'Mortal Sin' by American Pomade

Mortal Sin by American Pomade

By Chris ‘Psychoholic’ DiGanci

American Pomade Review

There was a running joke about the quality of my pompadour that started when I made the comment "The 2 things I'm asked most often are 'sir, can you come with us' and 'how did you get the best hair in radio?'". A few of my friends jumped on that latter bit (not unlike the TSA agents who caused the first comment - but that's another story) and after a while I was endorsed as having the 'Best Hair In Radio' by a few groups of either major accord or 'who??' depending on who you ask. For the purposes of this review let's just assume I have the best hair at Grease Magazine and move on.

As with a lot of people in our beloved Rockabilly community I have always been a car person and a devout metal head, and of course being a metal head I had hair down to my belt for a very very long time. A few changes with my work schedule made it entirely too much effort to deal with having a 30" long ponytail (not to mention the impromptu dreadlock that would come from riding a motorcycle) so I sought the best barber in Atlanta

• It absolutely positively must make my hair painful to see in direct sunlight because of the shine

• It has to be able to be washed out every day

• Can't smell like old gasoline or bad chicken

• And it must harden to at least a 1k on the Vickers Hardness scale

Well after 3 president's worth of time I am now ready to give 2 thumbs up to a pomade - American Pomade 'Mortal Sin'.

Buying: I find their website is a good place to start talking about American Pomade. It's simple and looks solid with a few fun catch phrases that I couldn't help but smile at - specifically 'Dude, your hair. Fix that shit' and their slogan of 'Classic American Cool'. As of the time of this writing the Mortal Sin is just $13 (normally $16) and shipping is fast. It's not hard to hit their $35 minimum threshold for free shipping so it's worth saving a few bucks and buying 3 at a time (Ganci's Pro Tip: you can use the 'Deal With The Devil' and get 2 jars for $25 and add a 3rd to get free shipping).

Packaging: It comes in a pretty standard 4oz jar and well packaged. I do wish they would offer a big 32oz tub (I have curly hair and I have to use a pretty fair bit of pomade every day to tame wave into submission) because I keep having to buy more.

The Smell: This is probably more important than it should be but I have smelled some pomades that literally smelled like a mix of a beauty supply store and the gas tank of an '84 Lebaron convertible (don't ask). This was utterly pleasant. It has a light smell that is so unobtrusive that it's barely noticeable and dare I say 'fresh'?

(go see John at Rutabaga, seriously) that could craft the perfectly coifed greasy pomp that I had always wanted.

You learn a few things when you have had the same hairstyle for 10+ years and if you're kind of a picky bastard like I am you very quickly develop a few requirements when shopping for 'product' (I do hate writing that word unironically but it's the right word for this context). I have a drawer that looks like the Las Vegas neon sign graveyard of various pomades I've tried over the years and these are the conclusions/requirements I've come up with:

• I don't like actual oil based pomade. Some might consider it sacrilege but having to have specific pillowcases that end up looking like my driveway where my power steering pump is leaking and waking up with a sheen on my face that will eventually turn into zits isn't cool.

The Hold: This is one of the 2 most important criteria (the other being shine) and it is a solid 10/10 for hold. I put it in after toweling off my hair as dry as a towel can get your hair, scoop out about as much as I'd grab for packing wheel bearings,, rub it between my hands for a few seconds (another trick from John the Barber) and rub it through my hair. Once I have a nice even distribution throughout I'll run the comb through to finish the distribution and I can start the piling process. It holds well enough while pomping that by the time I'm finished getting ready I don't even have to adjust anything and it hardens enough where the DOT would probably approve it as a helmet.

The Shine: A nice greasy shiny pomp is one of those pleasures of life that is hard to explain to people who don't have one or appreciate them. Some people try and avoid too much but I'm absolutely about that 'fresh changed oil' and 'don't let that man near the pool' kind of gleam. I did try a tub of their 'Devil's Clay' and while the medium hold was pretty good it gave me politician hair without the shine.

Conclusion: This is good stuff. It meets all of my criteria for a good pomade, it's affordable, well packaged, and a good value. I have no problems washing it out in the morning or if I'm feeling lazy just some quick water in the morning and I can re-pomp the next day with the same general level of hold as the day prior.

GREASE INC. MAGAZINE