Not a bad deal then, sir! Really hope you enjoy Dax and that you get your shipment before Christmas!
The Renaissance of hair pomades & the new Golden Age
- Thread starter Marco
- Start date
Gents, I know this could possibly have been posted in the 'pomade of the day' thread but I wanted to comment about King Brown. This is the last in a series of nice samples a fellow board member sent me a couple of weeks ago. I started with a grease based product in Sweet Georgia Brown and finished with another in King Brown. When I first got the package of course I stuck my nose right over each jar to take a good sniff. Most of them were good with SGB being very good and King Brown being very good indeed. I deliberately left the King Brown til last for two reasons. It was easily discernible from appearance alone this is a softer pomade. I think the product page describes it as a medium hold. I knew from my debacle with Reuzel Green not to overdo a soft-ish pomade like this one. King Brown lists mineral oil as third ingredient and this is no lie. I approach any pomade containing this oil with great caution. Particularly if it is in the top three ingredients. So careful was the way.
As I suspected I need to use this more like a leave in conditioner. Just a small pea sized amount is about all I want. Unless I want a full slick back look or the David Niven comb down then easy does it for me. I was well rewarded with a bit of improved hold, no flay away hairs, and most importantly no greasy look. Reuzel did me in. By day's end I looked a mess. I have now had King Brown in my hair for five to six hours and not a hint of 'collapse' or stringiness in my hair. It is a very neutral white colour which should work well on any colour hair but should not darken lighter hair too much unless you are loading it up. Of course any blonde type hair will look darker/wetter than with nothing but this is quite neutral for me. My hair feels great and looks well groomed.
The second reason, and what I wanted to discuss more than anything is the scent. Incredible is not too strong an adjective. This is quite possibly the best smelling hair product I have encountered. They list vanilla and tobacco as scents and I am usually mixed with anything that has food type scent in it. Vanilla is to the food world what cedar is to male fragrance; it can easily dominate anything trying to meld with it. Not so this pomade. It was good in the tin, it was fabulous on the hair. While the vanilla bursts forth with an expected blast the tobacco notes are not far behind. And glorious is what they are. Reminds me of a fabulous Vriginia flake like Sam Gawith's tinned variety. It was all I could do to keep from digging out my old Peterson Killarney and firing up a bowl of McClelland 5100. And it has a bit of staying power too. Not enough to overwhelm you but enough to catch little whiffs of it through the day when you catch a breeze from an opened door. It screams(actually it whispers) gentlemanly class and take me back to 1915. Very grand scent. As a pomade this will probably be a so-so item for me but I may well buy a tin for the scent alone. And who makes a cooler looking tin than King Brown?
Love that tin art!
As I suspected I need to use this more like a leave in conditioner. Just a small pea sized amount is about all I want. Unless I want a full slick back look or the David Niven comb down then easy does it for me. I was well rewarded with a bit of improved hold, no flay away hairs, and most importantly no greasy look. Reuzel did me in. By day's end I looked a mess. I have now had King Brown in my hair for five to six hours and not a hint of 'collapse' or stringiness in my hair. It is a very neutral white colour which should work well on any colour hair but should not darken lighter hair too much unless you are loading it up. Of course any blonde type hair will look darker/wetter than with nothing but this is quite neutral for me. My hair feels great and looks well groomed.
The second reason, and what I wanted to discuss more than anything is the scent. Incredible is not too strong an adjective. This is quite possibly the best smelling hair product I have encountered. They list vanilla and tobacco as scents and I am usually mixed with anything that has food type scent in it. Vanilla is to the food world what cedar is to male fragrance; it can easily dominate anything trying to meld with it. Not so this pomade. It was good in the tin, it was fabulous on the hair. While the vanilla bursts forth with an expected blast the tobacco notes are not far behind. And glorious is what they are. Reminds me of a fabulous Vriginia flake like Sam Gawith's tinned variety. It was all I could do to keep from digging out my old Peterson Killarney and firing up a bowl of McClelland 5100. And it has a bit of staying power too. Not enough to overwhelm you but enough to catch little whiffs of it through the day when you catch a breeze from an opened door. It screams(actually it whispers) gentlemanly class and take me back to 1915. Very grand scent. As a pomade this will probably be a so-so item for me but I may well buy a tin for the scent alone. And who makes a cooler looking tin than King Brown?
Love that tin art!
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I am a pomade user as well. Been using Crew lately. Fun article to read. Thanks for sharing.
You'll be buying and trying a whole new world of products soon, sir! Welcome to the slickest group of B&B
I like the looks of that tin as well.......but these are pretty cool too.Love that tin art!
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My shopping cart with shoebox shave shop has hair-glo on deck. For those that have tried it, how does it smell?
Thanks kind sir. Where do you guys buy the older brands at?
What I have found with Murray's are the scents are very lite, to very, very lite. But they are clean and refreshing and well not clash with any of your AS or colognes. My take on the Hair- Glo is that it smells like, a very soft powerdy scent that I really enjoy. And my wife likes it as well so I'm good to go.
- Thread starter
- #369
What I have found with Murray's are the scents are very lite, to very, very lite. But they are clean and refreshing and well not clash with any of your AS or colognes. My take on the Hair- Glo is that it smells like, a very soft powerdy scent that I really enjoy. And my wife likes it as well so I'm good to go.
Yes, a very soft powdery scent is what I also get straight out of the tin. However, the scent is so light that, once in the hair, I cannot sniff it anymore. But that spectacular high gloss shine is always there.
I had been lurking through this thread and decided to try out a pomade for myself. I went with Uppercut Deluxe Matt Clay. It worked exceptionally well for my thinning hair and smells great. My wife says she can't believe how much fuller my hair looks. I also got a complement from a coworker who said my hair looked good and asked if I had dyed my hair because it looks darker (This from another man!). I think the gel I was previously using was keeping my hair dull and without luster as it dried out. The Upper Cut keeps my hair in place and looking healthy throughout the day. The only thing I couldn't get used to was that it was an oil-based pomade, but I finally got the hang of Marco's recommended method for removal (I think the problem was that I was hesitant to use dish detergent and wasn't applying enough of it).
So I did a little research on water-based matt clays and thought that more is better (price wise) and decided to order a Truefitt & Hill Matte Clay pomade (I considered the Dapper Dan but couldn't find any reviews). I got the T&H yesterday afternoon, so I haven't tried it yet. My initial take on it is that it doesn't smell as nice as the UpperCut, the T&H smells "mediciny". The T&H seems easier to handle, softer, not as sticky. For the price I paid, I wasn't impressed with the presentation of the pomade in its tin. No art or any pleasing aesthetic to it, no nostalgia, just a simple white paper sticker on a simple tin. We'll see how it performs.
So I did a little research on water-based matt clays and thought that more is better (price wise) and decided to order a Truefitt & Hill Matte Clay pomade (I considered the Dapper Dan but couldn't find any reviews). I got the T&H yesterday afternoon, so I haven't tried it yet. My initial take on it is that it doesn't smell as nice as the UpperCut, the T&H smells "mediciny". The T&H seems easier to handle, softer, not as sticky. For the price I paid, I wasn't impressed with the presentation of the pomade in its tin. No art or any pleasing aesthetic to it, no nostalgia, just a simple white paper sticker on a simple tin. We'll see how it performs.
Jairow, I think you are right to be a bit disappointed in the packaging. T&H is one of the more expensive traditional British toiletry houses and the packaging should reflect this. I have not used their hair products so cannot make a direct comparison but I remember buying a tube of shave cream and being less than impressed with the cheap plastic tube it came in. Their products are usually very good to excellent. They need to step up package quality.
Hair cut today, early, 9AM sat in the chair, whicked side fade part pomp. When all cut the baber said would you like wax pomade today.... I was flabberghasted. Yes said I and he went with a little Dax wax short and neat. Not my favorite pomp but all the same good to hear my baber now using a wax pomade instead of gel. He said alot more younger guys prefer it.
- Thread starter
- #373
For those of you looking for a matte look you might wanna check out the Blind Barber 90 Proof Hair Pomade. It's way more hold than I need, but I did purchase their 60 Proof Hair Wax and plan on diving into that very soon. Both receive fantastic reviews online and have a solid rep. I'll post more about the 60 Proof once my jar of Sumotech is gone and I've had a chance to actually use it. But 'The Pomp' posted a great video on the 90 Proof on his YouTube channel that I've linked below. His channel is great period if pomades are your thing.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoSYc-NbkG0
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoSYc-NbkG0
- Thread starter
- #375
Gents, my pack with DAX pomades has not arrived yet and, at this point, I think it won't arrive anymore before Christmas. However, yesterday my Master Barber Paolo had a nice surprise for me after my haircut: a tin of Royal Crown Hair Dressing.
Royal Crown is, along with Murray's, Sweet Georgia Brown and Brylcreem, one of the original pomades of the First Golden Age, since introduced on the market in 1936 by the pomade manufacturer J.Strickland & Co. from Memphis/Tennessee (USA). It became extremely popular in the 1950's and was one the favourite pomades of many Rock'n'Roll stars, some say even the legendary Elvis was a user and fan!
The pomade comes in a lovely cardboard can with metal lid and consists only of Petroleum jelly, Olive Oil and Perfume. The basic formula without any wax makes me think this is going to be a Light Hold pomade with a lot of shine. Will it be comparable to Murray's Hair-Glo? Let's see, first test today.
Royal Crown is, along with Murray's, Sweet Georgia Brown and Brylcreem, one of the original pomades of the First Golden Age, since introduced on the market in 1936 by the pomade manufacturer J.Strickland & Co. from Memphis/Tennessee (USA). It became extremely popular in the 1950's and was one the favourite pomades of many Rock'n'Roll stars, some say even the legendary Elvis was a user and fan!
The pomade comes in a lovely cardboard can with metal lid and consists only of Petroleum jelly, Olive Oil and Perfume. The basic formula without any wax makes me think this is going to be a Light Hold pomade with a lot of shine. Will it be comparable to Murray's Hair-Glo? Let's see, first test today.
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- Thread starter
- #376
Shine, shine and more shine: this is Royal Crown Hair Dressing! As expected hold is almost non-existent or very light if you prefer, consistency is super soft and scent is a delicate powder with notes of lemon. But the shine... Oh, the shine... A superior high gloss finish which I've only seen in Murray's Hair-Glo! To be honest these two pomades from the First Golden Age seem "twins": they behave exactly the same, they perform exactly the same and they both do deliver the most spectacular sheen possible. After just one test Royal Crown has already deserved a spot in my pomade den.
I've been using American Crew pomade off and on since the 1990s. Along the way I've tried some others including more traditional ones but it remains a favorite. After reading this thread I've been wanting to try some new ones. First up was Uppercut Deluxe. So far it's not for me. I like a light or medium hold and shine, as my hair is already a bit shiny. What should I try next?
After just one test Royal Crown has already deserved a spot in my pomade den.
Glad you like Royal Crown, sir! It's a very reliable topper in my experience. When I was using it, I never really thought about the ingredients but the lack of hold makes a lot more sense now that you list them!
Hmmm, Marco I've found that Royal crown has a good deal of hold for me. I do have a hair thats on the grey side of fine and it's quite short (apart from my fringe which I comb over the top, kinda pomp lite). I do mix with either Brylcream or Yardley lavernder all on a base of store own brand putty. A great hair 'cream' that I think all should try and as you say shine, shine, shine. Also It washed out first time for me with regular shampoo.
- Thread starter
- #380
Sir, if you like Royal Crown and its fabulous shine you should also try Murray's Hair-Glo. As I previously stated to me the two are "twins".
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