Our Men’s Health and Beauty Expert, Will Shoemaker reviews the new line of hair care products from AXE and offers details on how to win your own!
Ok, I’ve got a funny situation on my hands… some very nice people recently provided me with products from AXE’s new line of hair care… very good products. Historically, AXE is just one of those brands I like to make fun of. But honestly, it’s not their fault. They have a very difficult target audience: guys who are willing to purchase hipper grooming products to give them a leg up in the dating pool, but being considered “metro” is not their thing. Guys who maybe don’t know when to stop with the body spray. If anyone needs to be unexpectedly scrubbed down by a spontaneous harem of club-goers, it is often they. Ironnyyyyyyy!…
I guess that’s really why AXE’s ad campaign for the new hair products, while not expecting much of its audience in terms of interpreting subtly, is in some sense a clever satire of itself; calling its own demographic out on their sins of product over-application. So I should just accept the exhaustively masculine messages as hyperbole and get over it.
Because here’s the thing: The products are really, really good. And there’s enough variety in the line to encourage guys to experiment with different looks and succeed. If toolbaggy ads help a sea of post-college professionals rinse the pre-college shellac from their hair, it’s a cool thing. Marketing is a conversation, and you and I will just know that we’re having a different one. Let’s talk about the products.
For myself, I tried two shampoos- “De-Glue” and “Constrict”- and two styling products- a “Messy Look” paste for longish hair, and a “Clean-Cut Look” pomade for short-cropped hair. I’ll get this out of the way first: the products that I tried smell really GOOD. Not the pungent, alcoholic smell that I remember being permanently infused in the walls and carpet of my first roommate’s room. These scents are sweeter, more herbal, with notes of something like berries. A BIG plus in my book. And whenever possible, they’re made in the same fluorescent colors as your night life, which, come on, is pretty fun.
The De-Glue shampoo scrub contains an exfoliant of some kind (“rock crystals”, according to the bottle) for no-fooling-around de-gunking. Subjected to the ever-important test of sleeping in styling product, waking up to go for a sweaty run, and then shampooing, it gets the job done like a champ. Don’t know if little crystals are the secret or what, but I won’t argue- because it doesn’t.
Another situation one always likes to avoid is poofy hair. Because let’s face it, people are going to see you from time to time in the morning without styling product, and dry, shorter hair often has that volumizing effect that makes you look like you’re wearing a lego man’s helmet-hair. Now, for most of us, no shampoo can guarantee that you’ll look just as awesome with or without styling product. But AXE’s de-poofing Constrict shampoo has an extract that did indeed leave my hair feeling very smooth and laying more calmly against my head than other shampoos, which induce super-excited, “Just washed!! Let’s all stand up!” follicles.
As for the styling products, they’re really as good as you can expect. The pomade is strong and no-nonsense, shaping the stubborn cowlicks of my short hair into effortlessly tidy swaths, with texture just where I want it. Apply it to dry hair, and the world is your oyster. The paste is just a bit creamier to work into longer hair without weighing it down too much, and is provides the perfect amount of hold for “messy” hair that mustn’t be too controlled. These products don’t make you compromise between hair that has to look wet and gelled and hair that is goofily uncontained; they’re exactly what every guy needs.
So I have to be completely honest, I’m going to be keeping these products on hand for myself for a good long while. There really aren’t any easily accessible products marketed for men that do a better job. And YOU can score some for yourself by entering our product giveaway! Many thanks to the AXE Hair Team at Zocalo for providing the product and making this possible.
The Prizes -
Grand Prize: A pair of AXE Hair Products (one full-size shampoo and one styling product)
Runner - Ups (two): One mini pack containing a travel size AXE DUAL: 2 IN 1Shampoo and AXE PRIMED: Just Clean Shampoo.
E-mail contests@gobeautybeast.com with your name and address to enter, and also visit http://www.axehaircrisisrelief.org and http://twitter.com/CarlywithAXE to check out more of the line. Winners will be announced on Monday, June 22nd, 2009.