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Brio's Best Picks for Beards in 2020
If you look around, nearly a third of all men are sporting a beard. In ancient times, it was a symbol of status for men to wear beards. While that trend has had its own ebbs and flows over the years, since 2010 the beard trend has been growing.
Not sure what style works for your face? Looking at what is trending on the streets and big screen are great ways to identify the look that may suit you. Its easy to use a Google search and find all the “beards” and everything else pertaining to beards - from the bearded boys’ clubs to blogs and vlogs that showcase the best products to use to take your look to the next level. Beards are no longer just grown; beards are a movement.
In 2020, it is becoming apparent that there are five top trends popping up and we think you just may want to check out the best on the block this year.
The Full Beard
It takes some time to grow a full beard, so if you are considering this style, don’t expect it to happen overnight. Still, while it grows it’s important to take care of grooming. Don’t forget that even with a full beard, trimming is necessary. Forgetting to trim up your cheek and jaw line is a big faux pas. We always recommend trimming with a clean, dry, combed beard which will decrease pulling and lessen the chance of nicks and cuts.
Those first few times you shape your full beard can be intimidating, so take your time and be careful. You can always go shorter, but growing it back takes time, so start slow. Use bigger guards and work your way backwards to protect your efforts. Caring for your beard is as important as any other ritual you have. Keeping your beard healthy takes some work, but using beard wash, conditioner and a comb will keep it in check. We promise after a few weeks of consistent effort it will be worth the wait.
The Beardstache
Is it a beard or mustache? It's both. The trend of the “Beardstache” is a newer creature to the beard scene and is growing in popularity. While some people simply abhor the look, it is becoming especially popular with the younger crowd. It consists of a heavily grown in mustache paired with a well-trimmed and maintained shorter style beard. Like its full beard friend, this style takes a while to perfect and wear out looking like the cover of a magazine, so be patient with yourself as you get it to the length and look you like.
Getting the Beardstache to look just right can be tricky, so we suggest starting with a full 'Stache first and then grow in the stubble within a couple days of getting your upper lip looking as you like. If that doesn’t seem to work for you, keep trimming that lower jaw and let that 'Stache grow in.
The Goatee
This beard style may be the most versatile of beards, with several substyles under the big umbrella goatee moniker. Those wearing a goatee don anything from the landing strip to the anchor or the full goatee. The choices for the Goatee are plentiful and seem to allow individuals to create their own unique look. This style is best achieved after growing a full beard and trimming, shaping and styling to get just the right facial hair style you like to sport.
The Short Beard
While almost any beard style is acceptable in the workplace, in years past, the short beard was the style most accepted in the white-collar world. This carefully manicured look tends to be the most prevalent amongst men in the corner office. Still, as with any beard, this style takes time and care with trimming every few days, coming and beard oil. Most think of famous actor George Clooney when they consider this style and we hear most ladies love it.
The Stubble Look
Often referred to as the 5 o’clock shadow, this sexy look seems to appeal to the older teens and young twenty-somethings. People also consider this look to be the rugged weekend style that many men sport when they have time off. While thought to require little maintenance the stubble look still does in fact require something from those who wear it. Don’t forget to trim down your neck and cheek lines keeping this look clean and remember trimming still is necessary every couple days to keep you looking top notch.
The Brio Beardscape and its counterpart, the Axis are the perfect tools to add to your collection and help you to obtain the perfect beard. With ceramic blades and lithium ion batteries, these products have helped men shape up and look their best with any beard style.
As always, our top notch customer care team is ready to assist you at a moments notice with questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing how your Brio help you look your bearded best and don’t forget, tag #showyourbrio for a chance to win monthly prizes.
Tips to Steer Clear From Your Dentist Today
We want to make sure our customers aren’t forgetting their dental health during this chaotic time. We’ve compiled a list of tips to keep your mouth clean and healthy to avoid a bad report the next time you’re able to visit your dentist!
- Drink lots of water – we all know we need to drink that H2O! Water flushes the mouth and sweeps away particles stuck between teeth.
- We know it’s hard, especially right now, but limit snacking (especially the sugary ones) as much as possible.
- Re-assess your brushing habits. Are you brushing too hard? Forgetting your tongue? Flossing? Make sure your routine is top-notch.
- Try a mouthwash!
- Change your brush heads/toothbrushes regularly. Not just because old brush heads are gross but because they break down and don’t work as well after months of use.
The Truth About Electric Toothbrushes
NOT ALL ELECTRIC BRUSHES ACTUALLY CLEAN YOUR TEETH. Shocked? We aren’t. Low powered electric brushes don’t have the power to move the bristles enough to clean your teeth WITHOUT having to brush as you would with a manual brush. Full power electric brushes create a brushing action that DOES clean your teeth for you – all you have to do is slowly move the brush around your mouth.
If you are going to spend the money to upgrade from a manual brush, there is no point unless you are getting a brush that is going to do a better job cleaning your teeth. Manual brushes work great with the right technique, pressure, and duration. Choosing the right powered toothbrush can reduce the need to focus on these brushing elements – choose the wrong electric toothbrush and you still need a good brushing technique.
If you want the right electric toothbrush here’s a few things to look for
First, a strong motor. Most low budget brushes have a tiny little motor with a counterweight. It’s simply not going to cut it. In fact, while you think its action will clean your teeth effectively, it’s not going to do much more than vibrate the handle. The motor must both create and translate movement to the brush head in order to mechanically remove plaque, lift stains and make your mouth feel cleaner.
A couple of dead giveaways that will identify a brush that has a small motor are very thin brushes and a brush that runs on AA batteries. A brush with replaceable AA batteries can’t and won’t provide the power necessary to actually clean your teeth. It saves the manufacture a lot of money to build around a replaceable battery, but it will never deliver the power needed to clean your teeth.
Second, a solid battery life. With most electronic devices, the battery is usually the first thing to fail. If you own a phone that is over 2 years old, you know exactly what we mean. All batteries lose capacity over time, when you design the toothbrush around an oversized battery you are not only able to go much longer between charges but as battery life diminishes – the brush has a much longer service life compared to brushes that come with smaller batteries.
Third, is the circuit board, you may hear it called the PCB. This glorified on/off switch controls all those “fancy” functions that your brush does. Having different functions on a brush won’t clean your teeth better, but they do offer a little room for adjustment so you can choose a setting that feels right for you. We have found that 5% of our customers think the brush is a little too powerful while 5% believe it isn’t quite powerful enough. Neither group is wrong – they just have different preferences – sometimes a little adjustment is a good thing.
Finally, we have been designing electric toothbrushes for the last 6 years and one thing we have learned from dentists is that the best toothbrush is… the one that you use. So, get a brush that feels right for you and use it. This reason is the key factor behind developing 3 distinct brush head options for our SmartClean toothbrush. The other thing that most dentists agree on is that the bristles should be soft. Medium or firm bristles cause too much aggravation to the gums and should be avoided.
We believe it is important for any electric brush to have a few different options because we believe that everyone has a different idea of what feels right for them. There are several electric toothbrushes on the market that ONLY OFFER ONE STYLE OF BRUSH HEAD! If you choose a one-head brush, you run a higher risk of not liking what you picked.
Now that you know what is key, its time to consider other key factors we know are on your mind when you are choosing exactly what to look for in the purchase of your next brush.
- Most brush manufacturers don’t disclose their battery or motor size.
It can be difficult to find out exactly what is inside your brush. We believe in being honest and transparent. Anyone purchasing a Brio SmartClean will know exactly what is inside our brush for both the battery and motor.
- Electric brushes have prices ranging from a few to a few hundred dollars and I hate to use price as a factor in the purchase, but we can confidently say that it is not possible to sell a quality sonic brush for less than around $30.
This is the bare minimum amount to cover decent components and still have a small margin. Don’t get us wrong, there are still poor-quality toothbrushes that cost well over $30, but anything less than that is nearly guaranteed to not have the ability to brush your teeth effectively.
- Another big consideration when it comes to choosing a full power electric toothbrush is the decision between oscillating or sonic.
An oscillating brush moves the bristles back and forth in a circular motion (think Oral-B) and the heads are almost always small and round. A sonic brush vibrates the bristles back and forth at a very high frequency (usually around 30,000 times a minute). We are biased to sonic brushes. We have tried both types of brushes over the years but found that sonic brushes make our teeth feel cleaner. Many oscillating brushes have enough power to clean your teeth, but we feel the difference is in a sonic brushes’ ability to move fluid in places where the bristles can’t reach, and the stimulation of your gums isn’t replicated the same with an oscillating brush.
We think that nearly everyone that uses an oscillating brush would prefer a Sonic brush, that’s why oscillating brushes are one of the types of brushes we would never recommend to anyone. Don’t get us wrong, they are good but if you are going to spend the money on a full-power electric brush, you will be better off with a sonic brush. Period.
This is about all you need to know when choosing your next brush. If you are still not sure what to choose, never hesitate to reach out to us. We believe if you are looking for a great sonic brush, ours is top-notch. We have been developing sonic brushes for 6 years and have considered all these details when we created the Smartclean. Whether you are an experienced electric brush user or looking to upgrade, The SmartClean is the choice for you. If you try it and don’t agree, send it back within 90 days for a full refund.
How To Choose a Toothbrush (FlowChart!)
Ever wander down the toothbrush aisle and wonder exactly which brush is for you? From manual brushes to sonic brushes the choices today seem endless. After years of listening to customer feedback and time spent with dentists I have compiled the criteria needed in one place to recommend the right brush for you. Follow the flow chart below to find the answer.
Everything you need to know before you buy your next trimmer
If you are like most guys, you have probably owned a number of trimmers, mostly terrible. A trimmer is one of those necessary pieces of equipment in your bathroom that no guy can live without. Even if you can’t grow much facial hair or you don’t shave regularly, there are many other trimming tasks that require ownership of an oscillating blade.
As young men, hair often shows up in life before our bank accounts have matured - so price is the factor that weighs in our buying decisions. I, myself have fallen victim to grooming with a less than acceptable tool. In fact, I have owned several crappy trimmers which helped inspire me to spend the last 5 years creating a trimmer that corrects all the shortcomings I have experienced with other trimmers.
Here’s some tips to keep from making a bad decision on your next trimmer
The Blade is one of the most important parts of your trimmer as it affects the cutting performance. A good blade trims better, doesn’t pull hairs, doesn’t get hot and is quieter. There are three common types of blades. Here’s what you need to know:
Stamped stainless blade
Ground stainless blade
Ceramic blade
Stamped stainless steel blades are the cheapest and least effective for trimming. These blades are stamped out of a single piece of steel and formed with one operation so they are never truly as sharp as they need to be, even right out of the factory. These blades are made from softer steel and get dull quickly. A dull blade means it will take more passes to cut your hair and could also lead to skin irritation or snagging and pulling of your hair. Unfortunately there are a number of more expensive trimmers available that still use a stamped stainless blade.
The next type, ground stainless steel are big step up from stamped stainless-steel. These are generally made from a piece of harder steel and the blade is ground into shape with a grinding wheel. This method makes the blades much sharper and more precise than their stamped counterparts. The steel used is often harder and thicker so they hold their edge better as well. Ground stainless is what you will generally find on professional clippers. Ground stainless blades can be made with very small teeth and can be made to cut very close to the skin.
Use caution as it can be very difficult to tell the difference in pictures if the blade is stamped or ground and very few product descriptions say which they are.
Ceramic blades are also ground into shape however the ceramic material is much harder and allows these blades to stay sharper, longer. They also won’t rust and operate with lower friction. Unlike stainless blades, ceramic blades are easy to identify as they are generally white with a stainless-steel rake (the stationary part of the blade). Due to the limitations of the material, ceramic blades are generally only made with larger teeth and excel at cutting thick and coarse hair.
Other trimmer blade elements
When considering any blade, you always need to consider teeth size as well as trimming range. Small teeth are better suited for cutting short hair lengths while bigger teeth are better at cutting thicker or longer hair. Blades with smaller teeth excel with the close cuts needed on your neck line and upper cheeks, and the back of your neck. Make sure you blades are able to trim as low as possible, look for a blade that cuts between ½ to 1 millimeter. If you need to get closer you may need to check out a specialized trimmer. Minimum cutting height is a detail that is hard to verify when looking at a product listing. You may have to do some research to find out the lowest blade setting when evaluating different trimmers.
battery and motor
With nearly every electronic device, the battery is usually the first part to fail. While we have all suffered through a dull, rusty blade, if that battery is toast, your trimmer is too. So it's important that both the battery and motor be powerful enough to do the job for a long time. An oversized battery not only holds a charge longer but will ultimately extend the life of your trimmer by being to hold a useful charge for longer.
Look for a trimmer with a lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery. This isn’t 1980, so choosing anything without a rechargeable Li-Ion battery is pointless. Most trimmers will not list the size of the battery but look for a trimmer that notes 1,200 or more milliamp hours (mAH). Remember, it may be a cheaper option but don’t bother buying a trimmer with Nickel Cadmium (ni-cad) or replaceable batteries. You will be disappointed, and you will have to replace it shortly. I have never had a trimmer with a ni-cad battery last much over a year with regular use.
Now that we know what to look for in a battery lets talk the motor because it is just as important as the battery. It can be very challenging to identify how powerful a motor is as listings won’t note motor specifications. However, once you identify your battery size you will have an approximation for motor size. In some cases, bigger isn’t always better but when it comes to motors in your trimmer, it is. Due to low information from manufacturers, battery size is the best proxy for motor power. Figure out the battery size and you have your answer.
Accessories to consider
The final part of choosing the best trimmer to meet your personal needs? Guards and attachments. The correct guards and attachments will add versatility to get the look you desire. Few trimmers are good at cutting very short and very long hair so knowing what you want in your model is critical to get the best results.
If you are only using a trimmer for beards, short hair or body hair, than guards up to 6 mm will suffice however if you are looking to maintain that long beard or do your own haircuts, it’s best to look for a trimmer with guards that range up to 15 to 20 mm, anything over 20 mm becomes less practical.
Be weary of any trimmer offering an excessive number
of attachments -are you really going to use the foil shaver or
“body groom” attachment?
There are two styles of guards, ones that clip on to your trimmer and adjustable guards that rise up and down. Adjustable guards can add complication to trimmer designs and often result in lack of length options. Some adjustable guards have the bad habit of slipping down when they are pressed against your skin. For this reason, our trimmers come with a number of clip-on guards for best results.
With your next trimmer, here’s some must have’s:
- Ground stainless blade or Ceramic blade
- Sizeable LI-Ion (1,200 mAh or larger)
- Ability to cut very short (1mm or less)
- Guards up to at least 6mm
Here are a few gimmicks to avoid when purchasing your next trimmer.
- Twenty attachments? Too many attachments may actually just be a way to hide poor attachment systems resulting in excessively loud trimming.
- Waterproof? You don’t want to cut your hair when it is wet, blades work better when they are dry.
- Surgical Steel?, while it sounds great, it’s actually not “a thing”, nor is “airplane grade steel” for that matter.
- Finally, Self-sharpening blades. If you see a trimmer offering self-sharpening blades, It's a lie - they don’t exist.
If you are looking for a great trimmer for longer beards, manscaping, and haircuts, Check out the Beardscape. If you keep shorter facial hair styles, check out the Axis.
Features:
- Ceramic blade
- 2200 mAh Li-Ion Battery
- Giant Motor
- Trimming lengths ranging from 1mm to 20mm
- 2 year warranty
Features:
- Ceramic Blade
- 1600 mAh Li-Ion Battery
- One button function with battery meter
- Trimming lenghts ranging from .5mm to 6mm
- 2 year warranty
We are always here (service@brio4life.com) if you need us.
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Don't Disrespect Your Beard
If you're using a trimmer with a stamped metal blade you may as well be using a lawn mower.
When you're in a pinch for a trimmer, don't disrespect your beard. Use the Beardscape.
Order your Beardscape here now and get a free storage case for a limited time!