Good news for fans of Lab Series this week – I hear on the grooming grapevine that the brand (one of my own personal favourites and, judging by the way it flies out of the Mankind warehouse, one of yours too) will be launching two new body products this year, one of them a hand cream especially aimed at guys.
Given that most men don’t exactly have the best looking hands in the world this had got to be good news – and it’s about time. Generally speaking, the male grooming market has been slow to catch on to the notion that more and more men are interested in body products. There still aren’t that many body moisturisers out there aimed at men, hardly any dedicated foot products and only a handful of hand creams. As you might expect, Mankind stocks many of those that do exist – including Anthony Logistics’ excellent Glycerin Hand and Body Lotion which I’ve already mentioned in one of my previous Grooming Ed’s Top Picks and which I keep on the side of my bath at home. But even I forget to use it sometimes. Most of the time I wait until my hands are drier than a Mormon wedding* or are tight, shrivelled and sore from gardening, washing the car or (on very rare occasions) from doing the dishes.
But as I’ve discovered, you ignore your hands at your peril. Earlier this week I was talking to an esteemed image consultant who confirmed my worst fears – men are rubbish at looking after their hands. What she really couldn’t understand is why so many men go to great lengths to make sure they’re superbly dressed and immaculately groomed and then go an spoil it all by forgetting to attend to the details like polishing their shoes, getting rid of neck hair (I’m guilty of that too) and not cutting their finger nails properly – or worse still not cleaning them. Men, she reckons, make love with their hands so they should look their best at all times, especially as women are so observant. What’s more, in dating situations, hands are often on display near our mouths (when we bring forks, spoons and pint glasses up to our mouths) and people look at your mouth when you’re chatting.
As someone who’s least appealing habit is picking the skin off the side of their fingertips for fun, I held my head in shame at this criticism (and quickly shoved my old ‘brass bands’ behind my back) so she didn’t catch sight of my disappointing digits. Mind you, my manky hands are in good company – poor Gordon Brown’s nails are pared back as far as public finances and when I spotted Pete Doherty in a Wiltshire Waitrose a while back I noticed he not only had a basket full of Sheba cat food (I’m hoping it was for his cat) but enough muck under his nails to grow a bag of Maris Pipers.
So this week my call to arms (or hands) is for men everywhere to muster up a manicure. You’ve no excuse – everything you need is here and I’ve very kindly knocked up a guide for you. So go on, pull your fingers out!
*apologies, Osmond fans
