I asked my dear husband (DH) if I could share some of his grooming products and his beard growth on the blog as I thought it would be interesting to get a man's perspective on personal care products.
You may have seen his photo pop up on here or social media from time to time, but be honest, doesn't he have the most majestic hair you've ever seen?? It's like 80% of the reason I fell in love with him. Haha, I'm kidding of course; it's that and about a thousand other wonderful qualities. His mixed heritage of caucasian, Native American and Creole resulted in this genetic blessing, but you'd be surprised how often people ask if it's natural. Like honestly, I don't think there's any tools or products that could make curls that tight. His hair actually does get noticed in public quite a bit. Frequently people (mostly ladies) ask to touch it and on a couple of occasions people have even tried to stealthily cop a feel! Umm, personal space much? Haha.
He's very polite and humble about it, but it can be interesting having a feature that makes you stand out. Also it requires a lot of maintenance to keep it so soft, moisturized and non-frizzy. First I'd like to share the everyday products he's used for many years.
From sleeping overnight his hair looks pretty wild; it can look squashed, tangled and frizzy. He has to shampoo, condition and comb it in the shower every day if he wants to wear it down. The only other slightly speedier option is to thoroughly wet it, pull it back in a pony tail and use lots of hairspray. But to display it in all its glory he uses this Pantene Curl Perfection Shampoo and conditioner available at nearly every retail store. It averages about $5 per 20 oz bottle which is good because he usually repurchases them every 2 weeks or so.
After he washes and combs conditioner through it, he carefully drapes a towel over his head and gently pats the excess water out, never twising or rubbing the hair. This is why it takes him longer to get ready than me, haha.
The next product he uses a couple times a week to fight frizz. I introduced it to him because I was using it on my hair and he actually pilfered it from me and now uses it way more than I do. Wind is curly hair's worst enemy and he used to feel like the curls would separate and look terribly frizzy on a windy day but he doesn't have that issue much anymore. He uses this Organix Moroccan Argan oil spray a couple times a week when he has something extra time, usually on his days off. It really moisturizes his locks and helps them stay put. This runs $4-$5 for 4 oz and is also readily available at most stores. He replaces it every 1-2 months depending on frequency of use.
And that's it for DH's standard hair care routine! Did you think there would be more to it? More products or mystical secrets perhaps? Even though curly/natural hair care can be quite time consuming, the keys to it are deceptively simple. It just needs to be cleaned moisturized on a regular basis, much like any long hair.
One of the main reasons I wanted to write this post is because DH has recently begun to experiment with new products, watch video tutorials and change up his grooming routine. He has done some research recently and found that hair and skin products containing silicone and other chemicals can actually be more drying in the long run, so he is embarking on a journey to try more natural products.
Just last week he tried coconut oil as a deep conditioning hair treatment. It was hilarious watching him massage globs of coconut oil through his damn hair and tie it up in a plastic grocery bag and wrap it in a warm towel. The results were successful. His hair once dry was incredibly soft and shiny without being weighed down. He is enthusiastic about the results and intends to continue using coconut oil as a hair treatment every 2-3 weeks. He is also interested in finding shampoo and conditioner with natural ingredients to replace his current products.
Another product he recently swapped out is his hand moisturizer. He had been using a Gold Bond men's formula lotion on his hands for a few years because the sometimes get cracked and dry to the point of being painful. He felt that the lotion would help for a short time but were making his hands dryer in the long run. He now uses Burt's Bees Hand Salve which is made from natural ingredients and contains no silicone. He is very pleased with it, saying his hands still feel soft even after washing and they do not get as dry now.
The other thing I wanted to highlight is that DH is starting to grow his beard out and has also purchased some new products. He normally wears a goatee which I quite like on him but wants to grow a full beard. Here is his goatee and the three weekly stages of growth since he shaved it off and started growing the beard.
He has had a full beard before when we were doing over the road trucking, but he had his hair cut short at that time, so it will be really interesting to see how he looks with the long hair and beard together. He has been doing research about beard care and order some handcrafted beard oil and utility balm from a site called Beard Brand.
"Breathe deep - that's the smell of Old Money. With notes of oak, bourbon, black pepper, and amber, this is a rich and complex scent that evolves as its worn throughout the day, and is our strongest scent blend. It's a fragrance that is at home surrounded by rich mahogany, your favorite worn leather chair, a glass of whiskey, and a cigar. So get your hands on some Old Money - your beard will thank you.
As with all Beardbrand beard oils, we design the fragrance to be uniquely personal and of a light base. This is our flagship beard oil and we spared no expense to build the perfect base oil of jojoba and argan oil. Our oils won't weigh your beard down or leave a greasy feeling. We use all natural ingredients and essential oils to create the pinnacle of beard oils."
DH is overall pleased with this product and scent so far and exited to test it out more as his beard grows. If you liked this post perhaps I will share his beard progress photos from time to time.
Do you have any recommendations for natural hair and skincare products? Do you have any male relatives or friends that swear by particular personal care products? Are secretly a man who has been reading my blog and thinking "Finally, something for me!" 😄Feel free to share your your thoughts and recommendations in the comments below!
