Since I’m happy with their face scrub and moisturiser, I decided to pick up some beard shampoo and beard balm.
Another new arrival
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Tag Archives: Grooming
Shave of the day 29th October
Pre-shave: Dr Bronners Citrus Soap
Lather: Mike’s Natural Soap, Lemongrass & Eucalyptus
Brush: Semogue “The Shave Nook 2012 Limited Edition” mixed boar-badger
Razor: Yuma with a Super-Max Super Platinum
Post-shave: Cool water rinse, alum, and Myrsol Agua De Limón
Beard care: Big Red Beard Balm and Big Red No7 Beard Comb
Vintage Gillette advertisment
Alum is alum – or not
Taken from a thread on my favourite shave forum:
Alum is alum.
Yes, but also no.
Finding the relevant posts would mean going back in the archives a few years, but the key take away is as follows:
- Alum is both a class of chemical compounds and a specific chemical compound – much in the same way as salt*. The specific compound is potassium alum (aka potash alum, or potassium aluminum sulfate), with the chemical formula KAl(SO4)2. More widely, alums are double sulfate salts, with the general formula AM(SO4)2·12H2O, where A is a monovalent cation such as potassium or ammonium and M is a trivalent metal ion such as aluminum or chromium(III).
- Potassium alum is a naturally occurring compound, which in the past was obtained from alunite, a mineral mined from sulfur-containing volcanic sediments source. Historically it’s been used as a natural deodorant, and as an astringent/styptic and antiseptic – in addition to the use for tanning, dyeing, clarifying liquids, fire retardant, and pickling.
- Other alums such as soda alum, ferric alum, and ammonium alum are manufactured, and can be used for many if not all of the things naturally occurring alum is used for. However; since these are different chemical compounds, they will vary in toxicity, taste, skin feel and other properties**.
- The most common alums used when shaving is potassium alum and somewhat less commonly ammonium alum (aka ammonium aluminium sulfate). The later is sometimes considered inferior, since most shavers feels that it stings more. There is also been claims that there is a link between the use of ammonium alum and dementia, however I have found no solid studies in the field after a brief look.
TL:DR? Stick with potassium alum, but don’t freak out about it.
* ) By salt we commonly mean sodium chloride, but salt is also a class of ionic compound that results from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base.
** ) Much like lead diacetate is wildly different from ordinary table salt in taste (it’s sweet) and toxicity (it’ll give you lead poisoning).
***) Too Long – Didn’t Read. Said whenever a nerd makes a post that is too long to bother reading.
Shave and a haircut…
Good luck finding one for two bits (25 cents) these days…
Personally I buzz it with a shaver every two weeks or so – the shaver paid for itself in a couple of months.
Home Made Shea Body Butter
Grooming and skin care isn’t a thing that only us guys do – in fact, I suspect some of the ladies spends at least as much time and care on their skin as we do on our beard and faces… maybe even more!
Joking aside, my Better Half found a recipe for home made body butter online a while back, and wanted to give it a go. The original recipe called for a half cup each of shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, and a light oil like olive or jojoba – essential oils are optional. Now, neither of us are any good at following recipes… we like to tweak them to suit us. So the recipe we ended making was closer to this:
- 1/2 cup shea butter
- 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup sweet almond butter
- 6 1/2 tbsp jojoba oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp African red palm oil
- 50 drops mixed essential oils
A bit more complicated than the original… but the end result was worth it.
We measured out the solids and oils in a glass bowl and put the bowl in a pot of water on the stove to melt it while stirring. Once melted, we took it of the heat and let it cool a bit before we added the essential oils and put it in the fridge to cool for an hour. Taking it out of the fridge, we whipped the half solid goo with an electric hand mixer for about ten minutes, before putting it back in the fridge for another hour or so. Then it was just a matter of scooping it into a suitable jar, and apply to dry skin.
The verdict? So far, much better than the stuff you can buy in the stores or online. A bit on the goopey side, but soaks into the skin in five minutes or so.
Big Red No7 Beard Comb
The parts of my facial growth that I keep and cultivate – ie.: my goatee – needs some tender loving care as well. Oil, balm and wax is part of the solution, but much like lather is useless without a razor, those are of limited use without a proper comb.
When I picked up beard oil and balm from Big Red, I choose a comb as well – the No7 in cherry appealed to my tastes, so that is the one I choose.
The comb is sturdily made from laminated cherry and maple, and the packaging is even more sturdy.
It’s not too much to say about the No7 comb, and none of it bad. It combs out tangles, helps spread the beard oil and in general do a wonderful job go taming my curly, wild beard.
If you have a beard or a moustache, you probably need to comb it from time to time… and while a comb from Big Red isn’t as cheap as the plastic ones from the corner store, it feels much more natural to use as part of my daily grooming.
Recommended.
Big Red Beard Beard Oil
Beard oil… it’s hair oil for your beard!
Those of us who sports a spiffy goatee in addition to our clean shaven neck and cheeks knows just how frazzled and worn the individual strands can get. That is where beard oil (and beard balm) comes to the rescue… it hydrates, styles, fights some of the reasons I get dandruff, and helps me keep my goatee soft and tangle free.
I selected Big Red on the recommendation of an online friend, and I’m very happy with the beard oil – the scent is woods-y and workshop-y. On their website, they describe it as:
Chopping wood, greasy axels and working in the shop. Smell like you’ve just emerged from the forest after hunting for your own dinner.
If you sport a beard or moustache, you can probably benefit from beard oil. While my sample size is one right now, I think you could do a lot worse than picking up some Big Red Beard Oil – they sell small bottles as well, so you can test them easily.
Beard oil, beard balm, beard comb and moustache wax
My morning routine is not all about shaving – it’s also about grooming the facial hair I don’t shave off.
I’ve been sporting a goatee for the better part of two decades by now, and since shaving it off is not an option (frankly, it’s part of who I am) I figured it was high time to start pampering it a bit. An online acquaintance recommended Big Red Beard from Canada, who makes and sells combs, balms, oils, wax and more for the bearded gentleman.
As with anything I do in regards to my facial hair, I simply can’t do it half way… so I kitted myself out with the full spread. So much for just needing a comb… watch this space for quick reviews.
Shaving as an exercise of character
Taken from The Gentlemen’s Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness, from the best French, English, and American Authorities – printed in 1860!
…every sensible man will shave himself, if only as an exercise of character, for a man should learn to live, in every detail without assistance. Moreover, in most cases, we shave ourselves better than barbers can do.
While it may take a little less character to shave in this day and age than it did back in antebellum America, the idea that men (and women) should strive to be self sufficient to the best of their abilities holds true – at the very least when it comes to shaving!