Butter, butter everywhere but none to put on my toast! Here we are, Monday has come around again and today we have the Runesilk Butter Review.
Who are Runesilk?
Runesilk are one of the most recognisable brands in the UK today. It is owned/run/managed by Daniel, the handsome chap with the awesome beard pictured below!! Runesilk started out as a sunglasses brand with Daniels love for eco friendly made products being high on his agenda. The wooden sunglasses appealed to him and so he started selling at markets. Whilst out selling his wares in October 2019 he realised that sunglasses weren’t really a winter seller. He needed something to keep him going all year round.
Having had a beard for as long as he can remember (Daniels own recollection of his self history is, according to himself, shit!), it was a natural progression into the world of beard care. Thus, Revolution was born as the first in an impressive range. Uniquely, it was a balm that set Runesilk on the journey to greatness. Most brands start with oils but not Daniel!
He quickly followed up with the revolution oil which became a best seller. Along came the elements, Air, Water, Earth and Fire in both oil and balm before the subject of today’s review. Dark Night Butter!! Runesilk is also now a registered trademark so they are here to stay and Daniel tells me he has loads planned for the future of Runesilk.
Daniel got married in Thailand in 2019 and has three children, two girls and a boy. They have recently got themselves a puppy which is keeping him up most nights!!
The Review
Before I start with all the technical stuff, let me explain something. I will not be scoring the butters, at least not yet. I want to delve into them, give my opinion and then move on to the next one. There will be different sections to the oil reviews but the main points will be the same.
Once I’ve tried and reviewed all the butters that I have I will then rate them as per usual. Then and only then, can I declare which butter is the best on the market.
Right, let’s get on with the Runesilk Butter Review.
Scent
Yep, it has Lavender in it! It kind of gives you a slap in the face with a fleshy, wrinkled grannies hand. But, here’s the beauty of it all. After you get slapped with the Lavender it calms down bringing out the other scents. Two of them are floral based fragrances with the exception of Fennel and Benzoin which is a hard scent to describe. Benzoin is quite a sweet oil in smell and has been compared with Vanilla, although to me that isn’t what it smells like at all. What it does do is add body to other scents, bringing them out and making them shine brighter.
Fennel gives the scent a bit of a kick with its liquorice like fragrance. In fact its halfway between a cough sweet and a Black Jack but slightly milder. The Neroli and Clary Sage add a touch more of the floral fragrance to the proceedings giving a light but relaxing smell to help you drift off to sleep.
It isn’t something that I would personally use for night time because I do find it difficult to sleep with any kind of scent in my beard but even more so when it lasts for a long time.
Durability
This lasts a decent amount of time. I was getting about 6 hours of scent from this butter which is why it wouldn’t suit me for bedtime! It would, however, be perfect for the person who loves to drift off into the land of dreams with a light fragrance tickling their nasal hairs.
Consistency
The butter itself is whipped and folded giving it a beautiful creamy texture. It doesn’t melt straight away, oh no! You have to work this bad boy to break it down before applying it to your beard. It
doesn’t sink straight in which is something I am starting to really like. This butter sticks around, working its way through every follicle, saying hello and getting to know them. When you have coated your beard then the magic begins!
Benefits
Dark Night made my beard feel amazing! Amazingly soft and extremely well nourished. I could feel the butter working it’s magic within a couple of hours. Taming my greys and moisturising the 
skin underneath. The fact that my greys felt less wiry than usual is always a huge bonus, seeing as there seems to be more everyday!
My skin also felt extremely hydrated and soft. Considering butters are technically more about looking after the beard than oils are, it did a great job in keeping beardruff away. In fact I think I’m falling in love with butters now! And this one would go straight to the top of the tree in regards to benefits for my beard.
The overall effect lasted a good 10-12 hours in my beard. keeping the whiskers nourished, moisturised and soft. This is a great length of time and really shows how much thought went into this product.
Daniel uses Shea, Mango and Cocoa Butter as well as the following carrier oils. One of which you may not of heard of before!
Grape Seed
Grape seed oil is rich in linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. Essential fatty acids are the building blocks of healthy cells. They hydrate, moisturize, and soften skin. It absorbs into your beard and skin quickly as it is very thin and doesn’t leave you feeling greasy.
It is a very complimentary oil and works well with the other 2. The oil promotes healthy hair growth which doesn’t mean it will make your hair grow quicker! However, it will make your hair stronger and more healthy. Just like castor oil, it helps to reduce beardruff which can be a problem.
Jojoba
Jojoba oil is derived from the seeds of the jojoba shrub, a perennial native to the North American deserts. The oil of the jojoba seed is extracted by cold-pressing, a process that helps maintain the rich nutritional value of the oil. The oil has plenty of antioxidants including vitamins A and E.
These help to stop or reduce itchiness of the skin. This is particularly helpful in the early stages of beard growth. It is also great for your beard hair as the oil molecules are similar to sebum. It can also help to make your hair stronger which is very helpful when you brush or comb your beard a lot.
Argan Oil
Argan oil is known to be beneficial to your skin and can help to moisturise your skin and hair. Hailing from the Argan Tree, which is endemic to Morocco, it is also used as a dip for bread etc. It is often used in face creams due to its potential to reduce wrinkles.
Sea Buckthorn Oil
It sounds like a creature from the dark depths of the ocean, but, it is actually a plant that grows at high altitudes in the Himalayas. The oil is taken from the fruit that grows on this prickly shrub.
It has many benefits for you such as promoting heart health, boosting your immune system and much more. But, what does it do for your beard and the skin underneath?
Well, it is high in essential fatty acids and Vitamin A which is great for stopping the dreaded itch and flaky Beardruff! One of the fatty acids contained within Sea Buckthorn is Omega 7 which is great for your skin. It can even help with minor burns, although probably not the amount you get in the butter! I will be covering this in more detail in my Carrier Oil Chronicles which is coming very soon!
Originality
Runesilk has a very defined logo which stands out from others. It is quite neutral as well which is perfect as they also sell sunglasses! The actual packaging on the Dark Night butter is very simple with just the company name in white writing and the rest in a kind of grey. It is difficult to see but it does look effective. It wouldn’t stand out on a supermarket shelf but it looks very clean and professional.
Labelling
There are certain things that must be included on the label, the packaging box or a card that comes with the product. This is part of the EU legislature for cosmetic products and is a legal requirement. I know we are no longer part of the EU but the UK will continue to use this law until they have time to rewrite them. The essential things that must be on the label are as follows…
- The name and address of the company or responsible person and the country of origin (if imported into the EU).
- The net content by weight or volume if more than 5 grams or 5 ml.
- Date of minimum durability if less than 30 months. Longer lasting products should have an indication of how long they will last once opened plus any info on storage conditions.
- Any precautionary information such as instructions for use or allergens.
- Batch Number or reference.
- The function of the product if it is unclear from its appearance.
- A list of ingredients under the word ‘ingredients’ in descending order of weight when they are added. Not necessary if less than 1%. The names of the ingredients should use the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. For example; Jojoba oil should be listed as Simmondsia Chinensis. The reason for this is because these names don’t change between languages whereas the common names can be different depending on where in the world you are.
Dark Night is almost there with regards to labelling. It has the company address, the ingredients in both common and INCI, net content, minimum durability and how to apply it. The only thing that is missing is a batch number.
Conclusion
This is a fantastic butter that has been made to an extremely high standard. I expect nothing less from a company who was awarded the title of Product Master by the iBeardClub. They are also on the UK Beard Portal where they sit proudly with other legally compliant companies!
I genuinely think that this is one of the best butters on the market today, the texture, the benefits you get and the passion from the man behind it all. It isn’t my favourite scent of all time but if you like a relaxing fragrance to get you off to the land of nod then this is the one for you!
The length of time that both the scent and the actual benefits of the butter last is what makes this butter fantastic for both your beard and skin. If you want to buy any of the products from Runesilk then click the link below!
Thank you for reading my Runesilk Butter Review. Have you used any Runesilk products before? Let me know what you thought of them in the comments! In the meantime check out my last blog Back On It.
Take care and keep growing
Tony