Finally getting to another Dr. Rubin’s pomade, this time is their strong hold. I ordered it forever ago, but hadn’t gotten around to using it until now. Maybe this one will stand up to the AZ heat!
This one comes in the same tin as their original, a brass tin with a lid label and a can wrap. This one has a olive green label with the same red medical style cross on it. Inside the cross it says “Dr. Rubin’s finest holds” and “pomade” below the cross and “firm” to the left of it. The side label has a picture of a scientist with a microscope and it reads “100% Always Natural. No additives, preservatives, or artificial anything.” Both the top and side label have “Based upon a formula created in 1944. Handcrafted in Alhambra, CA” on them. The bottom and side label list their ingredients and location. Also next to “pomade” on the can wrap it says “Firm.”
Opening the tin up you see a white colored waxy pomade and this one has a big crack in the center so you know it’s super waxy. I’m kind of bummed it cracked though. It doesn’t have any gloss so I don’t think it will have much shine in my hair, but their original looked the same way and that one was really shiny. So who knows, maybe this one will have some shine. The smell is the same as their original, just not quite as strong.
Trying to get this stuff out of the tin is almost as hard as scooping Schmiere’s knupplehart pomade. Very very waxy, but once you are able to break the surface it’s a bit softer. Even though it’s softer, it still has a very waxy and tough feel to it. I am probably going to have to really work this pomade. The scent kind of dies down when you get it out of the tin. That’s kind of a bummer for me since I love the scent of this and the original so much.
As I thought this pomade was one I really had to work in my hands. I took my routine that I use for putrescence and applied it to this stuff. I rubbed my hands together fast which heated it up and it became a little more workable. Then to get it to be more workable I kind of clapped my hands together and that made it nice and tacky. Just like putrescence, before I clapped my hands together it didn’t really come off my hands. But once I got it workable it came off my hands and went into my hair a little easier. Going in my hair it was a lot like putrescence too, just not as shiny.
It was a little difficult for me to spread evenly throughout my hair. It wanted to stay on top and kind of gum up in certain areas. I also noticed at first it flaked, a lot! But with me trying to get it worked in evenly the flakes disappeared so nothing to actually worry about there. You can see what I mean by gum up and stay in one place towards the back of my part. There’s that white patch where the pomade just didn’t want to work into my hair.
I also had some trouble getting my pomp going with this stuff. For some reason it didn’t want to lift my hair, even though it’s a heavy pomade. You can see the left side of my pomp, towards my part, is more of a ramp than a rounded pomp. And this one is a straight matte finish, no shine whatsoever to it. Bummer. That’s to be expected from a heavy pomade though. That’s what they make toppers for right?
Now after about an hour my hair got really really poofy. I have no idea why, but the sides and back poofed out and got very round and refused to stay down. It’s weird I have never had a pomade do that before. Maybe my hair is just too long and I need to cut it. After a few hours, I noticed my hair had also sunk and split. Ugh, another one bites the dust. This damn heat out here is just brutal. So I did what I have done with all the other pomades, just combed my hair back. I left it parted and went about my day.
The following few days the same thing happened each day. A little difficult to apply. Wouldn’t let me get a nice pomp going. Poofed the sides and back of my hair out. And didn’t hold up to the heat. However the last day I added a greasy medium pomade to the buildup and that held up much better throughout the day. Maybe I need to do combos out here during the summer instead of just heavies. I think I may try that now that I’m done with this review and find a good heavy base and use a greasy medium for a topper/extra hold.
Overall, this pomade isn’t quite for me on its own. I think if I mixed it with their light or ultra shine it would work a lot better for my hair. But I know plenty of guys that love this pomade a lot. And as heavies go, it’s a nice heavy waxy pomade. I know a lot of you guys love those, so pick this one up. It has a great scent and is a really heavy pomade.
See ya at the next one,