Your male grooming and shaving problems solved!

This wasn’t intended to be a blog but to be honest, I really enjoyed the trip in the Jason Shankey Mini (a Mini adventure if you like) as I took in the challenges normally reserved for long distance lorry drivers.

Belfast at Dawn

My plan was to meet all of my new House of Fraser retailers who are stocking our male grooming product range, and it was going to be difficult. They’re spread out between Edinburgh in the north, down to Bristol in the south. I could have spent ages getting lots of flights and hiring cars, but the thought of spending hours in airports just didn’t do it for me. The alternative was to take my car from Belfast (in Northern Ireland) across on the ferry to Scotland and drive the trip myself. Always up for a challenge, I quite enjoy doing things in different ways, so I planned all the meetings, booked the ferry and some accommodation and off I went.

It was a 6 O’Clock start on a beautiful February morning to catch the 7:30 sailing to Stranraer. I had filled up with petrol and washer fluid the day before so I could get a good start. One of my customers works at the port check-in and gave me a ticket for priority boarding and disembarkation which was a nice touch. The sailing was smooth but took around 3 hours (I think they only run the fast, 2 hour ship in the summer months) and I had breakfast on board. Not the best food, but there’s nowhere really else to go.

When I arrived in Scotland, I was looking forward to getting off the ship first so I would avoid the lorries and car traffic taking the A75 to Carlisle, but the driver of the car in front of me must have fallen asleep on the ferry. He emerged, bleary eyed, just as everyone else had left so I ended up at the back of the traffic jam.

I was relying on my trusty navigator, Garmin, to take me to my first destination, Darlington, in the north of England. I hadn’t brought a map so Garmin was my only source of info for the route.

Lesson one: Don’t always trust technology. At around 5 miles from Stranraer, Garmin decided to take me left, off the A75 and onto another ‘A’ road. I thought this was strange because the A75 was, as far as I could remember, the direct route to the England/Scotland border, so I pulled over and zoomed out Garmin’s map; But it seemed to be programmed correctly, taking me on a direct route to Darlington.

So this apparent ‘A’ road was Scotland’s answer to the Circuit of Ireland rally. It was a mountain pass which went through a forest and the road surface was old and broken, most closely resembling a cross between gravel and a forest floor. Since the ETA was clocking up on Garmin, I realised I’d have to put the boot down to get to my meeting on time and ended up hammering along this road in the spirit of Colin McRae, aiming for a good stage time but what I didn’t know was that this mountain was also a training ground for RAF jet fighters. At one point, I flew over the crest of a hill, mostly sideways, with a car coming at me from the other direction, and an RAF Tornado flying right at me. I thought I was in a Bourne movie and slowed down a bit. I could make up time on the motorways where it was a lot safer.

House of Fraser Darlington

It took about an hour to reach the end of this road, and guess where it took me? Yes, back onto the A75. Garmin must have had a change of mind and was perhaps jolted back to reality by our off-road adventure.

It didn’t take long to reach Darlington after that, perhaps a couple of hours, where I was to have my first meeting at 2PM. I couldn’t find House of Fraser at first and resorted to Google on my Blackberry, followed by the built-in SatNav, to get me to the front door. It’s actually called Binns in Darlington and I can only presume that Binns was a former department store which was taken over by House of Fraser.

I met the skincare sales manager Heather and we developed some great ideas to launch the product to the men of the North East. An hour later, I was back in the Mini, off to my next stop, Bristol.

Now, you’re probably thinking I’m a bit crazy driving all that way (I think it was about 6 hours), but I like a challenge and I was staying at my mate’s house who I hadn’t seen since August, so I was looking forward to a catch-up before our ski and boarding trip in April.

The drive was fine until I got to Birmingham where, for some unknown reason, I get stuck in a traffic jam, stationary for an hour. It was incredibly boring and wasteful of time, but once I got through it, it was a straight run down to Bristol. Garmin said I’d be there for 9:50PM and he was finally right!

House of Fraser Bristol

However, I did experience some of the odd things that happen when you drive when you’re tired, and it may also have been something to do with the Costa caffeine overdose as well. The motorways around Bristol have chevrons and big signs that say ‘Keep 2 chevrons apart’, but at one point, I thought I was heading for speed bumps at around 70 mph. Not a pleasant experience! I can see now why they advise you to take good breaks during the journey.

It was good to catch up with Glenn. He’s been my skiing partner for around 7 years and his rock band, Doubting Kim, was playing the largest venue in Bristol the following night. We restrung his guitars and got them tuned up for the Wednesday night.

After a few beers and a good night’s sleep it was off to Cabot Circus the next morning, Bristol’s premier shopping destination, for my next House of Fraser meeting. I was given a tour of their spa whilst I waited for my meeting with their Apothecary sales staff. After a great meeting and some more ideas, it was off to Birmingham to meet staff there.

The Mini on Cruise Control

I got on to the M4 (or was it the M5, not sure) and set the cruise control to 70mph. It didn’t seem to take long to get there, but after the journey I’d had the night before, I wasn’t surprised.

Birmingham is big, with lots of roads going all over the place. I was glad Garmin was with me although he didn’t quite find the House of Fraser store. We ended up in the Albert Street car park, a few blocks away from the store and my Blackberry again took over, taking me right to the front door. I was half an hour early so headed up to the restaurant to fuel up before the drive to Edinburgh.

The building with the silver buttons

I had such a laugh with the staff there, I didn’t want to leave. Alison, Sue and Jane are like a comedy trio and once we’d tied down some opening promotions, it was back to Albert Street. As long as I remembered the square in East Enders, I would find the car.

£9.80 was an extortionate price for a couple of hours there but at least I got to see that building with the silver buttons all over it. It was just up the street.

House of Fraser Birmingham

The car was really dirty by this stage and if I didn’t get it washed, I thought I might not be able to see out the windows and mirrors for the next stage of the journey. I popped into to a hand car wash which was only £3, cheaper than  Belfast. At least our logo was now on display as I drove through the city.

Dirty Mini

So, it was off to Edinburgh. Initially the weather was in my favour. There were blue skies and few clouds but it was starting to get dark. After another hour stuck in Birmingham traffic, I started moving towards Scotland’s second city (is that offensive?).

The six hour drive descended into a bit of a nightmare with heavy rain starting around Manchester and continuing right up to Edinburgh. Passing 40 footers at 70 mph in pitch black with spray like water cannons and huge potholes in the road, is quite a scary moment, especially when it happens around 150 times on the motorway. But the trusty wee Mini kept it’s composure and accelerated past them with ease. The Mini Cooper S John Cooper Works is a real flyer!

The Salisbury Hotel, Edinburgh

By the end of the drive, all I could think of was a cold beer. It had been quite a challenging run, but I couldn’t find an off license in Edinburgh. Finally, I found a Tesco Express store and had a look for some Guinness. The aisle was closed and the assistant told me they couldn’t sell alcohol after 10PM. Gutted, I headed to the small Hotel where I was staying. Whilst it is a beautiful hotel, it is family run and probably isn’t very busy during the winter. I was left a key and advised there would be no staff to greet me.

I got into my room and was absolutely delighted! The room was gorgeous and the owner had left out a bottle of wine for me. Result! Within an hour I was asleep, exhausted from the drive.

Jenners Edinburgh

I was waking the next morning to the final day of my road trip and had meetings with House of Fraser stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I must say they are stunning pieces of architecture and I’m a bit nerdy like that. Both meetings went well and I couldn’t believe the scale of the Glasgow store. It’s like a palace! After the meeting, I checked up on my emails and headed into Zara to get some shirts for my wife’s 40^th birthday which would be a couple of days later.

Frasers Glasgow

Ailsa Craig

Leaving Glasgow for my return to the ferry felt great. I’d achieved my goal of having all my meetings in time and had enjoyed the ride. The weather was spectacular and the coast road was stunning, with amazing views of the island Ailsa Craig.

Arriving in Stranraer however was disappointing. I was starving and couldn’t find a decent restaurant. The pubs looked like somewhere to avoid and the Hotels were closed so I headed down to the supermarket cafe which did a reasonable panini, but horrific soup.

Getting back on the ferry was a relief as the journey was starting to catch up on me. The 3 hours turned into 3 ½ hours due to traffic on the lough. I headed back home and got in around 10:30PM. A cold Guinness and my day was at an end. I had enjoyed it.

The Mini was a great companion, achieving an average of 38mpg. It was also comfortable and doubled up as a great bin for my coffee cartons. I had gone through 3 tankfuls of petrol costing £160 in total. A quick wash the next morning and she was back to normal, and so was I. School run, Director meeting, Catch up on 150 emails…

The car doubled up as a bin

I was back to reality.

Jason.

The Shankey Mini Cooper S Works

Well we’ve been really busy launching Jason Shankey Expert over the past few months and are looking forward to a few days off over Christmas. Expert is now available at Urban Retreat Spa at Harrods, London and at House of Fraser, Belfast.

We’ve loads more outlets lined up for next year to make it more convenient for you to get hold of it. In the meantime, you can always get it at www.jasonshankey.co.uk.

Which only leaves me time to wish you a great Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Talk soon. Jason.

OK, I’ve finally succumbed  to using Twitter after using Facebook for the past few years. It’s great ‘ole craic and is helping me connect with like-minded people interested in Male Grooming and shaving.

The only problem is, I’ve got a desk load of work in front of me which seems to be getting ignored. Is this normal? There’s just too much stuff to read about on Twitter.

Anyway, why not join me at www.twitter.com/jasonshankey to keep up to date with what we’re doing. You never know, you’ll probably end up with a desk full of work like me. But at least you’ll know more about Male Grooming and shaving!

Halloween is best known for its association with ghosts and ghouls, but not so much about Male Grooming. But this is the time of year when the darker evenings and colder weather wreak havoc on your skin.

Constantly going in and out of buildings with central heating, and the colder outside air confuses your skin’s protective mantle and can lead to dryness, chapping and flaky skin.

There’s a few ways to overcome the skin problems associated with this time of year. Firstly, make sure you stay well hydrated. We recommend drinking at least two litres of water per day, and this can be either plain water or infused with a flavour such as tea.

Make sure you use a facial scrub at least weekly or twice weekly. This will remove the dry flaky skin and help encourage the circulation up to the surface of your skin (something the cold air reverses).

Finally, use a moisturiser daily. This doesn’t just put moisture back into your skin, it also acts as a protective barrier against the colder climate helping to trap in moisture which otherwise would have been lost.

Looking after your skin in the colder climate will help you look your best, anfd therefore feel your best. So don’t delay, stock up on your winter skincare essentials now.

I (obviously) recommend Jason Shankey Expert Exfoliating Face and Scalp Scrub and Skin Soothing Moisture balm, both available at www.jasonshankey.co.uk.

For further details about Jason Shankey Expert, see our Expert site at www.jasonshankey.com/expert.

With November just around the corner, we’re getting prepped for the Movember campaign where we encourage our clients to grow a moustache to raise awareness and funds for cancers that affect men.

I’m normally advocating the wet shave and I’ve never worn a moustache or a beard before, so I thought I’d give it a go to see what it looks like.

It didn’t look great with longer hair on top so I took my hair down to 6mm all over. And now? Actually I’m quite pleased with the result! I think I’ll keep it like this for a while.

We’re going to be out and about for the whole of Movember doing live shave-offs with celebrities and fund raisers, and getting passers-by involved in the action. So, if you fancy getting involved, join us during Movember at Victoria Square Belfast.

Jason.

So I’m the male grooming expert for a new glossy magazine and I had to write my article today as I’m working over in London next week. I’m getting a double page spread every month and as well as writing about the male grooming issues men face, I’m answering readers questions.

What was my first readers’ question? “Why on earth do some men get the Back, Sack and Crack treatment?”. Well thanks for that Mr Reader!

It’s a Sunday morning and I’m thinking of where I can take the kids, and you’ve got me thinking about this.

There’s no doubt about it, it’s growing in popularity all the time and we’re getting all sorts of men in for the treatment. Some guys say it makes them feel cleaner whilst others say it gives them an extra inch (if you know what I mean!).

Regardless of the reason, there are of course a number of options for having the look including the use of a body trimmer (less painful but not as close) and shaving at home (ouch!) – not recommended!

Answers on a postcard please. If you have the treatment performed, what’s your reason? My reader will no doubt enjoy your responses. JS.

Well I was persuaded by my cohorts last week to get an investor on board to help us launch out Expert into the UK market and beyond, but I never expected to be pitching to investors, Dragons Den style, with a full film crew today!

I was fortunate enough to meet the E-Synergy crew who not only invest money into new businesses, but they also help prepare you for the process, hence the filmed pitch. They’re funded by Invest NI to help entrepreneurs with a good idea get their idea off the ground with an investment.

I had to pitch Expert for 10 minutes using a Powerpoint (I only had an hour last night to put it together) and then took questions and answers from the Dragons for a further 30 minutes, all with the cameras rolling.

Glad that’s over but it really was a great experience! I’ll get a copy of it next week on DVD so my wife and kids can have a good snigger at my expense.

I thoroughly recommend giving the guys a call if you have a great business idea, especially at the moment when our lovely (ahem!) banks aren’t lending.

Just back from dropping my wife off at the airport where she was to spend a few days in Nice with friends and just as I started to write this, I got a call saying the flight was cancelled due to air traffic control issues (Are the French on strike today?). And to top it off, there are Tube strikes in London  which will really hit businesses hard. I guess we’re going to see more of these kind of strikes and disruption due to the necessary austerity measures being put in place by European governments.

What I don’t understand however, is how these strikers think. They’re clearly not running these businesses otherwise they’d see the damage they’re doing to trade. Take British Airways for example. Compared to other airlines, their staff are paid really good money, but each time they strike, they reduce the confidence in their customers. This of course leads to their customers booking rival airlines which reduces the demand for British Airways flights.

Don’t they understand that fewer bookings require fewer staff and more job lay offs? It’s a perpetual cycle which has the opposite effect to what they expect from their strike.

OK, rant over.

I’m heading off to a meeting today to see what opportunities there are in Europe for my Expert range of products. Invest NI run a course called Going Dutch, which will introduce me to market opportunities in the Netherlands and beyond.

Let’s hope the Dutch won’t be striking when I’m due to go over or they may end up suffering from shaving problems for longer than they need to!

C’est la vie!

OK, so this is my first post on this blog. I’m now in the final stages of launching my range of Male Grooming products, Expert, to the public through Harrods and House of Fraser stores so it’s a busy time at the minute. If you haven’t seen me around town it’s probably because I’m sitting in front of my PC designing our big launch.

I’m also delighted that Expert has made it through to the final of the Best Male Shaving launch at the Pure Beauty Awards and I’d really appreciate your vote by clicking here. It does take a couple of minutes to complete but as a little incentive, I’m offering voters a 20% discount off any of our salon treatments, or off a purchase of Expert at one of our salons. All you have to do is bring in a print-out of the email receipt you get back from Pure Beauty.

Just in case you didn’t know, Expert is the culmination of 15 years of my work. Research has revealed that 97% of men suffer from pain due to shaving. This is caused by razor burn, shaving rash and ingrown hairs and as a result, 58% of men hate shaving.

I created Expert as a revolutionary way to solve these problems by using unique ingredients, combined with a shaving technique which I have perfected over the years. The results are truly amazing. Ask anyone who has tried it! Pain due to shaving can now be a thing of the past and shaving can become enjoyable again. Check it out here.

I’m always being asked how to get the perfect shave at home. Most men experience problems shaving so it’s a pretty good question to ask.

Well, I’ve put together the ultimate guide for the perfect shave and here it is as a nice little downloadable PDF.

If you want to make shaving an enjoyable experience again or if you suffer from redness, razor burn or irritation due to shaving, this is for you.

This shave will help eliminate redness and irritation. Make sure you follow it step-by-step, particularly the part where you examine the growth pattern of your beard. It’s vital that you know which direction to shave each section of your face!

Download PDF.