THE COMPANY
Today I will be showcasing a well-known pomade brand: Dick Tremolo’s/Tremolo’s. Latter is created by brewer Jared Sorkin from Illinois. At this moment, Jared is taking a break, but he will come back in the near future (hope it). The Tremolo pomades aren’t available anymore but I got a sample from his heavy oil based ‘Ace’s high’ from Andrew Carruthers out of the UK. Thanks, Andrew!
POMADE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Jared on Ace’s high hair pomade: ‘ace’s high heavy hold is not your grandpa’s pomade! This is for serious style, designed to achieve maximum hold. Goes in super easy, no pulling or tugging, easy comb-ability. Thick, wavy, curly or coarse hair – no problem. Your style won’t move a muscle. Holds up great even in heat and humidity. Your hair won’t split, twist, curl or fall. A superior, maximum, hard core pomade! Achieve pompadours, slick backs, side parts, quiffs, or whatever your style may be!’
Comes in a 4 oz (113 g) container with sticker labels. Design: clean with mostly blue tints, simple and clear. It shows the picture of a gypsy alike woman. The pomade is white but there’s also a blue one.
INGREDIENTS
Petro microwax, beeswax, mineral oil, fragrance.
- Set of a few ingredients, classic formula.
- Petro microwax: microwax or microcrystalline wax is derived from petro(latum), hence the name. Mineral oil is also derived from petro.
SCENT
Don’t own the one with the original citrus cologne scent. What comes in handy is that there are lots of other scents you can choose from! Mine is the: the mountain dew. How does it smell? This reminds me of a fresh lemonade with that refreshing hot summer sensation. It’s quite subtle in the jar plus in the hair as well. Noticed some whiffs from time to time: balanced and agreeable, dig this smell a lot! If you’re in for non-abrasive scents, this is ideal.
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: put it into damp hair for easy styling and to keep away the waves as much as possible. On dry hair it will provide more hold but also more tug and pull since it’s a heavy strength. Used 3 average licks of it.
Scooping: pomade comes out of the sampler with little pressure.
Breakdown: smears well into a first waxy, then creamy texture after a few solid rubs. You’ll feel it’s going to be a heavy pomade: high amount of wax but no beads, it is sticky, not dry, not greasy.
Bringing in: there’s some tug but doable.
Combing through: my Denman brush encountered some resistance but nothing bothersome regarding its heaviness. It was not that difficult to mix it evenly throughout the mop. Switching the direction of the hair to make a part: there’s tension but okay to deal with and okay to find your part. Don’t expect brute force that pushes the hair in the right direction.
Control: it lays down the hairs well, with great control for it is sticky. My cowlick zones obeyed rather easy, same for the waves and my sides were slicked down well. Lifting the front went good and got some decent height/volume. Did not have to settle with hairs sticking out like many wax heavies do.
SHINE
Neutral sheen and stays that way. Showed some nice luster in the sun!
HOLD
Heavy hold. Tremolo’s holds levels are always above their actual description thus some will call this a super heavy for that reason. My first impression was it to be more of a firm holding pomade. I applied it to damp hair and that does pay off in the hold but still enough for my needs!
ENDURANCE
Its endurance is great! Once it settles, the hair stays in place, period. I tested it in cold winter weather (around freezing point/30° F), no heavy-duty, very sharp windy weather. Ace’s high will endure summer temperatures for sure.
RESTYLING
Since this is an oil based, no problem. Comb glides through easy and it keeps great hold.
BUILD UP
Waxy. I just added water and some tonic and a few scoops. Build up was manageable: no problem with the waxiness, hairs ripping out. Great.
WASH OUT
Around 3 washes, typical for a micro/petro wax based. Hair feels soft afterwards.
SIMILAR POMADE(S)
- Big slick: firm hold oil based.
- Big slick: heavy oil based.
- Lockhart’s: heavy oil based.
Interested in oil based pomades only? You can join our ‘Oil Based Pomade Enthusiasts’ Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/OilBasedPomadeEnthusiasts/
