Gents, as some of you may have read in Marco's great thread about the renaissance of traditional pomades, I have some issue with petrolatum based products and particularly those that have liquid oils added for sheen. I am not one who flips out about petrolatum based products. From what little I can gather in the amounts you use them they are pretty much harmless. What I do have issues with is fine hair that is sometimes blonde, sometimes very light brown. Petro based products are a flip of the coin for me as to whether they work or make me look dingy. I have fine hair which means I need strong hold but to get enough grease based in the hair to do a good job, it is always on the cusp of looking really bad.
With that I went looking for more of a wax based pomaded. Particularly beeswax which is less 'greasy' so to speak than microcrystalline waxes based on petrolatum. About the only brand I discovered that held no petro was Bees Knees. http://www.beeskneespomade.com/ They list only three ingredients; Lanolin, beeswax, essential oils. Sounds good to me but I wondered if any of you chaps have tried this and would mind to offer up their experience? They make three styles. All with the same base ingredients. Regular and lite share the same essential oils of tea tree, peppermint, and eucalyptus. The high sheen uses clove, sandalwood, and sweet orange. To tell truth, I like the essential oils in the high sheen much better than those in the regular or lite. I don't get on well with tea tree and eucalyptus. Not because I am allergic, I just don't care for the aroma. The three in the high sheen are personal favourites. I do have a caution about it though because high sheen is where I start getting to the edge of a nice glow to stringy-haired looking scalliwag pretty quickly.
Lanolin. I like the stuff. It has been my experience that many who think they are allergic to it are not. I simply have never used a product that would contain so much lanolin as an ingredient. It is almost always as an adjunct to the main formula. So fire away. Lanolin; greasy? Sticky? Beeswax; I know this one already. Waxy! And quite thick and stable. I suppose this is why it is a second ingredient. They also do not specify why the lite is lighter than the regular. Probably more lanolin to beeswax ratio but who knows? I also have a message into them about the products. Thank you.
With that I went looking for more of a wax based pomaded. Particularly beeswax which is less 'greasy' so to speak than microcrystalline waxes based on petrolatum. About the only brand I discovered that held no petro was Bees Knees. http://www.beeskneespomade.com/ They list only three ingredients; Lanolin, beeswax, essential oils. Sounds good to me but I wondered if any of you chaps have tried this and would mind to offer up their experience? They make three styles. All with the same base ingredients. Regular and lite share the same essential oils of tea tree, peppermint, and eucalyptus. The high sheen uses clove, sandalwood, and sweet orange. To tell truth, I like the essential oils in the high sheen much better than those in the regular or lite. I don't get on well with tea tree and eucalyptus. Not because I am allergic, I just don't care for the aroma. The three in the high sheen are personal favourites. I do have a caution about it though because high sheen is where I start getting to the edge of a nice glow to stringy-haired looking scalliwag pretty quickly.
Lanolin. I like the stuff. It has been my experience that many who think they are allergic to it are not. I simply have never used a product that would contain so much lanolin as an ingredient. It is almost always as an adjunct to the main formula. So fire away. Lanolin; greasy? Sticky? Beeswax; I know this one already. Waxy! And quite thick and stable. I suppose this is why it is a second ingredient. They also do not specify why the lite is lighter than the regular. Probably more lanolin to beeswax ratio but who knows? I also have a message into them about the products. Thank you.