I Was Wrong About Pomades!

What is a Pomade?

Have you ever struggled with your hair falling throughout the day? You play around with it, but the more you do, the more it seems like the hair is just coming apart at the seams.

Well, today we're unlocking the secret to getting your hair to not only stay in place but to get back in line whenever the wind hits it too hard. We're going to explore the magic of pomades.

Now, I find the biggest misconception in the hair industry is that “pomade” sometimes becomes the term used to describe ANY men's hair product, regardless of how it functions.

I find this only adds confusion to exactly what makes a pomade different and why you should consider getting one as opposed to other products out there.

The truth is that pomades are a traditional men's hair product with origins going back as far as the 1950s as the go-to product for those greaser pompadours and slick backs [1]. This is because the main feature of any great pomade is its ability to not dry out and usually that includes a very high shine finish to the hair.

Pomade can be oil-based or water-based, and both have their own benefits.

Oil-Based- Much stronger hold, but extremely hard to wash out.

Water-based- Weaker, movable hold but washes out easily with just water.

Regardless of the main ingredient, once the pomade goes in the hair, it should not harden and has the ability to be restyled throughout the day as many times as you need.

The styles that mainly use pomades are very sleek, polished, and formal styles. I mentioned pompadours and slick backs, but classic side parts (with long sides that are smoothed down) are also a great example of a hairstyle that would require pomade. You can imagine that if the style involves using a comb to fix things in place, then the hair probably has pomade in it.

Why I Thought Pomades Are Not For Me

From the sound of it, a pomade is a great option to have in your hairstyling arsenal, especially if it can keep the hair styled and in place throughout the day. No more having to worry about your hair collapsing right before you have to make a presentation when all eyes are on you as you can reset it right before you walk through the door.

However, there are 3 reasons for why I never liked pomades before:

A formal/professional hairstyle just doesn't match my lifestyle.

Although putting on a nicely fitted suit can feel amazing, I just never had the need to have my hair look ultra-formal and professional. Whether as a student or in my professional life, I have always had the opportunity to play it more casual using more matte-finished products that give a natural texture to the hair.

I followed a tutorial nearly a decade ago and it didn't work!

The tutorial [2] showcases pomade being applied generously to damp hair, adding more water and product as needed, and combing things into place.

I found that my hair didn't stay slicked down with this process, and would eventually spike back up. As someone with straight, Asian hair, this was to be expected and my hair was probably too short to smooth down anyways. It was a pretty bad first experience, and I just never wanted to give it another try after that.

The product felt gross on my head.

When I followed the tutorial, I found that I would be applying a lot of product to my hair and it felt like I got rained on by slime. Not only did it not hold my hair in place, but it made me feel uncomfortable the entire time!

This styling process may have worked for gentlemen in the 50s, but it definitely wasn't worth it for me and I felt much better finding products that were much less noticeable in my hair.

So What's Changed?

Now that I am a professional barber, I need to properly understand a product so that I know what is worth recommending to my clients. Even if it doesn't work for me, if it can work for you, then that's all that matters.

There are a few things that I know now as a professional that have given me a new appreciation for pomades, making them my go-to product for my current hairstyle.

Someone with my hair type still needs to style with heat regardless of what product is used after.

Without blow drying, my hair will do whatever it wants and tends to just fall down. This is even more true for when it is wet, and until I dry it into a certain shape, it just won't defy gravity even if a product has the highest of hold.

And since I am doing most of the styling with the hair dryer, I don't have to rely on using a lot of the product. Instead, I can use a reasonable size of pomade in my hair to get the effect as it builds on what I've done with heat setting.

With dark-coloured hair, a medium to high shine product helps create contrast and definition in an otherwise flat-looking hairstyle.

As the light reflects off of the hair, you can see more texture within the dark hair. Though pomades were designed for sleek looks, this benefit makes it work wonders for casual or even messy styles!

I have mainly seen this effect from browsing Japanese men's hairstyles that combine the wavy texture of a perm with a high-shine product to show all the separation that the wet look provides.

I have found that clays and pastes only last so long throughout the day.

The more matte products seem to lose their effect after a couple of hours. It feels like they get soaked up by the hair, dried out by the environment, or mixed with the sweat and oils of our scalps. Hair begins to fall out of place, and you may be able to brush it back into place with your hand, but at some point, it feels like that's just making it worse.

Again, the main feature of a pomade that makes it different from other products is that it doesn't dry out. It almost coats the hair surface and stays there to ensure that we can always manipulate it back into shape. It is this benefit that makes it an excellent product to have as I find my hair's very nature is to fall out of style throughout the day.

How Do I Use Pomade for My Hair Now?

For styling, I like to prep my hair for blow drying with a texture spray and a tiny amount of fiber paste. This product combination as a pre-styler makes it effortless to manipulate my hair into place with the blow dryer, and it has enough hold to keep the bends and texture I create.

After blow drying, I will then take a double pea-size of pomade, rub that in my hands and apply it throughout my hair, making sure to follow the part and to add some pomade to the sides as well so that I create a consistent gloss finish to the hair.

Following this process, I have found my hair stays in place throughout the day from morning to night. I will have to occasionally fix the hair and move a strand back into place, but for the most part, I have never had my hair feel so secure before!

My current hairstyle. Picture was taken a couple hours after styling with pomade and everything held in place!

Recommendations

If you're curious to know what pomades I recommend, then you'll want to check back for next week's post as I review the pomade that I have been personally using lately to make sure my hair stays styled all day!