Deciding Which Pomade Is the Right Pomade: Part 2

Time to continue, onto part two. (I’m a rapper, you see…)

I pretty much covered the different types of pomades out there, now it’s time to figure out what’s best for you…

One thing that people really need to understand, is that pomade is made to sit in your hair, days on end. Not just over night. So if you can’t accept that, you’re gonna need something water soluble. Most of these pomades are water based, as opposed to petrolatum based. For the greasy, yet washable pomades, Layrite and Grant’s comes to mind. Even though I’m not sure how the sheen is from Layrite, Grant’s doesn’t have the sheen. But hey, at least it comes from Made-In-The-U.S.A. brand! Or, you can get some of that Axe stuff or American Crew. I personally, don’t ever plan on trying this stuff out. But if it works for you, be my guest. But you aren’t greasy.

If you wash your hair out with just water daily, or shampoo every other day, and don’t really mind having a bit of pomade in your hair, DAX and Sweet Georgia Brown will work for you. Even though they have good hold and are decently thicker pomades, they seem to wash out semi easily. You’ll have a bit in, but if you don’t mind it, then these are the ones you should try. Sweet Georgia Brown is pretty greasy, so know that you will have a greasy pillow case. Or you can do a quick rinse with water, and it’ll sort of break down the greasyness.

Now… Murray’s is one pomade, that everyone has trouble washing out. Not too many people are really tolerant to Murray’s. And with good reason. If you don’t want a greasy ass pillow case, this stuff is not for you. Unless you completely or at least nearly compeltely wash this stuff out, you’ll have a greasy pillow case. There’s no way to avoid it. Unless you wear a du-rag, THEN YOU’RE GONNA BE RIDING THE WAVES!

I haven’t let High Life sit in my hair for more than a few hours, so I don’t know how this stuff would be, if you let it sleep in. But sinse it is wax, I wouldn’t trust it all that much. Wax just seems to attract lint and stuff a lot easier than pomade. Seems like it to me at least.

Now, if you have some gnarly cowlicks, it’ll be a little harder to style and tame your hair. You really need to understand your hair and how it grows, before jumping into pomades and pomadours. Or else you’ll get upset with your finishing results. Stronger pomades really help with taming your hair, whether it’s the waviness or or the cowlicks. But remember, if you mind leaving pomade in your hair, gotta stick with the water soluble pomades.

These tips should help you get your hair, pomp’d high, have everyone checkin’ out your hair, and keep your girlfriends satisfied. But if you and your lady don’t mind some greasy pillowcases, get with the greasy shit! The sheen makes a difference, folks!

And as they say, it ain’t easy bein’ greasy!

“This hair ain’t movin my dude!”

Quoted from Pauly D, on Jersey Shore. Yea… This show is pretty entertaining… Do not deny it.

Anyways.

With VLV XIV coming up, (7 long months!!!) I gotta have my hair looking good. So I’ve been stressing over a “cocktail” that’ll hold my hair just right, in that Las Vegas heat. These past couple of weeks, have been good days to try out new mixes, since it’s been KILLER. Sorry, The Bay Area is just not used to 80+ degree weather… Especially consecutively…

A few mixes, have failed completely. Some actually managed to melt, and slowly drip towards my forehead. Not a good look. Some just didn’t hold my hair in the right places. And others were just soo bad, I had to wash my hair out before I left. 

Luckily, I have a decent amount of pomades. They will hold me off during the Winters cold, and the Summers heat. Different pomades and cocktails for different seasons! Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. Same goes for other cosmetic products, lotions, soaps, etc…

There are many factors I look for, when trying to find a perfect match, when mixing pomades.

– If it gives me enough hold. Hold is very important.
– If it melts. You don’t want pomade on your skin. It clogs your pores and feels weird.
– If it gives me that sheen. Shine is very important, when you’re getting greasy. A real greaser pompadour looks greasy. Not flat in shine and height!
– If it weighs down my pomp. Too much product will weigh your hair down, and not give you the desired volume.
– Slick-a-bility. I like to be able to slick my hair, without losing any volume, sheen, or hold.

When I compare my pomades for the hold factor, not too many have that great of a hold on their own. Murray’s, DAX, and High Life have the best hold. Murray’s and Dax are my favorite of the 3 all around, but High Life, being a wax, does have a pretty good hold. I have yet to really try and make a cocktail using High Life as a main substance, so maybe there is some hope for this stuff…

Melting will definitely be an issue in Vegas. During the week, my Murray’s/Sweet Georgia Brown cocktail melted. It still had a nice look, but I lost a considerable amount of volume in my pomp, during those days. So I unless I plan on staying in doors all day in Vegas, that option is out. Maybe at night, will this mix do me some good. Along with some Long Islands…

Sweet Georgia Brown (water based) and Royal Crown (hair dressing) have the most sheen. But they break up the hold of my other pomades, just way too much. Especially during the day, you HAVE to have sheen. At night, it’s a little more acceptable to lose that. Especially if you’ve been drinking that night. Plus, it’s night time. All those neon lights will shine your pomp.

As I’ve said, too much pomade will weigh you down. So unless you make your mixes very very meticulously, you’ll end up having too much product in your hair.

Today I started off light. A finger tip of Murray’s as a base coat. For me, Murray’s is a good base coat, simply because of it’s hold. Then I did the usual Sweet Georgia Brown mix. Putting Sweet Georgia Brown over the Murray’s breaks up Murray’s slightly, giving you not as strong of a hold, as you would with Murray’s on its own. I didn’t want to put a light coat of Murray’s on top, because it just weighed my hair down way too much, in earlier experiments. So I opted for some DAX. And it was a good choice.

It didn’t cover up SGB’s sheen, since DAX on it’s own, has a pretty amazing sheen. It’s light enough to be a top coat, and had decent enough strength to be used on its own. And today was a good day to put this cocktail to the test. Not only was it hot outside, it was also really windy. On my walk, I got hit with winds coming from all angles.

When I finally got behind a restroom mirror, I dreaded what I was about to see…

NOT TOO SHABBY!

The only thing I had to really “fix” was the sides. A quick slicking of the sides and ducktail, and I was good to go. Nothing really moved. and that was a good thing! I think I found my mix, for Viva Las Vegas 14!

But with a few more different pomades on the way, the’re will be more cocktails to be mixed. So stay tuned.

But, until then…

Pomp hard, stay greasy.

(should this be my new punchline? Does it work? Maybe I should stick with “I’m Ron Burgandy. You stay classy San Diego!”)

Using Pomade: Too Much Pomade (Revisted)

Since my last post ended shortly, I’m going to follow up on it now.

As shown in the videos I’ve linked, that’s is a clear example of using TOO MUCH POMADE! For the most part, the pomades we use are petroleum based. But we still need our hair be able to breathe, so when you cake that much pomade on your head, well… You can only imagine!

I highly doubt people use pomade on rainy days, or else it’ll just wash right out into your eyes. So of course, people mainly use it on nice days/sunny days. One thing you need to understand is, that too much pomade, will actually cook your scalp. Think about it, this stuff is like grease. Shit, it is grease! And when you’re under the hot sun, your scalp is taking the full force of the suns rays. Virtually cooking your scalp. So you don’t want to use too much.

I’m not saying that I wear a hat everytime I’m out in the sun. I usually only wear hats during the evening, when I’m too lazy to do my hair. Kind of pointless huh? Oh well. But, I also don’t cake on pomade!

Here is a little photo set, showing the amount of pomade I use, on average. Also how it should look, before applying.

Kind of a bit much...

As captioned, that’s actually a bit much! But my hair was completely “cleansed” of all pomades, so I was re-applying a generous amount for the week to come!
All you really need is that much, at most. I will usually take a little bit extra, just for around the ears and what not. But for the top of your head alone, that is a lot of pomade.

Idle Hands

My hands look creepy as hell…

That’s how my hands look when I “slathered” that pomade across both hands. Evenly coat both hands. Or else you will get clumps of pomade in your hair. Notice how you can still see the thick consistency of the pomade? NOT FOR LONG!

Shiny Idle Hands

After thoroughly coating your palms, you’re gonna wanna rub your palms together. This softens up the pomade. Making coating your hair, a lot easier. Notice how “translucent” the pomade is now. Now it’s “ready” to be put into your hair.
 A lot of people don’t do this step  and complain about X pomade being too difficult or “harsh” to apply. The only “pomade” I had problems doing this with, was High Life (Heavy,) because it was a damn wax. But anything else, Murray’s, Dax, anything thicker, will easily apply doing this. It’s not hard either!

Step 1: Clap hands together.
Step 2: Rub hands together for 10 seconds or less.
Step 3: Fin_

It’s that simple people!

You don’t need to cake anything on your head. If ever, you have to use that much excessive amount of any product, you’re just doing it wrong! Plain and simple. Do you ever cake on lotion on your face, so it looks like your getting a facial? (A or B kind of facial, take your pick.) No, and if you do, WTF.

Check the trackbacks for links for: TOO MUCH POMADE and a little write up about your hair falling out from Murray’s Superior.

Until then,

Pomp Hard.

FRIDAY COCKTAILS!

Personally, I’m a whiskey or beer kind of guy. If anything, a nice Long Island will always hit the spot.

Even though later on I am heading out for some drinks, for a pals birthday, this post isn’t about alcohol!

After my reviews on different individual pomades, I’ve done experimenting with different mix and matches. Or as they would call it in the hair business, “cocktails.” Ahhhhh now the title makes sense, eh?

First mix I’ve tried…

Murray’s Superior and Grant’s Golden Brand.

Murray’s on it’s own, is a very stiff product. But when you mix a lighter product like Grant’s, it softens up the Murray’s, changing up its consistency in your hair.
As mentioned in the Gran’ts review, this stuff hardens. So no matter which pomade you mix with, you will get a hardened result. This wasn’t my mix of choice. But when I had a couple day old amount of Murray’s in my hair, the Grant’s was a nice touch to bring it to shape.

I also tried Murray’s with Royal Crown. Typical mix, since you often see both of these products side by side at the grocery store. Whatever you mix with Royal Crown, you don’t need equal parts of the Royal Crown pomade. This will weigh your hair down a considerable amount. Not my favorite mix, since the extra light consistency of the Royal Crown, pretty much broke apart the Murray’s, this didn’t do any good for my pompadour.
And since I said that the water based Sweet Georgia Brown, was just like Royal Crown, it pretty much falls under the same cocktail. But the Sweet Georgia Brown has a grape scent to it.

Sweet Georgia Brown (blue can) and what I thought would be a good mixer, DAX wave and groom, was surprisingly NOT a good mix. The semi lightness of the Sweet Georgia Brown, mixed with the medium consistency of the DAX, didn’t work as well as I had originally hoped for. Pretty much just added dead weight to my hair.

And last, but not least. The one cocktail that yielded amazing results…

Murray’s Superior and Sweet Georgia Brown (blue can.)
Equal amounts of both, gave me great hold, a decent amount of extra volume, sheen, and the great grape smell. And if you are mixing different pomades, you most likely are mixing, because you’re wanting your hair to look extraordinary for a night out. So the assisted grape scent is always a plus. This stuff is a hit, probably my favorite “pomade” to put into my hair, aside from DAX by itself.

I also seen someone mix Black and White pomade with Sweet Georgia Brown, and have amazing results. But I haven’t been able to find any around here in the Bay Area. Maybe someone would like to proxy some for me???

Pomade Review: Overview

As it seems, I am out of different brands of pomades to try out. I could’ve extended this small project to; using each individual pomade every month. But I gotta have good looking hair too, ya know!

Since I’m currently out of new pomades, here is a complete over view of each and every pomade I’ve tried.

There were certain things I was looking for, in each pomade… Hold, sheen, scent, greasiness, if it hardened or not, and how malleable it was applying and slicking during the day…

On with the show!

First up…

Murray’s Superior

Murray's Superior

This is, and will always be one of my favorite pomades. It’s cheap and readily available. It’s original. Gets the job done. And is just a total “greasers” pomade.

Overall:
Hold – 9.5
Sheen – 5.5
Greasiness – 8.5/9
Scent – Coconut-ish
Hardened – No
Consistency – Thick pomade
Malleable – Work it in your palms to soften it, evenly coat your hair, and you’re set. It’s easy to comb your hair through out the day, and won’t leave you tuggin your face off, when you slick back.

Grant’s Golden Brand

Grant's Golden BrandA decent modern take on pomade. It is pretty expensive, so I don't think I'd buy this stuff that often. All they need to do is have a more competitive price point (to Layrite) and I'd say it would hold up pretty well.Overall:Hold - 8Sheen - 7.5Greasiness - 7 (makes your hands greasy after applying.)Scent - Coconut-ishHardened - YesConsistency - Thick gelMalleable - Thoroughly coat your palms and apply. Even though this stuff eventually "hardens" you can still run your comb through your hair. Can't slick through out the day, as you would with pomades. Royal CrownRoyal Crown

 More so for the “wet” look, than for pomping. You can slick your hair back or have a gentlemen part ala Mad Men, no problem. But, this stuff is VERY shiny. So take note, if you’re going for a low profile hairstyle, you will get noticed because of all that shine. Better to use as a light top coat for something thick like Murray’s.

Overall:
Hold – 5
Sheen – 10
Greasiness – 10
Scent – None
Hardened – No
Consistency – Wet Petroleum
Malleable – Very easily. This stuff is almost “wet” when you slick through. So you will have no problem slicking this stuff around all day long!

Sweet Georgia Brown (Blue can)

Sweet Georgia Brown

 This stuff is original when you see it and smell it. But it just doesn’t have the hold on its own, like other some other pomades. You can still get away with either a lower profile pompadour or a nice part.

Overall:
Hold – 7.5
Sheen – 9
Greasiness – 9
Scent – Grapes
Hardened – No
Consistency – Lighter pomade
Malleable – Very easy to slick with this stuff. Will probably do better with someone with shorter hair.

Sweet Georgia Brown (Purple can)

Sweet Georgia Brown

Supposed to be a water based version, of their pomades. But this stuff doesn’t wash out easily as you’d hope/think it would. Very much like Royal Crown.

Overall:
Hold – 4
Sheen – 10
Greasiness – 10
Scent – None
Hardened – No
Consistency – Wet Petroleum
Malleable – It doesn’t hold all that well. If you have wavey hair, it won’t tame it. Even pairing this with Murray’s, won’t do much! Would work MUCH better with someone with short, fine hair.

High Life

High LifeAs mentioned before, I have wavey hair so I opted for their "Heavy" pomade. This stuff is a wax. Not a pomade. Not too easy to deal with, as it is a HEAVY WAX. Plus, it comes in a much smaller tin. So comparing this to Sweet Georgia Brown (same price point,) I'd opt. for the SGB.Overall:Hold - 8.5Sheen - 4Greasiness - 6Scent - VanillaHardened - YesConsistency - Thick waxMalleable - Being a wax, it's hard to mold this stuff, more than once. You really have to thoroughly work this stuff in your palms, before applying. Or else it will apply in clumps. Not a good look. Once you've styled yourself with this wax, you are pretty much set. Don't need to/can't slick during the day. You might mess up that do!DAXDAX

 A lot of people had the idea that this stuff is comparable to Murray’s. In a way, it sort of is. It’s a pomade. But this stuff, I have to say, is GREAT. Very easy to work in, great to style with, and is just an all around, great pomade. I guess I have to buy this stuff instead of Murray’s from now on!?

Overall:
Hold – 9
Sheen – 9
Greasiness – 8
Scent – None
Hardened – No
Consistency – Medium pomade
Malleable – Very. Easy to slick through out the day, with enough hold to get a nice sized pomp, and enough hold to keep your hair down when you slick it down and part it. All around, a great pomade.

This was a fun little experiment. There are a few other pomades I still want to try out. Layrite being one of them. And I know that Layrite has quite the reputation. But, I’ll only know how it really holds up, compared to all of these other brands.

Hopefully this has helped everyone and anyone out. I couldn’t get as thorough as I wanted, because my kid kept climbing on me, wanting to draw dinosaurs!

So I’ll be drawing dinosaurs and hopefully everyone will try out some pomades themselves!

Until then.

Pomp hard.

Pomade Review: High Life

One pomade I was really looking forward to trying, was High Life. I’ve seen some online tutorials, with people endorsing this product. So of course I had to give it a try! Some people have said that it’s not as harsh as Murray’s, but I would only know once I got my hands on some.

The packaging is a clean simple silver tin with a very “vintage” feeling logo. The black backround, and “HIGH QUALITY HAIR DRESSING” in a dark gold lettering, along with High Life in old script, really make the packaging of this pomade feel original.

High Life

As soon as I opened the tin, I automatically got a whiff of vanilla. Almost like candle wax. As I tried to get my fingers into the goods, I felt like I stuck my hand in a candle. This stuff is STIFF. That’s what she said.
The consistency of this stuff, is just like what you’d expect when you smell it… WAX… This stuff is a wax.

High Life

Look at that… It looks like softened candle wax! This stuff wasn’t easy to work into my palms. This stuff just sticks in clumps, and wouldn’t spread evenly across my hands. Putting it in, felt clumpy. Parts of my hair had more pomade than the other ends. You’re gonna have to let this stuff sit in some hot water to melt it down, and then you’d be able to thoroughly apply.

While scooping out additional “pomade” so I can coat my head evenly, I started to get cautious about using too much. The tin of this stuff is A LOT smaller than every other pomade I’ve bought. It doesn’t even say the amount on it! This thing fits inside a tin of Murray’s.

Less is More?

Not in this case. Shit. If I’m gonna pay $8 for a pomade, that is also the same price as its competitors, I want the same amount!

Slicking this stuff wasn’t too bad. Pretty stiff. But it definitely is not maluable like Murray’s or Sweet Georgia Brown.

It took me a while to get a decent pomp goin on. Because it is a wax, once you mold one part, it’ll stay that way. So reworking my hair in different pomps was kinda tough. But I managed to get it. Kind of…

Under the lid it says “Get Greasy!” This wax isn’t greasy in any way. There is no sheen, whatsoever. Can’t get greasy with this!!!

SEE THAT SHIIIII... MATTE BLACK???

I look like Quasimodo in that pic!

WHY SO SRS???

 This stuff is a magnet for lint! It’ll grab every single particle floating around.

Overall:

This stuff is pretty solid. I do love the hold it gives, but this stuff is really for people with short hair. Longer hair, you’d need to use a little more than you’d want to, to really get a good pomp. And for the amount you get for the price… Unless you have the means, it is a pretty big price you pay, considering the amount of pomade you get. The lack of sheen, I guess, is tolerable. I could always do a little top coat of the water based Sweet Georgia Brown or Royal Crown.

I could probably figure out a mix to use this stuff… Less than half amount I regularly use of Murray’s, with a matching amount of this stuff. Maybe a quarter of the half of this stuff, of Royal Crown… Probably get a decent hold, with a lot of sheen.

Would I buy this stuff again? Probably. Maybe try out the Voodoo Brew. But at $8 a can, that has less amount than a $3 Murray’s… This isn’t exactly a bang for your buck pomade. If you wanna get a serious pomp for a night out, this stuff isn’t bad at all. Especially if you like the vanilla smell.

Bitches love vanilla.

GOT A CRACK ROCK!

Not really… But getting new pomade for me, is like a crackhead finding a crack rock in a McDonalds bag…

Put an order for some pomade at The Grease Shop on Thursday, paid for Priority Shipping, got it on Monday! Pretty badass, considering people on eBay and such who claim they ship “priority,” don’t make shipping paid for goods their priority! But that’s a different story. MOVIN ON!

Good thing I washed out all the Murray’s I put in all weekend and this morning out, earlier today! But to give each pomade a fair chance, I will re-wash my hair again tonight.

A whole lot of pomade!

Doubled up on the Dax because 1) It’s cheap. 2) I wanted to make price an even $40.xx.
This is what $40.xx gets you from The Grease Shop. Not too bad, if I do say so myself…

From top to bottom:

– High Life (Heavy)
– Doubled up on Dax
– Sweet Georgia Brown (Their stronger stuff)
– Water Based Sweet Georgia Brown.

Boy am I stoked to try these out… They also shipped with a dinky little comb! Doubt I’d use that on my head. Prolly my sideburns/facial hair.

Seeing how I used some Grant’s on the way to our little picnic earlier… I think I’m going to start off the week long pomade reviews, by using the water based Sweet Georgia Brown.

I’ll kick off with that review tomorrow, so check back!