Question:
Quote: Originally Posted by Dante I tend to find fragrances last longer when I have a bit of stubble.
Is it not the same principle as women spraying perfume on their hair for improved longevity? Not quite, because women spraying on their hair don't let the perfume come in contact with the facial skin.

Answer:
Like Caeser, I tend to be slightly schizophrenic with my facial hair: clean shaven one week, full beard for a month or so, goatee for a few days. You get the picture.
Honestly, I have not found facial hair (or lack of it) affecting longevity of my scents at all...however, I do not apply any of my scents near my face - just my non-hairy neck line.
Now this thread got me thinking, does body hair (arms, chest, etc) affect longevity, 'cause I spray fragrances on my body and I have hair on my chest, arms. etc... I do not shave my body hair, but if I did would this affect longevity?
Any body hair shavers (pro swimmers, fashion models, card carrying metrosexuals?) out there in BN who could answer this?

Answer:
All Hail, Caesar!!!!
Very interesting question! I'm also intrigued that it didn't come up before. Maybe there's a diminishing trend in beard usage?
I'm clean-shaven, so that doesn't come up for me, but every so often I get antsy and grow a moustache and small beard.
I've thought about taking a poll on a related subject that doesn't seem to come up much; I never use aftershave, only cologne. Aftershave is, IMHO, just overly weak cologne. But that's probably off-topic.
I've side-stepped all of this, because after much experimenting with where to spray, I don't spray on the neck or head at all. I found I was getting a rash on my neck all the time, and yes, generally where I was shaving. I spray the soles of my feet. No, not really. I just spray on the backs of my hands, where I never have allergy problems at all, and I get good sillage.
Cheers, Dave

Answer:
Quote: Originally Posted by Maxwell Not quite, because women spraying on their hair don't let the perfume come in contact with the facial skin.
But what I'm saying is, perhaps fragrance lasts longer with stubble because hair holds onto it longer.

Answer:
Hmm - I find spraying on hair really doesn't accomplish anything. I basically spray for my own enjoyment, and where it sticks is the neck/throat (the part you do shave) and the face - though it seems like that's a bad idea!

I'm quite sure that clean shaven days, the scent projects more and lasts longer than unshaven days.

It's funny that people have the opposite experience!

While I find spraying on hair does nothing, I've noticed that if you spray the fur (incl fake fur) lining of a coat, that *really* projects for some reason. A female friend took a shot of my M7 and the sillage was silly! I thought it was her skin and I was jealous, but it was just her coat lining around her neck!

Answer:
Quote: Originally Posted by Dante But what I'm saying is, perhaps fragrance lasts longer with stubble because hair holds onto it longer. Oh yeah, definitely. Hair holds on to scent much longer than skin does. After a period of time, the skin will "digest" the scent and start to absorb a portion of it, whereas on hair the fragrance will last until it's washed off or evaporates. If you have really dry hair, though, part of the fragrance will get absorbed into it as well and reduce the sillage.

Answer:
Quote: Originally Posted by Maxwell Oh yeah, definitely. Hair holds on to scent much longer than skin does. After a period of time, the skin will "digest" the scent and start to absorb a portion of it, whereas on hair the fragrance will last until it's washed off or evaporates. If you have really dry hair, though, part of the fragrance will get absorbed into it as well and reduce the sillage. I guess my hair is dry because fragrance just disappears into it - but could it also be that since hair is not heated the way your skin is that the fragrance tends not to evaporate and so it may be there but you won't smell it?

Answer:
Quote: Originally Posted by GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR I guess my hair is dry because fragrance just disappears into it - but could it also be that since hair is not heated the way your skin is that the fragrance tends not to evaporate and so it may be there but you won't smell it? Dry skin and hair actually "eats" fragrance, literally absorbs it. If you moisterize, but you're in a cold environment, the frag will still be there but there's no heat to diffuse it. If you spray fragrance on the hair on your head, it won't be as diffusive (unless it's summer) as the hair on your body. Fragrance tends to last the longest on chest hair, because it's close to the skin, and the chest is generally the warmest area of the body so you get more sillage.
A good, natural scentless hair conditioner helps a lot, and moisterizing the body with a scentless oil (jojoba oil is awesome) will almost always make fragrances last a LOT longer. The only trade-off is you get slightly less sillage because the oil holds the fragrance down a little, but it's minimal.