Face Wash

There comes a time in every man's life when he finally has to admit, "Looks Matter". And I dont mean those of a woman. That always did ;). He realizes that he needs to be better looking as well. Maybe it dawns upon him that people actually notice these things about men. But his genetic wiring puts him at odds when it comes to his looks department. Looks and macho ism are opposites in his mind. He thinks if he gives importance to the looks, he will lose his machismo. And that he just cannot do! I mean come on. How will he ever match up to the action heroes he sees on screen. The unshaven, rugged, scar faced hero who saves the world. But he needs to incorporate these new developments in the world as well into his life. So like most things , he chooses the middle path and tries to keep the good parts of both worlds. And his first step to getting into the good looking pages of women starts with the "Face Wash".

Let me tell you about my experience while buying a face wash.

It was a pleasant Wednesday evening some day of some month of some year in the rock capital of India(read Bangalore). Being a hard working engineer, I came back exhausted from office with just one thing in mind. I need to get myself a face wash so that my face can be more presentable. And off I went to the local super market with a wallet full of cash leaving behind all of my self respect. I reached the store, an impressive looking shop and ask for directions to the "Cosmetics Section". There behind the counter I saw a lady with half the cosmetics of the shop on her face. She gave me smile that reminded me of the actress from the movie New Moon and asked if she could help me. I was very blunt. I said, "I am looking for a face wash. For men." I recalled from a recent Shah Rukh Khan ad that men have a thicker skin than women so thats why I emphasized on the "For Men" part. She directed my attention to one side of the cosmetics section. And that sight shocked the living daylights(or night lights?) out of me!

Maybe I was just day dreaming but a pinch on the arm confirmed it. 50! You heard me. 50 types of face washes for men. I told the lady again, "For Men". She continued to point in the same direction. Where the hell have I been all this while! Was I on some other planet all this while when all these face washes were being popularized and sold? Or have I neglected my "looks" for so long that the rest of the men-kind have embraced these product with so much zeal that the cosmetics business has turned into a multi billion dollar industry overnight? There was something with tea tree oil(please some one tell me what the heck is that), lemon grass, almond scrub(don't we eat almonds?), foaming something and tons and tons of other stuff. All this was just too confusing at that point in time. After several minutes of trying to make sense of what was what, my brain began to hurt. I pulled myself back together and got my self into the "get good looking" mode again.

So yes finally I asked the "made-up" lady for some advice on these clearly popular products. She began by asking me what kind of skin do I have. And when I answered "Human kind", she did get a tad bit offended. Warning : People who work with the cosmetics do not have a sense of humor! So after a through question and answer round with several questionable questions skirting the issues of racism a few times(fairness face wash it seems!), some terms like T-zone and life style, I finally narrowed down to one. Garnier face wash. Our very own John Bhaiya is the brand ambassador and he seems to like it a lot in the advertisements. He he.

So there you have it. My road to clear clean skin has begun. And after only a few days, I must admit, my face does feel a a lot cleaner. OK the last statement sounded a little gay but what the heck! In this increasing metro sexual world, a face wash is a mere blip. I have no intentions to progress to where my fellow men have gone to but I do think my hair feels a little rough. Maybe my next post could be called Conditioner. He He. But I have learned my lesson. Next time some one asks me what kind of hair I have, I will not use the term "Human Kind".