So today I thought I would give you my full support on your decision and just to show you there are no hard feelings. I’ve supplied a few photos for inspiration below, however, it seems it actually costs you more and takes even longer to manage than being maintaining the Mr Smooth Face. To me, it seems equivalent of looking after a pet animal! Make your own decision and good luck!

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This then leads to an interesting question. Do men really have different skin to females? Or is our weathered leather look a result of basically just not giving a rats arse about our skin compared to  women  have being doing so for as long as beers’ been brewed.

Here’s my take on the matter…basically all skin is the same, male, or female. However, it seems as boys become men, and again in later life, our skin (mainly face/neck/back areas) changes. Great!  Now what (feel free to pass this “Secret Men’s business” on down to any sons you have. You know, ‘father to son’ talk!)  Ok. Lets continue… As teenage males, apart from being attracted to warm apple pies, our newly developed male hormones also drastically affect our facial skin, resulting in facial hair growth and an increase of production of the skins natural oil or sebum. This is without doubt a real bummer timing for any young guy, especially just as the school’s cheerleader happens to move in next door! Anyway, this excess oil is the culprit responsible for that sudden appearance of acne & blackheads, cruelly stuffing up any chances “next door!” Most young guys “grow out of this hormone acne skin problems, however, a small minority unfortunately continue to experience this increase of oil production into early 20’s even 30’s.

Moving into adulthood, guy’s skin generally becomes slightly thicker than females due to having slightly more elastin and collagen. Then we need to add the environmental effects caused by the outdoors (sun, surf, and working outside) as surveys state that guys normally spend 40% more time outdoors than females. So this extra exposure causes the added skin damage and deeper wrinkles in men’s faces later in life (probably not laughing too much now I would presume).

Don’t despair! There is an upside as men enter mid life is, which is that our skin still continues to produce more oil (sebum) than females. Therefore we potentially can maintain younger looking skin than them at similar ages, however there’s one last catch! We men need to learn what women have learned and that’s how best to look after our skin, as early as possible. So forget the ‘Character lines’. You’re not an actor! Get in the know and get some good quality men’s skin care products on your face and stay looking the best you can for as long as you can!

P.S I am talking decent face scrubs, moisturisers, eye gels & anti-aging serums here, not make-up! You can leave that to them.

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However, you may well be asking yourself “How the hell after a 5 min shave, do I end up looking like I’ve had my face toasted in a sandwich maker!”  Well, here are a few things to ponder.

1. Your skin has not been warmed up and softened enough prior to using your razor.
2. You must soak your face & neck with warm water first, either in the shower or with a face cloth. This helps lift the hair follicles out ready for an easier smoother shave.
3. Make sure your razor is always sharp. Don’t try and use that rusty looking blade because you can’t be bothered to go and buy a new one.
4. Always rinse your blade under hot water after each stroke. This both helps it cut easier and keeps the blade sharp, preventing those nasty nicks.
5. Do not push your blade too hard against your skin. Relax and do several lighter shorter strokes and slow down, it’s better to miss the bus than cut your throat and bleed to death (ok that’s an obvious over-exaggeration)
6. Do not yell at the kids, or wife whilst having the blade at your throat. Shaving should be a man’s morning quiet time. Even dare I say it, an enjoyable experience?
7. Do not shave against the direction your facial hair grows. Make sure you check all sides of your face as it will vary and the same with your neck.
8. Do not apply any alcohol based Colognes on any shaved area of your face or neck, this will only aggravate and inflame any existing irritation.
9. Immediately rinse your shaved face with cool water, pat dry, and then apply a soothing, cooling and calming balm. Make sure its natural, with no artificial colours or fragrances as these will increase redness and inflammation. Any balm with Aloe Vera is good as this helps to soothe and heal.
10. Lastly. Don’t rush! Allow a little more time and follow these hints and you will be able to  walk proud each morning with your head (Face) held high, rather than hiding behind your morning newspaper on the bus or train, hoping the hot blonde opposite hasn’t noticed that your face looks like you tripped and fell on your sanding machine

Here’s to a great Shave every day! Did someone mention a Brazilian? I’m out of here!

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Why is this so? Because they contain alcohol (amongst other harsh chemicals) and this only further dehydrates your skin, making it feel dry. They also contain artificial fragrances and colours that inflame your shaved skin, causing shave rash and redness. They do not provide enough of a barrier to the skin’s surface, hence after a few strokes, you end up dragging your blade across unprotected skin, again causing irritation and inflammation!

Foams feel and look great, but do not offer you the smoothest and razor -burn free shave we all want and deserve! The answer to this is to use any of the following options:

Shave Oil
Usually 100% natural and provides excellent lubrication and protection. Shave oils soften the beard growth before shaving, as they usually contain skin warming ingredients. Shave oils are normally water soluble so easily rinse out of your razor. They can also be used under a gel or crème for more comfort if you have a coarser thicker beard growth.

Shave Crème
Easy to apply, provides a better protection barrier on skin, rinses out easy and moisturises the skin at the same time.

Shave Gel
Clear coverage is suited for those who may have acne, moles or skin problems where it helps to see where you need to shave around. Perfect also for those who want to design their own Beards, Goatees or side boards.

So my recommendation is to leave the ‘foam’ for your glass of beer and try any of the others for a rash free and smoother shave, improved looking skin, and before you know it, your face will be smoother than a baby’s bottom! Cheers.

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As boys growing into men, no one teaches us or tells us how to do the one thing that after sleeping would be required almost everyday of our lives. The following pearls of wisdom may not save the planet, but may possible save you a lifetime of facial torture. Take note!

Shave after you shower: Apply a Shave oil first for extra lubrication: Only use a sharp razor: Rinse your blade in hot water only: First Shave with the direction then across your hair follicles, which do vary , so analyse your whole facial beard growth: Use a clear Gel if you have problem skin or cream if normal. Do not use alcohol based foaming gels. Do not shave backwards against hair growth. As this only causes ingrown hairs. Use a Face scrub once a week to exfoliate and prevent blackheads or ingrown hairs. Rinse face after shaving with cold water. Apply a soothing natural Shave Balm to soothe and calm irritated skin. Do not apply an Alcohol Cologne to any recently shaved skin area (face or neck) Make these changes and you may actually find shaving becomes an enjoyable experience rather than a X-Men nightmare. Just to keep you motivated, recent surveys’ stated that 99.8% of females preferred their man to be clean and smoothly shaven, so forget any ideas about the Miami Vice look!

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The first and foremost advice to be offered is…don’t panic!! You’ll just stress more and as luck would have it, stress just happens to known as a major cause of temporary hair loss!! Secondly, you need to realise that most guys experience the same problem of hair loss at some stage, so your not alone! Its a matter of establishing the cause(s) and how best to counter/reduce what your losing!

Of course there are those guys who are in the small minority who actually suffer true ‘hereditary hair loss’, which in all honesty does limits your options somewhat, and unfortunately early thinning of your hair is the first sign of this. Without doubt, we all would love a big mop of hair (grey or not!) as we get older, but the chances are pretty slim. Yet, with some smart thinking and action, you can definitely slow down your hair loss, as well as increase the volume of your existing crop as well. Lets all agree that no one really wants a hair transplant or to wear a wig later in life, so it makes better sense to try and improve what we already have now!

It sucks I know, but your lifestyle has a lot to do with it. If you smoke or eat a crappy diet void of nutrients, then I have to tell you your skin and hair will suffer. This is why when you go to these large Hair Specialist Companies, you end up paying a years salary to have a Hair Analysis that will most probably tell you your hair lacks necessary “Hair Minerals” and you walk out being sold hundreds & hundreds of dollars of Hair related products. There is truth in the fact that certain herbs and minerals will help improve the state of your hair and that getting these via a good broad healthy diet makes sense, so do look at what your eating and see if you can add more fruit and vegies into your diet. If its all too hard, then by all means head off down to your local Healthfood Shop where they will sell you a specific Hair Supplement. For the small minority who do have heriditary hair loss, there are several products sold that help prevent your Testosterone being converted into Di-hydrotestosterone, the sneaky culprit that causes your hair to start thinning and eventually fall out. This usually happens as you age but for some its more pronounced and begins a lot earlier. Getting results and improved hair growth is fantastic with these products but unfortunately that are expensive and must be used every day of your life otherwise if stopped all the good work falls out into your basin and down the expensive money drain. I would advise using these only for those who have tried all alternatives mentioned herein and elsewhere and have truly been diagnosed as having Hereditary hairloss maybe just not by the same Company selling your the super expensive (and lifetime supply) of products!

These products will include a topical application which helps dilate the blood vessels under the scalp, allowing more blood -flow circulation and hopefully increase hair strength and provide those nourishing nutrients (presumably in your diet)… Just getting back to stress again, when you get stressed, the skin of your scalp tightens and thus restricts your blood flow resulting in guess what! thinning hair! So heres what you do, every night just give your scalp and hair a good massage… don’t freak out if some hair falls out. This will pass and as more blood flow gets to your hair follicles, your hair should start to get more strength and all going well, some extra will sprout for you. I know it certainly halts losing any more! Even if you lost all your hair and were bald, you still have a few years after, whereby the root under the scalp is still alive (albeit dormant) and with the right care can bring back to regrowth again. I have heard doing headstands are great for increasing scalp blood circulation, but all depends on whether you’ve got a hard noggin or not! One last valuable piece of advice…we have all heard the line “you are what you eat!” well this mainly true, but I’d like to add that your current ‘hair condition’ is more often a result of “what you put on it!” Here I’m talking about all the damage you do to your hair from the everyday use of oil-based Hair Styling products that clog up the pores of your scalp doing - yep - right again! stopping that blood flow again! Also what about all the artificial Shampoos and Conditioners your using, drums loads of the stuff each year..all full of harsh detergents and multitudes of chemicals that damage your hair..making it brittle, hence the eventual thinning and falling out. Artificial colours and fragrances are your hairs worse nightmare! All contributing to wrecking your hair. If you’re serious, its probably time to take a good look at what your using in and on your hair everyday.

I have seen amazing improvements in both scalp and hair conditions just by changing from cheap chemical Hair products to more natural and herbal based ones. Is it me or does this just sound like common sense? There are several great natural hair and scalp brands out there, but without sounding like a brand spruiker, you won’t find much better that VitaMan’s male specific Hair Shampoos, Treatments and Hair styling products! Check them out yourself and decide which way you want your hair blowing in the wind! VitaMan is one of the few Male- only Hair brands that offers specifically formulated Hair products to solve most men’s hair problems. Hair food for thought! One last piece of advise for those lucky enough to live in a hot climate, wear a hat. The sun does as much damage to your hair a sit does your skin and creates havoc, otherwise you’ll end up with stuff resembling straw on your head!

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If you  have any questions that you would like to test us with please ask at your leisure. Go on, ask, I dare you!

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