19 July 2012
taming the beard
Beard maintenance can easily become a neglected regime. Here are a few facial fundamentals to assist you with your beard responsibility.
Trending amongst the male species, beards have recently found a more common acceptance. However, without confusing a well maintained facial finish with an unruly overgrown facial fro, the hair on your face requires just as much maintenance as the hair on your head, if not more.
Here are some pointers for any Neanderthal novices looking to keep their beard in top-notch condition.
1. Seek Professional Help
The best shape cannot be achieved through self-attempt. The skill-set of a trusted barber is the premise for the perfect trim. Finding a good barber can be tough, so once you find him, befriend him, tattoo his details somewhere on your body and add him on Facebook. Regular visits to your barber to shape your beard is recommended, however you can maintain a daily routine to ensure you tame those rouge whiskers.
2. Use a shave oil
Clear shaving oil is essential for a precise shave. It helps to craft clean lines and will also reduce the razor burn against your freshly exposed skin. Traditionally we associate shaving with a sculpting shaving foam that creates a pavlova-like mound on our chin, taking to our facial hair blindly, hoping to emerge unscathed. A shaving oil is a much better option if you actually want to see where you are shaving.
3. Invest in a good trimmer/clipper
A quality trimmer is the key to a well-groomed beard. Similar to what your trusted barber would use, a clipper with adjustable trimming combs provides you with a mistake proof trim. Unless you are as delicate and precise as a Japanese bonsai artist, stay away from scissors, as attempting to achieve a balanced trim with scissors will only result in looking like you’ve attempted to trim with a butter knife. You will need to invest in 2 sizes of clippers. A full-size clipper tackles volume concerns and reduce your D.O.C like facial forest to a more manageable community garden. A small fine-tooth trimmer is for the closer cut that exposes the clean outline.
4. Comb your beard
Adding to your routine a comb through with a fine-tooth comb will allow you a knot free, food sieve that exposes any other unidentified objects that may have taken up residence in your beard. The comb allows you to guide the growth direction of your beard. It’s best to leave the perm and spiked look to the hair on your head. Apply some beard oil to your comb or massage through with your fingers to add some fragrance and conditioning to your facial follicles.
5. Colour your Beard
This is a controversial topic as some people think they need to ensure that the hairs on your body should match identically like a fine set of china, where some more astute bearers may prefer a silver lining character to their facial hair. There is an expansive selection of beard dyes in the market and we recommend the strand test as well as keeping the colour natural. The worst result is looking like you’ve eaten a bottle of fake tan and its exploded across your neck and lower face. Don’t be fooled by old wives tales of using your left over hair dye on your beard for that ‘complete look’, as hair dye is more potent and it is unlikely to go down well for anyone who sports sensitive skin.
6. Use a mirror
A wall-mounted mirror will make life easier, those little circular attached expandable models in hotels are the preferred type. These mirrors magnify and used in tandem with the bathroom mirror you’ll soon find yourself a master of reflection, avoiding the awkward lean across the bathroom sink straining your eyes to try and reach particular angles.
We recently stumbled across an array of beard cosmetics from Prospector Co, an immaculately presented range hailing from America they most certainly honour this hairy artform. They take pride in their pure ingredients and hand made packaging and luckily for us, stock their product exclusively at Good As Gold. For trimming tools you can’t go past the pioneer of shaving supplies at the Shaver Shop on Pitt St, the go-to for clippers and trimmers for anyone serious about maintaining some good looking facial hair.
