Argan Oil – My Best Buy From Morocco

argan oil set

After seven days in the beautiful Moroccan weather I find myself back in London soaking in all this cold wet weather. I’ve opened up my suitcase, pulled out all the stuff I bought and its clear to me what the best thing I bought was. I started using it a few days into my trip and the benefits are clear. I paid twenty dirhams which equates to around £1.30 for 100ml of pure argan oil. I don’t have much hair on my head at all but I got a lot on my face.

Still life of argan fruit and oil
Argan fruit, seeds and oil, used for cosmetic and alimentary products

I’ve been applying it twice a day and my beard has become darker, thicker, shinier and softer. I must admit, I have no clue how long this will last for but what I do know is I look a lot better with it in my beard than without.

I’ve used beard balms before and I know for a fact they all have argan oil in them but I’ve never thought about actually using pure argan oil by itself. The only negative I have come across so far is that when you initially apply it, it smells kinda funky but that smell goes after 15 minutes or so.

Should I Use Argan Oil?

If your hair is tough, or brittle or even itchy then yeah I suggest using it. I’m usually caught, pulling out my beard because its itchy but in the last week I haven’t pulled out any.

If you have nice soft hair then there isn’t a need for you to use argan oil, just go enjoy life. (I’m jealous of you.)

Price

As you can imagine the price from a Moroccan night market is going to be a lot different to a UK retailers price. It may be worth having a look around but make sure you go for the 100% pure argan oil. I trust Boots and Holland and Barrett with this kind of products but your welcome to have a look around, you’ll probably get a good deal on sites like eBay as well.

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Good luck on your journey to nice shiny hair, wherever you choose to apply the oil. Apparently its good for massages too (wink wink.)

How Often Should Men Shave? – Grooming Routine

grooming kit

Everyone talks about having a good suit, a crisp shirt, a pair of well polished shoes etc etc. These things are great and we understand their importance but we also know looking after our hair (all of it) is equally as important. I have already written about “How often should men get a haircut?”. If we exclude the hair on our head, there is still a lot of hair elsewhere, leaving a few unanswered questions.

– How to shave?
– When to shave?
– What to shave?
– Should men shave at all?

should men shave

Grooming Routine

The answers are different depending on you, some of us men grow hair at crazy speeds and some of us grow an inch every 18 months. Having a routine, no matter the duration, is imperative as there are somethings that as men, we just can not afford to let happen. I can’t afford to let my mustache grow for more than four days without shaving it. I literally look like a homeless bum with my unshaven mustache. Selecting a day and having a set routine that you go through each time will guarantee you constantly look your best. People will notice if you stop grooming yourself and they will be quick to tell you about it.

Unanswered Questions

How to shave?

Shaving is not the easiest thing to do, trust me I cut myself often. However, saying that, I have improved massively over time. The best advice I can give; practice makes perfect and while you are on your way to perfection, I have some tips that will help you out.

1. Wash whatever you are shaving with hot water. Hot water opens up your pours, meaning you will get a closer shave and you are less likely to cut yourself. If you do manage to nick yourself, splash your face with cold water once you are done as this causes your skin’s pores to close and the blood will also move away from the surface of your skin.

2. Get a cutthroat blade. They look scary but they are perfect. Once you get past the first couple times, you will realize that you can now shave everything with ease. The normal razors are really easy to use and not to mention, they are a lot safer. None the less the cutthroat blade trumps them all. You can get one for really cheap on eBay, I added it into my store – click here.

3. Use shaving foam or some sort of soap/oil. There is nothing worse than shaving somewhere on your body or your face and it feeling like its on fire and about to explode. I use shaving foam, I buy mine for around 30 pence from Tesco and it stops me from removing the top layer of my skin when shaving. This means I get a better shave and I don’t get a super red mustache (eww).

What to shave?/Should men shave at all?

Should men shave? Of course, how often? Depends how hairy you are. Me – I’m quite hairy so I shave a lot. Never shave his legs or arms, everything else is open for you. I personally shave all my pubic hair, my underarm hair, my back, the back of my neck and I trim my mustache. I hear you asking, what about my chest? Yes I do grow hair on my chest and stomach and I do get rid of the hair there. How? Hair removal cream my friend. It works wonders and when the hair grows back, it doesn’t itch at all.

beard science

Grooming is important and how ever you choose to groom yourself, just make sure that you get into a routine and do it often. My routine is every Friday without fail. Don’t forget to cut your nails as well. Cleanliness is part of being a gent, so get used to it.

Shaving – The Old School Way

shaving the old school way cover photo large

Ever heard of Sweeney Todd? If you have then you know what this post is all about. If you haven’t then not to worry, it doesn’t really matter. So let’s get to it.

shaving the old school way cover photo

Last night I was getting ready for today and figured I’d shave, which by shave I mean shave my moustache and shape up my hair line to get rid of the weird bit of hair that grows on my forehead (I know right eww.) So I normally do all of this with my normal disposable razor but recently I’ve been reading up on how amazing these cut throat razor are and everyone says it’s what a true gentleman would use. So being the aspiring gentleman that I am I felt like I had to actually go and grab myself one and actually see what all the hype is really about.

Usually when it comes to old fashioned things, I just naturally hate all things old. Why? I don’t know really, I love technology and new things, to prove my love for technology I actually even own a smartwatch which I pretty much wear and use everyday. I was a little reluctant to use the blade and not to mention a little scared of slicing up my face. I bought one online for peanuts and decided to give it a try.

It came in the post a few days ago and I figured I’d attempt to shape up my hair line and trim my moustache. So as per usual, I washed my face and then I added all the shaving foam and prepared myself for the worst. Needless to say five minutes later, I had a beautifully shaped up hairline, and a perfectly thin moustache. Then a minute later I was pretty much covered in blood, my skin had like seven different cuts so I ended the night covered in vaseline over every cut. Yes it hurt like hell!

Do I regret doing it? No way, the shave is amazing, it actually removes all the hair and I have so much more control over the blade. It may have hurt last night but now I can’t feel a thing, none of the cuts are visible so it’s definitely a winning situation.

I absolutely advise grabbing yourself one, hopefully you won’t cut yourself as much as I did.