My husband is the only person I know who used soap, the same bar, to clean his head/hair, face and body. Long before the numerous hyphenated hair, skin and body care products made their appearance on retail and supermarket shelves. To be honest, he didn’t look any worse for wear. His before and after looks were the same, at least from what I could see.

Since we got together a few decades ago, he has been slathering on my body wash from head to toe. I don’t like or use bar soap. Again, it didn’t or hasn’t made much difference to how he looks. Maybe, a few wrinkles from the natural course of aging. But, that’s it. Fast forward to about a month ago. He began trying out a 3-in-1 Hair, Face & Body wash called Caveman Cleaner. Yes, Caveman Cleaner from Bad Lab. The bottle has a picture of a menacing looking hairy caveman holding a club. He didn’t buy the cleaner. He received it from a friend, who runs a motor-cross track, who in turn was given it as part of a promotion.

I still can’t help but laugh every time I say Caveman Cleaner. What a name? My husband is no caveman. Far from it. But, he’s also no skincare or haircare aficionado. He has no skin-care/beauty regime. He has very little hair or no hair. So, no shampoo or conditioner occupies the bathroom. Oily facial skin. No moisturiser.  According to him, any cream makes his face oilier. Not dry, not oily body skin; aka normal. Hence, no body lotion in sight. Only time he reaches for my moisturiser is when we are on holiday someplace really cold and windy, and his face becomes a little less oily. His belongings in the bathroom are toothbrushes, deodorants and a beard trimmer. Plus, a 3-1 Caveman Cleaner.

Me, on the other hand, own a ‘few’ more products. Even in high humidity Malaysia. I need help. Lots of it. My skin is parched and wrinkly. I have and continue to invest money and time on many skincare products. I have calming cleansers, soothing skin oils, antioxidant serums, eye cream for dark circles and bags, retinol for all the other wrinkled bits on my face, moisturisers, masks, and sunscreens. Getting all these on my face daily plus the weekly masking is time consuming. I do it, and live-in hope. I’m really not sure if the money and time spent are reflected on my face. As my dear husband says, “If you didn’t, it could be worse.” While that’s not a glowing endorsement of my ‘beauty,’ sadly, he might be right. Ditto with my body. Copious amounts of coconut oil, oatmeal lotion and body butter do not seem to help the arid and neglected look of my overall being. Particularly, my arms and legs. I don’t do the 2-1 combo of shampoo and conditioner. And yet I am losing my flyaway very fine hair. Enough about me. Rant over.

Back to the 3-in-1 Caveman Cleaner. It has quite a pleasant musky scent that I actually like. My husband is now into his second bottle, which incidentally I bought for him. It was during that purchase that I came across other hair, face and body specific products from Bad Lab, a men’s personal care range. I was intrigued. I Googled. Bad Lab is wholly designed, conceptualised and manufactured in Malaysia[1]. And, it’s been around since 2014. Who knew? Anyways… better a little late than never.

Interestingly, the language, description and packaging are unashamedly male. Other creative and chuckle-worthy names in the range include Lean Mean Machine Body Scrubbing Shower Gel, Dirty Deeds Facial Scrub and Lock & Load Solid Texture Hair Wax.  And, in place of handsome dudes, animals – walrus, hippopotamus, lion, porcupine – adorn the packaging and advertise the products. I also came across similarly masculine sounding skincare brands/products such as Bulldog Skincare, Dr. Squatch, Lab Series for Men and Duke Cannon’s Bloody Knuckles Hand Repair Balm in the market. Hmm…

There was too much information about multi-use products. Whittled down, my takeaways are as follows. Check the label for safe ingredients that promote hydration and moisturisation for face, body, scalp, and hair. Multi-function cleansers/cleaners are probably ok to use for people with short hair and not so sensitive skin. It’s still better to invest in standalone products for different body parts.  And, always moisturise after cleaning/cleansing.

As for my husband’s no fuss, no time at all, almost non-existent skincare routine, I am not sure how or why it has worked and continues to work for him, but it does. Good for him. Can’t say the same for me. Sigh…