How To Finally Buy The Right Hair Product For Yourself, According To Industry Pros
Women love saying men have it easy at personal grooming. I say, not entirely true. We have our own set of problems, like having to wade through a dizzying ocean of waxes, pomades, clays, muds, pastes, sprays, creams and gels (c’mon, they’ve got to be the same thing at some point) just for a short crop of hair. Yet, being the uninformed chumps some of us are, we end up swiping inexpensive gunk from supermarket aisles for them to ruin our scalp insidiously.
Technically, guys know how to buy hair products. Can’t say the same for investing in hair products, though.
So to make guys’ grooming truly as easy as the ladies had imagined, we spoke to the founders behind Felden Co — a new grooming platform that merchandises specialty hair and bath products for Asian climate — on how a man can, for the love of his hair, shop smart and spend his money on the right stuff once and for all.
(Lunar New Year note: Dong-dong-dong Chiang! You're in luck, because one, we've got another giveaway in store. And two, we're taking that added pressure of how to best present yourself off. We want you to stay on that tunnel focus to maneuver pesky relatives during visitations.)
1. Make good use of the tester. It’s there for free.
a) How it breaks down in your palm
There’s no better way to figure out if a pomade works for you than to rub it between your palms. This will inform you of its consistency and how easy it will be to apply it to your hair. So go on and, well, rub one out.
b) Give it a good whiff
An oft-neglected part of the process is making sure the product is a smell you like, or can at least tolerate. No point looking dapper if your hair smells like socks.
c) Strength of hold
Ever found yourself yearning for a stronger hold on your hair throughout the day? How long the product can sustain your style against elements of nature depends on the engineering of it.
Asian-made products, like the Black Friday range, tend to withstand Singapore's heat and humidity, and heavier products don’t always hold on longer. Scoop out a twenty-cent sized goop from the tester, apply on your hair, and get a feel of the hold as the day goes by.
Just don’t be an asshole and leave an empty tub for others.
2. Don't have a habit of reading? At least scan the label and look out for...
...water-based hair products, which are a lot easier to wash off compared to oil-based products. With Singapore's climate, the heat and humidity may worsen the clogging effects of petrolatum in oil-based products on the scalp and hair.
3. Find out the brand's unique selling point
All that glitters may not be gold. Just because a product is top dollar doesn’t necessarily mean it’s top quality. Focus instead on the brand’s unique selling point; perhaps 100% organic hair products are your thang if you’re one of those BYOB, plastic straw hating Bros. The best way to be sure is to do your due diligence (like reading Seriously Man voraciously) and experiment with new stuff till your hair finds total bliss.
The only thing better than investing in the right hair product for yourself is to obtain it for free. Felden Co. is generously giving away 3 sets of their Black Friday grooming range in time for your CNY holidays. Each set includes a Fixie Clay (BF), a Water-Based Pomade (BF), and 2x cleansing shampoo from Ohman!.
Enter the Instagram contest above, and we wish you all the best in your transformation efforts this CNY.
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