The Handlebar Club Forum

Gents,

A detailed review of commercial wax preferences seems to reveal that Wacky Tacky, Oregon Wild Hair, and hndlebars come in on top, but not necessarily in that order.

All of these contain petrolatum, so I read that if one prefers to avoid this, and go au natural, a home concoction can be made with Beeswax and castor oil, Jojoba oil or Shea butter (thanks Peter!).

But my question is this: how do the home brews compare with the commercial stuff? Are they just as good?

Thanks kindly,

Bob

Hi Bob!



As I have nearly tried out every commercial wax mentioned on the HB-clubwebsite, I can say, that the DIY-wax does a very decent job and is as good as the commercial stuff. Every wax has it's pros and cons (even the commercial ones ) and if one works better or not for you also depends on your facial hair, weather conditions etc.

The great advantage of DIY-wax is IMHO, that it can be tailored exactly to your needs - that's the great thing.

Cheers,

Peter

Hi Peter,

Thanks kindly for the reply.

I have been looking into the Shea butter, and it seems as though it has a much lower melting point than the beeswax. In that case, do you add and stir it in after the wax is melted, or just heat everything together?

Cheers,

Bob

Hi Bob!

You are very welcome!

I just heat everything together.

Good luck & cheers,

Peter

Have to say, I never found a commercial wax which came anywhere near giving me what I wanted - needle sharp, caddish whiskers. They were either a complete bugger to apply and remove or just so feeble that my natural state of exploded scrubbing brush would reassert itself every five minutes. Since starting to make and sell my own, Bounder, in the order of hundreds of tubes at a time, I get the impression that many manufacturers either are not users themselves, so don't really "get" what works and what doesn't or want to take the quick and easy route, churning out as much as possible, as cheaply as possible.

As for the shea butter, Bob, it's wonderful stuff which feeds the bristles well but requires a heap of careful testing during manufacturer to achieve a blend which is both workable and effective. Balance is all...

Hello, before I joined this site I made a few waxes for my self just for fun. They work, but Because of my mostly white whiskers
I find they have a mind of their own. When I apply the wax it will hold but have to reapply a few times durring the day. I did buy some Mens Face Stuff unscented it works also but still need to reapply durring the day. I just ordered Firehouse light color wax
I'm hoping that will work better. If it"s the same with FH I"ll just keep making my own.

I'm not thrilled with waxes either. I tried a home-made pomade that was too much effort and too little result. I've come to prefer glue stick or Aleene's tacky glue as they dry good and firm for the curls. Not great for wet or cold weather (due to breath condensation except on the curls), but easier to apply and wash out and gives you a curl you can sleep on. Try them. I have videos and advice at my blog via youtube. Link below.