Maria Nila
Extreme Wax
Extra Strong Forming Wax for Short Hair
Sets fast, holds all day.
A quick-dry forming wax at hold 5 with medium shine — candelilla and carnauba waxes for short hair that must not move.
- Texture
- Hold
- Style
100% Vegan · Cruelty-Free · Hold 5 of 5 · Medium Shine · Quick-Dry Forming Wax
This is probably for you if…
- The client with a short crop who hates restyling at lunchtime
- Thick hair that flattens every medium-hold wax by mid-morning
- A textured crop that needs visible separation, not softness
- Styling before a long shift or a long day on site
In stock + ready to ship
Unopened + unused items may be eligible for exchange or store credit within 14 days. Returns policy
- Free shipping $100+Canada + U.S. · duties included
- Packed by ModaBowmanville, Ontario
- Earn Inner CirclePoints on eligible orders
What it does
- Hold 5 of 5 — the strongest Maria Nila wax
- Quick-drying — sets the shape and keeps it
- Medium shine with real texture and separation
- Plant waxes resist softening in body heat
Perfect for
- All hair types — especially short
- Thick or coarse hair needing maximum hold
How to use
- Take a small amount — about a pea for short hair.
- Warm and emulsify between both palms until the wax turns clear.
- Apply to damp or dry hair, starting at the back and working forward.
- Shape with fingers while the wax is still warm, then leave it to set.
Routine step
Why we like it
The Moda Team Review
Hold 5 in a wax comes from structure, not stickiness. Candelilla and carnauba are two of the hardest plant waxes available — they melt in the palm and re-set on cooler hair, which is why this forms a shape quickly and keeps it. A VP/VA film layered over that matrix is what makes the hold last rather than simply feel stiff.
Moda
What’s inside — and why it’s there
The ingredients worth knowing.
- The hold is thermal and structural. Candelilla and carnauba are high-melting-point plant waxes with rigid crystalline lattices; palm heat carries them past their melting range into a workable state, and contact with cooler hair drops them back below it, re-crystallising the wax around the strand in the position you shaped it. Carnauba in particular raises the melting point of the combined matrix high enough that scalp and body heat through the day do not re-soften it, which is the usual failure mode of softer waxes. Hydrogenated microcrystalline wax adds bulk to the lattice, and VP/VA copolymer deposits a separate polymer film over the wax that resists gradual mechanical loosening — wax gives the rigidity, the polymer gives the duration.
View full ingredient list
Aqua/Water/Eau, Petrolatum, Candelilla Cera/Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax/Cire De Candelilla, Ceteareth-22, Copernicia Cerifera Cera/Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax/Cire de Carnauba, Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Cera, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate, VP/VA Copolymer, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Parfum/Fragrance, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Vegetable Amino Acids, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Caprylyl Glycol, Quaternium-95, Propanediol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Butylene Glycol, Laurtrimonium Chloride, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Anethole, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Rose Ketones, Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Phenoxyethanol
How to use
Use it the way we would.
- Take a small amount — about a pea for short hair.
- Warm and emulsify between both palms until the wax turns clear.
- Apply to damp or dry hair, starting at the back and working forward.
- Shape with fingers while the wax is still warm, then leave it to set.
- Combine with Maria Nila Argan Oil to soften the finish or define curls.
Moda stylist tipEmulsify until the wax goes clear and your palms feel warm. A hard plant wax that has not fully melted applies as small lumps that sit on the surface and never disperse — that is what people mean when they say a wax looks like product.
Reviews
Questions? We get them.
Good to know.
The questions we hear most about this product. If yours isn’t here, a real stylist will answer.
Ask ModaDoes hold 5 mean my hair will feel hard and crunchy to touch?
No, but it will feel set rather than soft. Wax hold comes from plant waxes re-crystallising around the strand, not from a brittle resin, so it reads as firm and slightly waxy rather than crispy. It does not crack or flake the way a very strong gel does.
Is this only for short hair, or can I use it on mid-length?
Yes, Maria Nila build it for styling short hair with strong definition. On mid-length it still works, but use very little and concentrate it at the ends — a hold 5 wax through the lengths of longer hair will separate into visible strands rather than moving as a whole.
Will a wax this hard wash out with a normal shampoo, or do I need to double cleanse?
Yes, usually one thorough shampoo is enough. Apply shampoo to dry or barely damp hair first and work it in before adding water — surfactants lift wax far more efficiently without water competing. For daily use, rotate in Purifying Cleanse Shampoo once a week.
Should I apply it to damp hair or dry hair for the strongest hold?
Yes to both — Maria Nila state damp or dry, and each gives a different result. Damp hair lets the wax distribute further and sets the shape as the hair dries, giving a cleaner form. Dry hair keeps the product on the surface for more visible separation and texture.
I have short curls. Will a hold 5 wax flatten the pattern?
No, provided you blend it. Maria Nila specifically suggest combining this wax with their Argan Oil to enhance and define curls — the oil loosens the set enough for the pattern to form while the wax still holds it. Emulsify both together in the palm before applying.
Returns
Unopened + unused products may be eligible for exchange or Moda store credit within 14 days.
Returns policy
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