Huy?
Mi iitP ©

Get slicked,

slick!

> A beginner's guide to pomade

Peter Tran
Contributor

 

omade is a waxy, greasy, or gel-like
hair product that comes in many

different forms and variations. You
might be thinking, “Then I’ll just use gel,
or wax. Same thing!” Well, Slick, pomade
has a range that goes way beyond just
fitting the crunchy confines of that gel
your mom bought you. Plus, it’s slicker
than the deodorant-like hair wax you
bought from the drugstore—no worries,
we were all naive once. Your hair is
unique—it can do things other people's
hair can’t—so don’t use the same one-
size-fits-all product everyone else is
using! Treat yourself to a little pomade.
You might be saying to yourself, “It’s not
me, I'll probably look silly. I don’t even
know what pomade is or where to start!”
No worries! Think of this as your own
personal beginners guide to pomade.

Okay, so you decided to pick a
pomade, but these Squares are using
fancy terms like “orthodox”, “slickness”,
“matte”, and you haven't a clue what any
of them mean. Well—in greaser speak—
orthodox means that the product will
harden and stay in place like a gel would,
unmoving. Unorthodox means—you
guessed it—non-hardening and what you
probably would imagine when you think
of pomade to begin with. Unorthodox
pomades allow for you to fix your hair up
throughout the day with a comb or hand.
Slickness pertains to the product’s ability
to grip and stick with the rest of your
hairs. As for matte, it means the opposite
of shine, and gives more of a natural
no-product look with a nice texture.

With that newfound knowledge,
the choices become a lot easier with
only two types of pomade to choose
from: Water-based and oil-based.

Water-based pomades generally

act more like your typical gel, but some
are able to be restyled throughout the
day with a little water and combing.
These are great for clean-cut looks or
when you don’t want the wind to soil
your day. Recently however, pomade-
makers has been mixing it up and
pumping out amazing new water-based
pomades that are unorthodox, able to
move freely, and restyle like oil-based
pomades. Water-bases wash out with
ease because, well, they’re water based.
Oil-based pomades are your
traditional pomades, just like our
grandparents wore—return their
calls, you monster! These pomades are
versatile, and are capable of giving you
different looks. These generally take a
few washes to get entirely out of your
hair. “Why would I want product to
still be in my hair! That’s disgusting!”
You may be asking, Well, the only thing
nasty here is that attitude, because
having build-up in your hair means
you have a base to work with the
next day when applying! This means
better styling and shaping. It also
means that youre using less product
per application, so it’s a win-win!
Pomade is a tool used to get that
clean, messy, or stylized look that fits
you just right. However, good hair
is not achieved with product alone.
Practice goes a long way. Remember
not to add too much product; you
don’t want a stick of butter in your
hair, as it means less volume. Try to
work your pomade through slightly
damp hair for easier application.
Applying bone dry is a no-go. Apply
the pomade and work with your hair,
not against it. Find your cowlicks
and crowns, use them for volume.
After all that flow is slicked and
combed, get out there and be confident
in who you are. After all, confidence
is the sexiest trait one can have.

Illustration by Cara Seccafien

The passing of
TotalBiscuit

> Noted YouTube gaming critic dies at 33

Duncan Fingarson
Senior Columnist

 

n May 24, John “TotalBiscuit”

Bain died of cancer, surrounded
by his loved ones. He was 33.

Four years ago, Bain was
diagnosed with colon cancer. Despite
treatment, the cancer metastasized
to his liver a year later. The average
life expectancy for inoperable liver
cancer is two to three years. Sadly,
Bain never made it past that average.

I never met TotalBiscuit, though
I wanted to one day. In the spirit of
full journalistic disclosure, something
he fought for in his career as a games
critic, I fully admit that I was a fan of
his for years. Right now, I am as old as
he was when he was diagnosed, and
that’s a scary thought. To the best of
my knowledge, I don’t have cancer, and
I hope I never do. However, this article
is not about me. This is about John
Bain; his work, his principles, and what
he meant to at least one of his fans.

Bain’s work in games media
started in 2005, running the World
of Warcraft fan radio station WoW
Radio. The show lasted until 2010,
after which he started his own website,
CynicalBrit.com, and branched into
other gaming content. Throughout his
career Bain was first and foremost a PC
gaming critic, his popular “WTF Is...?”
series spanning 334 YouTube videos
and covering everything from “Triple
A’ releases (releases made by a major
video game studio or publisher, usually
with a high budget and expected to
generate a high revenue) to small indie
games (independently made games,
usually created by an individual or
a small studio with a lower budget).

To date, the series has received over
nine million collective views. John
was also the host of the GameStation
Podcast, which later became the

 

Co-Optional Podcast when it was
acquired by Polaris, and eventually
moved to Bain’s own channel.

Quite often, Bain would make
a discussion vlog concerning a topic
which he felt deserved attention,
and a video would get devoted to
talking about it with gameplay in the
background. Usually these topics were
linked to consumer advocacy and
condemning shady business practices
by game companies, game journalists,
and third-party retail sites such as
G2A. Bain was an outspoken man,
harshly criticizing anti-consumer
practices wherever he saw them. He
often spoke about how hard he tried
to be honest and ethical in all of his
own business dealings, and how he
felt he had earned the trust of his
audience and would never risk it by
taking an undisclosed sponsorship.

TotalBiscuit had critics of his
own. He wasn't perfect. He could
be abrasive on Twitter and earned
himself enemies all across the political
spectrum. Bain owned his mistakes,
apologizing for things he had done
in the past and stated that he was
trying hard not to do them again.

Ultimately, though, he was
a supporter of human rights and
equal treatment. Once, after having
a transgender guest on his podcast
provoked a negative response from
part of the audience, Bain released
a half hour audio log in defence
of his guest, condemning hatred,
bigotry, and outright stating that
he did not want those people as his
fans. That’s the sort of man he was.

I enjoyed his content. I didn’t
always agree with him—we had vastly
different tastes in puzzle games—but
I respected him. ] want to express
my support for those who knew him
personally in their time of loss. Rest in
peace, John Bain. You will be missed.

John “TotalBiscuit” Bain via Youtube