I’ve got a thing about face scrubs…

This is kinda weird, I realize, but I blame Dove Men+Care for this new quirk of mine: I like using facial scrubs to wash my face morning and evening, and am on a quest to find the best one on the market. Why is Dove Men+Care on the hot seat? Because they were a sponsor of the great Dad 2.0 conference and as part of that sponsorship generously sent me a gift box with their entire product line. That’s a lotta stuff. Including their “Hydrate” Face Wash, which got me started down this long, strange but doubtless healthy road.

Now there are three face scrubs on the counter by my bathroom sink, from Aveeno, Van der Hagen and Dove Men+Care:

Here’s what’s interesting: I think I’m like most guys in that I’ve basically ignored my skin for my entire life, particularly my face. Yeah, I shave, but that’s 95% just a few quick passes with my Panasonic and I’m good to go, no fuss, no hassle. To keep my skin relatively clean, I’d rinse my face when in a restroom, mostly for that refreshing feeling of getting the oils off. But that’s about it.

Gad, do I sound like I’m writing ad copy yet?

Enter Dove Men+Care. Dove is doing a great job working with men’s groups and is a generous sponsor of a number of projects and efforts that are near and dear to my heart, including the National Fatherhood Initiative and, of course, the annual Dad 2.0 conference (next one is coming up the end of January in New Orleans. Join us!). Based on the participation, Dove certainly seems a nice bunch and if there’s a vested self interest in the company keeping its name visible with men’s groups and efforts, well, at least we benefit from it, unlike a multi-million-dollar ad spend with some media empire.

Once I started using the Dove “Hydrate” Face Wash and enjoying the results (true story, I actually started inviting my kids to feel my face and marvel at how soft it was after I washed with the scrub. Gadzooks. The things our children have to endure!) I started paying more attention to the invites and queries I received from other personal care product companies. That’s how Aveeno and Van der Hagen both ended up in my bathroom — the simple act of me inviting them to send me a sample bottle.

At this point I can start to differentiate by the feel of the scrubs. Dove is a smooth, creamy soap, while Aveeno and Van der Hagen are both “gritty”, with what they in the biz call “exfoliating” capabilities.

I asked the Van der Hagen team what they put in the face scrub, and the answer was “Foaming Gel with extra fine scrubbing particles, green tea, ginseng, ginger and bamboo extracts. Deep cleaning removes dirt and other impurities. Removes rough, dry skin.”

So here I am, washing my face with green tea, ginseng, ginger, bamboo extracts and the like. And writing about it.

Does it not sound insanely new age and hippie of me versus a bar of Ivory soap or something equally old school? Or is this just modern times?

The worst thing of all is that I like all three of them in different ways. For under $5 per unit, they all do a really good job of cleaning my face and leaving my skin softer. And that’s not a bad thing, is it?

Disclaimer: Yeah, all three companies sent me product to try. Total value being, what, $15? $20? Just like the drug dealer at the playground, though, they’ve cunningly lead me down the garden path to a point where I will indeed buy more product. Sly monkeys I say. Very sly. Oh, and I’m open to trying other face scrubs too. Keep ’em coming, my face is a willing beneficiary.