Origin of the name.
The English word Pomade comes from the French word Pommade, which in turn means ointment. Ointment is a wax-like substance that was used as a medical remedy for the skin. Pomade comes from the Latin word pomum(apple, fruit) via the Italian word pomata or pomo(apple). An ingredient of Ointment were crushed apples, today's pomades contain no apples and have little to do with fruit.
History
The first pomades find their origin is the 19th century, where they were first used as hair styling. These pomades contained the fat of a pig. References to this era are certainly still there, such as Reuzel's pomades, which still have pigs on the packaging.
It wasn't until the 20th century that pig fat was replaced with a combination of bee wax and pertroleum jelly. Murrays, Royal Crown Hair Dressing and Dixie Peach Hair Pomades were at the forefront of the rise of pomades in the 1920s, and hair styling in the succeeding years was part of the success for pomades of that era. Pomades provided shiny and smooth hairstyles.
Pomades 21st century
Whereas in the early years of the 20th century, pomades were available only oil-based, we now find them water-based as well, with properties close to the oil-based varieties. With the rise of the old-school barber and the hair styles of the 21st century, the pomade is back on the scene.