You can also learn more about the House 99 Brand with our introduction to the brand, and our introduction to the range.
House 99 Circle of Groom: Episode 3
Is your face slightly scruffy? Hair slightly wild with eyes to match? Do people cross the street to avoid you? You might be one of many unsuspecting men in dire need of a grooming tune-up.
Most men, at some point in their lives, will go through a reinvention of how they look. Take David Beckham’s hairstyle, for example. The man is constantly experimenting with his look and, in turn, inspiring a legion of lads (and a couple of courageous ladettes) to do the same. Or, similarly, what about your man Gwilym Pugh who went from being a 127kg insurance salesman to an international model and all-round bad man? Sure, so that transformation is a larger undertaking, so to speak, but what about your average bloke on the street? You’d be surprised how much a quick visit to the barbershop and a sesh of men’s grooming can turn things around for you.
This week in our men’s grooming series, David Beckham’s favourite barber, Fabio Marques of Figaro’s in Lisbon meets a motley crew of young lads – amongst them a coupla pirate lookey-likeys and lumberjack or two – and takes to them with his expert scissors for minimal, achievable changes with maximal impact.
DANIEL: FROM PIRATE TO POMPADOUR
When young Daniel came into the House 99 barbershop he already had a strong look going. He’s a gorgeous lad, of course, but there was a slight lack of attention to detail when it came to maintaining his scruff and styling that ‘stache.
First up, our ‘sick barber’ Fabio took to his hair, tidying up the sides and combing his short length hair into a side-part comb-over. For a slicked-down ‘do, Fabio recommended getting a good amount of that Smooth Back Shaping Pomade, warming it up in your hands and fingers and then running it through the hair, following with a comb for extra precision.
The, Fabio got out the Neat Cut Shaving Cream, a lovely, rich cream that both softens hair and moisturises skin at the same time, helping to protect it and reduce discomfort from shaving. In order to make Daniel’s curly moustache stand out, Fabio shaved the scruff off your man’s cheeks, getting a nice, close shave. “This is a shaving cream, so you have the smoothness of a foam – the blade can slide through much easier,” Fabio explained. “At the same time, it moisturises your skin.”
Finally, a touch more pomade to help slick and smooth that mighty mo’. Pirate no more, Daniel is as slick as can be, innit?
ADAM: THE LOVELY LUMBERJACK
Next, Fabio’s trusty right-hand man João (aka Li’l Johnny) worked on our in-house lumberjack-type lad Adam in all his bushy-bearded, man-bunned, flannel-wearing glory. The first thing Li’l Johnny does is give Adam’s beard a good swipe with the Sharp Cut Shaving Stick. Perfect for beard grooming, a precise shaving stick takes inspiration from barber’s shaving rituals, raising facial hair at the perfect angle, ready for a precision trim or a close shave. It also minimizes discomfort and irritation from shaving which ain’t never a bad thing.
“It’s a longer beard, so you need to hydrate it,” explains Li’l Johnny. “Of course, you need some shape as well.” To that end, he trims Adam’s beard so that it’s less overgrown and scruffy, nothing wrong with a smart, tidy shape, is there? “Then, we use the beard and hair balm to really shape and tame the beard,” adds Li’l Johnny who applies a solid amount of the Softer Touch Beard & Hair Balm through Adam’s bushy face fuzz.
You’ll notice that Adam’s transformation wasn’t drastic, just enough to look polished and not like he’d just come in from a woodland forage. Nice one.
If you like this content, check out our introduction to House 99, check out our exploration of the full range, and keep up to speed with the Mankind blog.
Holden McIntosh is a writer for House 99.
