Beard balms and oils, tell me more.

[cleanshaved]

Hello Guys,
I'm new to the world of Beard balms and oils and have a few question for my B&B bearded brothers.

So I don't have a beard yet per se but have stop shaving about a week ago. I picked up some stuff to get going. Proraso wash and balm. There was no real research into these two, other than a itch to try their stuff to stop the itch.
Now I'm on the hunt for a more considered purchase.

Do both of these have a shelf life? I don't want to stock up to save on shipping and find the stuff spoils.

How long does it take to use a bottle of oil or can of balm? I know there are a few variables to consider like beard length and how much you are applying each time. Just a ball park figure for a medium sized beard. A few weeks or a Month or two?

There seems to be some wide gap in pricing, with some stuff double or even three times the price of others. Captain Fawcett’s Private Stock Beard Oil being a example of three time the price for one place I was looking at.
Do you get what you pay for or are these thing very similar in performance?

What would be a good oil or balm to try first? So far a couple have peaked my interest.

Lambert’s Luscious, a local for me here in Wellington, NZ. He seems to have a few good reviews and is priced well enough to find out for myself.

Honest Amish. I've seen it pop up a bit and they have a lot of beards to test their product on.
Shipping to NZ is not cheap, so would want to stock up to keep the cost down. This is where the use time / shelf life question comes in.

I'm going to buy a beard brush soon and will add one oil or balm to the basket as well.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[cleanshaved]

Beard Oils usually last around 3 months of daily use and have a shelf life of almost 2 years. Depending on ingredients.

The Badass Beard Care Loaded Caddy has everything to get you started. And they make very good oils and balms.

Some other companies to consider are:

Bossman. Their Beard Jelly and Fortify Conditioner is superb. So are their balms.
Grave Before Shave. Cigar Blend is wonderful.
First Olympian. Amazing stuff.
Kingmen. Holy Grail scent is awesome.
Universal Beard.
Beards and Beavers.
Greybeards. Their overnight Conditioner is outstanding.

That should get you started on some research.

Cheers.

Thanks, Sean. I was thinking it would be a lot less than 3 months use for the beard oil.

The First Olympian sample looks good. Funny thing is I googled it and saw a B&B post for a review. Oh it was your review and a good review indeed.
Their web site picked up my location and was displaying in NZD which itself was a good thing.
Shipping for the UK to NZ was not bad either.

I ended up buying a ZilberHaar Original Beard Brush today. Now I just need the beard long enough to brush.

 

[gwsmallwood]

I agree with 2 to 3 months per oz of oil. Many of the less expensive oils use castor oil or olive oil as the main carrier. Works fine for many, but doesn't agree with my skin. Doesn't absorb fully. I do better with jojoba, grapeseed and Argan oils.

Hard to go wrong with Honest Amish.

 

[cleanshaved]

I agree with 2 to 3 months per oz of oil. Many of the less expensive oils use castor oil or olive oil as the main carrier. Works fine for many, but doesn't agree with my skin. Doesn't absorb fully. I do better with jojoba, grapeseed and Argan oils.

Hard to go wrong with Honest Amish.

Good to know on the castor oil or olive oil as the main carrier.
I was looking to see for what is sold and made locally for me and found a handful local manufactures. A couple have castor oil in the mix, I'll pass on them but a there is a few that ingredients look good.

The Alchemist | Check Out Our Range | Beard Oil Shop Jojoba, Argan and Kukui Nut listed as the main ingredients. I had to look up Kukui Nut oil, it sounds a great ingredient for the skin.

 

[1holegrouper]

I agree that you can't go wrong with Honest Amish Classic but with no real scent I find it rather boring. I use it for my hair and no longer for my beard, lol. Part of the beard balm/oil experience for me is the scent. Finding a good oil and a good scent both in the same bottle can be a challenge once you have tried a lot of oils and have a good feel for telling which ones do a good job. I have had most of everything out there and I've sort of settled on Northern Fir and any Grave Before Shave product. Sometimes I love a scent but don't like the oil. There are some highly acclaimed oils with highly acclaimed scents that might get you to order. You order it and then feel disappointed. I can't count how many times that has happened. I won't mention which ones I don't care for because this is a YMMV type of thing. If you don't care about a scent then Honest Amish is really hard to beat and since the bottle is 2 oz you are getting a value that will assist your import cost constraints.

 

[cleanshaved]

I agree that you can't go wrong with Honest Amish Classic but with no real scent I find it rather boring. I use it for my hair and no longer for my beard, lol. Part of the beard balm/oil experience for me is the scent. Finding a good oil and a good scent both in the same bottle can be a challenge once you have tried a lot of oils and have a good feel for telling which ones do a good job. I have had most of everything out there and I've sort of settled on Northern Fir and any Grave Before Shave product. Sometimes I love a scent but don't like the oil. There are some highly acclaimed oils with highly acclaimed scents that might get you to order. You order it and then feel disappointed. I can't count how many times that has happened. I won't mention which ones I don't care for because this is a YMMV type of thing. If you don't care about a scent then Honest Amish is really hard to beat and since the bottle is 2 oz you are getting a value that will assist your import cost constraints.

The no scent part of Honest Amish has been in the back of my mind. While there may be occasions that is fine for me, I'm thinking that I want a scent and good oil all in one.
I may pick up their oil and one balm for curiosity reasons and to compare against other offerings.

I just bought some Lambert’s Luscious beard oils to get going. It should be delivered tomorrow.
I'm still very keen to get something else, so I can compare it to soon. Given Lambert’s Luscious is made here in Wellington, it would be wrong not to try his stuff.