Grave Before Shave Beard Wash Review – Great Lather and Value for Money
Grave Before Shave Beard Wash
Grave Before Shave offers us a Beard Wash (Shampoo) for Review today. Spooky packaging and a cool brand name, combined with fortified Argan Oil and specially formulated texture, are in store for us. However, can all that live up to the hype?
Pros
Refreshes the beard and the skin underneath
Strengthens beard hair to make it more solid
Encourages clean growth
Really Badass Packaging
Moisturizes skin
Cons
The scent smells very artificial
The thin texture makes it really runny
Extensive ingredients list
Just in time for the Spooky Season (it’s Halloween right now!), we have some pretty spooky-looking beard wash in our goody bag —Grave Before Shave Beard Wash.
I have already used, tested, and reviewed the Grave Before Shave beard oil, so now we are here to take a look at their fancy beard shampoo.
The previous beard washes I reviewed were the Scotch Porter Moisturizing Beard Wash and Best Damn Beard Wash, so I was looking forward to seeing what the shampoo from Grave Before Shave was like.
Specifically made (according to GBS) to smooth and tame unruly beards that are frizzy and all over the place, this beard wash also claims to make the beard much softer and easier to groom.
Typically, you can get this shampoo in a double pack (I bought the double pack) with the Grave Before Shave Beard Wash and Conditioner, but we are saving that review for another day.
Description and Features
To start off with, this packaging is unique. While the Grave Beard Shave Beard Oil had a Victorian Goth vibe, this beard wash has more of a goth outlaw biker vibe. It might have something to do with the skull on the cover having a long Viking beard and a handlebar mustache.
The bottle is about 6 oz worth of shampoo, with a flip-top cap. It is pretty small, so it should work well if you want to travel with it. Though with TSA rules as they are, you will need to pack it in your checked bags if you do travel with your specialized beard shampoo.
Overall, it feels and works just like a normal shampoo bottle.
Scent
This is, unfortunately, not one of the product’s strong suits.
At first, the scent hits with a strong citrus-like aroma. It is artificial and canned, almost like a window or kitchen cleaner. It follows with a more agreeable floral aroma and then ends with something slightly musky.
Overall, it smells very artificial and more like a cleaning product than something I would want to wear on my body.
The upside is the scent finishes clean and doesn’t linger. It won’t clash with any other scents you might want to use.
Ingredients
Long-term readers of mine will know that I prefer shorter ingredient lists with huge amounts of hard-to-pronounce words. It just so happens that those kinds of ingredient lists are almost always associated with washes and soaps.
That isn’t to say there isn’t anything good in Grave Before Shave Beard Wash.
The formula is fortified with Argan Oil, which promotes hair growth by strengthening hair follicles. It also makes the hair strands stronger to resist the elements. It also helps treat inflammation and dry skin.
The shampoo also contains Olive Fruit Oil. Olive Fruit Oil is rich in antioxidants, which help to fight aging. It also keeps in the moisture, making sure the skin doesn’t dry out and start flaking.
User Experience
For this review, I took two weeks of washing with this every other day in conjunction with the Grave Before Shave Conditioner. I worked it in as part of my normal grooming routine when I would take a shower, which is probably the easiest way to use these two products.
I have noticed a serious difference in the way my beard feels. The bristles of my facial hair feel much stronger and much more glossy than when I was using this before. No beard-druff to speak of, and no normal shedding of beard hair like when I go with just regular soap and water.
How is the Texture?
The Wash comes out as a liquid about the consistency of dish soap. It’s more runny than I normally see when it comes to shampoo, but that is actually good in this case. Being so thin makes it easy to work into your beard and get it down to your skin.
It lathers really well, provided you have your beard nice and damp beforehand. Don’t try to put this on your dry beard, or you’ll just find yourself irritating your face.
For all its faults (which are few), this shampoo still does an amazing job of getting lathered up into a good set of suds. There was always enough if I had enough water at the same time. All the more reason to use this shampoo in the shower rather than at the sink.
How Easy is it to Use?
Overall, I would say this is pretty easy to use. All you need to do is add it to your normal shower routine. Just an extra moment of shampooing is all it takes to make this work.
Work it into the end of your shower routine after washing your face; that way, you can focus on really getting the lathered shampoo into your beard bristles.
Value for Money
As of the time of writing, you can get both 6 oz bottles of Grave Before Shave Beard Wash and Grave Before Shave Beard Conditioner at the same time on Amazon for about $20 USD.
However, if you want to get just the shampoo alone for about $12 USD.
Honestly, that hits me as a pretty good deal. Especially if you want to add something new to your routine, it’s a good deal, and judging from how much I’ve been using for the past two weeks, the bottle will last you for at least a month, perhaps even longer if you ration it more.
20 Bucks a month for a good-quality beard? It’s not such a bad deal if you are looking for something to help change up your routine.
Common Consumer Complaints, Issues, and Positive Reviews
The overwhelming majority of consumer reviews for Grave Before Shave Beard Wash are very positive. There are a great deal of 5-star and 4-star reviews and very little lower than 3-star.
Positive Reviews
Most consumers bring up how good it makes the skin feel. Using the shampoo seems to have cured many consumers of their itchy dry skin and flaky beard-druff. When growing your facial hair long it gets harder and harder to maintain the skin underneath it, and this stuff seems to be just the right kind of formula to help a ton of guys.
Most of the positive reviews also comment on how they love the smell. While to me, it smells like an artificial cleaner, some people say it has a real professional barbershop smell. I suppose that is pretty subjective, though. Each to their own, really.
Finally, many customers also comment about how soft it makes their beard feel. Just getting a beard clean improves the health of the beard in general. The Argan Oil also helps to get the beard bristles nice and smooth, which helps to contribute to the renewed softness of the beard.
Consumer Complaints
For as many people who enjoy the aroma, there are just as many people who actually dislike it. A good majority of people who comment on it repeat what I am saying. The aroma is just too artificial or just plain stinks. While that is a very subjective point, I can see why people wouldn’t like it and choose not to use the product because of it.
Another reviewer also mentioned that the consistency of the shampoo was just too runny, and ended up constantly using too much of it. I would consider that a pretty decent complaint, honestly. The shampoo itself causes a great deal of mess, and that would be the chief recommendation for using it in the shower rather than attempting to shampoo at the sink.
Finally, there are a few people who have commented that they had a bad reaction to the product. If you have sensitive skin, then there is a chance that the myriad of ingredients could cause a reaction including rash and itchy skin. The Shampoo has alcohol in it, and that could dry out your skin if you use it too much.
Final Thoughts – Who is Grave Before Shave Beard Wash really for?
Overall, this was not my favorite beard wash, but it certainly isn’t the worst. It does exactly what it says on the tin, making my beard clean and healthy. However, I have much better luck with some other beard washes I have used with much more enjoyable aromas.
So who is this for? Well, I would recommend this for someone who is possibly looking for something new for their beard care routine but hasn’t found just the right product.
Really, I would recommend this Shampoo if you have a much longer beard, meaning something over about 4 inches worth of growth. The thin texture is great for lathering and getting it deep in a longer beard. If your beard is shorter, then you might want to look for a different option.
