GONZO Super Slick Pomade – Direct from Malaysia

September 14, 2017

I became aware of this pomade through the Lockhart’s Authentic site. But because of the very high shipping costs to Canada ($15 US) I set out to find an alternative.

A simple query in Google brought me to the very slick Gonzo site, but I was soon disappointed to see that no “official” delivery method to Canada was available.  I decided to drop them a line to inquire about shipping to Canada.  I got a response within the day indicating that arrangement could be made and I was provided with a shipping cost of 60 RM.  RM is the Malaysian currency.  Another Google query gave me an idea of what an RM would equate in CND dollars, some $15 Canadian.  The Super slick Limited Edition Waterbase pomade was also 60 RM.  Making the pomade and its shipping a total of 120 RM or $30 CND.  $30 CND total versus $30 US which become $38 CND after conversion. A 26% saving.   Never having ordered anything from Malaysia, this made for a new experience.  I will admit that this is at the borderline of my maximum for a pomade, but the other reviews for this product are very positive and the embossed jar is ridiculously slick.  With that I went ahead and made the Paypal transaction with the folks of Gonzo. Once the Gonzo identifier was entered in Paypal, the interface prompted me for the amount of my payment.  Not knowing exactly what that would be in Canadian dollar, I entered the desired amount in the RM field and the conversion magic happened right away.  It couldn’t be easier!  So Although no method was in place to make the purchase on the Gonzo site, they were willing and able to complete the transaction through the Paypal door.  I have done other such transactions before with Murray’s for example.  Simple, easy and trust worthy.

Now we are in for a little wait as my contact at Gonzo in Malaysia indicated that the air mail service is a 2-3 week scenario.

November 17, 2017

just under 9 weeks later, the pomade showed in tonight’s mail. Honestly, I had entirely given up on this parcel and had considered it lost.  Basically, since the 18th of September the Malaysian postal service was indicating that it had been dispatched out to the Vancouver Pacific Processing Center.  My initial understanding was that it was there in holding since the 18th, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.  I also could not confirm with Canada Post where this item was as international items are not trackable with Canada Post as it could very well be in the hands of Customs.  I reached out to Customs at least twice to find out if my parcel was with them.  The short version is that no one could tell me anything and both Canada Post and CBSA were pointing back to each other.

That being said and regardless of how long this took I am happy to have gone through the process of buying a pomade directly from a Malaysian maker.  I was also pretty happy to finally get this pomade as I had written it off.

Although the metal (aluminum) jar was well wrapped in bubble wrap, it did suffer a few visible dents on the bottom.  But the product survived the trip well.  See for yourself in the pictures.  The jar is rather nicely done.  I have not yet encountered a “black” jar.  At 130 g, it is also a tad bigger than the common 100 g size.  The top lid is a true winner with a unique Rockabilly skull and the background “X”.  Just based on the packaging alone, I am sure many guys out there would want to try this stuff if it was readily available.  Of all of the pomades I have had the pleasure of trying, the presentation of this one grants it a seat in my top 5.

Another interesting observation about the jar is the presence of dates: MFG 2017/06/16, EXP 2019/06/15.  “Manufactured on” and “Expiration”.  The span is 2 years, which is very much in line with what I blogged about in an earlier post about hair product shelf life.  This information is a rarity in the pomade world as next to no makers indicate any such information. Kudos to Gonzo for that.

Ingredient wise, it’s a rather short list at only 10 ingredients.  The bulk of the ingredients are regular players in the pomade league.  Yes, this is a water based pomade.  An important item to mention since GONZO also makes an oil base pomade.  In 8th position you will find methylparaben.  That is somewhat unfortunate, but there is only one paraben and it’s nearly at the end of the list thus telling us that there is very little being used.  The pomade makers who do use parabens tend to use 2 or more.  The largest amount I have witnessed to date has been 4 different parabens.

I always like to see statements like “Not tested on animals”. No matter how cool you want your dog to look,  he probably won’t pull off pomade all that well.  Inside the jar you will find a gorgeous looking red-pink pomade.  Mostly transparent!  One of the main drivers that made me interested in this products was it’s claim of being resilient to hot and humid weather.  The region I live in (Ottawa – Gatineau) is notoriously humid in summer and also getting warmer every year as a result of the global weather shift.  Most of my regular pomades do very well in cool and cold weather but above 27’C no one is performing in any spectacular way.  Having a “hot and humid” performer to turn too is certainly appealing.  Obviously, we are now in late November and the day-time temperature is closer to 0’C so I won’t be able to test its performance in the intended climate for a number of months. Maybe this Greaser will win the lottery and spend a few weeks in Cuba this winter?

The fragrance is rather mild which surprised me.  I was going with the preconceived idea that the fragrance might be something more in your face because of the jar imagery.  To my nose the pomade smells a bit like soap.  The Gonzo sales pitch is kush with rose scent.  Bottom line, it’s a very modestly scented product.

This jar is the “Limited Edition” iteration.  Gonzo makes another water based pomade where the embossed “Super Slick” words are in green as is the actual pomade.  The Gonzo jar that also mentions Lockhart’s is an oil based pomade.

Here we are at the actual testing of this pomade with my apologies for the very long introduction.  Scooping this stuff out, I knew I was in for a treat.  The pomade came out somewhat in solid form but relaxed very easily in the fingers and palm.  As it is red and stays red, I will issue a word of caution for light coloured hair guys; this pomade will affect light hair colour!  Almost all of the pomade I have used to date, no matter what colour they were in the jar, pretty much simply became clear once relaxed and applied.  This pomade stays red.  My hands were also red for manipulating it.  Having dark brown hair, this had very little impact.  Just be forewarned.  Now for the hold, well…simply said; it’s fantastic!  It is one of the best holding pomade I have worked with.  I ended up sporting the same pomade application 2 days straight.

One last note on the colour, since the product stayed red I was a little worried this might end up rubbing up on my pillow case. Once dry, there are no concerns.

When the time came to wash it out, the Gonzo goo came right out by simply rinsing my hair under the shower head.

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

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

Overall Style4Men.ca score:

In closing, on top of being packaged in an awesome Rockabilly can, the pomade itself doesn’t disappoint and finds a space among my “Favorites“.

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