What about ingredients?

This one has really been grinding my gears lately....

Standard set up

Let’s Skip the History Lesson

Now, I’m not going to get into the deep history of oils for hair care (there are 1,000 other blogs doing that), but let’s just say everything from bear fat to olive oil has been used to condition and tame hair, whether for the beard or the head. It’s clear that any safe product can condition and look after your hair—disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you raid the kitchen and use cooking oil!

In fact, we have used coconut oil for the longest time in our hair and beards—and I mean that solid, white cooking block. And you know what? It worked.

The 27-Oil Marketing Trap

What is really disconcerting nowadays is the marketing hype. I’m talking about claims like: "Here is our oil or butter—especially formulated with 27 natural oils to give your beard the ultimate look." Let’s look at this scientifically (which beard brands should be able to do, given they must be CPSR certified). If you put 15 to 27 different carrier oils into a standard 30ml bottle, the math just doesn't add up. You are looking at maybe 1ml or 2ml per ingredient. That is nowhere near enough to actually make a physical difference to your hair or skin.

Also, bear in mind how formulation works: one or two foundational carrier oils will likely make up 60% to 70% of that bottle, with the remaining dozens of ingredients fighting for space in the leftover percentages. See where I’m going with this? A quick look at the science yields the same conclusion: many of these carrier oils share the exact same beneficial traits anyway. You don't need 27 oils doing the same job poorly when a blend of 2 to 5 high-quality ingredients in higher concentrations will get you the exact same—if not better—results.

Pulling the Wool Over Your Eyes

I get it. Marketing hype sells. You buy into the story, read the complex ingredient list, and convince yourself you’ve bought a good 'un.

When you choose to buy small-batch, independent products, it’s because you want to support a small business and because you trust the creator more than a corporate giant. I truly believe there is plenty of room for all of us small businesses to thrive and support one another, but I can’t get on board with pulling the wool over customers' eyes just to look fancy on a label.

Our trusted go to in years gone by

Final Thoughts: Back to Basics

Think about why you stopped buying mass-produced retail products in the first place: there were too many unrecognizable ingredients on the back of the bottle. History tells us that a single, well-formulated, conditioning product will do the job effectively.

Small-batch should mean a focused list of ingredients, right? Effective ingredients that actually work together in quantities that matter.

Don’t believe the hype. Find a trusted small brand (there are plenty of us out there, and I’m not even pitching my own stuff here), look at the ingredients to make sure they make sense, and enjoy the results!