Like seemingly everyone else, we adore the Queer Eye reboot from Netflix.
The original focused on superficial appearance and behavior, but the reboot delves down deep. It gets real. The Fab Five strive to help people discover their confidence, reexamine their priorities and trajectory and live their best lives. That’s great. We find ourselves moved to tears by the end of most episodes. It’s only a question of degree: whether it’ll be a light misting or a bucketload of tears.
We definitely prefer the reboot, but we do recognize a common thread running between it and the original. Both versions inspired us—and many other men—to do better with self-care. We recently spoke to a barber friend. He said that during the run of the original Queer Eye, he experienced an economic boom. More men were willing to invest in a high-end haircut. And, they became interested in using product, including pomade and hair conditioner and skin moisturizer.
His story was obviously anecdotal, but it matched our personal experience. After a weekend of binging on the new Queer Eye, we re-examined our hygiene regime. We concluded that we had gravitated towards cheapness and were likely sacrificing quality.
Stated another way, we were using too many Old Spice products. This resulted from several factors. First, we like inexpensive. Second, we’re skeptical consumers. “Is more expensive really better?” we asked ourselves. We had some doubts, so we decided to experiment with some fancier products.
At Target, we bought Superior Grade Shaving Cream (approximately $8.99) and Cooling After-Shave Balm (approximately $9.99) from Duke Cannon Supply Co. On Amazon, we bought Face Moisturizer from Rugged & Dapper (approximately $23.70) and Forming Cream from American Crew (approximately $9.99).
Our conclusion? Well, yeah, these products achieved demonstrably better results. There’s no doubt about it. Our skin is smoother and less irritated. Our hair holds its desired shape without feeling cemented.
We noticed the biggest difference in the shaving cream. Forever, we’d used generic brand shave gel. We thought that it was fine. But, it doesn’t compare to the Duke Cannon Superior Grade Shaving Cream. Even when we skip shaving for a few days, there is no pinching or pulling. Our face is free of missed patches of problematic hair or red rashes. There’s no going back. Not for us.
