Guest post from Michael Wallage on beard balms

Michael Wallage BeerdFest WINNER 2014 Photograph Kayley Cope 

I`ve been making my own beard balm now for quite some time. It`s a Lanolin based balm that both myself and the few people who have tried it think is excellent. I toyed with the idea of producing it in larger quantities and selling. However... I think that there are so so many people producing excellent beard care products that the venture would take a great deal of hard work and time to see very little in return.

So for what it`s worth I`m going to share it with you good folks and you can make up your own minds. I use 4 parts of pharmaceutical grade Lanolin (I`ve been using Lanisnoh but this is expensive, (i`ll deal with that issue later) 3 parts organic virgin coconut oil and 1 part of a light carrier oil. Simply weigh out the ingredients into a bowl, stand this bowl in another larger bowl of hot (not boiling water) When the Lanolin and Coconut oil has melted i just give the solution a good stir and leave to set.
I then fill some little containers i bought on the internet (pennies each) and bob`s ya uncle. Put a small amount on the palms, rub your hands together and ....well you know the score, you`ve had a beard for long enough. If you want some scent you can always drip a few drops of your favourite beard oil into the palms with the balm and combine the two before application.

Now to the cost of that Lanolin... Lanisnoh around about £10.00 for a small tube. I did a little bit of research and found this company, based in Reading who sell pharmaceutical grade Lanolin very reasonably...amongst other products you may find useful http://www.hfoster.co.uk/ prices start at £9.00 for 500g falling pro-rata to as little as £75.00 for 5kg. 

This balm works really well for me and the few who have tried it, it`s not been tested on lots of people and may not suit everyone. I just thought i`d share it with everyone, you can make up your own minds.


Thanks Michael for sharing your winning expertise on the blog! ^_^ 

Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards, a review

I have the pleasure of reviewing this fab art history book featuring my fav topic outside of Elvis and Beatles: facial fuzz! And lucky you dear reader could be in with a chance to win your own copy ^_^

Movember is done and Decembeard is underway but what if you're just an old fashioned pogonophile like me? Seasonal hurrahs for all things beardy is all well and good, but what about the rest of the year? Well now I can recommend you a lovely coffee table edition to browse in any season...

Moustaches, Whiskers & Beards by Lucinda Hawksley was brought to my attention via a mutual friend of the author who quite rightly imagined I would be very interested in the National Portrait Gallery publication...

Who knew the Egyptians were big fans of the false beard? That the Victorians experienced a serious beard fad? And that the Crimean War turned beards from zero to hero? This is such an entertaining and informative read for beard lovers everywhere - get involved!

For the pogonophile in your life I can think of no better gift - it's delightful and inspiring, I'm off to my local gallery this weekend to spy historical beards ^_^

If you'd like to win* a copy of this lovely book, just complete the following sentence:
Beards are boss because...
and email it to beerdfestliverpool [at] gmail [dot] com by Dec 14th, 2014 and if you're my #favourite you'll have a treat coming your way!

Get your copy at Amazon or order it at your fav local bookshop









*conditions apply, UK entries only