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Pomade Recommendation

I've been into DE shaving for going on several months now. I've learned a ton here regarding razors, soaps and aftershaves/balms. I seem to be transitioning from all things grocery store to more natural and/or traditional. The next thing I am getting interested in is hair care. I am currently using some sort of gel goo. I have used it for years and it works fine but there seems to be a whole new world of hair care products that I have never heard of.

I have done a little research, but like my initial DE research, I ended up with more questions than answers. I'm not even sure what questions I should be asking in order to get good answers.

What recommendations do you have? Or at least, what questions do you have for me that would help you give me good advice?

Thank you in advance.
 
Depends what you want. But for a beginner I would suggest a water based pomade. My go to pomades are Uppercut Deluxe, and any one of the Layrite pomades. The Uppercut has excellent hold, gives a nice medium shine and has an intoxicating smell. Layrite is much of the same as Uppercut. Once you have experienced water based you can begin experimenting with oil based ones, my go to oil based is a locally made one called North Standard Pomade. http://northstandard.com/products/north-standard-pomade


Some good places to look are http://pomade.com/, and https://www.youtube.com/user/iseejamespeople3.
 

strop

Now half as wise
Marco is our resident expert on pomade and I'm sure he'll be around soon. Some of it depends on how you like to style your hair. I have a basic executive cut with a side part. I used gels for years, usually Clubman, and was happy with it, though it dried very hard. About 3 years ago my son mentioned he used American Crew, so I gave the pomade and fibre a try and have never looked back. Since then I've finished a tub of both Suavecito and Layrite and almost finished Steadfast. The latter is closer to a gel than any of them, and does dry out. It is almost impossible to get too much though, so is forgiving.

I've got several other waterbased ones I'm trying since Marcos post recently and have used one of the traditional grease based ones a couple of times. Jury is still out, though.

It would be nice if samples were available somewhere, but I've yet to find a source.
 
Definitely would be good to stick with a water based pomade. Goes in like a pomade and washes out like a gel. There are tons of different ones to try and can have a lot of fun trying them. Suavecito is probably one of the better ones which had very good hold and shine. I think it also makes it a bit easier to style. Layrite is another very good one but i don't think it had the hold of Suavecito. Yet another pretty good one I am just finishing up is shiner. It also had pretty good hold, but the thing that makes it stand out is its ability to style dry hair very well. Like I'd said. Plenty of really good ones to try. Have fun!
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Sir, could you provide some more info please? First, what hair style do you wear? Long or short hair? Thin or thick? Do you like more hold and less shine or viceversa? Would you like to start with a water based pomade (and I do recommend so)?
 
Sir, could you provide some more info please? First, what hair style do you wear? Long or short hair? Thin or thick? Do you like more hold and less shine or viceversa? Would you like to start with a water based pomade (and I do recommend so)?

Thank you all so much. I checked out the YT channel with the pomade guy. I definitely need to watch some more and then I saw some reply about Marco being the "Go-To" guy. Thank you Marco for asking the questions I didn't know to ask. Here we go;

- Short style, close to military type, my barber calls it a "Number 1 Fade", although I am considering growing it out a little longer.
- I'm 49 years old but have a full head of hair but it is neither thick or thin.
- The color is somewhere between a dark blonde and light brown.
- I work in the business world so I'm not looking for big pompadour.
- I want something that will give a good hold, maybe add a little shine and can be touched up through the day if needed.

My gel goo does work fine at first but through the course of the day it loses it's hold, flakes off a little, not like bad dandruff flakes but it is a little noticeable.

I have read that oil based products requires a heavy duty hair washing at night lest one stains up the pillow case. I'm not sure if that's true or an urban myth and that water based products are nothing more than close cousins to gel goo, again, I don't know if that's true or an urban myth. That is what really guided me to asking for advice here.

I hope that helps Marco. I thank you and everyone else for your great advice, please keep it coming.
 
Hello sir! After reading through your answers to Marco's questions.. I think I can offer a bit.
Layrite and Suavecito are often named together when folks talk about water based pomades. Both are good choices. I believe Layrite still sells their variety pack for a good price. This includes super shine, super hold, and original.
Oil pomades aren't that bad. I've only had one pomade that really messed up a pillow, and that was my own fault. Once you get through a bit more water based stuff, I'd say give it a shot. You get more shine and more flexibility, not to mention the added benefits to the health of your hair and scalp.
 
I sport a #1 fade and prefer water based pomades. I like to use a medium hold with a high shine. I will use heavy holding pomades occasionally though.

My suggestions are based on the ones I've tried and that have proven to work well for me consistently.;

American Crew - medium hold/high shine, fairy easy to acquire, classic scent and holds just right for a fade cut all day long, washes out reasonably well)

Crown Shaving Co. "Hippie Killer" - medium to heavy hold/high shine, available on-line with many vendors, fantastic (fairly intoxicating) scent, goes on easy and washes out even easier, excellent hold, with little or no crunchiness.

Shiner Gold - heavy hold/high shine, Uncertain of availability..(I get it from my barber), strong (coconut-like) scent, my preferred heavy hold, although it's pretty crunchy stuff. Like said, I only use this on occasion.

I have two tubs of Suavecito en route, as we speak. I have never used either (original & firme) but I can't wait for them to arrive. I purchased them because of this forum.
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
Thank you all so much. I checked out the YT channel with the pomade guy. I definitely need to watch some more and then I saw some reply about Marco being the "Go-To" guy. Thank you Marco for asking the questions I didn't know to ask. Here we go;

- Short style, close to military type, my barber calls it a "Number 1 Fade", although I am considering growing it out a little longer.
- I'm 49 years old but have a full head of hair but it is neither thick or thin.
- The color is somewhere between a dark blonde and light brown.
- I work in the business world so I'm not looking for big pompadour.
- I want something that will give a good hold, maybe add a little shine and can be touched up through the day if needed.

My gel goo does work fine at first but through the course of the day it loses it's hold, flakes off a little, not like bad dandruff flakes but it is a little noticeable.

I have read that oil based products requires a heavy duty hair washing at night lest one stains up the pillow case. I'm not sure if that's true or an urban myth and that water based products are nothing more than close cousins to gel goo, again, I don't know if that's true or an urban myth. That is what really guided me to asking for advice here.

I hope that helps Marco. I thank you and everyone else for your great advice, please keep it coming.

My dear friend, all the details given are more than enough for helping you out. My opinion is that the best way to upgrade from gels to pomades is to start with water based pomades. Water based pomades are generally easier to apply and comb and wash out with one single shampoo, exactly like gels. Short hair with a business style do not require a heavy hold, hence a medium hold pomade with medium shine should be perfect. Here is a short list to take into consideration:

Railcar Fine Goods
Admiral Medium Hold Fiber
The Daimon Barber #1
Suavecito Original
Layrite Original
Prospectors Gold Rush

As about oil based pomades I believe they have great virtues. Compared to water based pomades they have much less (if any) chemicals, do not harden up at all, usually give more shine and are much more skin friendly because of their ingredients list which includes many waxes and oils. Are they messy? Not to me. Once in the hair they are not that greasy and personally I've never stained my pillow! If you want an original pomade to try with medium hold and easy application you can consider Sweet Georgia Brown Red or Murrays's Nu Nile.
 
It looks like I have no shortage of great information. Nothing left to do except go out and spend some money. Thank you all for your help and advice.
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
I have a very similar hairstyle to yours, OP. Short, tapered, simple and suited for business. I actually prefer a good oil or wax based product myself because I have a very sensitive scalp. It seems that most water based pomades also seem to have a lot more ingredients to them overall which increases their likelihood of causing my scalp to become irritated. In fact, I have yet to find one that DOESN'T cause my scalp to break out or dry out. A lot of the oil/wax based pomades out there suit my scalp much better and I've grown accustomed to the way it stays in the hair.

YMMV of course but I would actually try a good wax or oil based pomade as well as a water based one to see what you prefer. I usually use The Iron Society but the ingredients in that North Standard Pomade have piqued my curiosity.
 
I am 50, hair is a little longer than your #1 fade but not much, keep it clean for business, I was brown/light brown that went to mostly grey, my hair is all there and fairly thick. I went from the grocery store specials to the old school over the counter stuff (Groom and Clean, Brylcream) and now am getting into the finer water based pomades. Been experimenting with Railcar and The Daimon Barber #1. Both are excellent products and work very well for the older gentlemans hair, but The Daimon Barber #1 was so much nicer that I immediately ordered another jar. Most of these pomades have some sort of scenting, and though I've only tried a couple so far, I found The Daimon Barber to be clean and subdued and most suited for an older fellow in a professional environment. No cherry, no coconuts, just classy and subdued (think honeycomb and a very faint floral). It doesn't fight with any cologne you may be wearing.
 
Marco is our resident expert on pomade and I'm sure he'll be around soon. Some of it depends on how you like to style your hair. I have a basic executive cut with a side part. I used gels for years, usually Clubman, and was happy with it, though it dried very hard. About 3 years ago my son mentioned he used American Crew, so I gave the pomade and fibre a try and have never looked back. Since then I've finished a tub of both Suavecito and Layrite and almost finished Steadfast. The latter is closer to a gel than any of them, and does dry out. It is almost impossible to get too much though, so is forgiving.

I've got several other waterbased ones I'm trying since Marcos post recently and have used one of the traditional grease based ones a couple of times. Jury is still out, though.

It would be nice if samples were available somewhere, but I've yet to find a source.
Mark, I was just at West Coast Shaving today and in my bouncing from aisle to aisle exploring everything they had to offer, I inquired about pomades. I settled on Suavacito to start but one of the nice ladies working had some samples of others she gave me. She also told me when placing orders, if there's something I am looking to try put it in the comments and if they have a sample or can make one up, they will do their best to get one in the box.
 
Would anyone comment on Brylcreem? I have to decide before I put an order on Amazon.ca if I go with the cheaper Brylcreem for which I hear a lot of good stuff, or the more expensive Layrite, which is almost unanimously a winning product. Cheers!
 
I picked up Suavecito for my guy. It smells soooo good. I can't wait to see if he likes it (it just arrived today). I went with it over some of the others Marco recommended simply for cost reasons. My guy goes through it pretty fast (He uses more than he probably needs but that's mostly due to difficulties in application). I actually have some on my hand and I keep sniffing it. :D


Good luck with whatever option you choose. It, like all the other things, is part of acquisition disorder and I'm sure if it works you'll soon have half a dozen. ;)
 
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