Lubricant

The noted groomer Matt Mulhall would like to draw the readers’ attention to the overlooked qualities of K-Y Jelly for aiding personal appearance. K-Y Jelly was first introduced in 1904 as a surgical lubricant by Johnson & Johnson, but for the past three decades it has become more prominently known as a lubrication for sexual activities because it does not react with condoms. It now transpires that K-Y Jelly is actually an incredibly versatile product that satisfies many an emergency grooming need.

“K-Y Jelly has many different uses,” says Mulhall. “For instance, it can be used as a hair gel which gives the hair a beautiful shine and malleability. It’s great for light-hold styles and for smoothing away flyaway stray hairs: simply apply about a ten-pence-piece-sized ball evenly through the hair and comb it into place.” Mulhall notes that because the lubricant is made of water and glycerine, there are no harmful petrochemicals involved, and that it washes clean away in the shower.

There are other, equally remarkable uses for K-Y in a grooming regime. “K-Y can be used as a shaving aid,” says Mulhall, “like a normal shaving oil or gel. It can also be used to seal and lightly moisturise chapped lips, and as an eyebrow tamer, by applying and then combing into place with an old toothbrush.”

K-Y Jelly is cheap (100g in the UK is £3.59) and portable, and in this era of sexual liberation, no one should feel shame in putting a tube in a zip-lock bag through airport security. Indeed, once the traveller has returned home exhausted from a trip, K-Y can be used for a spa-like treatment. “For tired eyes, simply divide a tube between two clear plastic zip-seal bags, then put them in the freezer until it sets. These can then be used as eye-masks to reduce puffiness.”