The decline in sales of men’s combs

[danny la rouge]

Men don’t have pocket combs any more. Our hair is either too short, and we just run our fingers through it after showering, or if we have elaborately coiffed hair, it’s set with product and doesn’t require adjusting through the day.

No longer are our back pockets furnished with a comb to lose. We just like to wash and go.

What Happened to the Pocket Comb?

Explore the cultural impact of the pocket comb in the 1950s-1980s and the role it played as a grooming tool for men.

www.artofmanliness.com

 

[DotCommunist]

The flick comb is still on sale

 

[danny la rouge]

The flick comb is still on sale

Sure, and you can still buy a comb. But far fewer do.

 

[Spymaster]

I can't recall ever carrying a comb. I've always used a brush or my hands.

 

[danny la rouge]

No longer a pop cultural reference .

 

[skyscraper101]

I think this bit offers the best explainer

For most of the 20th century, when men styled their hair, they used an oil-based product like Brylcreem or Wildroot. While these products give your hair that Cary Grant shine, they don’t provide a lot of hold. You’d need to occasionally comb your hair back into place throughout the day, so you had to carry a comb in your back pocket to perform these touch-ups.

Fast-forward to the late 1980s, and you see the rise of a new type of hair product: hair gel.

Hair gel provided shine and all-day hold. You could style your hair with gel and be confident it would stay in place the entire day. Gen-Xer and Millennial dudes embraced hair gel wholeheartedly.

FWIW I still use Brylcreem. In fact, I use a special type of Brylcreem that you can't buy here (the green anti-dandruff version which they only sell in Asia for some reason) which not only smells better but used in just the right quantity will hold my damp post-shower hair in place until it dries, and then give it an all day shine after.

 

[shifting gears]

 

[surreybrowncap]

I think this bit offers the best explainer



FWIW I still use Brylcreem. In fact, I use a special type of Brylcreem that you can't buy here (the green anti-dandruff version which they only sell in Asia for some reason) which not only smells better but used in just the right quantity will hold my damp post-shower hair in place until it dries, and then give it an all day shine after.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Some men still use combs.

 

[Sue]

I think this bit offers the best explainer



FWIW I still use Brylcreem. In fact, I use a special type of Brylcreem that you can't buy here (the green anti-dandruff version which they only sell in Asia for some reason) which not only smells better but used in just the right quantity will hold my damp post-shower hair in place until it dries, and then give it an all day shine after.

Do you look like Cary Grant...?

 

[JimW]

I comb my hair but don't carry a comb out and about. Usually tied back or plaited, might redo the pony tail once or twice, using fingers.

 

[MickiQ]

I don't carry a comb with me for the same reason I don't carry a sanitary pad, In both cases I completely lack the necessary physical characteristics to need one.

 

[andysays]

Men don’t have pocket combs any more. Our hair is either too short, and we just run our fingers through it after showering, or if we have elaborately coiffed hair, it’s set with product and doesn’t require adjusting through the day.

No longer are our back pockets furnished with a comb to lose. We just like to wash and go.

What Happened to the Pocket Comb?

Explore the cultural impact of the pocket comb in the 1950s-1980s and the role it played as a grooming tool for men.

www.artofmanliness.com

TBH, there are very few items on that EDC* list which I carry with me

Billfold - Wallet and change purse, which I suppose are the equivalent, although with the increase in cashless payments even these will become less common
Fish and Wildlife Service special agent badge - no
Pen - sometimes, but by no means always
Pocket knife - nope
Pistol - nope
Pocket comb - no

* which I believe stands for every day carry

 

[skyscraper101]

Do you look like Cary Grant...?

My hair is a bit more floppy and longer than his, but after a shower I tend to style it similarly

 

[klang]

TBH, there are very few items on that EDC* list which I carry with me

Billfold - Wallet and change purse, which I suppose are the equivalent, although with the increase in cashless payments even these will become less common
Fish and Wildlife Service special agent badge - no
Pen - sometimes, but by no means always
Pocket knife - nope
Pistol - nope
Pocket comb - no

* which I believe stands for every day carry

I never leave the house without blindfold, knife, and pistol

 

[andysays]

I never leave the house without blindfold, knife, and pistol

I guess they're essential in your career as an international assassin, but for those of us with more mundane occupations they're just unnecessary

 

[The39thStep]

I just knew there was a reason why I hadn't seen someone playing a comb and paper instrument recently

 

[Silas Loom]

The flick comb is still on sale

Apparently the youth of today have moved on to larger and more menacing “zombie combs”.

 

[bellaozzydog]

There was a certain push for moustache combs in fairly recent times (last 5-10 years of lumberjack ing beardo stuff)

 

[heinous seamus]

My hair does its own thing anyway so I just try to keep it fairly short and leave it to it.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Funnily enough I bought a pocket comb for the Small One last week as he is favouring long hair and needs to keep it neat!

 

[souljacker]

I've got long hair so need a comb otherwise it goes all knotty. I had a really crap one so I went a few weeks ago and bought a new one in Boots in Edge Lane, Liverpool.

 

[seeformiles]

I haven’t got any hair to style these days but in my more hirsute school days, every well-coiffed chap carried a Duralon comb

 

[klang]

I always visibly carry a comb in my back pocket as it is cheaper and less sweaty than a syrup and fools people into thinking i had to put effort into the taming routine.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Some men still use combs.

Has anyone ever done one of those "here's what he would look like" things, like they do for bog bodies or whatever, but for his natural skin and hair colour, and without the elaborate 'natural wig'?

I use a brush, fwiw.

 

[nogojones]

Funnily enough I bought a pocket comb for the Small One last week as he is favouring long hair and needs to keep it neat!

I hated having my hair combed by my Mum in a vain effort to make me look presentable as a young kid. I don't think I ever used one since and she just gave up on the idea that I'd ever look neat.

 

[danski]

I have not owned a brush or comb since I was 15

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

A good quality comb is an essential part of my morning routine

 

[hash tag]

My locks are comfortably draping over my shoulders so I often keep a comb with me. I also keep a brush in the car.

 

[spitfire]

I don’t have a comb but I carry a flick knife and tell everyone it’s a comb.

And a Remington up my sleeve obvs.