About PomadeShop

PomadeShop – Where the Pomade Revival in Europe Began

Classic Pomade, Hair Styling and Men’s Grooming since 2008

PomadeShop is Europe’s specialist shop for pomade, classic hair styling and premium men’s grooming products. Since 2008, PomadeShop has helped bring traditional hair styling products back to Europe and is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern pomade revival.

PomadeShop brought pomade back to Europe. Founded by pomade expert Stan Soldan, author of the first German-language book about pomades – “Das Pomadebuch” – the shop today offers one of the largest selections of classic and modern pomades in Europe.

As an official distributor for numerous international brands, PomadeShop has introduced many barbershop products to the European market for the first time. In addition to the online store, customers benefit from personal advice, our store in the heart of Munich, and detailed YouTube reviews, where pomades and styling products are tested and explained.

Whether classic oil-based pomade, modern water-based pomade or UWB – at PomadeShop you will find high-quality styling products for slickbacks, pompadours, side parts and modern men’s hairstyles.

The Story of PomadeShop

Stan Soldan on the founding of PomadeShop

Since my childhood in the eighties I have been fascinated by old films from the 1940s and 1950s – there was hardly anything else on afternoon television back then. What fascinated me most were the shiny, perfectly groomed hairstyles of the actors and singers.

Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Clark Gable, Lex Barker and of course Elvis Presley were my role models and represented the very definition of elegant hairstyles to me.

But it wasn’t only the hair – it was the entire aura of elegance and style that captivated me when looking at black-and-white photos from that era.

Well-groomed hair – the highlight of a gentleman’s appearance

I admired how their hair shone and gleamed, how polished yet effortless it looked. It wasn’t only the hairstyle – the entire appearance was elegant – but the glossy, well-groomed hair was always the highlight.

I knew: that’s how I wanted to look

I wanted exactly that kind of polished and shiny hairstyle like the movie and music icons of my youth.

At the time, however, I knew no one who could tell a fifteen-year-old teenager how to achieve those hairstyles. My father remembered that when he was a boy he had been given brilliantine in his hair for special occasions.

Brilliantine. Finally I had a clue about a hair styling product from that era. But in all of Munich nobody seemed to know where I could buy it.

Only gel, hairspray and mousse

Neither drugstores nor department stores could help. Gel and hairspray were the hair styling products of the 1980s.

There were also styling creams such as Diplona Adrett, Fit & Flott, Wellaform and Brisk. I tried them all – but none gave the hold, shape or elegant shine I was looking for.

Sometimes people mentioned the word pomade or said: “In the old days people wore greasy hair.” But that didn’t really help.

Finally in Australia: Murray’s and Sweet Georgia Brown

When I first travelled to Australia in the late 1980s to visit my mother, an entirely new world opened up.

In an old barbershop in Sydney I suddenly saw pomade, hair dressing, Murray’s and Sweet Georgia Brown.

Beautiful vintage tins were shining on the shelf like the holy grail. I had never seen anything like this in Germany.

Practice makes pomade the best styling product

I immediately bought every pomade that looked nostalgic and began experimenting with them every day. At first I had no idea how to use them properly – but my enthusiasm never faded.

With a bit of practice I realized that pomade is one of the best styling products for classic men’s hairstyles.

Cary Grant, pomade and an Afro shop

In 2006 I came across the book “Cary Grant – A Celebration of Style.” In it I discovered that Cary Grant used a pomade to add extra shine to his hair in films.

But where could I find pomade in Germany?

After a long search someone finally suggested: “Try an Afro shop in Holland.”

Shortly afterwards a tin of Murray’s Black Beeswax pomade stood in my bathroom.

But it became clear to me: there had to be an easier way to get pomade in Europe.

“Stan, you have to start a shop!”

In autumn 2007 I brought a friend a tin of Brylcreem from Italy and enthusiastically told him about pomade, its history and its effect.

His response was simple:

“Stan, you have to start a shop – and share your knowledge about pomade with others!”

Six months later, PomadeShop went online.

Stan Soldan
Founder of PomadeShop

Article about PomadeShop in the Munich newspaper Abendzeitung, November 3, 2015