The Grooming Guys Blog

Shaving With The Grain

Remember the TV show "Fantasy Island" when Mr. Rourke's diminutive sidekick, Tattoo, would point to the sky and shout "Da Grain, Da Grain"? Now, while you may have mistakenly thought he was referencing an incoming plane - truth is - our little friend was instead extolling the virtues of shaving with "the grain" of hair growth. Tattoo just thought a great shave should be more than fantasy.

Anyway, television references aside, it's a fact that every shave is made more comfortable when shaving with the grain of hair growth. And when we say with the grain, we just don't mean downward. Instead, it is important that you take a look at the different ways your facial hair flows. While it may grow directly downward on your cheeks, the follicles on your neck may run in several different directions. Because of this, a superior shave requires that you diagnose each section (or direction) individually and shave in that direction accordingly.

Here are a few more grains of wisdom for shaving with… well you know:

•Use a transparent shaving oil or gel that will allow you to see exactly where and what direction you're
shaving.

•When shaving side to side or at an odd angle, be extremely careful (no slicing motions Einstein).
Using short strokes and rinsing your blade often will increase safety.

•It's worth it, but shaving with the grain often requires a little more time. With this extra time, make
sure to keep the to-be-shaved parts of your face moist and lubricated.

•As a last resort, it's OK to go against the grain to get those stubborn hairs. But try to keep this action
to a minimum as it can really irritate the skin.

It Pays to Read This Blog

Some folks might opt not to read this blog.... they just don't want to hear what us Grooming Guys have to say. That's fine with us (although it does hurt our feelings a bit), but keep in mind, those folks won't be saving 8% on all orders through the 28th. You know who will. YOU BROTHER!

Just enter the coupon code postxmas8 and 8% will come off your product order total. It's our way of extending the holidays just a bit longer. And why 8%? Well, it's better than 5, 6, or 7 right?

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Oh My How Times Have Changed

Walking through our web warehouse today the Grooming Guys couldn't help but reflect back to the early days and how things have changed. Back in 1999, we were just a couple of guys with some good skin, a fledgling web site, the desire to open some stores and some big dreams (which we are working toward, but still have not totally reached).

How small were we? Well, all our web orders used to be packed and filled on the piece of exercise equipment you see in the upper left corner here. Yep, the not-often used treadmill in Mike's basement was our pick and pack area. The shipping area was the post office in Bethesda, Maryland. We could usually carry all our boxed orders in a large Giant (the local grocery store) bag.

Today, although we have our own dedicated web warehouse complete with its own staff, we often reflect back on the care and TLC we were able to give to each order when there were only a handful a day. We know that same care has to continue to go into every order -- even when the number of orders coming in is beyond our wildest dreams. We think we still live up to our founding standards.

Anyway, thanks so much to everyone who has made our company's growth possible and enabled Mike's treadmill to be freed up. Now... at least his son has a place to put his Mighty Morphin Power Ranger action figures.

Grooming Guru Hits The Small Screen

Make sure to check out Grooming Lounge's very own Grooming Guru, Pirooz Sarshar, this Monday morning on D.C.'s CBS affiliate, WUSA-9. Pirooz will be on the morning news around 9:30 AM reviewing some of the latest styles in both hair and clothing.

Don't miss it.

Holiday Shipping Details

If you're looking to get some gifts delivered before X-Mas via GROUND DELIVERY, make sure to place your order no later than this Friday, the 15th. If you're in the general vicinity of the D.C.-area, you probably have a couple more days of wiggle room.

But don't worry if you're far away, we've got several UPS delivery options that enable you to procrastinate all the way until next Wednesday.

Happy Holidays!

It's Not A Razor... It's Bathroom Art

Around this time of year we start selling a lot of Shaving Tools -- razors, brushes, stands, etc. What's interesting about these swelled sales around holiday time is "who" is buying such items and "why" they say they are purchasing them.

The "who" isn't so striking. It's usually wives buying them for their husbands or daughters purchasing them for their pops.

The "why" is a little more interesting and to be honest, has given us a new angle when trying to sell through our inventory. Ladies want to buy them because they are sick of seeing crappy disposable razors lying around the sink. "It's just gross" and "it makes our sophisticated bathroom look like a locker room" are just a few of the comments we have received. In the end, these ladies view our razors and accessories as just art work for the bathroom. They look great and instantly make any bathroom look more regal.

When we made them through our manufacturer in England, we were taking a completely different approach. We set out to make functional Shaving Tools that improved the quality of every shave. The razors are perfectly weighted to tackle any beard and the Best Badger shaving brushes help to lift up any man's whiskers and uproot his ingrowns. And oh by the way... they look really nice.

Well... we're rambling. Regardless, take a look at our Grooming Lounge Shaving Tools. They'll make your bathroom look less junky. They'll also do a bit of good in the shaving department.

Hole In One

If we're really trying to make this blog relevant to grooming, this might be a bit of a stretch. But here goes anyway.

A lot of Grooming Lounge guests are golfers... they love the game and love to tell the crew at our stores how their rounds have gone in past weeks. Well, no one had a better round than one of the Grooming Guys moms this Saturday. Two holes-in-one in one round. You heard that right. That's a serious mother.... huh?

Baxter Is Back

Wanted to pass along some kudos to the folks at Baxter of California as they introduce their revamped packaging and exciting new imagery. The classic line now has an amazing modern feel and we just have to say their new bottles are about the coolest containers we've seen in awhile.

You'll notice from the images on the site that we don't have all the repacked products yet -- but that will change over the coming weeks as we work through our "more mature" Baxter inventory. Anyhoo, check out the entire Baxter line by clicking here or here or here.

8 Gifts That Are Better Than Ties

People walk into our stores everyday and ask us "what should I get my (insert male relation here)." Not that we want people to stop asking, but below are eight favorites of the Grooming Guys – presents he won’t have to just “pretend” to be happy about.

Grooming Lounge Greatest Shave Ever Kit $60

The name says it all.  Shaves you money too!

Acqua di Parma Colonia Holiday Gift Set $100

He’ll look and smell better instantly.

Molton Brown Rich Kit $70

Three favorites in a weird box.

Zwilling 3-Piece Grooming Kit $99

Snips, tweezes and cuts on-the-go.

Panasonic Nose Hair Trimmer $35

Stocking Stuffer Un-Stuffs His Schnoz

Molton Brown Recharge Black Pepper Body Wash $25

The best-smelling body wash of all time.

Balla Powder For Men $15

This product is for “the boys”

Anthony Logistics Perfect Shave Set $50

Great shaving tools in a nifty sack.

Just A Tip: Clean Out That Wallet

True Story:  One of the Grooming Guy's fathers had a friend who carried his Auto Owner's Manual in his wallet.  That billfold was quite a site.

Anyway, just thought we'd pass on a little tip that will make your life a bit easier and make you appear a bit more gentlemanly.  Take a few minutes today to clean out your wallet.  Dump those old biz cards, expired credit cards, receipts you'll never file and get that sucker down to the bare necessities.  Not only will it make it easier to find what you're looking for in a pinch, but it will also make your pants look a little less odd (you know that uncomfortable wallet bulge).

Have a groomed weekend.