My fave balm....by far

As you should of figured out by now, I do beard stuff! or at least you'd know if you read my last blog!.....

That's right beard balms/waxes/butters(!)/and more recently, oils.

They don't have great hold, they just tend to shape a beard more naturally, but they come in a HUGE range of scents, from woody, to floral, to oud, to cologne, to citrus, to wacky 1s, like cola cubes (I'v literally just bought a cola cube scented balm online last night!)

The quality of these balms (I'm usually a balm user, so will be taking balms as the example) also varies drastically, this tends to be dependant on the price of the balm. From what I'v seen there's low range (budget), mid range, and high end.

Lets start with the low range (these also tend to be made in smaller containers) they seem to range from around £2.99-£4.00, for around abouts a 15ml (1/2oz) tub. the product quality isn't great, it can be a lil hard, and/or gritty, this tends to be because the base oils/waxes used are of lower quality.....However, the scent notes can be Very nice......just like this 1....

this balm is small in size, but packs a very nice smell, it is as it describes it, very masculine, kinda like a shaving foam sort of smell, but better...sadly I cant find this online anymore, and am running out of it.....this brand also has a coconut scented balm in the same size, which i also own...sadly this quality is very poor.

The next range is the mid range, around the £5.00-£10.00 mark. slightly larger tins (usually 30ml (1oz) the product quality is increased a huge amount for these, better quality oils and waxes being used, and again better scents such as this 1........

this smells exactly like it should, of lemongrass, it smells oriental, sadly though this smell doesn't last, and would need reapplying after a few hours, tbh I'd rather use the lower quality, and have the lasting smell of the masculine balm, these generally aren't good value for money....... That is unless you find a lower high end priced balm on sale, so a high end balm for around the £10.00 mark.....

And that draws me to my penultimate balm, the high end range..... I came across this balm purely by accident, saw an advert on instagram or the likes of, so I clicked (I don't usually) and i came across this very small niche company, they specialise in colognes and balms and general beard care, they use really funky names for their products, giving them and old timer/old fashioned style, , the product I'm using atm

should be £12, but I got it on sale for £9, again just for the 30m; (1oz) pot. so around the mid range prices, the quality is like no other, soft as room temperature butter, emulsifies really well, they use top quality premium oils and waxes, and really good scents too, and it lasts, I can put it in my beard in the a.m, and I can still smell it when I go bed that night

**********************************************************************I actually asked the makers to give me a breakdown of the scent, and they replied with this-

Quick breakdown : Bergamot, apple, raspberry, lemon with a touch of jasmin and violet on a base with birch, vetiver, cedar and a tiny dab of nut grass. I doubt that helps, as you don't really smell any of that. It's more of a fresh citrus burst with a woody, slightly smokey base. Sometime people say they get a leather note too.****************************************************

This leads me to my last lot of balms, the experienced high enders!! these sell for around £15-£30, but tend to come in a much bigger tin, anywhere from 60ml (2oz) up to 4, or even 6oz tins, these guys know their products well, they know how to market it well, they make it exceptionally well, best quality oils/waxes, best quality scents that last... these are companies such as 'grave before shave' - 'artius man' - 'kingsmen' and many others.......

Personally, I subscribe to the 'Beard Care Club'.. its American veteran run, and I get a new,different scented balm each month, and can buy the scents I like as stand alone purchases, each cost is around $15+$6(p&p), this equates at around £16 for me, and they come as a 2oz tin

#beardcare #beardcareclub #facialhair #beardbalms #rant #info #usefulinfo #beardoils #beardbutters #waxes