Written by Rakelle Maurici in Hair on the 5th December 2018

The Pompadour is like the classic navy suit in your wardrobe; it never goes out of style and the one you can always rely on. Aptly named after Madame de Pompadour; King Louis XV’s mistress, the hairstyle later became popular after the King himself in the 1960s. Today this style has been seen atop many famous faces from David Beckham to Brad Pitt.

Not only is this classic hairstyle versatile and adaptable, it’s easy to achieve; even the most unconcerning men amongst us who prefer not to spend too much time on their hair day-to-day. Here we spoke with Tom Chapman of Bluebeards Revenge about how to achieve this ‘classic’ hair style. By and large this hairstyle needs to be kept short at the sides and longer on the top, that is then to be swept up both sideways and backwards. Ask your barber for some tips on what works best for your hair texture, however, note that you’re really after a tapered cut with plenty of length for styling.

Once you have your cut in place, at home styling is relatively straight forward. Wash your hair in warm water to get rid of any remaining hair product. After, rough dry your hair with a towel before applying a holding product; we’d like to recommend a matt paste as a pre-styling product. You will need to use a hair dryer for styling a pompadour so knock pride on its head and invest in one, you won’t regret it. When it comes to blow drying you do need some direction and creativity, so you could use a quiff roller brush for extra volume and the key is to swizzle the brush through your hair backwards to give your hair the classic slick back pompadour look.

To finish the hairstyle, add some pomade for strong hold by taking a small amount and rubbing it between your palms and finger tips. Then run it through your hair from front to back a few times for a natural look. If you want a tidier style, use a comb or alternatively use your hands for a rugged look.

With help from Tom Chapman, we take a look at the Classic Side Parted Pompadour which was named after Madame de Pompadour and popular in the 1960s.