Two backward styles, two completely different silhouettes. The pompadour rises; the slick back disappears. From the side, one adds two inches to your profile and the other traces your skull like a pencil line.
Choosing between them is really choosing between presence and polish. Here's how they stack up where it counts.
What's the difference in shape?
The pompadour lifts the front up before sweeping it back, creating a rounded wave of volume that peaks above the forehead and tapers toward the crown. It adds visible height to your whole head — great news for round faces, dangerous news for anyone already tall-headed.
The slick back skips the lift entirely. Every hair on top gets combed straight back, flat and uniform, from hairline to crown. No peak, no wave, no fuss in the silhouette — the style is the sheen and the discipline. It's the difference between a crest and a current.
Which is easier to style each morning?
The slick back, by a distance. Damp hair, a pomade or styling cream worked through, comb straight back, done in three minutes. No blow dryer required — though a quick backward blast helps train the hair over time.
The pompadour is a production. Blow-dry with a brush to build the height, pomade to sculpt it, comb to refine it — ten minutes minimum, and it needs to be rebuilt after every hat, headrest and rainstorm. The slick back also recovers instantly: pull the comb from your pocket, two strokes, restored. That resilience is why the slick back has survived a century of offices and weddings.
Already sold? Skip ahead and book the chair →
Be honest about your hair type
The slick back demands hair that will actually lie back. Straight and slightly wavy hair takes to it quickly, especially once trained over a few weeks. Strong forward growth patterns, stubborn cowlicks and tight curls fight it daily. It also exposes thinning: hair pulled flat and shiny against the scalp shows every sparse patch under overhead light.
The pompadour is more forgiving of growth direction — the blow-dry overrides it — but it demands length (four to five inches up top) and density to hold the shape. Fine hair can pomp with matte products and a lighter hand, but a classic high-shine pomp on thin hair collapses by afternoon.
Maintenance and grow-out
Under both styles sits the same cut: long top, shorter sides — tapered or faded to taste. The sides dictate your barbershop rhythm: a skin fade wants attention every two to three weeks, a scissor taper stretches five or six.
Grow-out favours the slick back. Extra length just slicks back further — plenty of guys wear it right through a grow-out phase. A pompadour past its ideal length gets heavy, and the front starts flopping instead of standing. If you're growing your hair this year, slick back is the friendlier road.
The verdict
Want maximum polish with minimum morning? Slick back — provided your hair lies down and your density is on your side. Want height, drama and a style that reads from across the room? Pompadour — and accept the blow dryer as a roommate.
Both start with the same foundation in the chair. Book in, and Arron will cut the top so you can run either and tell you straight which one your growth pattern will cooperate with. The full menu is here.