 p.m. finally rolled around and my baby hairs, flyaways, and gray hairs were still in place, I knew I had found a winner. I've been using the Tancho stick for the last few months, and I reach for it every single time I want to do a slicked-back hairstyle. Plus, I even use it when I'm wearing my hair down, although I use much less product and target just a few flyaways so my hair doesn't get too greasy. The smell has grown on me, but if you're sensitive to smells, the Tigi Bed Head Hair Stick [10] ($15, originally $20) is a great dupe that I've also tried that doesn't have a strong scent.
Either way, if you've been looking for a solution to tame your stubborn flyaways, one of these products is surely the answer.