Guys with straight hair will find it easier to create a finely sculpted classic pompadour, whereas men with thick and curly or wavy hair will find this natural kink lends itself to more textured variations.

2. Hair Length & Cut

Key to creating the perfect pompadour is getting the right cut in the first place. Like having enough hair, having the right amount of hair in the right places is equally important.

“It’s all about weight distribution,” says Adam Gore, founder of Barberology, which was voted Barbershop of the Year 2016 at the hairdressing equivalent of the Oscars. “You need to make sure that your hair is long enough in the right places to ensure the style holds, so usually 6cm or longer on top and as short or long on the sides as you like.” 

3. Face Shape

“The pompadour is ideally suited to a face with a wide jawline and high cheekbones,” says Hughes. But, he adds, should you not be blessed with cover model proportions, then a good stylist should be able to deploy a few tricks of the trade to add the illusion of length or width to all kinds of face shapes.

“For longer faces, slightly more hair should be left at the sides, clipped up to a point just below the crown of the head to soften the dramatic contrast of the hair on the top of the head,” says Aveda master barber Stelios Nicolaou. “For round faces, however, hair at the sides and back of the head should be kept quite short and clipped to a point further up the crown – not unlike an undercut, which adds height to round face shapes and reduces their width.”

4. Facial Hair

A clean-shaven face might have historically been the pompadour’s preferred partner, but as has been proved by many beard-loyal blokes in recent years, this hairstyle looks just as good with a face full of fuzz.

“A beard can really accentuate a modern pompadour,” says Nicolaou. “It’s important though, that you balance the length and shape of your beard with that of your hairstyle.” Which means if you have a rounder face and longer beard, the quiff part of your pompadour should be of a similar length to elongate the face.