All pastel pencils are hard pastels encased in wood
, but you can't assume they're all the same density. Each brand of pastel pencils has a different level of hardness depending on the amount of clay included in the ingredients. Less expensive pastel pencils may be almost as hard as a graphite pencil, and other pencils are relatively soft. Though less expensive than softer pencils, harder pastel pencils aren't necessarily a bad choice for your work depending on what you need them for. If you're looking to maintain a point for detail or want to use a pastel pencil as you would a graphite pencil, a hard pencil may be a good choice. A softer pencil may work better for initial sketches or blending and layering with other pastels.