THE COMPANY
Grandad’s old fashioned was started in San Diego by brewer Michael Tafoya. This was back in 2012. Michael then sold his company to Bryce Sims who led it a few years and changed labeling plus brought in new formulas and products. In 2017, Grandad’s old fashioned came back in Michael’s hands.
UPDATE: the company’s been taken over by Jeffrey Robertson from Oklahoma (2019).
More info: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GrandadsUnitedStates?ref=pr2018_faveshops
POMADE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The ordered pomade is the heavy hold petro (oil) based pomade. I quote Michael: ‘After extensive testing, the heavy was created to create a longer-lasting hold for even the toughest of hair. This pomade will hold your hair all day long even in the sun.’
A 4 oz (113 g) glass, amber jar and for me one the most beautiful labels I know. All the labels are very clean, classic and classy looking, with great color schemes and lettering! Labels are stickers. The pomade itself is light yellow.
INGREDIENTS
Petrolatum, beeswax, lanolin, olea europaea (olive) oil, fragrance, phenoxyethanol (and) caprylyl glycol (and) sorbic acid, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E) oil.
Michael makes use of a few preservatives: phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol and sorbic acid plus the solid antioxidant vitamin E oil. Preservatives are normally used for water based products to combat yeasts, bacteria and molds. Michael played safe and used them to prolong shelf life and made them more resistant to environmental circumstances. A very client-friendly approach for those who want their pomade to last longer. The natural vitamin E helps to avoid it getting nasty but is no real preservative on itself.
SCENT
Tobacco and bay leaf. When opening the jar, I couldn’t put my finger on the scent. It smells kind of fresh, a bit soapy and tart. In the hair: very present breezes. Don’t like the scent.
STYLING 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 boar hair brush, a Denman plus a detangler (Tangle teezer). During styling, I use brushes most.
Application: to damp hair. Used licks: 3 moderate ones.
Scooping: pomade comes out after a little, sweet push and breaks down easy after a few rubs.
Breakdown: in terms of texture, I felt the vaseline and the waxes, it’s not oily, not dry and not that sticky of a pomade either. Breakdown is easy, no clumps of wax to detect.
Working in: there’s a soft tension noticeable. Mixing evenly: easy to do.
Combing through: slight resistance using a Denman brush. Changing the hair’s direction and making a part: alright. In all the mentioned aspects, it acts as a medium hold.
Control: provides a good control to lay down and keep the hairs where you put them. Not a waxy, difficult to style with product at all. Doesn’t feel overly sticky and provides a slick control. No strays, flyaways playing hard on me. It tamed the waves sufficiently and did a good job for my cowlick areas. Lifting the front: easy to do and after a few strokes it gave me some decent shape. Had to restyle several times to create average height and a pretty neat hair do.
SHINE
Medium according to the brewer. I give it a notch below medium. Shine doesn’t go away.
HOLD
Meant to be a heavy hold. In my hair: a medium hold.
ENDURANCE
It did not keep my hair in place all day: sag and waves showing through a bit at the top of my bangs. A few strays at the end of the day. Didn’t do strenuous things: a walk, my work as a teacher, no rain or humidity, slight windy and cold autumn temperatures (around 40° F/4° C). Its endurance is not bad but not the best for my hair type.
RESTYLING
Restyles easy, without tug or pull. My hair was alright afterwards. It kept a good hold, waves were more prominent on top of my hair (collapsing).
BUILD UP
Good to work with the next days. Provided me with some more hold.
WASH OUT
Around 3-4 times with water and shampoo, normal process for a petrolatum based formula. Depends on your hair type, the type of shampoo and/or conditioner, how much of it and if applied to dry or wet hair plus the present amount of build up.
SIMILAR POMADE(S)
The iron society medium.
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 