Lockhart’s Anti-Gravity

The Lockhart’s brand name is one that comes up frequently when looking for hair pomades.  In fact it has been coming up in my searches ever since I started the Style4men.ca project.  Unfortunately, I had not been able to get a hold a jar until now.  I was initially interested in their water based Professional pomade but after a number of failed shopping attempts, I made contact with the folks at Lockhart’s who informed me that this pomade was no longer in production.  I was also told that they might be getting back to producing it, but it didn’t happen.

Around Christmas 2017, Lockhart’s launched a new hair fixative solution, the: ANTI-GRAVITY.  As this is predominately a water based solution, I took it as this was their new water based option.  Yes, water is the first ingredient, but there are a number of other interesting participants. A slew of natural oils: cucumber, rosemary, lemon, lime, grapefruit, bergamot, citronella and clove.

As with most water based pomades, ceteareth-20 is usually in the top 5 participants.  Ceteareth-20 is an emulsifier.  Emulsifiers are used to thicken products as well as to allow water and oil to be stable together.  There is also betonite is the mix.  This is what gives the product its paste like texture.  The difference between a clay and a paste would in part have do to with the amount of betonite being used in the concoction.

Recently, I re-contacted Lockhart’s to see if the water based pomade was back in production and if it could be put to the test.  This is when the Anti-Gravity was presented as the alternative.   A big shout out and thank you goes out to Taylor for graciously accepting to submit the Anti-Gravity for our tests and review.

Lockhart’s is an artisanal family pomade adventure launched in Michigan by Steve and Nichol Lockhart.  The below video is the ANIT-GRAVITY product description / product launch via Modern Man TV.  They actually make a number of pomades under the Lockhart’s brand name and you might also know them by the Goon Grease moniker.

The presentation of this product is well done with a nice dark amber plastic jar and a black metal lid. It looks classic and the jar would sustain a drop if you were to have an accident before your morning coffee.  It is the typical 100 gr jar (actually 105 g here) .

As you know, Style4men.ca fully embraces the sub-culture of artisanal small-batch production.  There are a number of reasons for that.  The main reason is because when the human mind is left to its own devices, some pretty fantastic things are produced.  Second are the health concerns.  As you become more aware about some of the nasty stuff being added to hair and cosmetic products in general, you will start looking closely at what is being put in that pomade or shampoo of yours.  Generally speaking, small-batch productions are made with simple and healthy ingredients.  I go with the rational that if it is something I could eat, I am not too worried about putting that goo in my hair.  And my hair is essentially my second…well…third most important part.

As per the label on the lid, the objectives of this product is to offer: Weightless hold with a matte finish and lots of volume.  Very similar to the objectives of clays.  From my experience, clays can deliver on these ambitions but the application can be finicky. Since this is not a clay, I have to assume that my clay experience is only partly relevant.

Let’s jump right into it!  Upon opening the jar you will not find a pomade in the true sense, but rather a cream.  Its smooth texture is easy to scoop out and blend into the hair.

Although this is a water based hair fixative, keep in mind that there are number of oils also being invited to the party.  These natural oils will have nourishing effects on your hair, but as with all hair products containing oil, moderation is key.  If you over do it, your hair will simply be oily and forget about styling that into anything.

HAIR STYLING

For my first test I simply applied this paste in dry hair as I would have with pomade.  The results were oily without height or volume.  As with clay, the application was unpleasant and resulted in hair tugging.  Not something I enjoy.  The main reason for it being a difficult application in dry hair is because of the limited moisture of the paste.

The second test was applying this paste in towel dried hair that still had a fair bit of water.  Up front, the application was considerably more agreeable.  It also allows you to use enough product.  Granted, moderation is key, but just a pea size might not be enough.  Considering my fairly long, thick and unruly uppercut, I tend to need more goo than other guys.  Total amount was perhaps the size of a nickel.

The second step is actually the differentiating moment; you need to finish the job with a hair dryer using some heat.  This will allow to get ride of the moisture and will help the paste to bound with your hair.  The results is a decent holding style with a very natural matte finish.

I liked it but I could see that some of my more rebellious curls where not submitting and I added a small coat of hair spray to lock the style in.  This was some 6 hours ago and things are still good.  Even with a touch of hair spray, this stuff still feels very nice in the hair. Silky.

The aroma of this hair paste is somewhat unexpected.  Typically, paste have a fairly limited scent.  This one gives out a nice fresh musk.  It is very much in line with the IN men colognes but no so strong as to compete with your cologne.

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

• Hold: 3.5
• Shine: 1
• Texture: 5
• Feel in hair: 5
• Facility to wash out:  5

In real simple terms: if you are looking for rock-like helmet hair results, this is not for you.  If on the other hand you are looking for decent hold with an ingredient list you could eat a spoon full without being pulled out on a stretcher, than this is it.

Please use these links to shop for this pomade and other products from Lockhart’s: