BOARDWALK Strong hold

A few months back, I tried the BOARDWALK pomade and was totally impressed with the whole affair: vintage aluminum thin can,  retro labeling, scent, texture, hold and wash-ability.  For my taste, this was pomade perfection!  Trying more of their product was just a question of time.  The opportunity came as a result of a pomade conversation with my friend Aaron at Not your Father’s Barber Shop some time in August.  I mentioned the Boardwalk pomade and backed it up by pulling out my jar which I conveniently had on hand.  He liked it so much that he decided to order a case for the shop.  On my next visit, the jars were there.  Boardwalk produced 2 types of pomades; a regular hold and a strong hold.   Boardwalk also produces a hairspray that I would eventually like to try.  My last review covered the “regular” hold. The jars being conveniently on hand I just had to purchase one of the “Strong Hold”.  This post will cover the strong hold.

As you can see in the pictures, this is very inviting product with a red-brown hue.

In the review of the regular hold pomade, I praised Boardwalk for keeping the recipe simple as well as original by replacing water with aloe vera.  The same can be said of the strong hold pomade.

I can’t say that I did not like this pomade.  It is without the shadow of a doubt one of the better options out there.  But that being said, the strong hold iteration did not work as well in my hair as the “Regular hold” did.  I know…I am surprised as well.  Usually, the strong hold iteration of a given pomade brand is the same with more humpft!  In this case, it feels almost like a different product.  Let’s clarify that.  It feels like there are elements of wax and oil that I did not become aware of using the “regular” edition.

When comparing the labels, there are less ingredients in the strong hold than in the regular hold.  Here are the 2 ingredient that did not make it in the strong hold: PVD and PEG-8 Beeswax.  I have no idea what PVD might be and my little searches are not rendering useful information. Beeswax on the other hand is the basis for most natural or home-made pomade and is obviously also invited to many commercial pomade parties as well.

 

These ingredient differences do not make the Strong hold a bad product, not at all!  It just means that it behaves a tad differently.  For one, it made my hair a bit darker.  Having dark brown hair with some white/grey starting to show here and there – the element of darkness is totally OK with me!  When manipulating the pomade in my palms I would have been incapable of differentiating it from the regular hold. But when applying to the hair, you become aware that it is a tad heavier.  This pomade also feels a tad waxier with a slight element of oil I had not noticed in the regular hold.  This leads to the product not drying in the same manner.  the pomade stays active a longer time and weight the hair down a bit more. Usually, when that is the case I use a bit of hairspray to lock the style in place so I don’t have to worry about it during the day.  This approach generally works well but here because of those little elements of oil and wax, the hairspray didn’t have much of a surface to lock onto and dry.  The whole style worked out well regardless, but it is more of a “greaser” looking result.  Dark and shiny!

 

Here is the rating on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is a perfect score and/or the level of shine.

• Hold: 4.5
• Shine: 4
• Texture: 5
• Feel in hair: 3
• Facility to wash out: 5

In closing, this is a good and proper pomade, but for my hair the “Regular” hold is the winner!

Here is the Boardwalk pomade display at Not Your Father’s Barber.

 

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