Small business? Check. Woman-owned? Check. Made in the USA? Check. Really damn good product? Check.
Review over.
Just kidding.
For real though, I have to give a big shout to Spot On Braiding Wax. Anyone who has been around the blogosphere for a while might remember California-based Peony and her mare Spot. Former-blogger Peony started this company several years ago, meticulously and painstakingly tweaking her braiding wax formula over time to get it just perfect. I’m not kidding, I was one of the original testers back in the day, and she’s really developed something great.
Prior to Spot On Braiding Wax I had never actually used any kind of wax-based product for braiding before. Water or QuicBraid was the usual go-to. They worked fine and all, but 1) once water dries it’s as if it never really happened at all 2) a lot of horses didn’t love the spray of the QuicBraid, and I didn’t find that it held the flyaways particularly well over the course of the day. It was about as useful as a weak hairspray, IMO.
So the first time I tried the wax, I was intrigued and also skeptical. I’m not sure what I imagined, but I think in my head it was going to be something like the really thick heavy pomade type wax that guys used in generous dallops in the late 90’s to twist their hair into spikes (if you were alive then you know exactly what I’m talking about). Thankfully, this stuff is nothing like that.
The wax comes in an easy to use little tube (like a really fat chapstick, basically), and you get your choice of lavender scent, peppermint scent, or unscented. I am a fan of all three so if you’re looking for my input on what to choose, I’m gonna just say to eeny-meeny-miney -mo it. You can’t go wrong.
I section the hair, swipe a few strokes of wax down the dry hair, then I just braid as usual. It’s easier to use than a spray bottle, takes up less space on your braiding belt (or if you’re me, in your pockets), and is way way way less messy than anything liquid. You also use considerably less of it compared to a spray, and don’t have the side effect of it dripping all over the place.
The real question is, though, how does it work?
A lot better than the sprays. The wax does a way better job of containing the little fly-away hairs, and IMO helps the braid hold it’s shape better. It also makes the hair easier to grip (a soft grip, not a sticky one, if that makes sense), which makes for a better braid job in general, especially if you have a horse like mine who isn’t the most cooperative about standing still. The wax also leaves the hair with a nice natural texture vs the somewhat crunchy texture you get from some of the sprays. It stays in well enough to do it’s job, but it’s also very easy to rinse out at the end of the day. Another perk – it doesn’t leave your hands feeling sticky or smelling gross by the time you’re done braiding.
A big part of that is because it’s made from all natural ingredients – no chemicals and nothing icky. Just a nice blend of Beeswax, Candiella Wax, Shea Butter, Jojoba oil, Coco Capyrlate, Vitamin E, Kaolin Clay, and Sunflower Solubulizer. Nothing that’s bad for you or your horse’s skin!
I am not a good braider by any means, especially not with Presto because he hates having his mane pulled, thus I don’t pull it, thus it’s thick and unruly on the best of days. Kinda matches his vibe, ya know? But the braiding wax does make a huge difference in my ability to execute a braid job that looks perfectly suitable for public consumption and helps keep everything tame throughout the show day.
The wax is currently retailing at $16.99 per tube, which IMO is an extremely reasonable price. I use a lot less of the wax than I do of the sprays, so a tube lasts me a long time. Spot On also sells a really nice waxed thread in a wide variety of mane-matching colors, for those that like to sew their braids in with thread. Peony was nice enough to offer a coupon code for my readers – use BRE5 to get 5% off your order!
To sweeten the deal even more, she also offered a giveaway to one lucky reader. You can win a free tube of braiding wax and a spool of waxed thread – all you have to do is comment below to get one entry, and you can also check out my post on Instagram for info on how to get more entries. Good luck!
breedrideevent.com 
I love the idea of this and would love to try it.
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I will also leave my two cents. A few months ago, we took a group of kids to a small combined training. I had a tube of Spot On that I’d picked up during a Black Friday sale that I hadn’t gotten to use because it’s been that long since I’ve had a chance to show.
The trainer and I did several horses between the two of us. The trainer started out with the dregs of a bottle of QuikBraid, but it wasn’t long before the two of us were passing the Spot On back and forth. At the end, you could tell the difference between the couple of braids she had done with the spray and Spot On. Spot On braids were so much cleaner and she loved it.
I also used the waxed thread because I prefer sewing braids. So easy to use.
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I always enjoy reading about the new products you come across and try, and I usually end up buying them too so thanks… I guess!!! 😜
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Show season is coming and I would love to try braiding with the Spot On Braiding Wax!
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I freaking LOVE this stuff. I can’t say I braid “often”, but when I do I am never without this. My Arab has a thin, wispy mane and she never has flyaways with this: I even went to a 3-day dressage show once, braided on Friday, and still had gorgeous braids on Sunday! (to her credit, my mare is a saint and would never think to inconvenience me by pulling out her braids). I refuse to cut or pull manes at all, so hers is long and natural, and with a specific braiding technique you wouldn’t know once she’s all braided. My mom has the same experience with her Connemara pony who has a very THICK mane (also long and natural!).
What’s more, I use is when I braid for endurance rides: these are just simple braids about 3/4″ thick, not fancy buttons or anything, for the purpose of keeping her mane off her neck while I’m riding and sponging her off in hot weather. I use my Spot On wax and the braids stay neat and tight ALL WEEKEND, even if all weekend means 80+ miles (and going up steep hills, you can bet I grab a couple of braids to help keep my balance while getting off of her back!)
So. Not just for people who show, folks. If you braid, you need this.
Aside, I literally LOL’d for several minutes at the “spiked hair in the late 90s” comment. Yes, that was such a thing, especially if you were in your teens/20s at the time…
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I bought a tube of the lavender wax @ Christmas for my trainer who has Friesians and Andalusians (aka LOTS of hair) and she loved it! Smells great, leaves your hands soft and the manes aren’t crunchy when you take the braids out. I’ll need some for my own horses this year.
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I haven’t shown in a few years but if I start showing again, I would definitely like to give this stuff a try, I despise braiding and usually end up skipping it all together since I’ve only done schooling shows anyway, and my gelding is also a fidget 🤣, one would think that at nearly 25 years old, he wouldn’t be but no, I believe he will never act his age 🤦♀️
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Maybe a tip for Presto’s thick mane… I do not believe in pulling a mane. I find it cruel. I use an old clipper blade and comb it underneath the mane and it thins the hair well without creating flyaways on the crest line of the neck. I use to show halter horses and it was a great technique for me. Hope it helps. I am going to try the braiding wax. I think it is the perfect solution over using water or Quicbraids. Thanks for the product review!
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I can’t wait to try this stuff!!
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Tired of QuicBraid not holding flyaways!!!!
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I absolutely hate braiding – haha – but this sounds like it might make my life easier! I would love to try this!
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This sounds like it would help my Appy’s thin wispy mane 🙂
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I’ve been wanting something with a wax-type hold since the wax threads work so well! I’ve been roaching Dassah’s mane for a couple years now but with the latest round of rehabbing, I let it grow out so I have something substantial to hold on to, in addition to her neckstrap, as I will hopefully have a completely different horse this time!
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This product seems amazing, and I would absolutely love to try it! I also love supporting small, women-owned businesses 💕
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Does anyone know if the white thread is a bright white or more of a cream color?
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message them and ask, they’re super helpful!
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One of my goals this year is to work on my braiding skills.
Ok one of my goals is to actuall obtain braiding skills. 🫣
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Sounds like a great product for my Morgan and Friesian mares long braid I make whenever riding – especially to make it neat enough to last past the first few minutes. Thanks for calling attention to it!
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This sounds like an awesome product to have on hand! I’d love to try it for braiding my yearling at our upcoming shows!
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❤❤❤ Liberty spikes on punk rock boys ❤❤❤ I miss that…
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I would love to try this! We just adopted a Gypsy X with so many fly aways that he has a mohawk even with his mane loose! I’m excited to get back to showing for the first time since my son was born 7 years ago, and braiding is part of it.
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This stuff looks awesome! I never bought Quicbraid because it seemed too messy so this sounds perfect!
I’m curious, Amanda, how do you do your braids? I think they look great!!
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This sounds like just what I need. Can’t wait to try it!
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This looks so amazing! I guess I’ll be looking out for the day it hits South African shelves 😀
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Something that makes braiding easier and might not make my hands bleed? I’m sold.
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HA – had to laugh at comment about boys using hair stuff in the late ’90’s. I remember them using “stuff” in the ’60’s (not for spikes, but for whatever they did with their hair) and I’m pretty sure they were using it long before that time, too.
PS: At least that’s what I’ve heard – I am not admitting that I am even old enough to remember guy’s hair in the ’60’s or even the ’50’s
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I am desperate for SOMETHING, ANYTHING that will help with the crazy thick mane I have to wrangle. I really want to try this..
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I’m dying to try their waxed thread, I’ve had such a hard time finding durable thread that feels like it actually holds my braids. Maybe if I use the wax as well my (non-horsey) mom will finally stop complaining about the flyaways in my OTTB’s braids! That would be as much of a miracle as this wax… 😅
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This looks like amazing stuff and I’d love to try it on my lease boy’s mane! We show AQHA but I’m sure it will work for banding as well as braiding and keep everything extra-tidy. His mane also has a “break” in the middle where one half lies towards his head and the other lies towards his butt, with different thickness, so I think applying wax would make that less obvious. Thanks for the review!
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