Good evening chaps. I had a bit of a revelation about hair tonics today. I was getting ready for church and was running a bit behind. I did not have time to wash my hair and honestly, I don't like washing it every day. It dries my scalp too much. Yet it was a bit of a mess from bed head. What to do? I thought I would try dressing it with a liberal dose of hair tonic and use that to tame it and make it lay down a bit. It has been quite humid here the last two days and with the glycerin content of the tonic I was a little afraid of my hair looking dirty if it drew too much moisture. I have had it happen before. Ligther coloured hair does not look one bit nice with a greasy looking sheen to it. Then I remembered one gent who recommended buffing your hair well with a towel after application. I have done that and it works but I still wondered if there was a better way to apply the tonic and not wind up with a sheen of some sort? Then for some reason it hit me. The Brits refer to these tonics as friction lotions so there must be a reason, yes? Indeed, there is a reason. I wondered if working this vigorously into my scalp, literally creating a friction, would help with conditioning and to possibly dry up a bit of the moisture? It works and works well! I have a pretty full head of hair and it has some natural body to it though it is fine stranded. So I cannot speak to the effectiveness of this method for those with thinning or receding hair lines.
Here is how I did it. I took my Kent miltary brushes and vigorously brushed my hair straight forward till it laid fairly straight. Then I applied a very liberal dose of Pinaud Eau de Portugall. I decant my tonics into four ounce blue round glass bottles with pump atomisers. I think it goes on more evenly this way and wastes less. I then took the pads of my fingertips and proceed to work from the tonic into my scalp starting at the nape of neck and finishing at the widows peak. I spent a good four to five minutes doing this. I was quite vigorous but never to the point of discomfort or irritation. I did NOT use my fingernails at all. I have enough dry scalp issues without adding scrapes to it. This technique left my hair feeling full with a bit of hold and my scalp invigorated. I brushed it into my normal style with the Kents and all was well. No droopy forelocks or fly aways. Quite nice. I have been a huge fan of Pinaud tonics and Pashana friction lotions for years now. This has only reinforced my opinion they are some of the best values in mens grooming. 250-300ml bottles go for $7-12 apiece depending on brand. Give this a try chaps. It mayt work for you.
Regards, Todd
Here is how I did it. I took my Kent miltary brushes and vigorously brushed my hair straight forward till it laid fairly straight. Then I applied a very liberal dose of Pinaud Eau de Portugall. I decant my tonics into four ounce blue round glass bottles with pump atomisers. I think it goes on more evenly this way and wastes less. I then took the pads of my fingertips and proceed to work from the tonic into my scalp starting at the nape of neck and finishing at the widows peak. I spent a good four to five minutes doing this. I was quite vigorous but never to the point of discomfort or irritation. I did NOT use my fingernails at all. I have enough dry scalp issues without adding scrapes to it. This technique left my hair feeling full with a bit of hold and my scalp invigorated. I brushed it into my normal style with the Kents and all was well. No droopy forelocks or fly aways. Quite nice. I have been a huge fan of Pinaud tonics and Pashana friction lotions for years now. This has only reinforced my opinion they are some of the best values in mens grooming. 250-300ml bottles go for $7-12 apiece depending on brand. Give this a try chaps. It mayt work for you.
Regards, Todd
