The first American brand on my list and boy am I excited! All the fuss about how great beard companies from the USA are and now I get to find out myself. Will they be better than UK brands? Let’s find out in the Beard Brothers Beard Oil Review.
Who are Beard Brothers
*The following information is taken from the about us page on the website.*
Beard Brothers is a family owned and operated business based out of Long Island, New York. We are 2 brothers, Johnny & Vinny and together we created our logo & unique scents that we use in all of our products. Together we handcraft each and every butter, balm & oil to ensure perfection and quality control.
Vinny has been a master barber with over 10 plus years experience. We currently use & sell our products in the barbershop, so we receive firsthand feedback on all of our products. My brother and I have had a beard most of our adult lives so we understand the importance of a quality beard product.
Our goal is to ensure our products keep your skin/beard healthy, smelling great and looking its best in your day to day BEARDED LIFESTYLE!
The review
*DISCLAIMER* This beard oil was purchased in May 2021. It was kept unopened in a cool cupboard and wrapped in bubble wrap. The oil was only opened at the beginning of this review, 14 days ago. The Sandalwood Bourbon scent no longer appears on their website.
Before I get started I want you to know that I only review products with a CPSR. That stands for Cosmetic Product Safety Report and it is a legal requirement. Brands that don’t have this for their products cannot legally trade.
However, American brands aren’t tied to the same restrictions as UK brands. They don’t have CPSR’s and only have vague rules regarding the use of fragrance and carrier oils. In the UK the max % for a fragrance, whether it’s essential or fragrance oils is around 2-3% (don’t quote me on this!). In America, it can be up to 20%!
I have made an exception to my usual rule because this isn’t a UK brand and doesn’t legally have to have a CPSR.
Scent
A Sandalwood Bourbon fragrance oil is used here and it’s a hell of a manly scent! I’m not entirely sure if its the one fragrance oil or two mixed together but it has a very strong smell. I wouldn’t use this for a date night as it isn’t subtle enough. This kicks you in the balls and then elbows you in the back of the head!
This scent is more for going out with the lads. Maybe for a few drinks, some food and then off to the clubs to get smashed and forget where you live. It is a scent not for the faint-hearted but for those that want to explore their manliness.
It lasted around 8 hours which is unsurprising given the strength of it. In fact, the wife said she could still smell it after that. She wasn’t too keen on it but I quite liked it.
Carrier Blend
Well, I thought this would be an exciting blend of unheard-of ingredients. But Beard Brothers have gone with tried and trusted carrier oils for this particular product. Jojoba, Sweet Almond, Castor and Apricot oil make up the carrier blend with vitamin E added in for good measure.
While it isn’t the most exciting, groundbreaking blend it has a familiarity to it that just works. These oils are widely used in the UK and we know that they do a great job of nourishing the old whiskers. The expectation I had regarding American products from people who used to rave about them, is completely different to the reality. So far!
How did my beard feel?
It did a good job of hydrating my skin and beard, as to be expected. The addition of Castor oil made this a medium viscosity product. It soaked into the skin nicely and didn’t leave any greasy residue. You can’t ask for more than that.
Actually, you could! I expected the feeling of these ingredients to last a lot longer. I don’t think it has anything to do with how long I’ve had it for as the scent was still powerful. Overall it gave me about 5 hours of keeping my beard nourished before the dryness started to come back.
Branding
The branding is a simple but effective logo. The mirrored beards, the bold simple wording and the est date at the bottom. It looks clean, bold and crisp. It isn’t anything out of this world but I quite like the simplicity of it. The mirrored beards obviously represent the two brothers.
The label
Well, there’s not much to say about this as again, they don’t have to follow the same rules as the UK. On the back of the label are some directions on how to use the oil and the ingredients in English.
Value for Money
This is where it gets interesting! If you live in America then this is great value for money. $16 equates to just over £13 which is a pretty decent price. It also comes in a 1oz or nearly 30ml bottle. You have to pay taxes on top of that which is about $1.40.
Now, I don’t know how much shipping is in the US but if you had it shipped over to the UK, it would cost $26 minimum. That’s £21.50 or thereabouts. The total cost with the oil, taxes and shipping would be around £35. That puts it in the no no bracket.
If you were going to buy products from America, I would recommend buying a lot more than just one bottle of oil as the shipping would be the same.
Conclusion
I like the branding and I like the product itself. The scent is strong and manly which is great. I have spoken to the guys a couple of times and they seem like stand up people. I love the fact that it’s two brothers working together to make some damn fine stuff.
As I said before, this particular fragrance is no longer available on their website but they do have about 18 scents to choose from. They also do the same scents but with Emu Oil as one of the carriers. I believe it’s 50% emu oil and 50% the other carriers. The price goes up to $21 for that added extra.
All in all a pretty decent experience for my first American brand. Is it better than brands from the UK? I’ll be writing a small blog on that once I’ve finished all 4 of the American brands on my list!
That is it for my Beard Brothers Beard Oil Review, let me know what you think of the review. Also, if you have tried this particular brand then feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them.
Until next time, take care and keep growing
Tony