As a college kid, I have a tendency of falling behind. I fall behind on my schoolwork. I fall behind on my exercise. I fall behind on keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I fall behind on sleep. And I fall behind on my grocery shopping, which, for me, happens to include shower amenities such as face soap.
While all of these have a detrimental effect on my life in one way or another, it is, without a doubt, the acne-ridden forehead that is the most visible. And when I look bad, I feel worse. Thereby it was of no shock to me when I walked into this office a few weeks ago with grease-stained clothes, oily skin, and a slouch in my step, smelling like a season-old jock strap, that Lilit handed me a small bottle of Hey Dude Dude Wash, a face cleanser that was being marketed with a new line of men’s products, Hey Dude Skin Care.
I had dropped the ball on personal hygiene, stumbling into the shower every morning and rubbing a small handful of soap here and there before wiping off with my damp-from-the-last-time towel, suds yet clinging to my skin. And, to be honest, I had forgotten about the Dude Wash for a few days until I was sleeping over at a lady friend’s and woke up too late to run home before going to the office. I made the desperate decision that the same clothes from the night before wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I would have to do something to mask that bar stench of beer and French fries and sweat from the night before. I rummaged through my briefcase and with my blind hand felt the familiar bottle.
I stripped down, hopped in the shower, and with a glob of the blue liquid in my hand, washed my face for the first time in more than a week. While there are face soaps that barely lather and then those that make you feel like you are washing your face with foam from a frat party, Dude Wash was the perfect in-between. There was enough lather to keep a relatively thick consistency and enough of a foaming action to convince me (mentally) that something, I assume good, was happening on my face. Often times face soap dries out my skin, leaving white skin residue around my nose. But Dude Wash had none of that. And as for feeling clean, my skin felt refreshed and strong, moisturized without that lingering oily sensation.
Now I tend to prefer face soaps with invigorating scrubs because they wake me up in the morning and make me feel like I’m actually scrubbing away the dirt and oil. (As I mentioned before, much of face washing for me is mental.) But Dude Wash is the first face soap without those beads that offered me a similar feeling. Never during that day did I feel the need to rewash my face like I have with other liquid face soaps.
And if the proof is in the pudding, then Dude Wash not only makes my face feel clean, but cleans my face as well. My oily skin was instantaneously less so and my forehead was smooth as a baby’s butt in less than a week.
As for the packaging, it leaves something to be desired. I, for one, am becoming more interested in taking care of my skin, and less ashamed of being caught with those products. This frat-boy concept behind the branding makes me feel immature, like Abercrombie & Fitch and puka shells and below-the-knee shorts. I’m ready to delete “dude” from my vocabulary.
I suppose this product review needs a yes or no; a buy, hold, or sell. Well, with a clear face, I’d have to say spend that $23.00. That being said, I would probably leave it in the cabinet, away from anyone’s wandering eyes.
