ANDIS Fade Clipper

   Disclaimer: Just because a clipper says "fade clipper" does not mean it is going to make you better at doing faded (or tapered) haircuts. There is no magic power to the clipper. Doing a  tapered (faded) haircut takes alot of practice to get it down.

    So I picked up the newest release from ANDIS. There new FADE Clipper and it caught my eye becuase of the shape of the clipper. It reminded me of the WAHL Senior that my buddy Victor swears by.

   So I am not sure if this is replacing the ANDIS Fade Master that we have come to use, but it will do the job if this is the case.

   These clippers are comfortable in the hands because of the ergonomic design. The blade is a #0000-#000 and gets pretty darn close and if you do a lot of bald fading the blade can be zero gapped. Heavy duty motor that will allow you to cut through wet and dry hair..

    My complaints are small and one is they are a lot louder then ANDIS lets on. You need to adjust them to find that sweet spot but I still found them to be louder then the my Fade Masters (youngsters do not like loud clippers). Second problem that I had is that they are heavier then I was hoping they would be.

    If you do a lot of fading the the important points out way what I consider negative points. Also do not forget ANDIS clippers are still made in the U.S. (big deal to me). The retail for the FADE Professional Clipper is less then $60 bucks. If you already own the Fade Masters do not worry about spending your money on these but if you do not own the Fade Masters and money is a little tight then these will do just fine.

   

Definition of Handcrafted: LUSH Shaving Products

Sometimes ya just gotta split

    So this last weekend I locked up the shop, grab the family and split town. we headed to one of my favorite place....the City Of Angels! We got checked into our hotel and headed down to Santa Monica to wander the promenade, had dinner and the wife and girls went shopping.

    So I follow the wife and girls into a store called LUSH. It was an interesting experience because when you walk into the shop it had a very strong scent that just wafted through the store. I will be honest I probably would not of gone in if it were not for the fact that i was the girls.

    LUSH is a compnay that started in England with one mission and that is creating all natural, no chemicals and more importantly no animal testing. Everything is handcrafted. If you are a vegan or just concerned about where your products come from LUSH is the compnay for you to look into.

   So as I am walking around the store I find a couple of shaving products so I grabbed considering I have posted more then once about handcrafted products. The DIRTY shaving cream came in a small container and the other called AMBROSIA came in a bottle. When I got back to the hotel I had to shave anyways so I used the AMBROSIA. The AMBROSIA is a light weight shaving cream perfect for people with sensitive skin with a scent of chamomile (do not worry it is not over powering). It has cocoa butter and linseed oil. It may not lather up super well but you will still get a very clean shave.

    I grabbed the DIRTY Shaving cream because of the packaging hoping that it was going to be easily used with a shaving brush. The scent of this shaving cream is sandalwood and lavender (my wife loves sandalwood). I was hoping that with the product being in a "pot" kind of packaging working with a shave brush would be great but unfortunately you will not get a great lather. the good thing is that it does not take a ton to shave and with my experience the razor just glides over the skin.

   After doing some reading about not only the products but the brand the reason you will not get a very good lather is because of the lack of ingredients that are in most normal shave products. I think this is what makes these such good products.

    This is a brand I will encourage people who have sensitive skin, irritation issues, who really care about what they use or care how things effect the planet. LUSH is very active in charity and giving back.

   If you can not find a LUSH store you can order online.

Man That's Alot Off Pomade!!

   So I follow a facebook group called "Addicted To Pomade" and it is kind of cool because it lets you see how many pomade brands are out there and man there are a lot! As I worked on the last post which was a review of Ivan Zoot's pomade and the Bona Fide pomade I got to thinking about being a kid.

   I was using pomade back in junior high a pomade by DAX. I remember it being this green color and made with vegetable oil. It came in a plastic can with a metal lid. It was not the best smelling product in the world but it did the job

   Then came the painful task of using Murray's (yeah you heard me...painful). I have used this off and on for many years now and my wife still hates it becuase it will be in my hair for days. That bright oragne can with the pomade you have to melt down to make usable. I learned quickly you better have a good brush and a blow dryer handy. You can not get more old school then this, but I was happy the day i found the Murray's light!

   Then came Royal Crown Hairdressing. I am not even sure when I found this but it was awesome because all I had to do was put it and come it through. That is what I used in my hair on my wedding day and I still like using....high shine. I will be honest pomade back then never smelled the best, it was grease, oil and wax.

Layrite Pinup by id Stankovit

    I had just started barber school when I got my first can of Layrite (courtesy of Don Hawley himself) and man was I grateful. held well and washed right out. I now had something that smelled good and worked well (I also got my pillowcases back).

    I did not have Layrite, Suavecito or Hold Fast. I was so happy the day I got my first can of Laytite (and so was my wife). I am happy that companies have started putting out really good water based products but I am also happy to see people making there own pomades as well. It is cool to see so many different kinds, weights and scents becuase I did not have the options that people have now!

Stay Greasey and Support Your Local Barber!!
Frankie The Barber

New Pomades Taking Up Space In My Drawer

    Things have been a bit on the crazy side between working 6 days a week at the shop and family stuff so I have been kind of putting off a few things, including updates here.

    First of the year I received two packages one from "Clipper Guy" Ivan Zoot which had a sample of ZOOT! Hair pomade. I also received a couple of cans of pomade from the guys at Bona Fide.

    Bona Fide hails from Orange County California which has become a hotbed for cool product (Layrite, Imperial and a few others). Water based pomade gets a lot of grief from fans of pomade becuase people do not call it pomade but a glorified gel. This is a statement that I do not agree with and personally I like water based pomades.

Used Bona Fide

  
    The scent of Bona Fide is a fresh clean scent that is not over powering. Sometimes it is better then an overpowering sweet scent. The texture Bona Fide is smooth and easily malleable unlike some products that have the tendency to be stiff. It is easy to come through and restyle. In my experience it is not a super strong hold, more of a medium hold with a decent shine. the price point is about 12 bucks which is a good price. If you are a barber or a shop owner I think it is worth keeping around if you are looking for an inexpensive water based pomade.

Short cut used ZOOT! Hair pomade

    Ok so I do not have packaging for the ZOOT! Hair pomade (like I said it was a sample), but it was enough of a sample to get a few cuts and styles out of it. This is not a water based pomade but it is not a super heavy pomade that is a pain in the butt to wash out at the end of the week. It has a minty scent but not that tea tree scent that most guys are used to getting in some other products. It has a smooth texture that is easy to use and easy to comb through. It has a lite to medium hold. If you are looking for a pomade to pile high that pomp this is not the best product. I found it works good for slick backs, side parts and just all around clean styling. It seems to have more of a matte finish so it is not s super high shine.


   I have used both of these products on more textures hair and found that Ivan Zoots ZOOT! Hair pomade worked better on textured hair then the Bona Fide did. But in the end you will have to try them out for yourself and see what works the best.

   On a completely seperate not the new "Support Your Local Barber" stickers are available and the shirts will be done soon!! If you are interested in either of these things hit me up!

Cheers,
Frankie The Barber