After reading these reviews I would not suggest using this for a pomade or wax unless you have thick, unruly hair or have a "punky short style" . I use this on clients who like to "back comb" their hair for volume. Instead of back combing just apply product to the roots only (underneath the area) and you have instant volume. That way you don't have a tangly mess. Also a little goes a long way.

I like this stuff when you mix it with something else, like a bit of brilliant styling creme and a drop of smoothing fluid. By itself, can be kind of heaving and sticky and sometimes clumps if you're not careful.

This is such a great product. I know that most people either love it or hate it, but for me, it's my HG styling product.
A little goes a long way, so the price is actually quite reasonable.
I also like the packaging. I'm not sure if most people read the usage tips on the Aveda website, so that might be why they find it difficult to get to the product, but if you shave a bit of product off the top with the edge of the cap, you can avoid the mess and the headaches.
I use this primarily to make my ends look choppy or to smooth down stray hairs when my hair's up in a ponytail. Both ways, I end up with a polished look that smells amazing! continued >>

Good product- will not repuchase because 1. the tube becomes very messy. 2. less expensive alternatives (LA LOOKS has a cheapie very much like self-control).

I use this product daily to control fly-aways and to protect the ends of my hair. The key is to use VERY sparingly. I barely dab my fingers on the end and rub that over both hands and just get the front of my hair, the crown of my hair, and the ends. If you use too much, you will get greasy and nasty, etc. I've had the stick for probably about 2 years, using it daily, and still have about 3/4 inch of product left in there. Use way less than you think you should - you can always add more!

I love Aveda's Self-Control! Great outdoorsy scent, perfect packaging. The product is an effective wax- only complaint is that it can sometimes build up and make hair heavy/limp. Solution- use sparingly :)

I've bought this twice since it came out. The formula may have been tweaked because my first stick had a harder texture which I liked better. Still a great product. I use a thin film of pomade rubbed between a couple of fingers to literally grab fly aways and put an immediate end to them by "glueing" them down. Doesn't leave hair greasy but textured with strong hold. Rinses off of fingers with just water. However, if you use this then put your hair in a ponytail it will have a hard to remove crease and hair usually looks wild the next morning (but if you wash daily this is not an issue).

I forgot how much I like this product. When my hair was supershort Self-Control was a staple for me. I just whisked it through my hair, tousled with my fingers and was good to go. When I started growing out my hair I stopped using this, but went back to it last week after getting my hair cut into a choppy cut. Why I stopped using it I don't know. I rub it across my hands and rub my hands through my hair flipping out ends as I go, messying up the rest. My hair looks amazing, smells good and the hold really lasts and that's saying something because I have thick, heavy hair.
I do think if you use too much you will get a film in your hair and if you apply it on wet hair it will catch whatever is in the air ie. dust.But overall I love this product and will never be without it again.

My hairdresser used this under sections of my hair on top to give it lift and it worked great and so I had to buy it. I use it every day on dry hair – doesn’t seem to work as well on wet. I have oily hair and this does not make it any greasier. If I apply it all over for smoothness, I have to rub it between my hands first or I end up with globs in my hair. I have never even noticed the scent so it isn’t unpleasant at all to me. It is very sticky so you have to be careful with application but it does what it is suppose to do – hold!

Smells overpoweringly flowery, gunks up my hair, Flakes and globs and looks ugly. Hated it.

This is an excellent pomade! I pull my hair into a ponytail and swipe this on the ends. It gives that perfect, piecey look for my layers without the grease/gunked up look other pomades can leave. It smells amazing, too - even better than most Aveda products! :) You get a really big amount for the price, too! UPDATE: still loving this...my hair looks like I got a pro blow-out every day now! whee! :-)

I tried this product and then ended up switching to Aveda's Custom Control. I did not like the waxy feeling to Self Control. I've got heavy black Asian hair and this product was too heavy for me. Even when I warmed it up between my palms, it still left little waxy globs in my hair. My boyfriend thought I had dandruff! Yuck!

This product worked great and made my hair neither stiff nor flaky. However, I hate the strong scent. I hoped that it would fade during the day, but it did not, and I ended up with a bad headache. I returned this, and because of Aveda's unfriendly return policy, I had to throw a fit to get a cash refund.

I am a HUGE fan of Aveda and thought I died and went to heaven when they came out with this product. The smell? Ambrosia. The packaging concept? Brilliant. The texture? Not the best, but it was at that time. The results? I loved the look, control and the shine it gave me. But one of the most important things for me is having touchable hair. This product did NOT leave my hair touchable. It was like a flytrap. Your hair felt gummy and attracted every speck of dirt and crap possible.
But vanity rules, and I suffered through, knowing that at least my hair looked great. I consoled myself by using Sebastian's Potion 9 on date nights.
Oh, and speaking of dates? One of the first times my boyfriend spent the night, he reached for the Self Control and applied it as deoderant. The confused look on his face kept me laughing for days. Considering he has more hair under his arms than on his head, I've never let him forget that slip-up. So I guess the unique dispensing does have its disadvantages. "Fair warning, girls..."

This stuff is pretty neat, with a few caveats. A little goes a LONG way, and yes, it has a lovely lavender-ish scent, but it will compete with any other fragrance you wear, so you should probably wear fragrance OR this, unless the two are complementary to one another. The stick is a nice way to get at the pomade; when the stuff is in a tub, I tend to get some under my fingernails trying to get it out, and I hate that. I usually rub a small amount of this onto my hands and warm it up, then run it through my damp hair. Applying it directly to hair from the stick is certainly an option, but I find that it can make the hair look a little greasy that way. I finish the very last part of my blow-dry and style with it, and the shine and light control make my straight-ish hair look really pretty.

Self-control works well for my short, textured hair. I can create piecey styles using this product. Not too fond of the smell and it's overpriced, but i still like it because it's a great styling aid with good hold and shine. I prefer to use this on dry hair...I found it doesn't work well on damp hair. The regular sized version should last for a LONG time.

This is one of my favorite Aveda products! I love the packaging concept of this as well. It tames my flyaways and gives my hair a nice sheen!

I got this on the recommendation of a friend. I have cowlicks and they are hard to control. Plus, I like a bit of pomade to add "piecey-ness" to my bangs.
This is a nice push-up stick of a waxy, pleasantly perfumed hair pomade. It works wonderfully well. I use it on the shorter hair in front of my ears and it holds it down without being heavy or greasy.

I love this stuff. It works wonderfully and smells great. You can use it to add volume, smooth stray hairs, or to style individual pieces of hair. The packaging is kind of strange though. It looks like a deoderant and a couple times my husband accidentally used it as a deoderant! A good poduct none the less.

When I wore my hair in a pixie cut, this was the only styling tool I used. It's wonderful for putting short hair where it belongs and keeping it there. The hold is flexible and the product adds lovely texture. Now that my hair is long, I mainly only use this when I pull it back into a ponytail or bun. I put a tiny bit of Self Control on my fingertips, warm/emulsify it, and use it to control the strays around my hairline. I do wish that the product didn't smell so strongly, however. It's not an unpleasant scent, but I choose my perfume for scent and don't want my hair products to compete.