Grave Before Shave Beard Oil Review – A Discerning Gentlemen’s
Grave Before Shave Beard Oil
Grave Before Shave brings us a thick and delightfully scented beard oil that is formulated with essential oils to promote beard growth and healthy skin. The texture of Grave Before Shave Beard Oil is somewhat thick though, and leaves a feeling of grease on the face.
Pros
Various scent options
Easy to apply dropper
Essential oils promote healthy skin
All-Natural Ingredients
Cons
Leaves a sticky oily residue
The thick texture feels greasy on the skin
The scent I tested may clash with other beard products
Just in time for Halloween, we have the perfectly titled products for review (Grave Before Shave Beard Oil). Spooky season is here, and so it is time for spooky-looking beard products for yours truly to review.
Grave Before Shave is a company founded by Wayne Bailey. Originally founded to make beard and mustache wax, they have since branched out into other beard products and accessories. They have everything from beard oil, beard balm, shampoo, conditioner, combs, brushes, and even branded clothing.
Grave Before Shave Oil joined our beard oils recommendations you can check out here — 10 Best Beard Oils.
Today, we have a beard oil from Grave Before Shave specifically formulated to treat dry and itchy beards. How does it stack up compared to all the other beard oils we’ve tested, used, and reviewed?
Let’s take a look!
Grave Before Shave Beard Oil Description
Much like the other beard oils we have looked at Grave Before Shave Beard Oil comes in a 1 oz amber glass bottle. It’s heavy-duty, so it doesn’t have a chance to break when its delivered to you.
I honestly really love the label and design of this beard oil. It speaks to my Victorian England Gothic heart. The stylized look is just what I love in making a brand unique.
The bottle uses an eyedropper design like most other beard oils, making it easy to gauge just how much oil you need to use.
Grave Before Shave offers around twelve different scent options, but for this review, I decided to grab the Bourbon and Sandalwood (Grave Before Shave Gentlemen’s Blend). In the future, I might want to try their Cigar and Vanilla or Pinewood options. I suggest you go for the scent that appeals to you or what you are already familiar with.
Scent
The Scent of the Gentlemen’s Blend Oil is very distinct but not bad at all.
It starts off with the sweet smell of Bourbon, which comes off to me as a mixture of vanilla and honey. Very quickly, the sweet scent warms itself, and you can smell a hint of spice. Finally, it finishes with a deep, musky sandalwood that warms the skin and nose.
To me, the scent has a very autumn smell—something like a cool fall afternoon in a park. However, that could also be because the label and brand make me think of Halloween, which is my favorite time of year.
Ingredients
It seems like a cop-out to just say “It’s good for you because it has essential oils.” To that end, here is a short list of a few ingredients I want to highlight as being great benefits:
— Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet Almond Oil is a powerful ingredient for hair. It locks in the moisture to make sure your beard hair doesn’t get dried out and itchy. For skin, it reduces wrinkles and increases the elasticity of the skin itself.
— Apricot Kernel Oil: Apricot Kernel Oil reduces inflammation and helps to fight acne. It also makes hair strong and less likely to fall out.
— Jojoba Oil: Jojoba increases the thickness of hair and promotes healthy hair growth, as well as making the skin softer and more supple.
— Grapeseed Oil: Grapeseed Oil has an acid in it that allows it to coat the hair follicles. This makes your hair much less likely to break or fall out. It also keeps moisture in the skin, which reduces beard-druff and itch beards.
— Argan Oil: Argan Oil is great for keeping the shine in your hair and making your hair much more flexible. It is also a great source of vitamin E.
User Experience
For this review, I applied this beard oil every other day after a hot shower. This review period was over the course of two weeks.
Typically I applied only three drops in my palm, Though it is noted on the Amazon site and on the bottle that if you have a longer and thicker beard, you should apply the oil directly to the skin with the eyedropper.
For obvious reasons, it is best if you apply it to your clean beard for the best results. Otherwise, the oil could trap dirt and dead skin against your face and cause irritation and acne.
How is the Texture?
I found the texture of Grave Before Shave to be sticky and thick. When I applied it, I noticed I needed more than the normal three drops when using this oil. The texture was so sticky that it almost immediately clung to my hands, and it took some work to get it into my beard.
Even now, after using it several hours ago, I can feel the sticky texture on my hands.
It also sticks in your beard for a long time, which is great for keeping your beard and skin protected, but sucks if you have an issue with processing the feel of oil on your skin. If you don’t like feeling like you have a product in your beard for hours after using this, I would avoid this oil.
How Easy is it to Use?
Like almost every oil we have used and reviewed, this one works just the same.
Using the eyedropper, just drop some of the oil into your hands and then work it into your beard and into your skin.
Because of the sticky nature of the oil and its ability to cling to your skin and hair, it also has a tendency to stick in the glass dropper as well. It’s just enough to get about a dime’s worth into your hand, but if you need more, then you are going to have to go back to the bottle for more.
Value for Money
Another point this oil excels on is the price tag. Most beard oils are typically upwards of $15 USD for a 1 oz bottle. However, this oil is at a pretty great price of only $12 USD.
Currently, that is the regular MSRP and not a sale price, so if you want to wait for a sale you could probably get this for less.
It’s pretty inexpensive for a high-quality beard oil like this. For something like this, I would expect something closer to around $20 USD.
Common Consumer Complaints, Issues, and Positive Reviews
Positive Reviews
A vast majority of the positive reviews for this beard oil seem to relate to the scent profiles that are available. With eight different scents, I would say that there is an option for just about everyone. Customers also rave about the scents are mellow and slowly fade into warm aromas that are very gentle and pleasing to the nose.
Consumers have also noted the benefit that their beards feel hydrated and stronger. Hair stays strong and moist while also not losing its luster and shine. The bristles are soft and much easier to comb and style without causing any kind of damage.
Consumer Complaints
Complaints and low-star reviews are varied.
Some customers have brought up that it doesn’t actually help their skin, and for some, it seems to have the opposite reaction. Multiple consumers report their skin feeling slightly irritated, itchy, and dry after use. While some of these could be caulked up to an unknown allergy, I can see that the sticky texture might cause some to massage the oil into their beard too vigorously. Therefore causing redness and irritation.
Potential allergies could also be a culprit of dry and itchy skin, but it is also well-known that some strong-smelling essential oils have a tendency to dry out the skin. This is especially true for some alcohol-based oils. Though I don’t believe there are any in this specific oil.
Others mention the greasy texture the oil leaves on the skin after use. If you have an aversion to feeling that kind of texture on your skin after use, then this might be an oil to avoid. Personally, I really do not like the feeling at all.
Finally, there is the subjective opinion on the various aromas. There are as many people who like the scents as dislike the scents. Some people seem to find the aromas artificial or overly sweet, while others find them way too subtle and can’t seem to smell them at all.
Final Thoughts – Who is Grave Before Shave Beard Oil really for?
This is a hard beard oil to recommend. While I do love the scent and the packaging, the sticky texture and greasy residue leave me feeling nonplused, to say the least.
Maybe with more time, I would get used to the texture and feeling. However, I have found better beard oils out there for just about the same or less money.
If you are looking for something new, or feel the want to help out an independent business, then I would give this a try. However, if you already have a beard oil you like to use, then there is really no reason to drop it for this oil.
