In addition to common and hard pomatums, there were loads of different types and scents available. We’ve seen advertisements from the period that read like a Yankee Candle Company store—every possible scent you can think of and mysteriously and romantically named scents like Pommade à la Du Berry. [8] One of our faves is mareschal pomatum, and, as always, the original recipes yield a bucket’s worth of pomatum. [9] We’ve cut this recipe down considerably, but you might want to halve it again.
• 24 oz (710 ml) Common Pomatum
• 5 oz (142 g) white beeswax pastilles
• 1½ oz (42.5 g) Mareschal Powder
• Optional: essential oils to scent to your preference (lavender, clove, lemon, orange flower)
• Set of 4 “jelly” Mason jars (8 oz [227 g])
1. Melt the pomatum and beeswax in a double boiler, and stir with a spatula until combined.
2. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a bit while being mixed with a stand or hand mixer, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the Mareschal Powder, blending thoroughly for 10 to 12 minutes, and then add any additional scent (10 to 30 drops of each scent, adjusting to your preference).
3. Immediately after adding the scent (allowing it to mix for another minute) pour the pomatum into four 8-ounce (227-g) jars or tins, allowing it to cool completely before use.
4. This stuff cools off quite quickly, and the starch will create a film (ew) on the top. Be prepared to work swiftly, because once this pomatum begins to stick to the sides of the bowl, you have just a couple minutes before it’s solidified and can’t be poured into the jars.
NOTE: If the pomatum is not well blended just before pouring, the starch in the mareschal powder will separate from the pomatum. It looks weird and is not the desirable end result. Make sure it’s all mixed quite well before pouring into the jars.