Introduction: Pomp-a-what?

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This will be an instructable on how to fashion one's hair into a Pompadour.

First of all, do you know what a pompadour is? Chances are pretty damn good that you've seen a pompadour at some point in your life.

A pompadour is a hairstyle that became fashionable in the 40's-50's. It's basically the antithesis of the mullet. It's short around the sides and the back, yet long in the front on top. There are many different styles of rocking the pomp, but they are all under the same basics, high and swooping(like a hawk).


By the way, don't mistake me for an expert, I'm only going to give you a step-by-step on what has worked for me so far, everybody has different hair and therefore must make it work for them in their own way. My hair is a punk, it likes to do whatever it feels like(whether or not I like it).

Unfortunately it seems about 5% of the population have even heard the word Pompadour, and only about half of them even know what one looks like, without mentioning this one name.... Elvis.

Yes Elvis is a household name... blah blah blah, don't get me wrong I don't hate Elvis, but personally Chuck Berry was the real King of Rock and Roll.... well musical tastes aside, I'll leave you with some examples of pompadours.

Step 1: Materials

Now the obvious material that you need is... hair, preferably the correct type of hair cut. As I told you before the easiest cut to deal with is short-cropped on the sides and the back of the head and enough hair in front to sculpt.

Now the other essentials would be

Pomade:There are many different brands and types of Pomades, besides the brands they are mostly split up into
Heavy Weight(Very stiff and a long-term commitment), Medium Weight(More pliable and also a long term commitment), and Light Weight(The least amount of hold of the three, though there are some really good ones out there I'm sure, more easily washable though and made out of water-soluble chemicals[most of the time flammable])Your best bet is to find your fit through trial and error.

Now pomade isn't like hair gel and washes out in a single shampooing, no pomade is a commitment. You can try other hair products if you have thin hair that is easily worked with, but if you are like me and have dense and heavy hair this is the only chance you have.

So far the brands I've tried are Murray's: a staple in pomade brands and well known, this is labor intensive(not pliable immediately out of the tin you must warm it up in order to get it on your fingers, and there is not a shampoo known to man that can wash this out in 3 or less wash cycles) Murray's is cheap and has INCREDIBLE hold; 360 Style another cheaper brand is very pliable out of tin and is by far one of my favorites so far, doesn't wash out easily but isn't impossible to get out; Axe(Refined) is nice, but not good to put in unless you dampen hair first not good for restyling on the go but is fairly easy to clean out.

A Comb:This instrument is vital in the shaping of your curvaceous coif(My personal favorite is a pocket comb due to it's mobility and ease of storage)

A Mirror:Preferably in an area with decent light and not an awkward angle to stand in front of... I have to haunch for a good look in any mirror in my house for example(not optimal).

Some Mood Music/Some suggestions; Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and His Comets, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Koffin Kats, The Chop Tops, Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion, The Horror Pops, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Step 2: First...

Support your local barber shop and get yourself sheared.

So You're ready and willing eh?

Dampen your hair first, this is an optional part of the step but it does make things easier.

Now that you are very similar to an alley cat in a monsoon, whip out your handy-dandy comb and start combing. Just slick back all of your hair and have a nice untangled scalp.

*Don't forget to turn on your music before you deal with the water, you don't want to risk water damage in your electronics do you?

Step 3: Next!

Now that your hair is nice and damp and untangled uncap your product, the hair product performing in this instructable will be Axe.

I would say from this point follow the directions printed on the label... seeing how about 80% of them all say basically the same thing I will just type it out and you can chance it(you gamblin' dog you).

With damp/towel-dried hair, remove some product and rub between fingers until pliable and thinly coated.

From rear to front, run fingers and product through hair evenly. Massage product into hair.

Now that you have a hair full of pomade, comb it back. Again, you are just going to keep it simple and slick all of your hair back.

Now you're ready for the next step!

**You may think that the combing in the last step would be useless, however I do believe you are wrong. In my experience if you start off with a neatly cropped mop and then apply product it will distribute evenly through the hair better than a messy head of hair. I could be wrong and fully admit to that, but I'm just telling you what works for me.

Step 4: Next Again!

So you have pomade in your hair and it's slicked back and combed nicely... but wait! This isn't a pompadour! WHAT A RIP!

Calm yourselves, we're not done yet.

Start with one side using your comb, draw the front of your locks upwards while simultaneously holding down the hair that covers the top of your head. With the hand that's holding down the hair on the top of your head, push forward to enable a fairly clean lift in the front. This will be forming the signature Swoop look to the pompadour. Then move to the other side.

After you've got the poof of hair in the front, comb down the sides. Be careful not to comb down the front at the same time.

Step 5: Finally.

This is simply the part where you do touch-ups.

Areas of focus would be the back and the top of the back of your head.
Make sure that any stray hairs combed down or back so that by the end your head looks like a breakthrough in aerodynamics.

In fact this is one of the most wind-friendly hairstyles I've had yet!

Step 6: Final Product!

If done correctly, this fairly simple styling technique will yield an attractive well-groomed look.

Enjoy!

***Note From The Author***
I Dedicate this Instructable to my poor pocket comb that has put up with my abuse and still does the job right!

an almost unrelated side-note


If you want to learn a bit about some japanese culture go and visit this site(it's where the picture of the japanese guy is from[I think])

an almost unrelated side-note


If you want to learn a bit about some japanese culture go and visit this site(it's where the picture of the japanese guy is from[I think])

Japanese pompadour