What is Edge Control?

Edge control is a hair care styling product. It’s basically a viscous gel providing firm hold. The main purpose of it is to control the delicate hair (some call baby hairs) at the hairline and keep it smooth and laid down and sculpt the hair. It also needs to provide long lasting hold with no curl back. It should be anti-humectant, not contain high amounts of humectants that can cause curl back, especially with humid weather and sweat. An excellent formulation will be non-greasy, non-flaky, non-sticky with no build up and with easy wash out.

Edge control is very popular for textured hair, curly, coils and kinky hair. It behaves differently on different hair types. There is not one product for all hair types. 4B and 4C hair types need a very strong hold. The extra strong hold may be too much for 3B hair type.

A lighter product can be used on straight hair to tame flyaway hair.

How to Use

1. Start with a small amount of product on your fingertip or apply it to a small brush or toothbrush and apply it to the hairline.
2. Style, add more as needed to smooth and sculpt the hair for long lasting finish.
3. Set edges by wrapping a silky scarf to hold edges flat and in place. Allow to dry and carefully remove scarf.

Formulating Two Types of Edge Controls

1. Edge Gel
   This is a natural edge control that is more gel-like. It is thick and produces a light hold and differs from the traditional edge control. Almost all edge controls contain PEG’s and ceteareth 20 or ceteareth 25. I wanted to formulate it without PEG’s and ceteareth 20 or 25 and use different ingredients. This was not an easy task. After over 20 tries, I came up with a good formulation. This edge control gel can be used for most hair types.
   
   
2. Traditional Edge Control
   This is a viscous, clear edge control like the ones offered for sale from retailers. This formulation provides a strong lasting hold for your delicate hairline hairs without flakiness. The formula has a backbone of these ingredients commonly found in edge control, Ceteareth-25, PEG-7 Glyceryl Monococoate, and PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil. These ingredients are only used in this Traditional Edge Control formulation. Students have asked me for years to offer a formula like the edge controls on the market. They were fine with these ingredients, they rather make and sell their own than buy others. So that’s exactly what we did for our students. I formulated this Traditional Edge Control that is stable and performs like edge controls on the market. This edge control can be used for hair types from curls to coils.

Edge Control Product Formulation

Do you want to make your own edge control formulation? 

Learn more how to formulate edge control in our Pro Natural Hair Care Formulation Course.

Lifelong Alumni

For the lifelong alumni of the Diploma Natural Hair Care Formulation Course you can find these Edge Control Formulations and Video compounding the formulations as new additions to the course.