Every now and again I shave my face completely and lose the stubble that I usually keep in check with my trusty beard trimmer. This generally happens if I am going to a formal event such as a wedding and I need to look my best.
I’ve kept stubble on my face since our youngest daughter, Izzy, was born almost eight years ago. In those early days, when I was wrangling two children in the mornings, my grooming routine got a bit more relaxed than it had been in previous years and dealing with facial became the responsibility of my beard trimmer.
I got used to the stubble, as did my wife. In fact, on the occasions when I do go clean shaven, Mrs Adams complains and tells me it looks wrong.
I have to concede, she is correct. Although being stubble-free makes me look a good 10 years younger, I look better with well-trimmed stubble on my face.
How I maintain my stubble
How do I maintain my stubble? A lot of it comes down to the beard trimmer itself.
I generally prefer a rechargeable trimmer with a lithium battery so I can travel with it and don’t have to worry about trailing leads in the bathroom. It needs to be a good quality item and this is something I learned the hard way.
While travelling, I once found myself in desperate need of a beard trimmer. I bought one from a stand at Centralna train station in Warsaw, Poland. It used AA batteries and the image on the outside of the box suggested it could slice through the thickest mane of hair with ease.
I turned it on and applied it to my face and the trimmer stopped working. I kid you not, it simply couldn’t cope with my facial hair because it was too thick. I haven’t skimped on quality since.
I will trim my stubble every day if at all possible. To sculpt the stubble and tidy up lose hairs, I will use an old-fashioned, single-blade safety razor.
A lot of people may be surprised by this, but the results are better than a multi-blade razor and you are less likely to experience razor-rash.
Every now and again I clean the beard trimmer off and oil it. That said, you do have to be careful about using too much oil as this can cause the blades to clog up.
As a rule, my grooming routine doesn’t invlove beard oils. That said, from time to time I have grown my stubble into a beard and when I do, I have used oils and argan-based oils would be my personal favourite (although following a particularly bad experience when I applied some on my face in the summer months and it went rancid, I avoid coconut oil!)
There isn’t much to it
In conclusion, I would say there isn’t much to maintaining my stubble. It is worth investing in a good quality beard trimmer. The one I presently use I’ve had for several years now. It’s travelled the world with me and I have no intention of replacing it any time soon.
