People wanting firm, all-day hold with a glossy, lacquered finish – best suited to short, groomed, or slicked-back styles rather than loose or natural-movement looks. Redken markets it across hair types for both men and women, for at-home or professional use.

Redken built this one around 'shape memory' – the hold isn't just strong, it's reworkable, so a sculpted or slicked style set in the morning can be reshaped by hand later without cracking or flaking off the way a lot of maximum-hold gels do once they've fully dried.

Apply to damp hair, then comb or brush into place and let it air dry. For more structure with a blow-dried style, apply to damp hair at the roots first, then blow-dry and style as usual.

Pros: the shape-memory formula means a sculpted style can be touched up or reworked later in the day rather than needing a full re-set; it gives a genuinely high-shine, wet-look finish without flaking; it holds up through humidity by design (that's the point of a maximum-control gel). Cons: it contains methylparaben and ethylparaben as preservatives, which some buyers specifically avoid; it's a firm-hold formula, so it isn't a fit for anyone wanting movement or a natural finish; and because it's applied to damp hair, using it on already-dry hair won't distribute or activate the way it's designed to.