Beard Care

[JM]

Now that my beard has grown in and is looking nice and full I thought I'd open a thread that deals with beard care.

I've been eying the Kent Pocket comb, any thoughts on Kent or their combs?

I like to have a clean upper lip and neck. My SE works really well for this task but I thought a shavette or straight might allow for more control...any tips on beard clean up and detailing? Any thoughts on the Merkur Mustache Razor?

Any recommended products to encourage beard growth?

 

[smalltank]

Spike point straights are your best bet for control..OR what I read was a look alike Shavette but the very tip was useable..I cant figure out what this is called but barbershops use it for shaping

 

[Niles]

All I've ever used is an electric trimmer and my DE razors. And my Wahl trimmer came with a mustache/beard comb.

 

[JM]

Thanks fellas.

With a beard I miss the scent of an aftershave in the morning. Any tips or suggestions on manly scented oil/beard gloss?

 

[YetiDave]

I have a kinda chin strap type beard but I shave my head, so I tend to angle the sideburns rather then have them just stop at the top of my ears - a straight is perfect for this (and keeping the lines nice and straight). I also use regular hair trimmers to keep length even (number 2 on sideburns and along my jaw, number 4 on my chin). You could try frizz ease oil, I seem to remember it's unscented so AS/cologne of your choice after that

 

[Niles]

AS/cologne of your choice

I still shape the bottom of my beard with a DE and use an aftershave splash on my neck.

 

[JM]

Three weeks today since my last shave. I don't know how much longer I can last!

 

[Niles]

Three weeks today since my last shave. I don't know how much longer I can last!

You're not thinking about giving up on it are you?

 

[JM]

You're not thinking about giving up on it are you?

not sure what I'll do. Since SE/DE shaving it's been hard to keep the cheeks furry.

 

[Niles]

not sure what I'll do. Since SE/DE shaving it's been hard to keep the cheeks furry.

Yeah, occasionally I get tempted. So far I've resisted and just define the edges with my de/se arsenal.

 

[JM]

The old Dutch is intact.

I bought some Barber's Saloon and almost took the whole beard off.

 

[JM]

The Hierarchy of Beards nice!

 

[rebos]

My trajectory: bunny down --> wispy wiggins ---> shorn

 

[Penguinetti]

I have a chinstrap, mustache, goatee combination; all kept short and even. I use an electric trimmer (#1 or #2 setting, depending on what I feel like ATM) to keep the length, and I use both my DE and my Parker shavette to manage my edges. I feel like the shavette works better for edging, but that could be because it feels like I can see exactly where the blade meets the skin.

 

[JM]

I have a chinstrap, mustache, goatee combination; all kept short and even. I use an electric trimmer (#1 or #2 setting, depending on what I feel like ATM) to keep the length, and I use both my DE and my Parker shavette to manage my edges. I feel like the shavette works better for edging, but that could be because it feels like I can see exactly where the blade meets the skin.

I wondered that, about the shavettes...for the hell of it I took an SE blade and shaved a patch off my leg with it. No prep or cream, just the blade and it worked out find. No bleeding or irritation. I might just use the blade.

I got the idea after watching this fella do it: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/288570-With-just-the-SE-blade

 

[Penguinetti]

I can't see videos at work, but reading the posts, it looks pretty interesting...

 

[JM]

SHAVED! Not all of it. I now wear a balbo. It's a good compromise with the wife, I get somewhat of a beard and she gets somewhat of a clean shaven face. We have a wedding to attend Sunday and she thought the bow tie and full beard was too much...one had to go.

 

[Deltaboy]

I use my Bic Select Twins to cut around my beard and I get it trimmed when I go to the barbershop. I soak my beard with a hot towel and rub Jeris Rose with oil in my beard or I massage Vasoline into it and steam the excess out with a hot towel and then a dry one. Vitalis would also work.

 

[JM]

Jeris, the hair tonic?

 

[Artimid]

That poster.. I will have.
Anyways, I don't enjoy a FULL beard, as it is a pain to keep clean/soft/controlled. My hair grows in weird little patterns, so when I let my beard go then it grows straight out on the sides no matter how long it gets, bushy on the chin, back towards my ears on the sides of my jaw, and my cheeks grow down.. bleh. To "encourage growth", really, you will probably do best to just let it grow out once, and after it gets a certain length and you can play with it to get it down to a good level, but I don't think you can really make it grow faster or in a more controlled way. Do not feel pressured to go to all Amish either, you don't need to give up shaving at all. For example, my beard is a trimmed short boxed beard (according to http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Us2UUrngGs8/T-oG2UnqJkI/AAAAAAAAE1c/QeSSZWLOb9Q/s1600/beardtypes1.jpg). I just go for super smooth shaves on the neck and cheeks, I still get the joy of shaving without all the hassle of worrying about chins and under the nose (one time I did with a DE, it was like I got in a fight with a face hugging alien cat, yeesh), and I am not pressured to shave every day, which is a life-saver with my schedule. For sharp angles, I either use my DE, or if I am feeling lucky I use a straight, one has a rounded tip (a stubby from whippeddog.com), and one has a sharp 90 degree edge (given to me), but the DE tends to work most of the time. If you

For general maintenance, I scrub mine every morning when I shower with shampoo, and recently I have tried Jojoba oil, which seems to make it softer on some days, but almost causes dandruff on others, although that may be the heat. I am, however, playing with Firehouse tacky to see how well that might work on beard and mustache.

Oh, for your one question about the brush, I am cheap. I see no reason to pay that much for a brush, especially one whose sole job is to go down my face. Cheap ones like http://www.amazon.com/Kent-Hand-Made-113mm-Coarse-Pocket/dp/B000YB20YY - still a Kent, but not as fancy, will work perfectly fine. Easier to carry in a bag, but I tend to always have my book-bag/laptop bag with me, so maybe easier for me?