The first of my butter reviews is here and we are kicking it off with the self proclaimed best butter ever! That’s right, it’s Beardolution and this is The Butter Reviews – Beardolution After Dark Butter Review.
Who are Beardolution?
Well, you can read about Beardolution from my review of the beard wash here. Radim likes to keep his cards close to his chest but when he speaks, he isn’t afraid to self promote. He has huge confidence in his brand and the products he creates.
Radim is a grafter and works long hours in his full time job but he doesn’t stop there. He works extremely hard on his beard business as well and not only that but he is a family man. It took him 12 months of research before he perfected it. However, he has now mixed things up again! Not one to rest on his laurels, Rad has updated his logo and changed his carrier oil base for his oils.
Okay, let’s get on with Beardolution After Dark Butter Review.
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.
Scent
Lavender. That is the overriding scent from After Dark. It is a very powerful fragrance that knocks your senses for six. It actually reminds me of when I used to visit my Nan. The lavender scent is a staple of grannies everywhere and the reason, it helps you to sleep.
This is where the problem lies for me. I used this butter during the day, mainly because my partner hated the smell, but also it would give me a better idea of how long the scent lasted. I don’t actually think I could or would have gone to sleep any quicker with the ferocity of the Lavender. Now, I know it isn’t the primary purpose of the butter. That purpose is to nourish and moisturise your beard and give it all the goodness it needs.
However, if a butter is labelled as being for night time then the scent needs to be less of a focus. I didn’t really get much of anything else, although, there was a hint of patchouli and ylang ylang as the lavender died down.
Durability
This is where I struggled with the night time point of this butter. The lavender scent lasted for quite a while. Between 5/6 hours was what I was getting with it being extremely strong for round about 2 hours. For me, if I was going to use this through the night, then I would have to put it in between 7 and 8pm. That would give it time to die down to a more pleasant fragrance before hitting the hay!
The goodness of this butter lasted well beyond the fragrance of it which is a big plus. I put this in early doors, around 8am and it carried on keeping my beard nourished all day. All through the time I was at work until I got home and beyond. I would say it was a good 10 hours before it started to wear off and my beard started to feel a bit dryer. It was still hanging in there, clinging to the whiskers for another hour before I would even think of reapplying.
Consistency
The butter is beautifully whipped and looks like a Mr Whippy ice cream when you open the jar. It is very soft and creamy and melts as soon as you start to put it in your palm. I found it extremely 
easy to apply into my beard as it was almost like an oil except lighter. This ensured it coated every follicle and strand of hair giving great coverage throughout.
I was extremely tempted to scoop it out and give it a taste but obviously, I knew better!! There was a slight popping sound when I took some out which is normal for a whipped butter. It left no bits in my palm as I applied it thoroughly into the beard.
Once it was applied into my beard there was a slight residue left over but that was okay. It wasn’t heavy in the beard either as it doesn’t contain any beeswax. A sticking point within the bearded community is whether a butter should or shouldn’t have wax in it. My personal opinion is it depends on what you want to use it for.
Night time is a no for me whereas during the day you might want to have a bit of hold for the mane.
Benefits
This is where the Beardolution butter comes into its own. It contains some fantastic ingredients that really look after your beard. I could really feel a difference after a couple of uses with my beard feeling unbelievably soft. It also felt really healthy, as if something had been missing before and the butter was the cure to my problems.
Having only used one butter before I couldn’t really compare this to anything else but I know when a product is quality. This is definitely a top quality product and even though I hated the scent the goodness that it brought to my face fuzz completely outweighed the issue I had.
Here’s a list of the butters used with links to their description on wikipedia…
These are the carrier oils used in the butter…
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.
Castor
Castor oil is rich in ricinoleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. This really helps to mousturise and hydrate the skin under your beard which can be difficult to do, especially with a big beard. It can also help to reduce acne which can appear when you first start to grow your beard.
The main benefit for your beard is in helping to reduce beardruff. This is when your skin gets itchy and flaky, similar to dandruff. Castor oil will also lubricate the hair shaft which helps make it stronger and less susceptible to breakage.
Sweet Almond
This is another oil that is great for both your skin and hair. Almond oil can help soothe and improve acne, especially good for when you first start growing a beard. It also treats dry skin which you can get under your beard if you don’t use the right products. There is plenty of vitamin E in this oil which is good for protecting and even repairing your skin from sun damage. For your hair, there is plenty of B-7 or Biotin which is great for keeping your whiskers strong and healthy.
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.
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.
Originality
I love the artwork on the Beardolution products and although this is the older version, it still looks great. This is a glass jar with a silver screw top lid. The label is wrapped around the jar with the logo, ingredients and instructions for use on it.
The bearded skull with a top hat stands out and feels like a voodoo type symbol. In fact, he does refer to the voodoo cult with his Mama Brigitte oil and butter, inspired by Voodoo Loa. The skull is surrounded by flowers and has a rose for one of the eyes.
The new jars have a different lid, labels and logo. The new logo is larger and is more colourful than the old iteration. The skulls beard is different and it has greenery surrounding it with roses dotted here and there.One thing for sure, Radim likes to surprise people and push the boundaries of what is acceptable. Check out his Resurrection t-shirt if you can find it anywhere!!
Labelling
This is the new section that I have added in as I feel that the labelling of products is often overlooked. It is extremely important to make sure that all the relevant information and wording is correct. This helps customers understand what they are putting in their beard and any potential allergens that might affect them and their health.
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.
Beardolution labels
There isn’t much wrong with these labels. It has the company address, batch codes, INCI ingredient names, date of minimum durability, net content and instructions for use. The only thing missing from the old labels is the allergens. These can be found on the website and on the new labels which goes to show that Radim is always making sure he does things right!
Conclusion
This is a fantastic product that really gave my beard some love. The ingredients are all top notch and made a huge difference to the overall health of my whiskers. I didn’t like the scent as I am not a lover of lavender and it was way too overpowering.
Looking past the fragrance though and this is a butter I would use again and again. I love the way the butter feels in my beard and with a different scent could replace oils for me. It is meant for use overnight but is equally as effective during the day as long as you don’t want it to keep your beard in position. You would need a balm for that!
Overall a solid product but is it the best butter on the market? I’ve got a lot more to try first and next up is By Odins so look out for that next week!
If you want to buy anything from Beardolution then click below.
Thanks for reading my Beardolution After Dark Butter Review. Don’t forget to check out Butter me up!
Take care and keep growing
Tony