How To Style A Pompadour Hair

The Pompadour was a very popular hairstyle among men in the 1950s. Part of its appeal lay in the fact it was worn by several celebrities, such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley.

While this style has lost some of its popularity, there are still many men who choose to wear it. Some are not entirely familiar with how to style pompadour hairstyle.

Image of Johnny Cash pompadour hair.
Johnny Cash pompadour hair

The first step is to have the hair cut properly. This involves having the sides and back cut short while the top starts out short in the back and gains length as it moves toward the front. The exact length of the hair can vary depending on how high one wants the finished style to be.

Image of Murray's hair dressing pomade.
Hair pomade

To style the hair, one should apply some pomade (we recommend Murray’s hairdressing pomade) or wax to the hands and rub them together to warm it. Next, rub the product through the sides and back to get an even application. Using a comb, slick the sides back keeping the hair as close to the scalp as possible. The back should be combed straight down.

Picture of pompadour hair
Pompadour hair

Repeat the process of warming pomade or wax between the hands before rubbing it into the top hair. Comb this section in a diagonal direction starting from the back and working toward the front and one side. This will create a part on one side. The front should be flipped up and back to give some height to this section.

Another alternative is comb over pompadour. Comb the top straight forward and flip the front up and back over itself. However, this is used more by women than by men. If you love faded hairstyles, try the pompadour fades.

Photo of John Travolta greaser hairstyle.
John Travolta greaser hairstyle

When this style was first popularized, the cream was used to slick the hair down and give it a wet look. Many people who wore the Pompadour were given the nickname, “Greasers”.

By using pomade or wax, one can get the same type of hold without loading the hair down with greasy products. The hair can look drier and have a more touchable texture.

During the day, the style may need to be refreshed. To accomplish this, all one needs to do is apply a small amount of water to the hair and run a comb through it again. It is not necessary to use so much water that it makes the hair wet or shiny. Do not forget to flip the front up to achieve the desired volume.

Many popular stars wore the Pompadour hairstyle during the 1950s. During that decade, it was very popular among men from all walks of life.

 

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It fell out of favor after that time, though it sees periodic recurrences, especially amongst rockabilly performers. Times have changed, and so have the products available to hold the hair in place.

Given these changes, many men do not know how to style Pompadour hair. Getting the proper cut, application of pomade or wax instead of cream, and combing in the proper direction are all important steps. The key is flipping the front of the hair up to add volume and height to the style.

2 thoughts on “How To Style A Pompadour Hair”

  1. Alright, this one mentions another wrong thing: the sides. The sides have to be long. They can’t be short for an Elvis- or Johnny-style pompadour. Even Travolta in Grease had real long hair on the sides. I mean, Elvis’s went over the tops of his ears! It has to be long enough to slick to the back of the head with greasy pomade. If it’s short, it’ll just stick out. I mean, lots of guys back then had cropped sides and a tight fade about halfway up the head, but that wasn’t ever part of a pompadour. That was a thing that had been popular since the 20s probably. Elvis and Cash had long hair for the time!

    Also, the back can’t be “combed straight down”! I mean, come on, you think you can slick the hair back on the sides correctly if it takes a 90-degree turn when it hits the back? And let’s not even mention how that simply precludes any sort of a duck’s ass, which even Elvis had.

    The first picture of the modern guy up there is not a pompadour. That’s just slicked-back hair with gel in it. It’s way too stiff-looking and it’s just combed back, with a teensy bit of hight and no forward motion at all. Pompadours are not combed back, they’re combed inward, and slicked back on the sides. They’re parted on both sides and combed inward for the most part.

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  2. Damn skippy on the Murray’s though. Stuff is a little stiff and has no shine, but it’s good. My new bag is Royal Crown which I believe is what lots and lots of those guys used back then.

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