Elvis-stlye pomp with pomade in straightening ironed hair. Any ideas?

[The_Phantom]

I have hair that is identical to Kramer's of Seinfeld. I'm attempting to get the 50's elvis-pomp. You predict frustration? :rage: Tell me about it! lol

This is what i have tried so far that gets the closest. I use a straightening iron on my bangs and then add wax to get a pomp. I then use wax for the rest of my hair for the non-shiny slick. I sometimes add wax before straightening with similar effect.

When i use brylcreem in my hair my straightened bangs become curly madness again so i get a semi-shiny Kramer effect. Also the brylcreem i use to slick the rest of my hair eventually 'disappears' and my hair is 'poofy' again. I am so frustrated because i have to use wax to get some-what close to the desired style but it lack's the shine.

I use a new-zealand brand of their strongest wax called Dominate waxx. i have tried their shine wax but it has the hold of brylcreem.

I am yet to try other pomades as i have NO easy access to them. The brylcreem was located in the "shaving products" section of my local health & beauty store!

Doing the pomp in my hair with wax alone with no straightening is overpowered by my curls.

Does anyone have any ideas to get the 50's elvis-pomp with my Kramer hair?

 

[jake_fink]

Elvis had fine, bone straight hair. Why try to be a cricle in a square hole. Maybe you should look for other inspirational pompadours, like this fellow's:

Edit: PS: I swear by Murray's. It'll pomp up any kind of hair.

 

[The_Phantom]

Yeah Little Richard's hair is what mine can look like on a good day, if i'm not going for elvis-style. But i'm just sick of it. I'm trying to get hold of some murray's and try that, so thanks for the added faith in the stuff.

Just really trying to look for some insight into the unusual straightener straightened hair vs. brylcreem and maybe other pomades if someone has had a similar experience.

 

[miss_elise]

do you get no joy from gel?

 

[resortes805]

Conk it!!!!!

 

[Guttersnipe]

I feel your pain

I to do not have naturally straight hair - I have think wavy hair.

Anything that makes the hair wet (gel, lots of hair spray, light weight pomades or cream type pomades) will undue the straightening you do with an iron.

Your best bet is a REALLY heavy weight pomade. Murry's (sp) can be ordered online. Also check out some of the pomades marketed at Rockabillies - some of those are crazy heavy.

 

[The_Phantom]

Gel becomes too stiff for my taste. But thanks for the suggestion

Conk it? [huh]

I really just don't want to get some other pomade and find that when i use it in straightener straightened hair that it goes back to curls like it did with brylcreem.

And perhaps why it did that with brylcreem. I'm just curious.

 

[The_Phantom]

Guttersnipe said:
Anything that makes the hair wet (gel, lots of hair spray, light weight pomades or cream type pomades) will undue the straightening you do with an iron.

Your best bet is a REALLY heavy weight pomade. Murry's (sp) can be ordered online. Also check out some of the pomades marketed at Rockabillies - some of those are crazy heavy.

Thanks Guttersnipe. I was thinking along those lines but i was thinking heavier pomades would just do the same thing as lighter ones.

Did you come to the conclusion that heavier pomades wouldn't curl the hair from experience?

 

[Salv]

As far as I know Brylcreem is water-based, so that may be your problem - the water is being absorbed by your hair and is frizzing it up. Murray's, and other similar pomades, are basically petroleum jelly with added fragrance, and that's not going to soak in to the hair. And remember, the petroleum jelly pomades like Murray's, Sweet Georgia Brown etc. were designed to keep African-American hair straight and curl free.

Nothing else holds like Murray's but as anyone who has used it will tell you it's a tough job to wash it out. I personally use Sweet Georgia Brown in the blue tin, which gives almost as good a hold as Murray's but is easier to work with, and doesn't require half a bottle of shampoo to wash it out.

 

[The_Phantom]

That's a huge help. Thanks Salv.

I'm am now filled with confidence that buying some petroleum-based pomade will not be a waste of money.

Thanks for all your comments and help Fedora Lounge-iens.

I am really glad i joined this forum.

I just love the looks of yester-year.

 

[tylerevansokay]

Elvis's hair was a thicker texture... didn't take much to keep his hair up. Often times he didn't have much in it at all and it'd stay straight up...
Anyway, your solution is going to be a heavier pomade (Murray's Superior or Sweet Georgia Brown blue) and blow drying your hair with a round brush to get that look. My hair was curly as all can be before I started doing this... it's still wavy but it cooperates more these days. If you need any other help, let me know and I'll be a little more detailed.

 

[KittyT]

One thing you should know is that pomade will work better in your hair if you work it in with hot water. It helps the pomade absorb into the hair better. My fella has had a lot of luck with this technique, which he got from a black friend of his.

 

[tylerevansokay]

P.S. STAY AWAY FROM THAT STRAIGHTENING IRON.
It kills body, and body/volume is what you need in a style like this.

 

[The_Phantom]

tylerevansokay that sounds like a great idea i will try; need to get a blow dryer

Does the pomade go in before or after the blow drying, maybe in the middle; blow/pomade/blow

Thanks for the idea KittyT. Now that you mention it, looking back over my hairstyling history, my hair did look better when i did it straight out of the shower. I just never made the connection.

All great tips thanks you guys.

 

[LolitaHaze]

Have you tried prepping your hair with an anti-humidity product first? Then use the wax? Maybe after the wax add a thin layer of the shiney stuff on it? I know absolutely nothing about pomades, but that is what I would do... or use a shine spray on top. Careful with that though... it make the floor slick!

 

[tylerevansokay]

tylerevansokay that sounds like a great idea i will try; need to get a blow dryer

Does the pomade go in before or after the blow drying, maybe in the middle; blow/pomade/blow

Thanks for the idea KittyT. Now that you mention it, looking back over my hairstyling history, my hair did look better when i did it straight out of the shower. I just never made the connection.

All great tips thanks you guys.

When I used the petroleum/lanolin/wax based stuff, here was my routine... I've got thin and slightly wavy hair.
Towel dry your hair until slightly damp, take a round brush, and roll the front area up and out, all while blow drying dry.
If it doesn't cooperate at first, try with a small spray of Pinaud Grooming Spray.
The pomade goes in after the blow drying... start small and work your way up in the amount. Too much and then you're screwed for days... good luck!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Everyone who's tall wants to be shorter...everyone who's short wants to be taller...now replace tall and short with fat, skinny, young, old, or with blond, brunette, redhead, blackhaired, etc. If you've got hair like Kramer, you're NEVER going to get a slicked-back look like Andy Garcia as Vincenzo Corleone in Godfather III, or Redford as Jay Gatsby. Trying to do so will just make you crazy, and you'll waste a load of money.

It has taken me forever to come to terms with my hair looking best combed straight back, no center part, no right part, no left part, gelled down to camoflague the slight wave it naturally tries to take control. Well, I found that it does also work cut short in a flat-top, but that's another story...

Trying to get my hair to look "natural" in some other style never looks nor works right. Further, it wastes loads of money on "product" and just frustrates the hell out of me because it just never comes out as I wanted it to come out. While I'd love to have hair I could shake my head and make "move" like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in '64 - that's just never going to happen.

The plus for me is the special someone in my life thinks "Parker Stevenson in the Hardy Boys type hair" is ridiculously sexy... so when life gives you lemons, make margaritas...

Rather than trying to get your hair to behave in a way that it's NEVER going to behave like, find something that does work for the type and texture of your hair, and go with that. You'll be happier in the long run.

 

[Salv]

Another tip is to soften the pomade with the hot air from the hair dryer before applying to your hair. It thins it out temporarily, but it will thicken up again when it cools off.

 

[The_Phantom]

The anti-humidity (same as anti-frizz?) does that actually really work? I've never used it before. Any experience?

 

[LolitaHaze]

I think anti-humidity is different than anti-frizz. I haven't tried one myself yet, but I have been meaning to. I know if I get anywhere near moisture my hair poofs like mad! I figure if you prep your hair with the anti-humidity, it might help combat your curls from sweat to the ocean air (I don;t know how close you live to the coastline). I was more so throwing ideas out than any actually tried and true methods.