Thursday, December 20, 2012

Personal Charm




Don't make 'em like they used to huh?  That Hair Glo's no joke, before I even saw this I was using it on my girl, she said  what should I use?  and I pulled out the old hair glo, big ups to Murray's doing their thing forever and a day.. this was from when they were still based in Chicago

Just Right

Killer Grills

King Of The Waves


You could ride one to shore

Corner Office

Dax Hair Shaper Review

dax hair shaper review

Seen this stuff about a million times and have always been interested in it, but I always seem to come across super old cans that look like dried up cracked desert land under the lid.  Came across a fresh batch and grabbed it up.  Short to mid length?  Think I'm passed that, but why let words stop me?  What always caught my eye was the cream like consistency, but it looks way different than most cream products.  Pop the top and it smells extra fresh and clean like a shampoo soap smell, pretty nice.  Digging in, this shit fights back!  It's like rubber, I went to finger out a scoop and only my finger came out.. huh.  Had to almost pinch it out after that.



It's real soft, but spreads around like taffy or something.. it wants to break up but still stick to itself and ends up stretching out like cheese sticks.  No problem though, I just ran it through my hairs and combed it in.  Getting a clean part was tougher than usual though, everything was kind of loose and bouncy.  Forging on I just added some more to hold it down.. thinking now, maybe it is for short to mid length?  

dax hair shaper

dax hair shaper review

Not too shabby, bit of a drier look than most grease.. combs up ok, smells great, but the hold sucks if that's what you need.  I couldn't walk down the hall to the laundry room and back without it falling down.  Not to discredit it altogether, I'm sure it has its uses or might be nice in short or curly hair.. but if you're looking for strong and tight styles, this might not be the one.  Everything was a couple notches looser for me than I'm used to.


Tried slicking it back hard, but this was the beginning of the cascade down 


Didn't really give me hold or pliability, but again that might go with hair type.. maybe some day I'll listen to those can tops but curiosity got me on this one.  It is water based and washed out great the next day though.  Overall not terrible, just can't see myself using it daily.  

dax hair shaper review

Sky High

Wildroot

Level Cuts


Monday, December 17, 2012

American Crew Pomade Review

american crew pomade

Awhile ago I caught the Crew products on sale so I grabbed three different kinds..  I let the pomade sit on the sidelines for awhile, trying to save the best for last.  Really, I was a little apprehensive cause this stuff cost about 4 times as much as what I usually use.. it smells so good and looked pretty good, I was afraid that after I walked on the dark side there would be no turning back and I'd be stuck in the world of expensive hair grease.  Kind of like after you've had good kosher corn beef on a fresh onion roll, the cheap stuff at the Coney Island is never the same..


Getting into it, the first thing you notice is the smell.. this shit is serious!!  If you see this in the store, pop the top and take a whiff.  It smells like clean, sharp, powerful man scent.. the chicks are going to wonder why they're turned on 10 ft away when you walk by sporting this stuff.  Looks like semi clear  dark yellow gloop, scoops out like jello.. kind of sticky and wants to clump to itself. 


I ran it through with no problems, smooth as butter.  But it gave my hair a little bounce which was giving me trouble with the part.. maybe I'm not used to this kind of product, but the hairs weren't sticking together tight and it wouldn't give me a clean line.  So I caked on a lot, slicked it back hard and got an ok one.  If you rock a straight slick back or pompadour this probably won't be a problem and the bounce would be good.  After I got my hairs in position they seemed kind of loose so I kept putting more dabs on, then it just made my hair greasy, heavy, and still loose.  

Almost lost hope and thought maybe this wasn't going to meet my expectations so screw it I said.. but a couple hours later I recombed and realized I was way wrong.  

american crew pomade

Boom, nice and tight

american crew pomade review

Maybe this stuff needs a minute to activate or something, or my hair isn't used to the soft stuff but after it sinked in everything was good.. even had the back laying extra nice

American Crew pomade

The can says medium hold and shine, I'd say that's about right..  Made my hair a little darker and shinier, couldn't see the hold lasting longer than a couple hours though.  I was thinking it would probably work a lot better in shorter or curlier hair, or if you're going for a looser style.  I think it's worth it for the smell alone, though after I got it to work I was real happy with results.  Another big up is it's water based so it washed out almost completely the next day.

Think I might try it as a light top coat for something stickier just to get a little of that smell and shine.  The only real problem I could see with this would be the price, I'm guessing everyday use would have you going through 16$ cans every week which might be ok for you and if that's the case might be worth it.  With most everything you get what you pay for and it is some high quality pomade, give it a shot.

american crew pomade review

Friday, December 14, 2012

Petrolatum


Seems to be a main ingredient in most hair products, but what the hell is it?  Sounds like Vaseline, cause it is derived from petroleum jelly.. The dictionary says its a purified mixture of semisolid hydrocarbons used as an ointment base, protective dressing, and a soothing application to the skin.  Huh, well I'm not going to teach chemistry class here.. but what does that mean for hair?  


It's known to slow the loss of water from skin by forming a barrier.. That barrier probably works both ways and if you have a heavy dose of strong pomade on and go swimming it feels like you're going to pop out of the water with your hairs still in place.  It's pretty much colorless and odorless and will last forever like that gigantic can of Vaseline that's been sitting in your grandparents cabinet since the 70s.  These characteristics, plus a little bit of stickiness make it a good ingredient for hair products and many other things.

Way back in the day, when it was first incorporated into hair product, it replaced beef, lard, olive oil, cocoa butter and other fats that would spoil over time.

Found this little quote here..

Petroleum jelly is much used in pomade manufacture. In fact, petroleum jelly, like all hydrocarbons of like nature, does not turn rancid, and only requires a relatively small amount of aromatic material in order to acquire a very pleasant perfume, and, if a little soft, can easily be hardened by a slight addition of beeswax, or, better still, of ceresine, without modifying the basic products. Further, petroleum jelly is an efficient lubricant and does not mat the hair to the same extent as oxidisable fatty oils; thus its role is clearly defined in this part of the manufacture, and if we do not advise its exclusive use, it is because its action on the hair is not quite the same as natural fats. Petroleum jelly will often appear in the formulae, concurrently with pomade bases, and for certain purposes we shall point out some instances where petroleum jelly is the only vehicle employed.
(Durvelle, 1923. p. 274)


They say that skin absorbs up to 60% of products into the bloodstream and that can reduce the oxygen coming into the skin.. so petrolatum can somewhat suffocate the skin.  Kind of scary thinking this shit might be sinking into my brain if I'm putting it in my hair every day.. but I think that's more for people straight rubbing it on their skin, it would still have to slide down the hairs into the scalp to make it in there.  They also say it can cause photosensitivity and sun damage by interfering with the body's natural moisturizing mechanisms.  I think it's kind of like chapstick, the more you use it the more you need it..  well that's enough from me about this.  Something to think about.

Rainy Days

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Davis

Duke Wave Pomade Review

duke wave review

After uncapping and smelling about 7 different cans of pomade at the store, I decided to give the old Duke a try this time.  Checking in at $3.49, why not?  Looked interesting, smelled pretty good.. time to dig in.

 duke wave review

Pretty much looks like an almost clear, gelatin coconut cream or something.  Smells like coconut and some other sweet shit, but definitely not too overpowering or fruity.. just a nice clean good product smell.  Scoops out soft and ready.


I put that and another dab and it was a little much.  Maybe I got that new product ready to dive in and test this shit out to the max kind of feel, need to work on that starting with less thing.  It worked in super super soft and easy, you could run this straight through your hairs mid top or bottom.  Usually with stronger stuff I lightly apply the mid and top of my mop, but this I ran through with no catches or snags.  Styled up easy enough, felt like I had an oily cream in my hair.. like a heavier version of some 360 wave control if you know what I mean.  

duke wave review




After I combed it in, it felt like it was weighing my hairs down.  My hair is getting a little long now, so if you've got shorter ones it might be cool, but for me it killed the height.  The heaviness seemed to unlock the style in the back that stickier strong product always glues together.


It's trying to get away and fly back there.  In the Duke's defense though, I think this stuff gripped to my hair and weighed it down cause it has a lot of oils and stuff in it.. seed oil, shea butter, seed butter?  Sounds like some heavy business, but probably great for your hair so it's a double edged sword.


All in all, it's not terrible but not my cup of tea.  It did go in and out easy, and made my hair super soft.. but would probably be better if you have shorter hair, or maybe coarser or curlier hair.  It does say it will control resistant waves.. but couldn't really hold and control my straight hair?  Not sure how that works, but I'd bet somehow it does better in curly thick hair.. probably wouldn't flatten out like it did to mine.  

Bettie

bettiepage

Some things never go out of style