Confessions of a Greasy Head

Last week, as I was interviewing the Pall Mall Barbers’ hairdressers, it occurred to me that my own methods of looking after my hair have been moulded by years of habit originating in my pubescent youth, i.e. when, as young boys, we suddenly discovered girls and wanted to look good for them.  
Then we worked on the principle that more is better.  It was an age of big baggy jeans, deodorant that hung so heavy in the air it was like walking through the dry ice at the X Factor Final and of course hair wax so thick every young man could double up as an emergency candle in case the fuse went in the house.  The wax we put in our hair was essentially heavily scented paraffin wax and we had massive tubs of the stuff, not only on our bathroom shelf, but also in the sports bag and in the school locker.  One tub of the stuff should have lasted at least 8 or 9 months plus but we got through it within a few weeks.  If you’d run your hands through my hair when I was 14 you would have assumed I’d been rescued, along with a couple of puffins and a sickly otter, from an oil slick.  Needless to say this is not what the experts at Pall Mall Barbers think we should be subjecting our follicles to on a daily basis.
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So if the cheap tubs of paraffin wax are no good, what should I use?  If you head to a supermarket there is now shelf after shelf of hair product for men alone, ranging massively in price, design and size.  You can use gels, wax, mud, gum, doh and plenty of other types of styling product.  I’d be curious to know how many men out there have actually tried more than two different types of product.  Personally I decided well over a decade ago that I was a wax man and need not look any further.  It’s ridiculous when you take into account that when I head out to go clothes shopping, I, like any other man keen to look good whilst shopping on a budget, will go to half a dozen top high street stores and check out their current range of clothing before purchasing.  Why should our hair be any different?  After all, the head is where our eyes focus most when we talk to someone.  I shudder to think how I would look if I followed the same principles when buying clothes as I have done with my hair products.  I’d still be wearing that baggy black Guns ‘N’ Roses T-shirt, with ill fitting jeans and maroon coloured Doc Martin boots.
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In preparation for writing this article, Richard lent me three styling products from the Pall Mall Barbers range.  I’ve tried the “Matt Mudd”, “Hair Play” and “Hair Doh” and I’ve found the little trial experiment fascinating.  Actively experimenting with these products for the last couple of weeks has to some extent explained the mystery of why my hair looks its best the day I’ve had my haircut.  Why is it that the very next morning my hair just doesn’t have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ anymore?  The hair’s not particularly dirty; it was, after all, washed less than 24 hours ago.  It certainly hasn’t grown out from the cut.  That would be insane as our hair grows roughly half an inch in one month.  That means in 24 hours it would have grown 0.017 of an inch (thank you Wikipedia for that).  So it comes down to the styling product.
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When Richard gave me the PMB product he showed me how to apply it.  He demonstrated how you need to vigorously rub it between your hands before massaging it into your hair and scalp.  “The most common mistake when putting product in your hair is that guys will simply scoop up a whole load and then streak it through their hair from front to back.”  Oops that’s my method shot.  “The problem with that is you end up with a greasy forehead and a fluffy behind”.  That certainly doesn’t sound appealing.  Richard went on to give another crucial, yet often overlooked, bit of advice.  “You don’t need a lot.  A standard tub (100ml) should last you three months, possibly longer.”  Again it’s a fault that I’m all too aware of.  Like most guys I simply can’t believe that that smidgen of wax, mud or whatever I use is going to do the job of styling my whole head.  But as Richard points out, that’s where massaging the product in becomes so important.  Do that and the product is evenly distributed throughout the whole of the head and essentially from the base of the hair to its tip.
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So now I move on to the results of my study.  First off I’m a big fan of the PMB brand (I know I have to say that as Rich is my boss but the fact that I really believe in it means I sleep easy at night).  The sharp black, grey and metallic look of the packaging means I’m proud to have it on display rather than in the recesses of the bathroom cabinet.  The first thing I considered in trying out the product is the smell.  They all smelled great, with the Mudd having a vanilla scent, the Play a fruity sherbet hint and the Doh a sweet yet slightly peppery after tone.  As for how they held my hair, I was surprised, as I assumed the Mudd would be my favourite, it being the strongest and therefore closest to my usual wax choice, but I found after trying out the others that it did too much.  My style doesn’t require my hair to be held in any unusual shapes and so I found that the Hair Doh was what suited me most, though I would be happy to use the Play as well.
When I planned this article two weeks ago, I expected to go into great depths about the products that Pall Mall Barbers have on offer.  What I’ve learnt however is that the styling products the shop boasts are in essence all fantastic. What is invariably at fault is how the individual both chooses the product and then how he applies it.  I would say the best piece of advice is - when next you’re sitting in that chair getting your trim, ask your barber which product he or she thinks will best suit your hair type and then go out and experiment. After all “We’re Worth It!”


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