The Handlebar Club Forum

I mentioned in a previous post that I preferred Skippy's wax rather than Stern's (the only two brands I found in a shop here in Norway). One of the reasons I preferred Skippy's, aside from the fact that the rainy Stavanger weather won't wash it out, was the fabulous scent. I did have a feeling that it was a little soft for my moustache so I decided to order some Oregon Wild Hair and and Bounder. The Oregon Wild Hair came in the mail today - I'm still waiting on the Bounder.

From reading the wax section of this forum, I got the feeling that a lot of people liked the Wild Hair wax, but I have to say that the smell is not at all pleasing. The consistency and hold seems good (after an afternoon of usage), but when my wife went to kiss me, she wrinkled her nose and, confirming my olfactory impressions, said, "your moustache smells like someone's unwashed backside." Actually, she was a little more brutal, but you get the picture.

After reading a little more about lanolin, it seems to me that was the ingredient giving the wax such a nasty smell. Too bad. It does say on the tin that it contains "musk"... if that is so, it smells like no musk scent I have ever encountered before. Maybe they forgot the musk in this batch? I am pretty disappointed. Tomorrow, I will try styling my moustache with the Oregon Wild Hair for hold and apply a light layer of Skippy's on top so my mouth doesn't smell like an unhygienic posterior.

Now I am really looking forward to the Bounder - everything I read about it seems to rave about the powerful hold and the lovely scent!

As a neophyte beginning to form opinions about moustache wax, I think I have settled on an important rule of thumb - at least for me - no matter what it does for your moustache, it must smell good!

I liked the smell of Oregon, but it never really held well at all for me. I had to reapply it frequently. I use hndlebars mostly (although I am using WT today). Hndlebars, however, is not the nicest smelling stuff!

apw,how does hndlbars smell.i am thinking about ordering it.cheers scottyb

Ummm... how to put this kindly...

It has a "natural" smell of lanolin.

Lanolin comes from sheep.

So, it smells a bit like sheep.

But the price is reasonable, and Mr. Hndlebars ships free in the US, so go for it.

Allen

And you probably could melt it, and add some scent if you wanted to do so.

The hndlbars website explains why they don't add scent, if I remember right.

All the best.

A.

I suppose what smells "nice" is subjective - that would at least explain why old ladies love those intense floral perfumes that make me feel like I am going into oxygen deficit whenever I get a whiff.

I guess the smell of sheep could be pleasing in a country-life sort of way, but I am unsure if I want my upper lip to smell like livestock. At least it is a nicer association than my wife had when she smelled the Oregon Wild Hair... And what woman wants to kiss a man who smells like a by product of wool?

I am still looking forward to trying Bounder - apparently it was shipped yesterday, so I'll let you know...

smedstad - not trying to discourage you from trying hndlebars, just trying to state that it is not "perfumed."

I HATE LADIES (and men too for that matter) WHO FEEL THE NEED TO MARINATE IN PERFUME.

Allen

I may order some hndlebars someday - it certainly has got some very positive reviews on this site. It seems to me that the danger of "unperfumed" wax is that it will end up smelling like the ingredients rather than actually being unscented... and if that is not a pleasant smell then... well, the wife, you know


Amen to that!

Well, the Bounder I ordered last week came the other day and it certainly does smell good - though nothing beats Skippys so far! I ordered some Firehouse Wacky Tacky today so, my wax collection is growing

Just ordered me some Hndlebars Allen!! Lookin forward to givin it a try!! I'll let you know, you too Smedstad.

Cool - the Firehouse Wacky Tacky I ordered last week should be here soon... I can't wait! These waxperiments sure are fun

Smed: You'll like WT. I have been using it the past few days with good results.

Mboy: Hope you like hndlebars.

An olfactory update:

I'm starting to wonder if my initial impression of Oregon Wild Hair was a little harsh. I'm starting to really like it for a bit of soft hold. It also seems to reduce the wiry feeling of my moustache and actually makes it feel quite soft without making it feel greasy or sticky or heavy. Maybe it's the lanolin? Maybe the initial strong smell I complained about had something to do with the tin being sealed for quite some time before I opened it? Maybe there was a build up of aroma that was released then? In any case, neither I nor my wife think it smells bad any more - rather more like honey than anything else, really. I am glad the nasty smell dissipated and I am glad I persisted with my OWH experiments. I am rather pleased with how it makes my moustache feel, although I do need to reapply it/touch up occasionally throughout the day (the small chapstick-like tube that came with the gift pack is good for that!)... I need to get myself a nice pocket-size moustache comb too; it is a pain carrying around a full-size comb - and occasionally painful too if I sit wrong!

The Skippy's, which smells heavenly, is a nice soft wax, but a little greasier and stickier than the OWH and makes my moustache feel a little heavy - and using too much will result in fangs.

I haven't made up my mind on the Wacky Tacky yet. The smell is neither pleasant nor disagreeable, and I can't seem to figure out how much I want to use. Do I use a lot and try to get my moustache tight and slick, relying on information I have read around here insisting it has a strong hold? Or do I use very little and use it as a soft hold wax? In either case, I seem to run the risk of fangs with WT more so than any other wax.

By contrast, Bounder, which smells lovely, has such intense hold that it makes my moustache feel kind of hard and slightly tacky - but not heavy. But it doesn't work at all in cold weather. The hold is so intense that if you get any particles of any kind in your moustache, you can't comb them out. You have to wash out your moustache and start again. So this is definitely a wax for when you want to look sharp and are willing to pay careful attention to what you eat/how you use napkins/Kleenex/scarves/etc.

My tube of Stern's is still missing and I haven't replaced it, so I can't include it in this update. I'll have to get myself another tube and resume those experiments soon.

The conclusion of this morning's rambling post is: First impressions of an aroma may be wrong; if you think your wax smells bad, take the lid off and let it "air out" a bit.

The experiments continue

Well, so far the Hndlebars is much thicker than the WT (sorry you haven't figured out the WT yet Smedstad - don't give up on it and keep experimenting). I actually have been using the WT in the center hairs and lightly on the outer/tips. Then I curl em up w/ the Hndlbars, which seems to hold slightly better, maybe cause it's somewhat combined w/ the WT.

Anyway, I'm kind of interested to order some Bounders, as Smedstad says it's got the ultimate hold, which is what I go for. The less I have to worry about and check the stache throughout the day, the better.

I'm wondering how all the different waxes hold after I get off my motorcycle this spring/summer

Smedstad: I also like the experimentation of waxes as well, kinda fun.
Allen: Thanks for the Hndlebars recommendation, and I'm getting used to the "sheep smell" LOL!

Well, I can't speak for how Bounder would hold up on a motorcycle as I have zero motorcycle experience, but it held up quite well in some crazy wind we had here last week - and I mean crazy North Sea wind! I just had to poke my moustache a bit to get it back to perfection when I got inside, although I am probably the only one who noticed it needed a readjustment.

Michiganboy, speaking of experimentation, have you (or has anyone else for that matter) tried either of these waxes? I am thinking of trying the Man's Face Stuff products for my next experiment. And don't worry, I won't lose heart with the WT - if there is anything my experience with OWH has taught me it is not to judge a wax too quickly!