The Best Beard Care and Oil on Earth. My Reviews.
By Steve Huff
Since November of 2022 I have been trying out various beard all natural products for my beard and not all are created equal! I have spent around $4,000 on beard products over the last year and a half so YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!
Products from companies like BeardBrand, Live Bearded, Honest Amish, Fable, Black Rebel, Beard Octane, Luxurious Bastard, Bearded Bastard, Dr.Nicks, The Beard Struggle and others have been in use by me for the last 15 months.
Of all of these, I have one clear stand out fave brand and a close second place.
I used each brand exclusively then would trim down and start again with the next brand to find my fave.
What does beard oil do? Butter? Balm? Well, over my 54 years on this earth I have tried to grow a beard many times. In the years past I would stop and shave due to one main reason. My skin would get irritated, dry, flaky and beard dandruff would be awful!
I was not aware at the time that all I needed was some beard oil. The oil soothes the skin, keeps it from drying out and promotes healthy beard growth. Since I started using beard oil, my beard grows so much faster, fuller and softer though not all brands help your beard. I have found a couple that seemed to harm it!
After finding the right beard care I have no more itchy skin, dandruff or issues. I use Beard Butter mainly at night to nourish the beard and skin while I sleep. I sometimes use it with oil during the day but also use a specific balm that I found to be incredible. When using specific beard wash, conditioner, oil and butter/balm my beard really started to get bigger, fuller, softer and looking so much better.
Just before starting my beard journey. Bare Baby faced!
I have been doing these experiments with various brands since 2022 and I have found that not all beard products are created equal. I have found most department store brands (wal mart, etc) use ingredients that are not natural (bad for our skin) or use inferior quality carrier oils (bad for our beards). Some of these messed with my skin.
In this article I will speak of my experience with some of these popular beard companies (my faves of all I tried) who sell all natural oils, balms, butters and washes. How did they work for me? Were there any issues?
I was using BeardBrand Original Balm and Oil during this phase of my beard journey. I believe I had Temple Smoke in and I love this scent though it is light and without much lasting power. The newly formulated 2024 Temple Smoke is more potent than the OG but it’s a darker scent.
Here I am at the age of 54, growing a big full beard for the first time in my life.
I will only be talking about a few companies and my experience with their beard products. I tried out oils and butters from several (MANY) companies but will keep this discussion to just a few of them. The ones that stood out the most. There were quite a few brands I did not like at all, so will not discuss them here.
So who were brands that my beard liked the most?
Let’s start with The Beard Struggle. My Favorite Beard Products EVER. Period, end of story.
The Beard Struggle is a brand I found late in my beard Journey but am so happy that I did. This company has some of the highest quality products I have encountered ever. Their butter is pure silk. Smooth, buttery and I can notice within hours of application just how soft my beard is. The Balm from TBS is hands down the finest balm I have ever used. It’s easy to work with, has conditioning and even some holding power but it is not in any way waxy or sticky. It’s luxurious as it gets and the balm is smooth, silky and easy to work with. Never found a balm quite like this. No grains at all so far.
The Beard Struggle sent me a sampler pack and their Viking Storm scent in butter and balm to test out. By the time I was done with the samples, I ended up going back and spending over $500 at their website. I ended ups with all but one of their scents in oil, balm and cologne. Even some wash, conditioner and body wash in my fave three scents.
I have seven oils, seven balms, seven colognes as well as the wash and conditioner in three scents. When my wife sampled the scents she instantly said these were on another level from what I had been using. True, I have very many bottles of oil here, over 100, from various companies. I have around 60 tubs of butter and 20 tins of balm. I have around 18 wash and conditioners. All in my quest to not only see the differences in these fine products but to find the one that works for my beard.
Of all that I have here, this brand impressed me the most, the Beard Struggle. One of their scents is God like, and my top scent of all time for any beard oil or even cologne.
The Sample size of Valhalla’s Gates – This is my fave beard oil scent of all time (my wife’s as well). Intoxicating! I bought the full size, a tub of balm, cologne, body wash, beard wash and conditioner!
My fave scents from The Beard Struggle?
#1 is an easy with with Valhalla’s Gates. This is as addictive as it gets in a scent and is my #1 scent of all time for a beard oil. It’s mystical, magical, ethereal, complex and just a stunning scent. I can not describe it like most as this one is rich and deep and just smells like the heavens, so says my wife. I have the oil, balm, cologne and wash/conditioner/’body wash. From the packaging to the scent this one is amazing. It’s seductively sweet.
#2 is Asgardian Secret. This scent is another that is hard to describe but it also has an otherworldly vibe about it. When I wear this I smell it throughout the day in my beard yet it is not loud, offensive nor does it shout out to others. It’s such a unique beautiful scent yet again. I just can not describe it but this is another of the top scents I have ever used in a beard product.
#3 is tied with Hoeners Poem and Alfheims Forest. Just wow here again. The nod may go to Horner’s Poem as it has a bit more strength in the scent. Then again Alfheims forest is just another mystical wonderful scent. It’s light, it projects a little and smells so unbelievably amazing. I love both of these.
I also have Viking Storm with is very nice. Heck, ALL of these scents are superb.
My least fave is Aesir’s Triumph. I find it way too strong and sticks in my beard for 24 hours. If you want an all out masculine scent, this is the one for you. I prefer the more ethereal scents from this company.
These scents have a level of sophistication that I have not seen in others. Seriously, these are rich, deep and complex and most are “cologne like” in the lasting power though they are not too potent (besides Aesir’s Triumph) but just right.
The Bearded Struggle has over 50,000 Reviews.
So why do I love these products so much?
Easy. They not only have the finest scents I have encountered in beard products but they also make my beard softer (where others promise this and often times do not deliver), easier to style and there also seems to be some sort of magic in the balm that keeps my beard just right without any stickiness or tacky feel whatsoever. That’s the other thing. These products never feel sticky, gooey, tacky or heavy. In beard they feel light and my beard is more fluffy and full when using TBS products.
I just use the day oil, balm for day, butter for night and the wash and conditioner. I do not believe the “day and night” oil will offer any benefit. They are just about the same with one having an extra carrier oil. I would just stick with the day oil, that’s all I will use. I also will not buy any of the products like derma rollers (can get these for $5 on amazon) as I tried those and didn’t see any results. If you stick with the basics like oil, balm, butter, wash/conditioner and even cologne you can not go wrong with The Beard Struggle.
They offer it all from packaging (though labels are very tough to see/read) to scents (amazing) to quality (best for my beard, even tamed the white hairs) and results.
My Favorite Beard Balm Ever comes from The Bearded Struggle. Silky smooth, no grains, light hold and the scents are magical. Not hard but easy to work with.
They also sell concentrated cologne rollers (these are not a spray) as these scents are so good, the type you would expect to find at one of those fancy shops that sell $300 bottles of cologne. So when you find a scent you love you can use the Cologne for those special nights out and an extra burst of scent.
The Beard Struggle sells one mighty fine sample pack as well, so you can try these scents in the oil and balm.
Wearing The Bearded Struggle Oil and Balm on this day. Beard is fuller, more luxurious and softer.
So from this point on I will be sticking with the Beard Struggle for all of my beard care in 2024 and beyond. After trying so many brands from small batch to large this is the only one that really stuck out with everything just being superb.
The quality of the product, the effectiveness of the product, the scents (all are wonderful) and the service as well. Shipping is fast (all orders shipped next day, and I made a few), customer service is quick and well, these guys are really doing things right. These guys also sell other products but I am sticking with the basics. You may find other things at their website you will enjoy for your beard. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
CONS of the Beard Struggle?
Every beard company has cons and the only issues I have had with TBS is three of the balms I ordered from their Amazon shop had VERY weak scent. The main smell was the butters used rather than the scent. One of them, Horner’s Poem had ZERO scent. So it was like I paid premium for an unscented balm. I could return it of course. Also, I bought a platinum set from the website of Vanirs Wisdom. The balm, oil, and cologne. The cologne is the wrong scent yet labeled correctly. The cologne is sort of overpowering and not my type of scent as it has a strong OUD scent which is not existent in the oil and butter. Kind of a bummer as these products are not cheap. Again, an easy return. Small nitpicks? One of the colognes in the gold line came in a silver line bottle, one of the cologne bottles was crooked and a defect of sorts, nothing major. Still my #1 beard product company as the products are top quality tier and my beard looks much better using them.
CHECK OUT THE BEARD STRUGGLE HERE
Let’s Talk about a previous favorite of mine, BEARDBRAND
BeardBrand is a beard product company that really took off when the owner, Eric Bandholz, appeared on Shark Tank.
Even though he did not get a deal from the sharks (their loss IMO), Beard Brand exploded after that appearance and they were able to create some stunners in the beard oil and balm line. They also released several other products like Sea Salt Spray, Cologne, soap and beard wash/conditioner.
Beard Brand was the first company I tried after all of the selections at the local Target and Wal Mart disappointed me in one way or the other (Though I do like Honest Amish, just not the scent). They were also on another level of quality from what was on those retail store shelves.
I started with their “Old Money” Scent and bought the oil which comes in a 4oz aluminum bottle (image above is their old formula and packaging which I liked much better) as well as the large metal tub of Utility Balm. I then added the deodorant and cologne and I was blown away by the complexity of the scent. It was a bit dark but rich, with hints of mahogany, leather and an overall sweetness and uniqueness that truly stood out to me. I was so happy with this I bought their “Tree Ranger” and “Temple Smoke” scents as well. Tree Ranger was ok and Temple Smoke was intoxicating if not a bit subdued.
Keep in mind I was so happy with this as I was used to the subpar store brands I tried and disliked. BeardBrand is next level from those. But not all was peachy with the products and my skin.
After a month of use I noticed my beard was so soft but at times the balm seemed to weigh down my beard somewhat, and it started to look a little greasy (their older 2022 formula). I was also getting some pimples under my beard. This was with the 2022-2023 version of their balm. For 2024 it has improved as they went back to their original formula. While they were selling the “greasy version” I was not enjoying it at all on my beard and face. During this time I went on a search for old bottles of balm with that OG formula.
My batch of BeardBrand’s Black Crown Utility Balm (OLD Formula) is pure silk.
After buying NOS jars on eBay with the OG formula I was happy to see BeardBrand go back to this formula for 2024. This formula is somewhat firm but very easy to work with. The balm can develop grains but these are easy to melt in your hands. The quality of balm here is fantastic and currently my 2nd fave for 2024 in the world of Balms. It is thicker than TBS Balm but also has more hold as it has a bit of wax in it. So if you need hold and softness, this will do the job.
For 2024 BeardBrand has added a new scent and went back to their OG Balm formula.
As much as I enjoyed the scents from Beard Brand AND their OG Balm formula, they do not have lasting power in the scent department. I would say after an hour the scent is all but gone, maybe two hours. These are not loud obnoxious scents and Beardrand states they are “for you” and not everyone else. Even so, I would like to see more punch in the scent for Temple Smoke. Old Money is pretty strong, the most potent of the bunch so I guess that one is just fine.
Beardbranbd pricing seems more expensive than everyone else because they give you more of the product. Instead of selling oil in 1 oz bottles they are giving 4 ounces! For example, most brands sell an ounce of oil for $15-$25. BeardBrand sells their oil in 4 oz containers for $39. That is like $9 an ounce for great oils with unique scents. About $10 less an ounce than everyone else. Four ounces of oil, from say Black Rebel, will cost me $120. Four ounces from BeardBrand will set me back $39. That’s a difference of almost $90 for the same amount of oil.
I will say that their oil does smell strange when taking a sniff from the metal bottle. It smells more like “oil” than the scents. This seems to happen over 2-3 months of sitting on the shelf. These scents seem to lose potency quick.
Overall Beard Brand is a great company with great prices and quality oil and products. If I rated via STARS, BeardBrand would get 4 stars (now that they are bringing back the OG balm) as I feel they need some excitement in their line up, which is looking a bit tired now. They did just release a new scent in 2024 called “Bold Fortune”. It’s subdued and smells nothing like what they say it is but it is a pleasant nice scent. In comparison to say The Beard Struggles “Vanirs Wisdom”, BF smells very subdued and as with most BB scents, only lasts a short while.
I also like their wash and conditioner but do prefer other brands in this area. I am THRILLED that they are going back to the old formula for the Balm as it truly fantastic for hold, feel, and the scents are mellow compared to some others. I had to return two products to BeardBrand (The current NON OG FORMULA metal tin of Temple Smoke smelled nothing like Temple Smoke) and the Customer service is legendary. Meg is amazing and they get an A+ for service.
Overall I enjoy what BeardBrand brings to the table though I must say that their oil can be inconsistent. I have ordered bottles that had no scent, smelled like “oil”. I have had re-orders have less scent as well. One batch (not all) of oil made my beard feel straw like. So while I enjoy what they offer they can be inconsistent at times.
CONS of Beardbrand?
I have had inconsistent quality with some balms having no scent, another that smelled rancid and oil that had no scent at all, or smelled more like the metal bottle. One of my Bold Fortune oils is like this and there is almost no scent. I feel the metal bottles do something to the scent.
See more from Beard Brand HERE.
Moving on to Live Bearded
Live Bearded runs their company in a completely different way than BeardBrand. In fact, LB is very aggressive with marketing and they do a great job on this. They have YouTube commercials that are entertaining and informative, as well as fast paced and they like to call every male on earth “brother”. I will be honest, talking with them through email turned me off as every other sentence was “Brother Steve” or “Brother…”. These guys give me that “Toxic Masculinity” vibe big time.
They know how to market though and it is genius of them to offer a sample of all of their scents for $10. This is how I started with them and I instantly knew I enjoyed their 1880 and Tombstone scents but I could not tell from the samples how these would do in a longer beard. At the time I had mid growth but did use LB products in a short and long beard both over time.
I ordered quite a few of their complete sets and found that their oil is thinner than the BeardBrand oil. It’s also clear/white where Beard Brands oil has a yellowish hue. The Live Bearded oils cost much more ($19 vs $9 an ounce) yet for me seemed to leave my beard a bit dry and I am not sure why. I thought it was very odd and am not sure how this can happen. It’s oil after all. Maybe it didn’t jive with my mostly white beard?
The Live Bearded Butter is much different from the Beard Brand and The Bearded Struggle Balm and even different from the sample set they sent for $10. In the sample set the butter was creamy, lotion like and fantastic in feel. The butter you get when you order a tub seems different. It’s semi firm, tacky..gel like sometimes.. and well, different. The only thing I do not like is that it can feel tacky/sticky in the beard. It offers up nice hold and does seem to make my beard look fuller but by hour 1-2 the scents are gone and my beard feels tacky, almost sticky (but not really sticky). This starts to become an issue with longer beards, at least for me. Especially in the summer.
Consistency has been OK with LB. The only issue I had is when I ordered a special edition limited release (Pirate Drake), the butter was way thinner than normal, looser and much more tacky (and it wasn’t from being warm, it never solidified). It looked like someone mixed Elmers glue and Elmers paste together. I had to toss it in the garbage but the scent was not to my liking anyway (Pirate Drake). Smelled like Wrigley’s double mint gum to me, period. My wife said the same as did my son. That was the last order I placed with LB because I found something else I prefer for my skin and my beard.
During my use of Live Bearded I found the butter to be a little too tacky for a bigger beard. Feel in beard was not the best.
I do enjoy their wash and conditioner as well as their Utility Spray though the spray is pricey IMO and doesn’t have lasting power. Much like BeardBrand the scents from LB do not last very long in beard for me. Maybe an hour or two.
The one scent I love above all else from LB is their limited Holiday scent called “Claus”. It smells like Christmas in a bottle. You can nab a set of Clause only near Christmas time. I also enjoyed 1880 and American.
With Live Bearded I must use the oil and the butter otherwise my beard dries out. I feel the oil from Live Bearded doesn’t hydrate my beard as well as others do.
After a couple of months I found I wasn’t liking the LB products as much as I thought. The tacky feel of the butter and the thin oil just didn’t work for me. They are also one of the most pricey. I enjoyed them at first, but with almost anything time will tell you the truth. I gave the products away to my son, who enjoyed “Canyon” and “Tombstone”.
Live Bearded just didn’t work for my beard in the long run but they may work for you and they have tens of thousands of reviews that say so! I highly recommend their $10 sample pack before you jump as you may LOVE This brand. Many do, just know the butter is a tad tacky and feels different from the sample pack for some reason.
I did see how their customer service was with a petty complaint. I did this just to test their service and they were AMAZING. Live Bearded cares about their customers and have a wonderful team in place to fix whatever issue you may have. So they get an A+ here.
How about Black Rebel Beard?
I have purchased quite a few scents from Black Rebel as well because my 1st go round was interesting. This company uses Ostrich oil as their base, 75% to be exact. This means the oil is thicker (very much so) and it seems to go much quicker as well. In beard it feels nice and keeps my beard soft and I like what it does for my skin. Ostrich oil will not clog pores and it has some anti inflammation properties. It makes for a great carrier oil.
The scents (I own 8 of them) all have a similar vibe as you can tell they are all from Black Rebel. There’s something in each bottle that connects them together. I could easily blind test and pick out any BR scent. This can be good, but also not so good as some scents, at least to me, seem similar. This is also the most expensive company I have ordered from though they do offer free shipping.
Their oil? Freddie smells a lot like Elvis. Ramones has a similar vibe to Easy Rider. All smell fantastic and unique with lasting power in the way the scent sticks with you throughout the day but all have a similar vibe, a “house smell” so to speak.
The butter from Black Rebel uses beef tallow and I have to say that after 3 months of use I am not the biggest fan of their butter. It reminds me somewhat of the Live Bearded consistency and when in beard it makes my beard feel a bit heavy and even somewhat greasy. It doesn’t look greasy but its feels it and I do not use much at all. Even so, it does offer slight hold as well as conditioning. It’s a good butter but it does have some slight tackiness. This may be too much conditioning for me with the Ostrich oil and butter combined!
UPDATE: I still own some Black Rebel butter but can not use it in my now longer beard it just feels tacky. If I go to put more oil in my beard late in the day it’s tough as the butter from BR just make my beard feel a bit sticky.
I love the oil, but not so much the butter though it is good/decent. Just use it sparingly. I also bought many of the colognes and they are nice to have when you truly love a scent. When I wear CASH I get compliments. I wore SCOUT the other day to a festival and had two people ask me what I was wearing. So these scents do get noticed unlike when I wear BeardBrand.
I have to say that CASH is one of the top beard oil scents ever made, truly unique and WOW. Manly, smooth, just so good.
Scout is one of my fave scents from any Beard company. Should be part of the Mainline scents! It’s a keeper. UPDATE: BR now added Scout to the MAINLINE scents!
Two of my faves from Black Rebel are Scout (Amazing Unique Scent) and Cash (best BarberShop Scent EVER) I wasn’t a huge fan of Lemmy (sort of basic) which was a special drop but of course scent tastes will vary from person to person. What I love you may hate and vice versa. Black Rebel does indeed offer something for everyone but it can get expensive trying scents. They release special drops like Lemmy for $30 a pop (oil price) and then have the monthly scent. No way to know what it will smell like so if you go all in and buy oil, butter and cologne it will cost you a pretty penny and you may not even like the scent. If you just buy the oil and wait to see how it is, they will most likely be sold out of the entire line by the time you get your oil. So you either have to be all in or not at all. I spent too much on scents that let me down so I stopped buying from BR.
Also for 2024 they now make you sign up for a monthly auto bill sub to get their monthly special drops. This, for me, is not going to work so my days with BR are done. Lovely products but not a fan of being forced to join a club to get a scent.
After a trim I started using Black Rebel exclusively. These products use Ostrich Oil as the main carrier oil. It does feel heavier in beard but performs great. Just a thicker feel in beard which for me, lent to a little bit of a “greasy” feel. With that said, the beard looks great with Black Rebel products! This was when I started using Black Rebel, after a self trim.
SOFTEST BEARD EVER?
Black Rebel claims a 10X softer beard with their Ostrich oil formula and in my experience this is NOT the case. I used BeardBrand for 6 months, Live Bearded for a month or two, Black Rebel for 6 months and Luxurious Bastard for 8 months and now in 2024 I use The Bearded Struggle. I did not find that my beard was any softer using Black Rebel vs the others. In fact my beard feels softer with The Bearded Struggle products and without the heavy feel. Go figure.
Overall I feel Black Rebel is a good company with amazing artwork, stickers and quality. I enjoy their product and love two of the scents so much they will stay in my rotation when I want that kick of rebel! I will keep CASH and SCOUT.
The CASH butter from Black Rebel uses Beef Tallow as one of the ingredients. You can see it looks sort of like paste. It’s not butter soft so you have to dig in.
As for customer service, I had to use it once with BR. I placed an order for two products one day apart during their one and only yearly sale just recently. One shipped next day, the other took about 10-12 days to ship. When I emailed them to confirm that this order didn’t fall through the cracks I received a reply only saying “we had a sale”. That was it. Umm, yea, but why did one ship and the other didn’t? I placed both during the sale. I was cool with it as I knew it didn’t fall through the cracks but still, the customer service here is sort of odd and cold.
I guess you can say that Pedro (owner of BR) just “keeps it real” and I get it as I am the same way in life. To the point, honest and without much of a filter. Even so, when running a business such as this I feel the customer service could be a bit more friendly. I give them a C in this dept. If I were selling a product I would do my best to be friendly, nice and helpful. BTW that late delivery I had an oil and butter and the butter ended up being full of chunks 3 days after it arrived and smelled strange so I had to toss it anyway.
I like BR and feel they make a super product. If you do not mind slight tackiness in the butter and super thick oil (that gets used up quicker due to its thickness) then you may want to check them out. Their new wash and conditioner is also decent though my “Scout” wash is as thin as water. Literally. I wasn’t a fan of it as when I pour some out, it’s water consistency spills through my fingers and there is waste but man does it lather up nicely and the scent is lovely (Scout). I believe this is the new formula they just released for the wash. I ended up sticking with another brand for wash and conditioner at the end of the day (Luxurious) but do enjoy the Black Rebel wash and conditioner, even with the thin water like consistency.
UPDATE: Black Rebel changed the wash formula for 2024 and it is now thick and creamy, much better.
CONS? Price is high, oil and butter are on the more greasy side, many scents smell similar to each other, cologne doesn’t have lasting power.
What About Luxurious Bastard?
I found this company after someone suggested them to me. This is a small batch operation with one guy (Dave, Mr. Lux) who mixes the scents and pours each bottle and tub of butter or balm himself. It’s a company made by a bearded man for bearded men. The focus of Luxurious Bastard are the scents and the complexity of the scents but also the quality all natural ingredients he uses. Dave releases a new scent EVERY WEEK and I admit, I have bought a slew of them, wayyyy too many. Each one is unique and has that Lux vibe just as Black Rebel has their own vibe.
As I write this I am wearing the “Holy” scent which is incredible though a touch strong. This one projects. Then again, I can say that about a few of Dave’s scents as he is known as a master of complex and rich scents when it comes to his beard products. These are the strongest scents I have experienced and have the most lasting power. If that is your thing, strong scents, most of Daves scents lean this way. Some of these scents will be noticed by others in the room as soon as you walk in.
These products are so rich, complex and natural and the scent stays with me for 6-8 hours. Yes, 6-8 hours. The first time I used it I felt as if it was overpowering but my nose was so used to those weaker and more artificial smelling scents, I just had to acclimate to it. Now that I have I am in love with most scents Dave creates.
Scents like Poseidon have amazing depth and well, just smells like nothing else on the market. I have tried other brands who offer an “Aquatic Cologne” scent but all of those smelled fake, almost car freshener fake. Poseidon from Lux is astonishingly good though not in your face. It’s very earthy and natural as well as slightly sweet. It almost smells like a dirty pirate but it’s so good. I am addicted to this scent.
My top 5 scents from Lux right now?
- Poseidon
- Autumn
- Holy
- BillBerry
- TCVC (SUPER strong Tobacco, Cherry, Vanilla and Chocolate) This one last for 24 hours. Crazy.
BeardBrand and Live Bearded scents are no where near this complex or long lasting. Luxurious Bastard sells their oil for $17-$22 an ounce and it is well worth it for these artisan made hand poured scents. There are scents from Dave that I also think are too strong for me. Legendary is one I bought and just can not wear as it is crazy strong, to the point it makes me feel sick to my stomach after an hour or so. Ombre was the same but my son loves it and uses it for his beard. Rustic and Chakra is nice but also super strong when I wear them so they rarely get used (makes me a bit queasy). So some of these can be powerful but many of you love that. These are powerful in a good way though as each scent is complex, rich and tells a story.
The “Sacred” butter is pure Luxurious Bastard. Smooth, light, creamy and the scent is OMG! I have noticed though over time these butters get very hard. So while they may start soft they can get pretty firm. I really have to dig in to most of my Luxurious butter now.
Dave also sells cologne for some of his scents and they are legit, full big bottles of cologne rather than small metal bottles. His colognes smell like a real cologne rather than a sport spray. I must say though that his Poseidon cologne was a disappointment. Zero lasting power. After 2 minutes, yes TWO MINUTES the scent is gone. Not worth the cost. On the other hand, his 1912 Cologne lasts for hours. I love that these are big spray bottles rather than rollers.
Keep in mind that a few of the Luxurious scents are cologne like but smell so so good and feel so..well…luxurious. The butter is crazy amazing luxurious as well. It’s light weight and so nice for night time use before bed.
But never worry! Dave sells an actual BALM for more hold, and his balm has stronger holding power yet at the same time keeps the beard feeling soft. It can be a bit tacky and I am not the biggest fan of the balm. Feel in beard is a 9/10 for the oil and butter and I’d say an 6/10 for the balm. When my beard is short the butter is amazing, as well as for night. When it is longer the Balm provides plenty of control for the fly aways though I stopped using the Balm as I found something I enjoy much more in this area.
One of the ingredients in the oil is Castor Oil, which is a good one. No coconut oil here.
After two months using Luxurious Bastard exclusively my mostly white beard was softer, fuller and more luxurious.
At night I wash my face and clean my beard and apply Lux butter for night conditioning, usually Bilberry, Poseidon or Sacred. The feel in beard is exquisite and nothing else for me has compared. An amazing night scent from Dave is the “Soothing” bastard though I think it may be sold out. Has a similar vibe to Live Bearded nightcap but even better. My wife loves this one and if Dave brings it back I will surely pick up the butter as I only have the oil, and it’s almost gone!
At the end of the day, Luxurious Bastard stood above the crowd in the beard oil and butter game for this bearded dude but Mr. Lux comes in at #2 for me of all I have tried. Because I now found better for my beard I will just keep 2-3 scents here from Luxurious. Poseidon and Holy (Autumn as well) and I will restock when I use them up, they are amazing. Autumn when it is available (love this scent) is a MUST!
Products that I love from Lux besides the oils and butters are his CoWash, Beard Wash and even Biotin gummies (which do work, check this out)
Gave myself a big trim….was taking the Biotin gummies for 1 month prior and continued on them…
16 days later my beard looks like this, just over TWO and a HALF WEEKS later. My beard has never grown so fast and I attribute this to the oil, butter and biotin gummies from Luxurious Bastard (as well as diet). These also keep my skin smooth, or so it seems. I can’t believe how quickly this growth happened as it wasn’t this fast when I started. Now that I have a routine with wash, oil for day, butter for night and vitamins that promote skin and beard health it is growing like a weed. I am going to try for a longer beard now that my beard product 15 month long tests are done!
If you are looking to up your beard game, get rid of dryness and itch and create a fuller softer beard then look no further than Luxurious Bastard. These are the STRONGEST scents in the beard business. For some of you they may be too strong.
CONS? Lux’s butter can get hard over a few days time making it hard to scoop out. It’s not “buttery” unless you keep your home really warm. That’s about it other than some scents, for me, are way too strong (1886, 1912, Chakra, Legendary and others).
PS – NONE of the links here are affiliate links and I will make not a cent from any of them if you buy products. I just wanted to share my thoughts for others out there who may be looking for the right beard products without bias. If this review helped you in any way, and you want to try something from Amazon that will give me 4% commission you can check out BeardBrand’s offerings on Amazon. Lumber Yard is offered in the same OG balm formula (the good one) as well as the oil and wash for a pretty affordable price. Same quality as the ones I used for this test but with a more basic scent. Check them out on Amazon HERE.
If any beard companies would like me to test out their product and possibly add it to this page, I will keep it going for as long as I test products. You can email HERE if interested.
My final rankings for these top Beard Product companies. I have tried countless others but these are the best I have found for my beard.
#1. The Bearded Struggle. These guys just have the most amazing quality, consistency, scents, packaging and service. My beard looks its best when I wear the oil and balm from this company for some reason yet I am not sure why. I am addicted to these scents as they are the most complex, magical, refined, ethereal and sophisticated of them all. That is just it, sophistication. These scents never smell cheap but rather they smell like expensive colognes in your beard but they are never overpowering. Check out the Viking Storm scent as well, it’s so good though my top is Valhalla’s Gates followed by Asgardian Secret and then Alfheims Forest. So heavenly indeed. The butter is exquisite. The balm is perfect. The best I have found for my beard no question. No need for customer service yet but the orders shipped lightning fast.
#2. The Luxurious Bastard. This brand rocks and Dave, the guy who runs it all is awesome. He may be the hardest working man in the beard business (I think he is as he does it all on his own). Weekly new scents and all hand poured by the man himself. Some of his scents are pure gems but remember that these scents are loud and proud. Others around you will smell you ; ) Some scents are just OK so not all are a masterpiece. My faves are Poseidon (earthy), Autumn (smells like Autumn), Holy and Bilberry (Leather and Blueberry). Never needed customer service from Dave but my guess is he is fantastic in this area.
#3. BeardBrand. I really like this company as they were one of the first I tried. In 2024 they seemed to have solved some issues they had with their balm and they even released the new Bold Fortune scent. Their Utility Balm can get grainy at times but it is an easy fix and worth it. The balm is heavier than most but also has the most holding power of the balms I have here. They seem expensive at the onset but remember they give much more product than the other guys so they are actually one of the most affordable. Temple Smoke and Bold Fortune are fantastic but not to the level of scent sophistication as the two companies above. The scents last for 1-2 hours here but their Tree Ranger lasts for about 30 min. Customer Service gets an A+
#4. Black Rebel – Without question the absolute best artwork is here. The labels on these products are almost worth the price of admission for collectors. The scents? They all have a similar vibe really. Many of the tobacco scents smell very similar to each other but the standouts for me are Cash and Scout. I will always have these two oils on hand as I love the scent. For me the butter is too tacky and thick and the prices are at the high end. Many love Black Rebel and for good reason. The ingredients are unique and good for your skin. The cologne they sell is nice but do not reach the complexity of the Bearded Struggle scents. Finally, you now have to subscribe to monthly billing to get their monthly drops. No thanks. Customer Service gets a B, upgraded from a C (my orders in 2024 shipped same day, so better than 2023).
#5. Live Bearded. The products for me while very good were not the best on this list (though they bettered close to 20 others I tried who didn’t make the list). The scents are good but sort of generic at the end of the day. I did like the American Scent along with Clause and 1880. The oil for me is a touch too thin and leaves my white beard a bit dry so maybe it’s just my coarser white hair causing the issue. The butter is inconsistent and can be thick or gel like. Overall they made this list for their unique scents and variety of product as well as fantastic customer service. They are great products and many swear by Live Bearded. I recommend their sample pack for sure! Customer Service gets an A+.
One other company I tried (bought six scents) that was bering hyped like made recently was Doctor Nicks Amazing Man Stuff. His butter is tops for conditioning but only comes in unscented. His oils are all 100% natural and use no perfume or colognes, just essential oils. The scents last about 20 minutes so when I paid for and bought six scents, I was very let down by the lasting power as they do not last and no one near you can smell a thing. His body wash is fantastic and comes in a large 16 oz bottle for the same cost as some others 8 oz. The beard oil is one of the finest feel in beard oils I have tried as they use unique ingredients. BUT, the scents let me down big time so these products are not for me. You may like them due to the glorious feel in beard.
One thing to note, all six of my Dr Nicks orders took weeks to arrive. They ship via USPS Ground Advantage which for me takes about 7 days to arrive after the items ship, which take 4-6 days with Dr Nicks. So each order with Nick arrived 14-16 days after I ordered. One thing to keep in mind.
All companies above besides Dr. Nicks ship within a day or two (sometimes same day) of placing the order. Fastest ship has been from Luxurious Bastard and The Beard Struggle. Black Rebel stepped it up for 2024 as well.