The next time you visit the grocery store or the pharmacy, pay special attention to the hair care aisle. Do you notice anything missing? I have recently become painfully aware that most stores lack a selection of hair brushes marketed specifically for men and their different types of hair. Are men supposed to use the hair brushes that are targeted toward women even though they have different types of hair and different needs? I wouldn’t recommend it. Men should take a cue from their female counterparts and select hair brushes that were designed just for them and their special hair care needs.
Behind every good man is a good hair brush; find out which brush is perfect for you.
Just because the grocery stores and the drug stores have failed to provide adequate hair brush options for men doesn’t mean there isn’t a need for them. Men should discover which type of hair brush suits them best, and then purchase that brush. Using the wrong tools for your hair type will result in substandard hair care. On the other hand, using the best tools for the job will result in the best hair of your life. The choice is yours. Here are some tips on how to care for your unique hair type and which brush will work best for you to manage your style.
The best hair brushes are all handmade or hand-finished in England by a company called Kent that offers an array of different brushes for different types of hair. G B Kent & Sons Ltd, commonly known as Kent Brushes, has been producing high-quality hair brushes since the 1700s. They currently produce a whopping 250 different brushes for men and women (not only hair brushes and combs, mind you, the are also famous for their shaving and make up brushes). When it comes to hair brushes, the name Kent is virtually synonymous with quality.
Is Your Hair Receding or Thinning? Many men are concerned about a receding hairline or thinning hair. It’s a common concern, particularly among men who have already noticed there isn’t as much hair on top of their heads as there used to be. Yes, thinning hair is perfectly natural and frequently comes along with the aging process, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to maximize the appearance of the locks you do have. Even the perfect brush will not help you regrow hair, but the wrong brush can exacerbate your hair loss. Avoid using a hair brush with overly stiff bristles that can break your hair along the hair shaft. Instead, use a brush with softer bristles. Softer bristles are gentler on your hair and soothing to your scalp, making them ideal if you have a receding hairline or thinning hair. The Kent MS23 (pictured) is a brush that was created with thinning hair in mind. This brush is labeled “Soft” right on the label to differentiate it from the other hair brushes that Kent offers.
Is Your Hair Thick? Although thick hair can be challenging to manage, it can be controlled and styled nicely with the right brush for the job. Unlike thinning and receding hair, thick hair needs very stiff bristles to keep it in line. The stiff bristles will penetrate your thick hair and reach your scalp. If you have thick hair, the Kent OG2 (pictured) and the Kent MN11 hair brushes both have the stiff bristles that your hair needs. Kent created these brushes especially for men with this type of hair, making them the best choices for thick hair care.
Is Your Hair Medium?
Men with medium hair are very fortunate. They actually have the easiest type of hair to manage. It tends to be shiny and easy to control. Medium hair does not dry out like some other types of hair. That makes it easier to manage. Men with this kind of hair can get away with using nearly any type of hair brush. However, they will still see the best results from using a brush tailor-made for their hair. Men with medium hair should use a brush with medium bristles or stiff bristles. Kent produces the MS11 just for this purpose. To maintain healthy medium hair, men should develop a brushing routine on a daily basis. Hair brushing should be a very thorough process that starts at the nape of the neck and extends to the front. While brushing your hair, your head should be angled forward and downward. The movements of the brush should mimic a spa or barbershop head massage. Once you complete thoroughly brushing, you can style your hair.
Do You Have Fine Hair?
Men with fine hair may find styling frustrating. Fine, limp hair always seems to end up in the same style no matter how hard you try to change it. Often, the only way to keep fine hair where you want it and maintain your desired style is by using styling products. Despite its drawbacks, fine hair has some benefits. It is generally shiny and sleek. Men with fine hair should accentuate the positive aspects of their hair by using a hair brush that has soft or medium bristles. If you have fine hair, using the Kent MS23D will give you the most control even if you must keep your hair in place using styling products.
Men, it’s time to exercise your right to proper hair care. Determine which type of hair you possess prior to purchasing your perfect hair brush. You should always use the brush that was designed for your particular hair type. If you use styling products, those should also be geared toward men with your unique needs. Style and grooming are not reserved solely for women. Now, more than ever, men have come to realize the benefits of taking care of themselves. That’s why savvy men know they need the right brush for their hair type. Knowledge is half the battle. So, now that you know the secret to managing your hair, make sure you get the right brush to take care of business and look your personal best.
The strong, rugged “man’s man” of yesterday is giving way to a more modern, more appearance-oriented contemporary. At least, American personal-care e-commerce company, Birchbox, hopes so. Birchbox is launching a new lifestyle and grooming product directed at men, which it hopes will resonate with guys who take an interest in personal appearance, skin and hair health, and other issues typically eschewed by the macho man of the past.
Birchbox’s latest roll-out is called, appropriately, Birchbox Man. Men purchase a $20 per month subscription (available only in the United States), and in return Birchbox ships them a box filled with gels, lotions, scents, and gadgets. It is a way for men to experiment with variety of personal care products and devices without having to go shopping for them.
An article from Business Insider.com quotes Birchbox co-founder Katia Beauchamp, who said, “There aren’t as many places for men to go and learn about products… Men might not be willing to talk about the best exfoliator they use and we want to make Birchbox a place where they’re comfortable.”
It is an interesting idea, and it is easy to see the appeal. A lot of men are reluctant to be seen strolling around in what is traditionally considered a woman’s area of the shopping mall. And with that being the case, it is difficult for men to learn about products that could enhance their appearance, their health, and the way they feel about themselves, even men who are predisposed to such things.
And apparently the service is resonating with men. The article states that “thousands of men have signed up to see what Birchbox is launching for them.”
While some of the products offered are not traditionally considered masculine, others can be seen as very attractive to men. Face and body wash, skin moisturizer, soothing lotions and amino acid shampoos are some of the more “metrosexual” products for men that Birchbox is bundling. But Birchbox Man also includes such things as hair trimmers, blowers, and other electrical gadgets likely to appeal to men.
So, clearly it is a new day. The “ding-dong” at the front door may no longer be the Avon Lady. Now it’s the Marlboro Man calling.
Recently, there’s been a lot of press about The Dollar Shave Club, a new company in California started by comedian Michael Dublin. This company claims that it can provide consumers with quality shaving razors for only $1 a month (plus shipping). This sounds like a great deal, but is it worth it? Part of The Dollar Shave Club’s marketing tactics is to tell consumers that these razors are just like the ones their grandfathers used, but that’s not true at all. People really used to use double-edged razors to obtain the closest shave possible.
Double-Edged
Double-edged razors are a classic; men have been using them for decades. A double-edged razor uses a timeless sturdy handle, which individual blades are inserted into. Double-edge safety razors start at $16.95, with packs of 100 safety razor blades also starting at $16.95 (or less than two cents per blade). The razors themselves last a lifetime, so this is a very good investment.
Dollar
The Dollar Shave Club sends out plastic razors with changeable blades that cost about sixty cents each (once you take the cost of shipping into account). While it’s true that The Dollar Shave Club is more cost-effective than many other options, such as most other disposable razors currently on the market, buying a double-edged razor is still more affordable in the long run. After about a year of using The Dollar Shave Club, the cost will be more than if you would have purchased a double-edged razor and a box of 100 blades. As time goes by, the double-edged razor becomes even less and less expensive than The Dollar Shave Club.
The Verdict
In order to ensure that you have a good, clean, quality shave, the choice is clear: you need to go with a double-edged razor. You can easily find these classic men’s grooming tools in Canada, at prices affordable to any man. Double-edged razors also make great, lasting gifts for a man who you love. Due to the popularity of disposable razors, double-edged razors had fallen to the wayside, but they’ve made a comeback as men realize the tricks of their fathers and grandfathers that they have been missing out on.
Luminous colors: glowing bronze, richly wine-hued purples deepening into softly silky sable and obsidian. The stunning natural palette of the Colorado Rockies inspires a rugged yet elegant collection of fine leather accessories for discerning men everywhere from Golden Head, German leather-crafting artists and experts. Distinctively grained and precisely designed, the Colorado Collection creates a connection between the untamed beauty of the wide open spaces and precipitous heights of the Rockies and the luscious and lithesome leathers of Golden Head.
Offered in a warm, burnished bronze tobacco, a delicious, decadent Bordeaux, and a ravishing, resplendent raven, the Colorado Collection leathers are easy on the eye and soft and responsive in the hand. Only selected hides from the uniquely textured neck and shoulders of Italian cows are fashioned into these premium accessories, every piece permitting the leather to tell the story of the noble creature that gave its all for such a splendid treasure.
Respectful of the source and the tradition and artistry of the crafters of the leather, the wide array of options from the Colorado Collection combines great aesthetics with perfect practicality. Each wallet, billfold or money clip performs its function precisely and thoroughly, assisting the man of today with cash and credit management sensibly and sensuously. Organizational tools such as key and business card holders and opulently outfitted personal-care sets are available in the same gorgeous leathers and colors, indispensable accessory coordination for the man who demands and deserves the best.
Golden Head Colorado Billfold Leather Wallet with Coin Purse in Tobacco
The leather expertise of Golden Head dates from its inception in 1979, yet also reaches back much further to encompass centuries of German leather-crafting. Tanning of the carefully sourced hides is a special, vegetable-based process, completed by hand with unsurpassed skill and hard-earned expertise. Every quality accessory is made of hand-dyed leather, with fifty individual pieces of premium leather joined together through fifty individual steps, completed only by those who truly love working with this most ancient of materials. When a fine leather accessory from Golden Head becomes a man’s companion, a bond that can bridge decades is begun, and the man and the leather gracefully grow better together.
No more appropriate commitment can be made for or by the man of distinction than a fine leather accessory from Golden Head. The Colorado Collection reaches across hemispheres to infuse cultured and refined Old-World tradition with the ambiance of the bold and majestic New-World wilderness. Strike out on your own journey to the rarified air of Colorado by Golden Head, holding appreciatively in your hand the finest small leathers the world has to offer.
Manly Memories
You: perched wide-eyed on a stool near the sink as the brush whirled round and round the ceramic cup, fluffy mounds of spicy-sharp lather dripping from the brush. A wink, a smile, a quick dab of soapy foam on your upturned nose. The rhythmic sound of steady, sure stropping. The glitter and chill of the sharpened blade held in those steady, familiar hands. Practiced and quick, the strokes revealing inch by inch that beloved face, the bristly cheek that kissed you good-morning becoming the handsome visage you hold in your most loving memories. The rush of hot water, cupped and splashed. The brisk toweling, with that quick swipe over your freckles, readying you for the bacon and eggs aromas drawing you from the steamy bathroom, into the kitchen, onto another golden childhood day.
Every man has a memory of his father’s, his older brother’s, his beloved grandpa’s or favorite uncle’s morning shave. And somewhere within that memory, scuffed and softened with years of use, filled to the brim with the practical, the necessary, the mysterious, is a venerated dopp bag. And, with any luck, that cherished memory of manliness still sits in a closet or box, perhaps cracked with age, yet ready to transport you back to that simpler time when all that made a man seemed hidden in its leather depths.
Piero Tucci Toscanella Dopp Bag
Devised in 1919 by the nephew of Charles Doppelt, a German leather-goods maker from Chicago, the small, sturdy leather bags became known as Dopps, in recognition of their manufacturer. Practical and portable, these bags held all the necessities a man needed to prepare for a well-groomed day.
The popularity of the bags exploded after Doppelt received a contract with the US Army during World War II. Millions of American GIs carried the bags through their war years, each kit holding a bit of home for a young man far from that comforting place. When the troops finally did return, the bags came with them, and a classic travel accessory for men was born. Many of the toiletry bags we sell still carry the name, no longer a protected trademark, but now a word instantly evoking memories while permitting the man of distinction to begin creating memories of his own.
Modern Convenience
There is no real mystery surrounding the question of why men still carry dopp bags. They do what we need them to do, with a minimum of muss and fuss. They keep all of our grooming essentials collected, ready at a moment’s notice to help us begin each day, even as we travel far from our own bathroom, well-groomed and ready to face our own particular challenges. Some men have a collection of these bags, packed and waiting for the next business trip, drive to the cabin, workout at the gym or around-the-world vacation.
Although we know just how intensely personal your dopp bag is, we also have a pretty good idea of what the basic dopp bag looks like and contains. Rather than starting to build your own medicine-cabinet-in-a-bag from scratch, allow us to offer one of our prepackaged travel sets. Nothing will stop you from adding your own personal riffs on our basic theme, but you also cannot go wrong with one of these sets.
Baxter of California Travel Kit
Your dopp bag is your opportunity to continue to your daily routine wherever you may roam. At home you may give your dopp bag a fond pat as you store it in the cabinet and turn to your more expansive collection of male grooming products awaiting to help you meet each day. The properly packed dopp bag, however, is ready to accompany you out of your normal daily orbit without ever requiring you to leave your comfort zone.
What is contained in the depths of a well-provisioned dopp bag? Well, that is largely dependent on your personal desire and style, but many things usually come to mind when building a dopp kit. A great visual guide to a properly prepared dopp kit can be found here: Art of Manliness.
Over the next few posts to our blog we also will guide you to some of the fabulous products we have collected for your ideal dopp bag. Whether you are traveling to corporate headquarters, to your weekend retreat, to your local gym, or on the trip of a lifetime, we look forward to partnering with you to create the best grooming experience possible out of that old dopp bag.
And we truly look forward the most to that morning when another upturned toddler’s nose will sport a dab of our well-sourced lather. Sweet memories are made of this.
Style for men means more than a fancy silk tie and a well-made shirt. It means knowing how to wear what you own with panache. It’s about being bold and being true to your inner CEO, regardless of your career. Style is all about being comfortable in your own shoes, whether they’re sneakers or glossy Italian ankle boots. Men’s style is as varied as women’s: Unique, colorful, with a lot of texture.
You’d be surprised at how even the smallest details can make or break a look, whether it’s an outfit, or a bathroom set up. When you brush your teeth, do you wince at the plastic toothbrush you’ve settled for? Not many people consider such a basic and mundane tool for personal grooming a fashion statement. But it can be. Taylor of Bond Street’s all natural bone and bristle toothbrushes give you a hint of nostalgia while you brush away the day’s buildup. Italy’s Marvis Ginger Mint toothpaste, in its vintage packaging, is as appealing sitting on your bathroom shelf as it is on your toothbrush.
For advice about fashionable men’s clothing, we recommend the Die, Workwear! blog. It’s simply awesome, and the author showcases some very unique looks. He posts photos of colorful Turkish house shoes, the latest men’s styles from around the globe, and many, many photos. Some pleasantly surprising pairings: a puffed outdoor vest over a single breasted jacket with a long-sleeve polo-style shirt. Individually, they seem mismatched, but put them together and the look is surprisingly dashing – casual, masculine, timeless. The blog’s author travels often to catch up on the latest men’s style trends and so his blog is always filled with new and inventive ideas.
Even if you’re not a fashion connoisseur, style for men can be as simple as what Die, Workwear’s author calls ‘the T-shirt outfit, ‘ at another website to which he also contributes. The perfect casual outfit, he says, consists of a pair of chinos or comfortable jeans, a solid T-shirt, and sneakers. Baseball cap and belt are optional. What if you’d like to go out but still retain a bit of a casual flair? Simply pair up a fitted T-shirt with trim-legged navy slacks and a matching single button jacket. Add some colorful socks and leather loafers and you’re ready for a night on the town.
Whatever your personal style is, there’s always room for a bit of experimentation. And remember, wear it well, and wear it with flair!
Valentine’s Day gifts for him, the man who has everything, pose not so much a predicament as an opportunity to prove your purchasing prowess. Peruse the selection of premium men’s products here at Fendrihan assured that you will find the perfect gift for your heart’s desire, even if he believes he desires nothing but you.
Consider the Plisson High Mountain White Shaving Brush with its gorgeous blond horn handle. Handcrafted in France, the company making this extravagant brush has a 200 year history of creating works of art for sumptuous grooming. No expense was spared to ensure this shaving brush offers the pinnacle of opulent shaving experience. A brush this special deserves an exceptional soap, and Plisson’s does not disappoint with its exquisite lather. Raising the bar further, this deliciously scented shaving soap is encased in a marvelously elegant covered bowl fashioned from the elusive Thuja wood of Morocco. Crafted one at a time from the burls of trees destroyed by ancient fires, its intricate pattern is unique yet characteristic only of this rare and precious wood.
Treat your uncommon beloved to one of our remarkable razors, straight or safety, according to his preference. Our well-designed website permits effortless research of this shaving essential, encouraging a step beyond that instrument of shaving mediocrity currently resting in your man’s shaving kit. Our purveyors of razor excellence represent the royalty of shaving hardware with names that resound over centuries of sword, knife and razor-making preeminence, appropriate partners for your esteemed gentleman.
Reflect upon those things possessed by your Valentine that may meet his needs, but do not come close to exceeding his expectations. We can help elevate his daily experience by upgrading any number of grooming aids or accessories. Recently, we have reached across the pond to revitalize our thinking on men’s small leathers, including some remarkable British wallets and billfolds. Our Ettinger collection completely reorders the landscape of men’s wallets and organizers; you may decide to visit this new land with your true love via Fendrihan’s navigation. Additional fine leather crafters will swell the ranks soon and give you even more options to make the ordinary extraordinary for he who believes he has it all.
With our help, have no fear that you can find Valentine’s Day gifts for him that meet a vital need he was unaware required filling. Partner with us at Fendrihan to defy the cliché, as your special man cannot have it all until you take advantage of all we have to offer.
Film maker Felix Nelson Elsen explores two North London barber shops —one modern, one traditional— to bring you an unfiltered, observational look at what goes on inside them. Barbershop talk, vintage tools and a bit of history all make for an interesting short film. Nice cameo of a Belgian Coticule in action.
Planning a wedding can be the most challenging part of getting married; especially if, as the groom, you are expected to handle some of the planning yourself. We don’t need to paint a picture for you; if you are in the midst of the pre-wedding whirlwind, you know it all too well.
But what can a man do to get through these stressful times? Simple: you’re a man, so shop like a man.
Have to buy gifts for your groomsmen? No problem. Buy whatever comes to mind first and get it over with. Anyway, your buddies will probably have some vague recollection of how much and what they drank at the wedding, but not of the thoughtful aromatherapy set your wife-to-be insisted they would love to have.
Fendrihan can help you get the shopping done fast and easy. Just a couple of mouse clicks and you are done. More time for you to enjoy a beer with the guys, before your better half calls you to make sure you called the catering company to verify that they are bringing all seven types of dips for the celery sticks.
Many men are concerned about a receding hairline or thinning hair. It’s a common concern, particularly among men who have already noticed there isn’t as much hair on top of their heads as there used to be. Yes, thinning hair is perfectly natural and frequently comes along with the aging process, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to maximize the appearance of the locks you do have. Even the perfect brush will not help you regrow hair, but the wrong brush can exacerbate your hair loss. Avoid using a hair brush with overly stiff bristles that can break your hair along the hair shaft. Instead, use a brush with softer bristles. Softer bristles are gentler on your hair and soothing to your scalp, making them ideal if you have a receding hairline or thinning hair. The Kent MS23 (pictured) is a brush that was created with thinning hair in mind. This brush is labeled “Soft” right on the label to differentiate it from the other hair brushes that Kent offers.
Although thick hair can be challenging to manage, it can be controlled and styled nicely with the right brush for the job. Unlike thinning and receding hair, thick hair needs very stiff bristles to keep it in line. The stiff bristles will penetrate your thick hair and reach your scalp. If you have thick hair, the Kent OG2 (pictured) and the Kent MN11 hair brushes both have the stiff bristles that your hair needs. Kent created these brushes especially for men with this type of hair, making them the best choices for thick hair care.
