Gift Lab: A Guy’s Guide to Beard Grooming

Product: Beard Pack

Research:

A beard care kit isn’t something I’d heard about until recently. I generally keep facial hair so I was intrigued, but I wasn’t sure what it would be good for. If it made my beard grow slower or faster, I would have been sold right away. Upon reading the box I saw that the kit contains Whisker Wax, Moustache Wax, and Beard Oil.

Hypothesis:

I’d gotten away without these grooming products for so long, I thought that if I were to add them to my daily routine they had better be good. The ingredients in the beard oil included rosemary oil and vitamin E, which sounded like they might make my beard softer and healthier. The moustache wax also contained rosemary and vitamin E, but also had natural oils and wax. If I were to use any moustache product, I’d want it to be all-natural, so we were all set there. Finally, the whisker wash ingredients sounded as though like they would smell great–which is important since your whiskers are all right below your nose.

Experiment:

As I had never used these products before, I took them down to the barber shop below my Brooklyn apartment for some assistance.

The barber Brent, I was disappointed to discover, had never heard of these products either. After some convincing he agreed to partake in my grooming adventure. Naturally, we started with the whisker wash. Brent made a good point that he didn’t know if it was working since it didn’t foam up very much. Even after using twice the recommended amount it didn’t foam up a bit. We decided that the low-foam characteristic may have been a result of the all-natural ingredients and that although it may get some getting used to, it is probably better than anything you’d find in the average beard soap.

After the wash my beard definitely felt cleaner and smelled nice. Then Brent dove right into the beard oil, massaging it into my freshly washed and rinsed beard. The result was that my beard got much softer and smelled vaguely of fresh and natural oils. It was really nice.

Lastly, to truly try out the moustache wax, I needed a moustache so I asked for a quick shave around my moustache. We put in the wax while twisting and sculpting to get a good hold. Even with that effort we really weren’t able to transform my ‘stache into a work of art but it was fun nonetheless!

Conclusion:

After using these products for the first time it became clear that the beard oil was the best part of this kit. I didn’t know my beard could be so soft and hippy-smelling (in a good way, of course!). The whisker wash was nice and probably better than alternatives, but it didn’t do anything new for me so when it runs out I probably won’t replace it. The moustache wax was the least effective on my facial hair, because even after using different amounts, sculpting and adjusting, it really didn’t deliver that perfect ‘stache shape I was hoping it would. Despite that, the moustache wax was fun to try out as I was my first time. Overall, I would recommend this kit for those seeking to improve their beard using natural, pleasant-to-use products.