Preparing for the pompadore

[thecardigankid]

Hey All,

So I am a big fan of the Rockabilly culture and not too long ago decided to adopt its fashion as my style as well. I have recently started preparing my head for the inevitable pompadore. Now for the past 7 years (except for the 2 months when I had a ducktail for a musical) my hair has been relatively short (on part because of being in the military and also thats how I kept it) for those in the military think somewhere between a Medium Reg and a High Reg with white walls and a little bit of length on top but still in regulation. My last hair cut like this was 2 weeks ago and now I am going to try and grow my hair out for the pompadore. Besides the occasional trim every 2 weeks (just getting the hair off my ears and neck to remain presentable) I'm not going to have the barber touch anything else, once long enough I'm gonna find a barber that knows how to style for a pompadore (hopefully I can find one).

I started preparing my hair by playing with different hair puttys and such to see just how to perfect that pomp in the front (granted I'm playing with shorter hair than most when achieving this task) last night I used Royal Crown Hair Dressing for the first time for a halloween costume, and I read that its mean to be worn over several days while the wearer adds a little bit more in the morning, so I decided to try this. I woke up just a little bit ago and put a little more in my hair to kinda style it back. I think this product is going to work great for my hair as I currently like the results I am getting with it, later on down the road when I have more hair on my head I may move up to the pomade to try it but not too sure just yet.

For those who have a pompadore and have gone down this road of going from short hair to the glorious long locks required for a pompadore, I'm asking, do you have any advice for this novice in his journey?

 

[AtomicEraTom]

All's I can say is it'll be tricky until you get it to the proper length.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Depending on whether your hair is wavy, straight, coarse or fine and how high you want to pile the front, you may need to use a heavier weight (e.g. thicker) pomade as it get longer. While you're growing out your hair, ask the barber for a "fade with nothing off the top" and he'll know exactly what you want.

Like Tom said, at some point you'll figure out exactly what length works best for you. My grain of wisdom is that longer is not always better; often times you can get a higher pomp more easily with shorter hair because long hair tends to lay flat under its own weight.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

This is very true. If my hair gets too long, my pomp just tends to fall into my face and it's a big mess.

I use Tres Flores Pomade on my hair and really like the results. I have fairly thick, wavy hair and it really does the trick, if you're looking for suggestions.

 

[Alex]

Good advice thus far. What I've found works is to stick with more of a side part that is combed up and back in the front and one side. Just gotta wait a while for it to grow though, but you can slowly start working your way to a pomp. Just experiment and play around with it.

 

[O2BSwank]

I used to use tres flores back in high school. I comb my hair straight back in a sort of mini pomp and I've been using a "sports" hair gel #10 plus ultra hold. I 've had my hair like this for almost thirty years. After the pomade I used hair spray for years but switched to gel about ten years ago. I don't like the greasy feel of pomade plus bees were always buzzing me with the tres flores.

 

[ryanc]

i do them all the time on my clients and have done it on mine.its all about how much length is in the front . and how short your crown is. and wich direction your hair grows on the front of you hairline and how thick you hair is. what i show people is if you want a part in it, go ahead and comb all your hair straight back, then make your part, most of the time the pomp with a part looks better and more like a rockabilly pomp when your part is farther on the side of your head not closer to the center of the top of your head. but depends on the head and hairline. then on your part side take your wide teeth and comb your hair straight to the other side of your head that doesnt have a part while holding the front with your hand so it stays combed back. then take the side of your head that doesnt have a part but you combed all of it to the side without a part and comb that straight up to the center of your scalp. then do the steps over with the small teeth, small teeth will make it look more uniform, the biggest mistake is people being too rough, be gentle cause the harder and more pressure you comb the more it wont stay, practice is perfect. and a pomad with a slight hold works better than like brylcream or royal crown. those dont have a good hold for begginers. i hope it helped and you could understand it. if not ill try to find a video somewhere

 

[Kabel]

My hair on top at the moment is around 4.7 inches on top and gets a little bit shorter when going toward the back. Buzzed sides and the use of Black&white pomade does the trick for me in making my pompadour. Depending on how thick your hair is ofcourse. Mine's pretty thick so my hair stands on it's own, but I would advise not to dive into very heavy pomades too quickly. Lighter (medium hold esp.) is better usually.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That is the big drawback to it. I have that problem all the time.

bees were always buzzing me with the tres flores.

 

[thecardigankid]

Excellent advice, thank you all I'll be experimenting and definitely show you the results!

 

[Jan]

Check out my blog. I do pomade reviews, styling tips, have a few how-to videos up.

www.therebelrouser.com

 

[lostmyshades]

Please tell me you figured it out. I just got a medium reg on base that destroyed my pomp.

 

[lostmyshades]

Please tell me you figured it out. I just got a medium reg on base that destroyed my pomp.