Get your beard looking good

The Hairgum Barber Shop Special Beard Shampoo 150ml

R260 at Clicks ...--

The Bluebeards Revenge Cuban Blend Beard Oil 50ml

R225 at Mantality.co.za . . . - -

For the past four weeks, I’ve been using Hairgum Barber Shop Special Beard Shampoo and I’m mildly impressed. Opening the bottle for the first time, I was transported back to granny’s Sunday afternoon peppermint dessert by a whiff of mint and vanilla. But then the chemical undertones swooped in and brought me back to reality. Despite its secondary chemical smell, the shampoo is easy and light on the beard and does, as the bottle says, soften the beard – even one as thick and curly as mine.

Other shampoos similarly try to keep the beard soft and less tanglesome but, after about two weeks of using this product, I was surprised by the decrease in loose strands I found when I pulled my fingers through my whiskers. My brother, who has a naturally softer and straighter beard, also experienced slightly more strength in the strands, but said he didn’t enjoy the smell of Hairgum’s beard shampoo.

But grooming a beard requires more than just a decent shampoo. You need beard oil too. My brother and I decided to try The Bluebeards Revenge Cuban Blend Beard Oil, and with its olive, sunflower and cedarwood ingredients, it gave our beards a shiny finish. There’s one thing in particular that I always look for in beard oil, and that’s its ability to shape the monstrosity of the hair on my face. For the first hour of wearing the oil, my beard was neatly shaped. But while the oil’s sheen did not wear off, its ability to keep unruly stands in place decreased exponentially after that first golden hour. My brother’s assessment of the oil was again about the scent of it – or rather, the lack thereof. He expected a bit of a woody, strong fragrance when he opened the bottle, but was surprised that it barely had any scent, other than a slight undertone of olive oil. Having said that, though, this oil is perfect for those who prefer their cologne to be their main scent and to keep the shine of their beard as the main attraction.

Both the shampoo and oil products promised to moisturise the skin underneath the beard, but my brother and I noticed that this only lasted on the days we used the products. On other days, we were grabbing our wooden combs to soothe that itchy skin.

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