The gel-ous type Since moving to Hong Kong last year, my husband has been unable to find his favourite brand of hair gel, Nexxus Exxtra Gel, made by the US salon brand. Is it available here? Having friends mail supplies is getting expensive. Gelly Baby, Tsuen Wan The Dictator rules: Who is your husband? The Fonz? It's my duty as a public figure to highlight a growing concern in men's grooming: unspoken hair obsessions. We heard of a Christmas lunch where only the women donned paper hats because the men were worried about messing up their hair. Honestly. Feed you husband's obsession if you must by telling him Nexxus products are available at La Coupe (Shop 317, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, tel: 2868-2266). This is the Nexxus-recommended distributor, which sells a 150ml container of Exxtra Gel for $135. For discounted gel, try Professional Hair Products (G/F, 49A Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2536-0603), which charges $78 for 150ml and $156 for a humungous 400ml. But, please, try to wean him off the stuff by telling him how good he looks first thing in the morning. A lot of pluck After a lifetime of not really noticing them, I'm just starting to groom my eyebrows. Where can I get a top-performing pair of tweezers? Arch Look, Kowloon Tong The Dictator: Yikes! You need to get those caterpillars professionally plucked first (write to me if you missed my advice about that). An expert will at least give you a good shape to follow and maintain: there have been far too many over-tweezing accidents lately. After that, you'll need quality equipment. Although your brow consultant will be the best judge of what's right for you, slanted tips generally do the job. Tweezerman puts out a good range of pluckers in a range of styles, prices (about $33 to $108) and - yes girls - colours. You can find them at Brilliant Cosmetics (Room 102, 1/F, Melbourne Plaza, 33 Queen's Road Central, tel: 2524-3576) and Fanda Perfume (G/F, Mirador Mansion, 60A Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2368-8638, and locations). Shu Uemura does only one pair - slanted, in stainless steel with a slightly long handle for easier grip and control - for $225, which is almost worth it just for the thrill of walking into its gorgeous shops (there's one at Shop 129, Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2918-1238). At that price you're justified in annoying the staff by asking for a larger bag, because they are beautiful. If the bag doesn't matter to you (but we can all spot re-used Joyce bags at 20 paces), then head for the Manucare section at your local Watson's. It's a brilliant brand that sells no-nonsense beauty tools, including a selection of tweezers from $29.50, some of which have real gold tips. Call Watson's customer hotline (2608-8383) for locations. Cutie claws Every time I go to the manicurist she cuts my cuticles. Now that I'm pruning such luxuries, I'm finding it hard to keep my cuticles in shape without gashing myself. Any suggestions? With Nails, Wan Chai The Dictator: Cuticle cutting is a crime. It's not quite as bad as drug-pushing, but not far off. You'd have had much better-looking hands if they'd never been cut. Every time you wash your hands, take a second to push back the softened cuticles gently. You'll start to see results in a matter of weeks if you keep them moisturised. We're all a little sick of hearing about the benefits of shea butter, but it works. Take the Fresh approach with the yummy Fleurs de Chocolat shea butter ($300), which smells of orange chocolate, or the faintly citrus-scented Sugar shea butter ($315; Fresh, Level 1, Seibu, Pacific Place, tel: 2918-1533). Kiehl's offers Imperiale Moisturising Cuticle Cream, enriched with avocado and other oils ($150 from Joyce Beauty, 38 Russell Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2970-2319). For a whole hand kit, try Bloom's Healing Hands pack ($200), with Cuticle Quencher, Care & Repair Hand Cream and Squeaky Clean Handwash, all scented with lavender and geranium (Level 1, Seibu, Pacific Place, tel: 2918-1445). And don't forget to push.
