Grand classic grooming, shop grease – heavy hold oil based pomade

THE COMPANY

I go back to the other side of the globe: Australia. I will be revisiting Grand classic grooming co. Jay Peters, the brewer offers all sorts of pomades with the grand classic as a main theme.

POMADE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

I’ll write a review on Jay’s latest addition to the Grand classic pomade family: shop grease, a superior hold oil based pomade. Jay on his Shop grease: ‘When we developed this pomade, we had two objectives in mind – hold and shine. Inspired by classic American hot rod culture and greaser sub-culture, Shop grease is a premium heavy oil based pomade formula developed for those who are chasing the ultimate partner in achieving slick hairstyles from the glory days of the 50s. The special formula of Shop grease provides strong holding power in the hair for high or tight styles due to its holding strength, while also providing a shine to rival that of a freshly polished moon hubcap. Used consecutively, users can achieve a clean manageable build-up for ultimate performance.’

Shop grease is poured into a 3.5 oz (100 g) tin with screw top lid. Jay uses black and white colors which gives it a very clean and relaxed appearance. On the tin’s lid: the brand’s and product’s name, logo of grand classic materials for a V8 I suppose, superior strength, spec 05-48. Backside: ‘Fast cars and good hair’ slogan, explanation of the pomade, hold and shine levels, usage, handcrafted and where it is made, recycle info, ingredients and the co’s Instagram, Facebook page, 100 ml content.

More info: http://grandclassicgrooming.com/

INGREDIENTS

Petroleum, microcrystalline wax, macadamia nut oil, natural beeswax, lanolin, shea butter, Australian blue cypress essential oil.

Jay selected ingredients from his homeland Australia to create a unique, quality driven pomade for healthy hair and skin.

Explanations:

• Petroleum: more concrete = petrolatum. Petrolatum is derived from petroleum and modified for cosmetic purposes.
• Macadamia nut oil: oil expressed from the nut meat of the macadamia tree, a native Australian nut. Macadamia oil is sometimes used in cosmetic formulations as an emollient or fragrance fixative. The oil has antioxidant properties great for skin and hair, it reduces hair loss, soothes and moisturizes.
• Australian blue cypress essential oil: a remarkable natural cobalt blue color essential oil. This oil has amazing skin moisturizing properties.

SCENT

Australian blue cypress essential oil. Jay explains: ‘Blueprint, utilizing premium steam distilled Australian blue cypress essential oil, along with some secret brewers magic. Blueprint provides a subtle smokey/woody aroma with a sweet twist, invoking memories of V8 hot rod engines rumbling away. The perfect choice for the true greaser feel.’ Sniffing in the tin: get a light smokey scent, not strong at all. In the hair: the whiffs you get are very subtle and nearly not there, like that. The essential oil scent has therapeutic goals as well, dig that too.

STYLING PROCESS

My hair: medium thick, wavy, somewhat unruly hair of medium length. Wear a contour.

My styling equipment: air motion (tangle-free) brush, Bixby comb and sometimes: a boar hair brush.

Application: 3 average scoops in damp hair to manage the waves and ease styling. This always works for me.Scooping out: little pressure is needed to scoop it out on the top layer. Beneath the top, much softer consistency.

Breakdown: a few decent rubs and you get a bit of a sticky, somewhat waxy substance in your palms. There’s no dry feeling and no greasiness.

Working in: you’ll experience little resistance. Easy to distribute evenly throughout the hair.

Combing back: a slight amount of tension noticeable. For a heavier hold, no problem at all! I use an air motion brush. This brush is a great tool to reduce tug and pull to nearly nothing. But with shop grease every styling tool will go through relatively comfortable and easy given the strength of the pomade. Switching the direction of the banks: slight tension. Parting went well with it.

Control: this pomade is waxy but not too waxy. Shop grease doesn’t force the mane into a certain direction and does not pull out hairs. It gives an agreeable control without the heavy waxy popping out of hairs issue = hairs fighting back. There’s a slight stickiness. Slickness is good. The balance between hold and easy style-ability is great here. No dryness, just great in the oils section. My cowlicks stayed in place. No strays, flyaways. Lifting the front for my contour went good. My waves showed up a tad but clean and managed: I have this with some heavy pomades

SHINE

Jay talks about a high shine. On the tin, its shine level is 5/5. In my hair: around a medium on the first day. The shine persisted. On the second day, it was more shiny: a good medium.

HOLD

Described as a superior hold: a 5/5 it says on the tin. To me: a heavy hold. It has some more strength than its predecessor, the heavy OG with a 4/5 (more of a firm/strong hold).

ENDURANCE

Tests it had: temperatures about 70° F (21° C), cold wind, no humidity. Was sweating due to a few strenuous chores. My hair survived, just of few touch ups were needed.

RESTYLING

Oil based, thus restyling is what it does for sure! No problems combing through. Kept its good heavy hold.

BUILD UP

I don’t rinse or shampoo every day. I add some water and hair tonic. Then I take 2 licks of pomade and start styling. Shop grease feels waxy in a clean way. On this second day, Shop grease impressed me even more! It showed itself more as a super heavy pomade, a bit less comfortable to style with than the day before but still workable and manageable, no hairs forced into any shape or direction, no ripping out of hairs. My waves were tamed and everything looked very clean. The hair didn’t go anywhere: such a great endurance!

WASH OUT

As we are used from oil based: around 3-4 washes and it’s all gone. The hair feels great because of the conditioning ingredients.

Interested in oil based pomades only? You can join our ‘Oil Based Pomade Enthusiasts’ Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/OilBasedPomadeEnthusiasts/