Kevin Murphy Rough Rider
“Rough up, and get down and gritty to create a seriously strong hold with ROUGH.RIDER. Its oily, gritty-like texture helps you define a slick, matte look that lasts. Infused with antioxidants and essential extracts it packs a goodness punch as strong as it holds. ROUGH.RIDER also strengthens and helps seal rough ends.”
Why We Love It:
This product is super-easy to style with. Gives great volume and texture to the hair.
Oily but without feeling greasy. Doesn’t dry hard and remains malleable through the day. Use on freshly washed hair to add a lived-in vibe and texture.
Would definitely recommend!
Benefits
- Strong hold
- Delivers a slick, matte defined look
- Helps strengthen the hair as it holds
- Helps to seal rough ends
- Ideal for all hair types
- Sulphate, paraben and cruelty-free
Consistency and Application
Thick and slightly oily to the touch. That said, can be emulsified (warmed up to make the product clear before applying) easily.
Slight tug to the hair on application. Not major though.
Styling
Kevin Murphy Rough Rider is responsive and versatile to style with. Work up into a big voluminous quiff or pomp; or use to style a super-neat slick back.
Finish and Hold
Rough Rider is supposed to have a low shine but really it’s more of a low shine/subtle gloss.
The product doesn’t dry out during the day and can be reworked. A good, medium hold.
Washability
Not the easiest to wash out but only requires a little shampoo to fully cleanse your hair. Not sticky and doesn’t leave any residue in the hair.
Kevin Murphy Rough Rider Ingredients
Diethylhexyl Maleate, Microcrystalline Wax, Diatomaceous Earth, Canola Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Germ Extract, Juniperus Virginiana (Cedarwood) Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Silica, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Benzophenone-3, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Polysilicone-15, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Quaternium-95, Benzyl Benzoate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Propanediol, Coumarin, Linalool, Tocopheryl Acetate, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Phospholipids, Bambusa Vulgaris Extract, Corn Starch Modified, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract.
Known to provide nourishment and strength to the hair, Soya Bean Extract also helps to maintain hair’s natural moisture levels.
Packed with an abundance of antioxidant and vitamin goodness, Bamboo Extract is also a rich source of mineral nourishment, and a key ingredient to help protect the integrity of hair health.
Made up of 89% Silica, Diatomaceous Earth is used to support stronger, healthier-looking hair.
Used in fragrance and cosmetics for centuries, Patchouli Oil helps to balance the hair and the scalp.
What’s not to say? This product does it all.
While it may feel heavy when you’re scooping it out, it goes into your hair effortlessly – and if you layer it – it hardly feels like anything is there.
While this is less important, I believe it’s worth noting. The scent is light but elegant. Again, not hugely important but it certainly is a nice bonus.
I LOVE this product, I have thick hair and the hold and texture I get from this product is amazing. I’ve tried Blumann, Hans de Fuko, and Gatsby products before this with various levels of success, but I can confidently say that this one is in a league of its own. That being said, there are some cons that I just don’t think are worth taking points away for, but for others it may be a bigger issue:
– Personally, I don’t love the smell as much as some others seem to. I think it smells kind of like scented glue.
– It is difficult to wash out– I had to shampoo twice. On the flip side, though, this product doesn’t make my hair look greasy the next day, so I can get away with not shampooing every day
This product is even better than I thought it would be. As an oil based clay I was expecting a lot of slickness and oilyness, similar to Cavalier, as well as a tricky application natural shine.
However, this product feels to me like an improved version of Claymation (it’s more similar to the original superior claymation formula, before they changed it). It has a similar level of hold and texture, but RR is easier to scoop, easier to emulsify and apply, smells much nicer, and gives a more matte gritty finish.
I know some people mention this having a “natural” finish which is what I was expecting, but in my hair this thing is FULLY matte. It doesn’t even matter how much I can use, I can layer it in for a couple of days in a row and it still stays matte and non greasy. Your mileage may vary but for me this is 100% matte.
Hold is alright, similar to Claymation I would say. It’s not super strong, your hair probably will drop over the course of the day, but it’s easily restyled and gives it a great gritty beachy texture.
The washout is hard, as people have mentioned. It’s not oily, like Cavalier, which is what I was expecting. It’s the Diatomacious earth that is hard to wash out so you end up with a gritty feeling in your hair that takes a fair few shampoos to get out. That being said, considering how good the product is, I don’t mind a bit more labour on the washout.
All in all, every bit as good as Robin said it was. A fantastic daily driver product and has quickly shot up my rotation to become one of my favourite products. If you like Claymation, but want a nicer smell, easier scoop and application, and more gritty texture, this is for you.
This is a great, predictable and satisfying product to use.
I found I don’t need much product at all, and it provides a great, slightly gritty feeling to the hair all day. I can change the style if I want, but it will keep it’s shape throughout the day.
Took me more than one shampoo to fully remove in my thin blonde hair, however I feel good to rinse it and style the next day, adding just a bit more product.
I don’t have too many products to compare it to, but it’s for sure worth a go if you want a low shine clay!
I made an account just to leave a comment about this product. Started watching Robin earlier this year (2020) and have been trying different products from his channel, and I saw Rough Rider in the Holy Grail section of the website. I was hesitant at first to spend so much on a hair product, but I’m thrilled I did.
Definitely the best product I’ve ever used. So easy to style with and re-style, the texture is brilliant, the shine is lovely (as Robin says, it’s got a slight natural shine to it, not matte), and the hold is phenomenal. I’ve just been out in the wind and rain and I’ve come back home and my hair looks as good as it did this morning. Biggest bonus for me is that, because of my thick hair, my hair can end up looking fluffy by the end of the day with many products – this has NOT been a problem with this product. 10/10
After a long time of trying out different products from different brands, I can conclude that this is my favorite. It has a very strong hold with dry and textured finish. The sweet and spicy scent on it is amazing. Definitely recommend it!
One of the best products that I’ve used. We all know that feeling of getting a new hair product to try and then being disappointed by the results. It was actually the other way around with this. I’ve watched several reviews on this product and some were saying it’s good and others bad. I went out n said f*ck it and just bought it. Works f*cking wonders. Not that hard to scoop sfter you’ve tried some rock hard cement sh*t. Comes out of the jar fairly easily. Because it’s oiled based, styling is a breeze and I disagree with Robin on the shine scale. This product for me is absolutely matte, no shine, even though my hair type is similar to Robins. It has a higher than medium hold because of it’s oilness and although the product itself is oil-based. It washes out with 1 shampoo and not gonna lie, I don’t really feel it that much if I just rinse it with water. On another note, the jar lasts like forever. Got mines in November of 2019 and barely used 1/3 of it and its almost June 2020 now.
I use Rough Rider with KM young again hair oil and can’t recommend this combination enough i have really thick hair and like a lot of volume so these work amazing together!!
Robin,
I have finer hair myself and I have used BB prep primer with Sea salt spray as a pre styler (which works really well), do any others work well with RRider? I.e. Anti-Gravity or B&B thickening blowdry creme? I have both products.
Thanks
Extremely hard to wash out after used..took me 5 washes with 3 different shampoos and 2 times conditioner to get 80% of it out of my hair..still feels the clay in my hair after this tedious procedure, hair feels so rough n the tug is still there. Great for styling, easy application, great volume medium hold i must say as my sides keeps falling out but the flushing out the clay from my hair puts me off.
Extremely hard to wash out after used..took me 5 washes with 3 different shampoos and 2 times conditioner to get 80% of it out of my hair..still feels the clay in my hair after this tedious procedure, hair feels so rough n the tug is still there. Great for styling, easy application, great volume medium hold i must say as my sides keeps falling out but the flushing out the clay from my hair puts me off
Just works ! Best hair product I’ve ever used. Refreshing to actually have something deliver on its claims.
Does this add the same texture as Cavalier Clay by Blumaan??
Thanks Robin!!
Not really. Cavalier has a lot more waxiness and slickness, and is heavier in the hair, whereas Rough Rider is dryer and grittier and not as heavy.
Can I use this product on a daily basis without having the risk of damaging my hair? I bought this recently and I love it, but it came to my attention that is very hard to wash your hair after using it, feels like the hair keeps some of the clay on it and feels rough and dry. any suggestions? or I should not use this clay on a daily basis?
Really enjoying this product… the only thing I would say is I dont think it has a matte finish it’s more of a low shine, which is fine cause it doesnt make your hair look greasy like some products.
Fantastic product, see the result for yourself…
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Looking good, Trent.
Do you use anything before Rough Rider? Or straight in?