General News
March 11, 2010
Please Don't Shave Your Parts While Driving
Ever heard of genital-shaving-related traffic offenses? Let this be a lesson to you:
"Believe it or not, a woman in Florida has been charged with reckless driving after causing an accident while she was distracted as she shaved her pubic hair."
Read the rest over at Digital Journal.
Image: kamalayan at Flickr
March 1, 2010
February 2010 Shaving Stuff Wrap-Up
Woohoo! Spring is right around the corner!
We wanted to make sure you didn't miss anything from February, so here's the recap:
Shaving Blogs and Websites
General Shaving News
Proraso
Pubic Shaving
Reviews
Schick
Shaving Accessories
Shaving Gifts
Straight Razors
Image: chadmagiera at Flickr
February 25, 2010
Beauty Products for Men: A Fast-Growing Industry
From the Globe and Mail:
"The challenge in the fast-growing men's beauty segment is to find ways to wrap a quintessentially feminine product in masculine hues and lingo. It's a world in which eyeliner becomes "guyliner," anti-wrinkle cream turns into moisturizer, and bronzer changes to "power bronze."
"Some men will call it 'skin care' but no one calls it 'beauty care' or 'beauty products,' " said Mr. Lau, who has worked on Dove women's skincare lines at giant Unilever. "It's not the word they want to use."
Men and beauty in the same sentence - what a concept!
Read the rest of the post here: For guys, it's not beauty, it's, er, grooming
Image: sunshinecity at Flickr
February 23, 2010
Stubbly Geeks Desired by Women
From the Mail Online:
"Most women claim to be attracted to tall, dark and handsome men, but a new study has revealed that facial stubble and a geeky personality are their biggest secret turn-ons.
Despite complaining that it looks unkempt and feels rough to touch, the unshaven look on a man is actually a turn-on for 41 per cent of women.
A slightly geeky personality came second, proving that women really do like a guy who knows their stuff when it comes to technology."
Image: PinkMoose at Flickr
February 18, 2010
What Does A Razor's Edge Really Look Like?
Ever wonder what the edge of your razor looks like to a whisker? One intrepid razor researcher has his razors viewed (and photographed) under a microscope:
"Every men's magazine on the planet has reviewed different razors, different shaving creams, different aftershave lotions. And despite this, nearly every man has his own preference, borne of experience or indifference.
If a razor is a simple machine defined by its microscopic perfection, why not look at it under a microscope?"
Check out the rest of the article, plus some great pics from a microscope at Gizmodo: Razors Under A Microscope
February 16, 2010
Hairy Hindustan is Over
The moustache, an long-time symbol of masculinity in India, is in danger of becoming an endangered species there. The younger generations of Indian men are choosing to go clean shaven, and their lady-friends think it's about time.
From the Washington Post:
"Our fathers thought they were not men without their mustaches. But 'hairy Hindustan' is over. It's old India. The mustache is for my father, not for me." - Nanda Kumar, age 26, after shaving off his moustache
I think it's rather predictable that younger generations drop customs of their fathers due to the changing of the times, but for me, the most interesting piece of the article was about moustaches and Indian barbershops:
"Indian barbershops have all sorts of names for the various 'stache styles, which they depict humorously on signboards. There is the "Handlebar," a classic twirlable curlable and a professional requirement for the doormen of five-star Indian hotels. There is the "Walrus," a large, droopy mustache that hangs over the lips. There is also the "Pencil Line" and the "Strap-On," or false follicles -- dyed black or stained pumpkin orange, oiled, conditioned and combed."
I don't think we'll ever see American men going to the barbershop and asking for a 'Strap-On'...
Image: Umesh Behari Mathur at Flickr
February 9, 2010
Roots Up Revolution
From the Times:
"In the matter of facial hair, are celebrities copying the street or is the street copying celebrities? As you will be aware, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Sting (presumably in an effort to stop being mistaken for Jeffrey Archer) and, most notoriously, David Beckham have been neglecting the razor of late."
What do you think? Roots up revolution or celebrity copycat facial hair?
Image: Zawezome at Flickr
Derek Markham at
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February 4, 2010
Unbridle Your Beard
From the Cornell Daily Sun, a call to action:
"There are millions among us whose faces never see more than a five o'clock shadow, whose would-be chin-bushes perish in the sink each morning. Such is the cost of peer pressure and the tacit prohibition against scruff: With facial hair associated with hippies, religious fanaticism and captivity (think Saddam Hussein in his hole, or Leonardo in The Man in the Iron Mask), the naked cheek has taken over. With such widespread repression, we miss the delights of creative grooming, thoughtful stroking and mournful tearing. We lose the varieties of expression permitted by the gamut between the Fu Manchu and the French Fork. We lose an essential aspect of our human condition.
And so I issue a call to the beardless masses: Free your follicles. Emancipate your moustache. Unbridle your beard. You'll be sticking it to the man and looking great at the same time. Show all those people who said that only the clean-shaven can make it, that the spirit of Moses, Zeus and Tom Selleck lives on, and that we will not be intimidated."
Can I get a big "Hoooaaa!" please?
Image: Mac_NZ at Flickr
February 3, 2010
Shaving Stuff January 2010 Wrap-up
By crikey, January flew by in a hurry, didn't it? After the rush of the holidays, you'd think that at least January would seem to be mellow - but it sure didn't for me! I missed a bunch of posts recently due to a bad accident I had, resulting in a broken ankle and some serious downtime, but if you missed any of the articles we did post, here's the January wrap-up, by category:
Barbasol
Electric Shaving
General News
Gillette
Humor
Manscaping
Reviews
Shaving Accessories
Shaving Creams & Gels
The Art of Shaving
January 29, 2010
Facial Hair as an Indulgence
Is the renaissance of facial hair related to its ability to disguise, to re-invent? Is it to make a male fashion statement? Or is it simply facial hair?
From Shiny Style:
"In the desert of men's style, facial hair is a rare oasis (or just a big bush, if we're doing analogy accuracy). It is, the more I think about it, a much better version of the female hairdo. It is free to grow and free to maintain. It can be altered day to day with only minimal effort. It requires no straightening, curling, spraying or highlighting. They aren't made to feel inadequate by celebs with 'beard extensions'. And, as far as I'm aware, no man is afraid to go out in the rain in case his beard goes fluffy."
Read the full article: why men should indulge the facial hair trend
Maybe it just makes for better fishing...
Image: Randy Son Of Robert at Flickr
January 26, 2010
The Invalid Shave
My apologies for leaving you hanging last week - I had a bit of an emergency in my life and wasn't able to get any posts up here. Even if I had written some, they probably wouldn't have made any sense to you, due to the pain medication I've been on.
A week ago Friday, I took a big fall while messing around on some rocks with a friend. I landed right on my foot, which ended up with me breaking the ends of my leg bones, right at the ankle. I can't put any weight on it, and have had x-rays, MRI, and tomorrow a CT scan to determine if surgery is necessary. I'm thankful for the prescription for Percocet so I can deal with the pain!
Anyway, after laying in bed for several days, I decided to really get washed up and shaved and into new clothes, just so I would feel better about myself (I was feeling like a patient, an invalid, not a free man). That was an ordeal, but after we figured out how to prop my knee up onto a chair in front of the sink, and put everything within reach, I was able to have a great shave. I felt like a new man afterward!
My thoughts were that if I could feel this much better after a shave, and I only had a broken leg, then what about someone with a broken arm or hand, or someone elderly, who can't control his razor well enough to shave safely? It seems like something relatively small - shaving someone's face who can't do it themselves - but it could have a big impact on that person's attitude in general.
Do you have a father or grandfather who needs assistance? Any relative or friend with a disability who might be really grateful for a shave? Perhaps mobile shaving would be a good move for a local barber shop - going to people's homes and giving them a close shave, maybe even as a volunteer sort of venture?
[Image is totally unrelated, but it's such a great pic, don't you think?]
January 15, 2010
Don't Be This Guy: Shave Before You Fly
A man from Virginia, Muhammed Abu Tahir, was on Air Tran flight 39 from Atlanta to San Francisco and decided to have about five airline-sized bottles of wine during the flight. He then decided to take a visit to the lavatory and get a bit more comfortable.
He took off his shoes and socks and placed them outside the door of the bathroom. He then removed his shirt, opened the door, and began shaving. Flight attendants tried to coax him back to his seat, but he wasn't having any of it (maybe it was an epic shave?)
Muhammed turned aggressive and refused to return to his seat, forcing flight personnel and passengers to 'guard' the door to the lavatory. He remained in the bathroom until the flight made an emergency landing at Colorado Springs (F-16's were scrambled to help escort the flight, just in case). He was then arrested and transported to jail.
So let that be a lesson to you - if you're gonna shave, do it before you fly. If you're gonna get ripped during the flight, stay in your seat and don't annoy the rest of the passengers...
Image: Kossy@FINEDAYS at Flickr
January 13, 2010
Beards in the News 1.13.10
It's amazing to me that so many people are up in arms about other people's facial hair choices. Seriously. I follow news items about beards as a part of my job of staying on top of shaving trends and stories, and when I open my newsreader in the morning, I'm stymied by the attention (or lack of) that some of these stories get.
Here's a few beard news stories I'd like to share with you:
Brad Pitt's face gets all the play: Pitt's goatee, complete with mini-dreadlocks, has dominated the celebrity facial hair scene lately, and I can't quite understand the controversy. He's an actor, right? And actors change their looks for roles, yeah? So what's the big deal? Do you think he cares about what the rest of us think of his beardedness? I don't. Let's let the man grow what he wants to on his face.
And on the flip-side, style gurus are saying "The new must-have accessory? A beard": "George Clooney makes us swooney and never more so than with his latest look, a grizzled salt-and-pepper beard that takes the Oscar-winner from dashing to debonair." So it's OK for Clooney, but not Pitt? Hmm.
You better not shave in Somalia: Dozens of men in Somalia's southern city of Kismayo were arrested and jailed by religious police for shaving their beards. Evidently the state has banned the shaving of beards (or ordered men to grow them, however you want to look at it), and will arrest you for violating Islamic culture laws.
In boxing news, the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) has banned all facial hair from its fighters, which would bar the Sikh and Muslim boxers with beards from competing: "It's such a petty go at the beard. It's a sport and it has some risks but the hair does not really in any way increase those risks. It's a perverse retrograde step that should be challenged." - Dr Indarjit Singh, Network of Sikh Organizations
Despite shortage of rabbis in the Army, this one can't wear his beard and be a military chaplain: "There is only one [Jewish chaplain] right now in all of Europe. We have a large number of young, selfless rabbis who would come to active duty as long as the beard regulation is waived. They are not fearful of going to war zones, because they are so dedicated and committed to reaching out to all Jews."
And on a lighter note, French contortionist Jeanne Mordo's latest show, Éloge du Poil (in praise of hairiness), has a unique focus: the radical sexiness of facial hair. She dons a fake beard and poses such questions as "Women, how do you live without beards? Are they on the inside? Don't they itch?"
Image: kamshots at Flickr
January 4, 2010
How Does Facial Hair Affect How People See You?
Considering a change of occupation?
You might want to read this post about the effect of facial hair on people's perceptions of you. You may want to go clean shaved, or you might start growing that beard.
From the Vancouver Sun:
"If I had to guess, I would have thought that facial hair -- especially a full beard -- would worsen your chances of getting a job (or a promotion) as it's seen as somewhat unkempt and messy. Indeed, I know some normally bearded people who have actually gone clean-shaven when going in for a job interview.
But the research on the question is actually pretty mixed."
The full post is here: Looking for a job? Maybe you should grow a beard
Image: Vandelizer at Flickr
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