THE COMPANY
Big slick pomade co is a grooming company run by husband and wife Vincent Minervino and Magdalena O’Connell, based out of Freehold/NJ. The couple makes handcrafted quality products in small batches. I quote: ‘Our products are inspired by classic barber shop, music, hot rod & casino culture … for that big, slick look!’
Big slick pomade co has a great, solid reputation, on the same quality/notoriety level as Pomps Not Dead, Lockhart’s, O’Douds and Shear revival. Big slick pomade co offers light, medium (original), firm, heavy pomades and even a super heavy. Their latest addition is a gel pomade with a medium-firm hold. There are scent options which is interesting. Other handmade grooming is available as well. A versatile grooming company it is without a doubt.
if you’re on the fence about petrolatum based pomades but you want to try them: Big slick is the answer. What answer? User friendly and not too greasy.
I tried their heavy before and really dig it: clean, not overly waxy, easier to use than many other wax heavies. Link to the heavy hold review: https://piw74.com/2016/04/28/big-slick-pomade-co-heavy-ob-pomade/
More info: http://www.bigslickpomadeco.com/
POMADE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Layout/design displayed here is the previous one. The firm hold is loved for its good balance between waxiness and slickness. Asking people (Facebook pomade groups) which firm oil based works the best/easiest and many will enumerate Big slick firm hold.
Big slick firm hold comes in a 4 oz (113 g) tin. Pomade inside: light purple, lavender color that matches the tin color.
INGREDIENTS
Petrolatum, microcrystalline wax, beeswax, lanolin, olive oil, fragrance, color.
SCENT
Lemongrass, cedar wood, sage, vanilla and cinnamon. The lemon note dominates. In the jar + in the hair: very strong and spicy, permeating, lingering. I had the same experience with the dirty mint aroma from the heavy hold. Had to get used to that due to its strong, lingering properties. I started to like it a lot. The scent on the firm reveals the same story. I like the scent but it is too strong for me. I just don’t dig such strong aromas. I adapt easily to scents, second day = less to barely noticeable. And yes, it got better the day after.
POMADE PROCESS
My hair: I’ve medium thick, wavy hair. I wear a side part with a contour.
My styling equipment: at the moment, I’m using a brush with wild boar hair, a Denman brush plus a wide tooth comb (detangler). During styling, I use brushes most. Use a tangle teezer to avoid tug.
Application: on damp hair. Used 4 average licks the first day.
Scooping: the pomade’s top layer is soft plus easy to scoop, like a medium does.
Breakdown: same ease. It takes a few effortless rubs and you feel a somewhat waxy, not tacky texture.
Working in: no resistance whatsoever. Dispersing evenly in the hair: easy to do. Finding and making my part: no problem.
Combing back: grip noticeable, but not uncomfortable. Keep in mind I use a Denman brush, not a comb user because combs do not tame my mane the way I want and they pull too much.
Control: after the Denman, my tangle teezer took over and it laid down the hair rather easy. I switched the order of the combs on the second day. You remark the presence of wax but not in a way that it is difficult to handle. There’s a good balance between waxiness and slickness. Again: the product acts like a medium. The pomade managed my waves alright: they showed up a tiny bit but in a clean, neat, slick and tamed manner. The hairs on my part side popped out a due to the wax content. I always have this with wax based pomades more or less and that’s a fact for many of us. I took my boar brush to lay the hairs down and when the pomade has settled, I recombed and used a comb too (small tooth side). No noticeable strays, flyaways to discern, just a few innocent ones here and there.
SHINE
A few notches above neutral. Shine did not dull throughout the day.
HOLD
Says: firm hold. To me: a medium-firm or a solid medium. In comparison to f.e. PND, The daily grind (firm), big slick is around a step down in hold. This pomade provides good control on the first day but I wasn’t quite sure it would hold to be honest.
ENDURANCE
It kept hair well together, no noticeable sag, well tamed waves (showed up a bit initially without getting worse during the day) and a well tamed cowlick area, no splits. Side hairs popped out repeatedly. Had several flyaways at the end of the day. I tested it in temperatures around 60° F (16° C), in a sunny environment, no wind, an hour of sport (cycling and walks). The pomade endured good under these circumstances. Isn’t that greasy or sticky in the hair.
RESTYLING
Easy to do. Not much of a resistance. Keeps a good hold without getting more strays or loose hairs, waving any further. I only needed to restyle one side because of some hairs popping out particularly on the first day.
BUILD UP
The real firm hold came in. Workable build up, no hassle styling! Hold, control, endurance wise a lot better! Hairs on the side: less popping out.
WASH OUT
Around 3 shampoos depending on your hair type and quantity used. Hair feels soft plus healthy due to the conditioning olive oil and lanolin I suppose. Petrolatum has protecting conditions either. Some people avoid it because of the current idea it clogs the pores. This ain’t true: the petrolatum used here is for cosmetic use and doesn’t clog the pores.
SIMILAR POMADE(S)
- Ace high co, black cat.
- Pomps not dead, the daily grind.
Interested in oil based pomades only? You can join our ‘Oil Based Pomade Enthusiasts’ Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/OilBasedPomadeEnthusiasts/
POMADE IN WORDS 