Beard Balm or Beard Oil - which should you use? The answer lies in what you want to achieve for your beard. Mostly this comes down to reducing irritation and discomfort, or styling and taming. Keep in mind that (generally speaking) oils condition the skin and beard, but don't style much, and waxes hold a style, but don't condition much. Products range from Oily right through to Waxy with every possible ratio combination in between.  Problem #1.  Reducing irritation and discomfort Does your beard area feel itchy? You may also have flaking skin within the beard (affectiona ..read more

Just this one bit of regular maintenance will extend the life of your clipper, trimmer or foil-shaver - and ensure it’s ready when you really need it.  Ideally after each use, spray your machine with a lubricant and run it (with the blades pointing downward) to displace any moisture, dislodge whiskers and sanitise. Then gently wipe to remove excess product. This one task, done regularly will keep rust and wear at bay. You can use clipper oil from a bottle just for lubrication, or the dedicated spray-on product which also contains isopropyl-alcohol to sanitise, cool and lubricate.  If ..read more

To shower/shave or not to shower/shave? Two reasons to shave in the shower: The mess of shaving cream and whiskers will be washed away Your shave and shower will be done quickly (tick tick) - so you can get back to earning the big bucks - or scrolling Tik Tok   Five reasons not to shave in the shower: Shaving cream can't be applied properly, and won't stay on your face to lubricate the full shave. (and following from point 2), shaving just with water is to be avoided - lack of "cushion" and "glide". Your whiskers haven't had enough time to soften properly. You'll u ..read more

How to treat a shaving cut/stop a weeper. Usually you're rushing, your razor's more blunt than you thought, or you slipped - but that little shaving nick under the nose or on your neck is often difficult to staunch. Luckily there's something your grandfather knew about which will help. The shaver's old-time friend is Styptic. But what is it? Styptic is either a liquid, a crystal-like stick or a "match" and all will help to stop bleeding when applied to a small cut or nick. It also has an antiseptic effect to kill bacteria. It may also be called "Haemostatic". How to use Styptic. Styp ..read more

Double Edge (DE) razor blades are used in vintage and modern safety razors. The design hasn’t changed in about a century, though the technology has. They are generally manufactured from stainless steel with added metal coatings such as chrome, platinum, teflon etc. If you shave with a safety razor, you’ll already know that the universally shaped DE blades will cost you a lot less per shave than a cartridge system. Even so, it makes sense to find your best matched blade so you can stock up and save even more. What are the variables between razor blades? To understand variations ..read more