My husband was not blessed with great hair (sorry honey). He gets weird cowlicks, crazy bedhead and his hair becomes limp and lifeless once it dries after a shower.
Naturally, he’s come to depend on hair-styling waxes and pomades to keep the cowlick down and keep his hair in place and looking manly and fabulous.
But at an average cost upwards of $5.00 for a small jar (he even told me he was spending $30 for professional styling creme at one point!), his pomade dependency was starting to become an expensive solution to his hair issues. And so a couple years ago, I had the brilliant idea that I should try making pomade at home for him.
I whipped up a batch with a few simple ingredients and ended up with 3 jars full. It cost me a total of about a buck or two (at the most) to make these 3 jars instead of the $15 to $20 it would have cost to buy 3 jars from the store!
Options for Making DIY Hair Pomade
The very first recipe I ever tried consisted of a simple mixture of one part melted soy wax, one part coconut oil and a few drops of essential oil.
I used soy wax because at the time I didn’t have any beeswax in the house. It worked just fine, but the second time I made a batch, I had bought some beeswax from a local beekeeper, so I tried it with beeswax instead.
My hubby, Ryan, liked it better with the beeswax and said it had a stronger hold. He suggested I try adding some shea butter to make the pomade a bit softer and easier to work with.
Since I make my own homemade body butters with shea butter, I usually have some on hand, so I tried replacing half of the coconut oil with shea butter.
I also added a teaspoon of honey just for that little bit of extra stickiness to help hold the hair in place. This is optional, but Ryan seems to think it made a difference.
The shea butter did help to make the pomade a bit softer and easier to scoop out of the jar and work into hair. Hubby’s happy, his hair looks fab and that makes me happy. Happy wife, happy life, right? Oh, and our bank account is happy too. Every dollar counts, and saving around 15 of them is always something to smile about.
Aside from being frugal and functional, this hair pomade is seriously simple to whip up and takes no time at all. It does require a few ingredients that you may or may not already have on hand, but as long as you’ve got beeswax and coconut oil, you can make this at home right now by simply melting one part beeswax and one part coconut oil together in a double boiler and then pouring into small jars (4oz Mason jars work nicely, but I personally like using these metal tins for my salves, waxes and pomades).
If you do have shea butter and essential oils at home, I recommend using them. But it’s not totally necessary. I’ve shared my favourite recipe for hair pomade below, but I’m all about being resourceful, using what you already have on hand and keeping things as simple and frugal as possible.
Gather Your Supplies
I like to get my beeswax from a local beekeeper, and you can probably do the same. Buying it locally means I get it in brick form and then have to grate it using my cheese grater. Of course, you can always order beeswax pastilles online if you can’t find any locally.
The nice thing about the beeswax pastilles is that they’re ready to be melted down without having to do any work. You can also order your coconut oil and shea butter online if you don’t have these items on hand.
For essential oils, I like using Rosemary essential oil in my pomade for my male family members because I find Rosemary to be a nice, woody, masculine scent. Sometimes I mix Rosemary and Frankincense oils which is also a nice combination and nourishing for hair.
I personally always use Plant Therapy essential oils in all of my diy projects as they’re a very affordable source of high-quality essential oils that go a long way when added to all sorts of homemade bath, body and home products.
Easy DIY Stocking Stuffers for Men
This pomade also makes a great gift! With Christmas fast approaching, I’m once again left scratching my head wondering what to get all of the men in my life (am I the only one who thinks men are impossible to buy for?)
I make lots of my Christmas gifts at home by hand, but I tend to make products that are considered “girly,” like peppermint sugar scrub, bath salts, DIY Christmas room sprays with essential oils and soy candles with essential oils. This pomade makes a great gift for the men on my list either as a stocking stuffer or in a gift set with some homemade shaving lotion and hand salve.
I’ve even created some printable labels that you can find in my free resource library.These really help put the finishing touch on this handmade gift.
You can either print them out on regular printer paper and glue them on or you can print them on these brown kraft paper stickers (I use these sticker labels for all of my homemade bath and body products and love them!)
And of course there’s no rule that says this pomade is only for men! Women can use it in place of store-bought hair pomade as well, but I would say it’s best suited for styling short hair.
So whether you’re simply looking to save a few bucks on store-bought hair products by making your own or you’re looking for a great gift for the man (or men!) in your life, this pomade has you covered.
What about you? What sort of gifts do you diy for men? I’m always looking for new ideas because Christmas comes around each year, so let me know in the comments below!
All-Natural DIY Hair Pomade
Ingredients
- 1 cup beeswax pastilles or grated beeswax
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup shea butter
- 1 tsp honey (optional)
- Rosemary essential oil
- 3 or 4 small jars or tins
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a double boiler or in a glass or metal bowl over a pot with a little water in it. Bring the water to a low boil.
- Once wax, coconut oil, shea butter and honey (if using) have melted, turn the heat off and stir to combine well.
- Add a few drops of essential oil (4 or 5 drops should do) and stir to mix well. Carefully pour the hot mixture into clean jars or tins. Allow pomade to cool completely before moving jars or putting lids on top.
- Once completely cooled, pop the lids on and complete your gift by adding these free printable labels. Give to the special man/men in your life and marvel at the results!
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Wishing you homemade, homegrown, homestead happiness 🙂
Thank you for the hair pomade recipe! I made a batch with rosemary and mint essential oil for my mother and a second with no essential oils for me. I used pure beeswax from a relative who keeps bees. It’s so rich and moisturizing that I made a batch for my dog’s paws. A little goes a long way!
I’m glad to hear you liked it Karen! Beeswax recipes are so versatile. I also make a beeswax salve that’s divine. I usually infuse the oil with dandelions or calendula, but you can infuse with any type of herbs, or just leave the oil plain. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested:)
Whats the best way to wash it out of your hair? It takes forever for me to get it out
Do you have to wash your hair at night every time after you use it? If you don’t, does it leaves your pillow greasy?
what is the shine and hold strength like?
Light hold, low shine.
Hi,
What is the hold and shine like of this homemade pomade?
What is the honey for in this recipe?
The honey is just for that little bit of extra stickiness to help hold the hair in place. This is optional, but Ryan seems to think it makes a difference.
This is so awesome and so helpful, especially for those who love DIYs and knowing what ingredients are in their beauty and skincare. Keep up the great work!
I’ve made this for my little boys hair before. I love it, works good! I used lavender, pine and northern lights black spruce essential oils.
Would this formula work on afro textured hair? Just wondering and researching. Thanks.
That is a great question, Christa.
I have used several products labeled for afro-textured hair because my hair has many of the same qualities. Most of these products have more oils and moisture retaining properties. However, I have not tried this recipe yet and I do not have afro-textured hair. But, I think you could definitely try it and see (I am planning to try it soon). Once you have made a batch, you may want to fine tune the recipe for yourself depending on whether you want more moisturizing (oils/butter) or more control (beeswax) properties for your hair.
Let us know if you try it and if you make any adjustments. I would love to know! 🙂
Hi you can use this for Afro hair. I have made simar
I actually had an email from a barber who said he was using it specifically for afro hair, so I would say so, however I haven’t tested this myself so I can”t say for sure. I’d love to know how it works out for you if you try it!
I tried a scaled-down version of this recipe just, and it solidified like a candle. Has anyone else had this happen? I used 1 tbsp beeswax pastilles and 1/2 tbsp each of coconut oil and shea butter, and peppermint essential oil. I didn’t include the honey. Thanks!
Yes mine is rock hard, I didn’t use any honey either. Thinking I should melt it down and try again.
I would try again and maybe increase the ratio of shea butter a bit to see if that helps! -Ashley (assistant)
Thank you for those tips very interesting i am eager to learn more because I am a all natural person
Thank you for posting this. I’m looking for a beeswax salve to mosterize/heal hair and help with generating hair growth. I read that olive oil help with that. Have you experimented with adding olive oil instead of Shea butter?
I don’t think I’ve done olive oil in this recipe, but you could certainly try. I would maybe reduce the amount of olive oil since it will add more liquid to the pomade. Maybe try 1/3 of a cup instead of half.
Just wondering what I did wrong. The pomade is so hard! Also wondering if it’s because of the cool weather. But it’s so hard that it’s not practical ?
Hi Shanelle,
It could be the temperature if it’s really cold as the coconut oil will harden when it’s cold and that can make the pomade itself a bit hard to use. You could try adding a bit more shea butter and less beeswax. I would replace no more than about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of the beeswax with more shea butter and that should make it much softer and more pliable. But the other thing you can do if it is a temperature thing is just hit it with the hair dryer for a few seconds to warm it up before using. I know my husband’s done that a couple times when it’s been cold and the pomade was a bit too hard and it’s always worked pretty well.
I hope that helps! Let me know how it goes:)