Are these the Ultimate Products for your Stubborn Male Asian Hair? Review of Gatsby’s Dressing Pomades

As mentioned in my previous post on “The Holy Grail for Male Asian Hair“, the Male Asian hair is one of the most difficult to style. It is thick, stubborn, and points straight into the sky no matter how much you try to mould it into decency.

I also mentioned the Japanese brand Gatsby being the preferred hair product by other Asian men. Gatsby is my favourite because they understand how male asian hair works, and they make their superior products really affordable.

They have recently come up with a series of “dressing pomades“, specifically to help Asian men like you and me to get that suave undercut that looks so good on blond Nordic guys.

In this review, I am specifically looking at two products in this series for my hair style: The Gatsby Classical Tight Dressing Pomade (gold), and the Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade (blue).

What I look for in a hair product for my Male Asian hair

Similar to my previous review, I am looking for the aspects specific to my lifestyle, my climate and my Male Asian Hair.

One, the product has to tame – in the most elegant way possible – my stubborn Male Asian Hair. It shouldn’t turn my hair into a rock-hard Michelangelo sculpture that looks really embarrassing when you are doing sports, and takes half an hour to wash out to say the least. It also shouldn’t give me the illusion it would hold but melts into a mess once I step out into the world.

Two, the product needs to help the natural shine of my hair come through. It should not look excessively oily, but certainly not dull the shine out like some wax do. The biggest advantage of our Male Asian Hair is the shine. The shine of our thick black mane really outshines all other hair colours and I think it is something which I am very proud of. Even if my hair is turning into salt and pepper right now.

Last but not least, the product has to hold throughout the day. I don’t want to carry extra pomade to work just to style it after lunch in the toilet. The climate you are in has of course a huge impact on whether the product would hold. I’m in northwestern Europe, which is similar to Japan in temperature and humidity. In somewhere like Florida or Singapore, the same product might whittle away the moment you step out into the sun. So what suits me and other Asian Males, may not suit you in your climate.

My Review: The Gatsby Classical Tight Dressing Pomade (gold)

The Gatsby Classical Tight Dressing Pomade is packaged in a gold tin case. It weighs 2.8 ounces/80g, and approximately lasts me about 3.5 to 4 weeks of daily use. The compact packaging means I can bring it onboard in my hand-carry luggage when travelling on a plane.

The texture is extremely sticky, rather solid than fluid, and very light brown and transparent in colour.

The smell is sweet but manly, a bit hard to describe but it smells very East Asian.

As the name suggests, it allows for sculpting with very little product. Because it is very wax-like in consistency, I find it difficult to use it for my undercut hairstyle. I can however style it higher and more casual – which is contrary to the “classical” look the packaging have me believe. So, can the Gatsby Classical Tight Dressing Pomade style my Male Asian Hair? Yes in general, but not for the difficult top part of my head. The product would work very well for a Nordic man, but not for an East Asian guy like me.

Does it dull my hair after use? Not at all. The fact that the product is very transparent helps to bring out the shine in my hair. But does it help to increase the shine? Not at all.

Does the Gatsby Classical Tight Dressing Pomade hold throughout the day? A resounding yes. Without having to restyle my hair like many European products, my hair holds in a natural way and doesn’t look like I dipped my head into cement either. Once again

The Good:

Scent: I love it! Sweet but not floral.
Hold: Very good in my climate.
Quantity: Perfect for 1 month use and great for air travel.
Wash: It washes off easily.

The Bad:

Sculpting: Doesn’t tame the most stubborn airborne of my Male Asian Hair. Gives a more casual than formal look, as claimed by the packaging.
Shine: Doesn’t dull my hair but doesn’t increase the shine either.

My Verdict: 8/10

I like this product for its hold and its scent but it cannot fully sculpt my Male Asian Hair. It is similar to the Gatsby Pompadour Styling Hair Pomade Supreme Hold I have reviewed before but with a slightly reduced sculpting capacity.

My Review: The Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade (blue)

The Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade (blue) on the other hand is packaged in a blue tin case. It also weighs 2.8 ounces/80g, and approximately lasts me about 3 weeks of daily use. The compact packaging is the same as the Classical Tight pomade, so I can easily bring it with me on a plane.

The texture is extremely fluid, and very opaque in a light blue colour.

The smell of the Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade is very similar to that of Classical Tight, but less strong and a little bit sharper.

So how is the sculpting capacity of the Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade? Because it is more fluid, I tend to use more to sculpt my Male Asian Hair. It gives it a nice wet look which I really like. Because it is wetter, it gives me a more formal look in a side sweep or back sweep far more easily than the supposedly “Classical Tight” pomade.

The downside of the increased dosage is the can only lasts me 3 weeks at most.

Amazingly enough, the Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade tames all parts of my Male Asian Hair perfectly!

So does it dull my hair after use? It is transparent but certainly not mat, as claimed on the packaging. As you can tell from the photos, it is nice and wet and brings out the natural shine of my Male Asian Hair well enough. It has even more shine than the Classical Tight.

Does the Gatsby Yuppie Mat Dressing Pomade hold throughout the day? Yes, but barely. I would say around 5pm in the afternoon it starts to soften down. Probably through sweat, movement, the sun – but these are the natural hurdles to cross for all hair products. I really like this pomade, because of the smouldering sexy look it gives me, but I wish it could support me through a dinner and an evening drink with friends.