There’s a hilarious myth that pomade “suffocates” hair follicles. Follicles don’t breathe like you or me. They get oxygen from your blood, not the air. Your hair is not a tiny fish living in a greasy ocean. It’s perfectly fine being sealed in a pomade cocoon. It might look sad, but it’s biologically happy.
The only real mechanical risk is traction alopecia. That happens when you pull your hair too tight constantly—like a severe pompadour that hurts your eyebrows. If you’re yanking your hair into a painful, unnatural shape, you’re stressing the roots. Pomade didn’t do that; your vanity did. Loosen up, champ. Your forehead can handle a little breeze.
Surprising Fact: The “Dirty” 1950s
Here’s a mind-bender: pomade has been used for centuries, but the dramatic rise in male pattern baldness is actually more linked to modern diet and stress. Those slick-haired greasers of the 1950s? They weren’t going bald because of Brylcreem. They were going bald because they ate white bread, smoked like chimneys, and worried about nuclear war. Pomade was just the garnish on a bad lifestyle salad.
Can Hair Gels and Pomades Cause Hair Loss in Men? - Strut Blog
Plus, back then, men washed their hair with a bar of laundry soap once a week. That poor, dry scalp probably shed more from irritation than any product could. Your pomade is a spoiled child compared to that kind of abuse. Give it a hug.