The Complete Guide: Muk Hair Styling Products

muk has seven different styling tubs, and while they might look similar, they all perform very differently. From ultra-matte texture to high-gloss slick backs, each product is built around a different level of hold, shine and control. Here’s exactly what each one does and which hairstyles it works best for.

Hard muk Styling Mud

Type: Styling Mud
Hold: 9/10 - Brutal Hold
Shine: 2/10 - Low Sheen

Hard muk is built for people who want serious hold without the shine. It's a clay-based mud made with kaolin, beeswax and carnauba wax that goes on completely clear once you emulsify it between your palms. It dries down to an intense, mattifying texture that adds thickness and body without feeling greasy or leaving flakes. It's also humidity resistant, so it holds up throughout the day, and works across every hair type and colour, including curly, wavy, straight and frizzy hair.

Best for: Textured crops, messy quiffs, spiky styles and faux hawks. Anything where you want the hair to look thick, separated and matte rather than polished. If your style relies on texture holding its shape rather than looking sleek, this is the one.

Savage muk Styling Mud

Type: Styling Mud
Hold: 10/10 - Savage Hold
Shine: 3/10 - Semi-matte Finish

Savage muk takes the hold up another level. Built around montmorillonite clay and carnauba wax, it's the strongest hold product muk makes, with just a touch more shine than Hard muk for a dishevelled matte look rather than a completely flat finish. It's flexible despite the extreme hold, water soluble, humidity resistant and won't flake. It suits wavy to straight hair with medium to coarse texture and works particularly well on blonde, coloured or grey hair.

Best for: Dishevelled, piecey crops and textured quiffs that need to survive humidity, long days or stubborn hair that fights to hold its shape. If Hard muk isn't locking your style down enough, this is the step up.

Dry muk Styling Paste

Type: Ultra-matte Styling Paste
Hold: 9/10 - Strong Hold
Shine: 1/10 - Ultra Matte

Dry muk is all about the "no product" look. You get strong hold with virtually zero visible shine, so the hair looks textured and thick without looking heavily styled. It's made from a similar clay and wax base using kaolin, beeswax and carnauba wax, and shares the same non-greasy, flake-free and humidity-resistant performance as the rest of the range. muk also specifically calls it out as a texturiser for adding root lift.

Best for: French crops, textured fringes and any style where you want the hold of a strong product but need the finish to look completely natural. If you don't want any obvious "product hair" shine, go with Dry muk.

Slick muk Pomade

Type: High-gloss Pomade
Hold: 9/10 - Strong Hold
Shine: 10/10 - High Gloss

Slick muk sits at the opposite end of the spectrum to Hard and Dry muk. It trades the matte clay finish for a water-based pomade formula built for a wet-look finish and maximum shine. You still get strong, flexible hold, but the hair doesn't completely dry out or become stiff. It's water soluble, flake-free and humidity resistant, and works across all hair colours and medium-to-coarse textures.

Best for: Sleek slick-backs, defined side parts, pompadours and wet-look styles. It's also suited to upstyling and sleek ponytails. Anywhere you want a glassy, reflective finish, this is the tub to reach for.

Filthy muk Styling Paste

Type: Textured Styling Paste
Hold: 8/10 - Firm Hold
Shine: 4/10 - Gritty Finish

Filthy muk sits right in the middle of the range. You get firm rather than extreme hold, with a gritty, flexible finish and slightly more shine than the matte options. It's built on the same petrolatum, kaolin, beeswax and carnauba wax base as the other muds and pastes, while remaining non-greasy and buildup-free. muk pitches it specifically towards short-to-medium length hair.

Best for: Short textured crops, messy fringes and textured undercuts. It's a great everyday option when you want firm hold and visible texture without going completely matte or highly shiny.

Raw muk Styling Mud

Type: Styling Mud
Hold: 8/10 - Firm Hold
Shine: 8/10 - Gloss Finish

Raw muk is the shine-forward mud in the range. It combines firm hold with a high-gloss finish, giving the hair a smooth, controlled look with enhanced shine. It uses a water-soluble, flake-free and humidity-resistant clay base, but keeps the hair touchable and flexible rather than stiff. It works across fine, medium and coarse textures, including curly and wavy hair.

Best for: Classic pompadours, defined side parts and polished quiffs. It's also a strong option for adding flexible definition to curls or mid-length hair when you want noticeable shine without going all the way to the wet-look intensity of Slick muk.

Rough muk Forming Cream

Type: Light-hold Forming Cream
Hold: 5/10 - Flexible Hold
Shine: 7/10 - Natural Shine

Rough muk is the odd one out. It's a smooth, easy-spreading cream rather than a mud or paste, built for flexible, gentle hold and a natural shine rather than heavy control. It's still water soluble and humidity resistant with no flaking or buildup, but it's designed to move with the hair instead of locking everything firmly into place.

Best for: Mid-length to longer hair, piecing out a blow-wave or defining curls after diffusing. If your style needs movement and a soft, natural sheen rather than maximum hold, this is the product in the range built for it.

Which muk Should You Choose?

It really comes down to two things: how much hold you need and how much shine you want. For maximum matte hold, go Hard or Savage. For an ultra-natural finish, Dry muk is the pick. Filthy gives you a balanced everyday texture, while Raw and Slick bring progressively more shine. If you have longer hair or just want something softer and more flexible, Rough muk is the way to go.

Seven products, seven very different finishes. Pick the one that matches the style you're actually trying to achieve, and you'll get a much better result out of your hair.