ABOUT EDUCATED BEARDS
The story of how Educated Beards came to be is a short but fascinating one - as you'd imagine, it all started with, well, a beard!
Founders Kevin Leboeuf and Alicia Philips welcomed a son back in the summer of 2016, a year that also marked Kevin's transition from the Canadian Armed Forces to civilian life. This dramatic lifestyle change meant a new freedom to explore new hobbies and interests in the transition to civilian life and parenting. Among these interests popped up style and grooming; for someone who'd been clean shaven for many years, beards were a foreign concept. Basically, Kevin decided that he wanted to grow a really, really great beard. "The Beard" was born and the journey to looking totally suave began.
With this, though, came rather unexpected hurdles - irritation, dissatisfaction, and a general discomfort. Kevin made the leap into grooming products, purchasing his first beard oil, hoping for the best. Upon using this, Kevin's partner Alicia, a Holistic Nutritionist, was less-than-impressed with both the effectiveness and with the harsh chemicals present in the formula. She made an effort to find a safer and less toxic solution, but had trouble finding a product that met her lofty criteria.
Ever resourceful and driven, Alicia decided to utilize her own background to formulate a product that would work better for Kevin and would free him from having to settle for potentially harmful and harsh beard oils and other grooming products.
The result? 12 months of product development, testing, and trials that ultimately resulted in an organic, natural, premium beard oil that filled a serious gap in the industry. Chemically sound but holistically-inspired, Kevin & Alicia's new product achieved what they'd set out to do initially: nourish and condition a growing beard without exposing the user to any harsh ingredients.
Care, passion, and an abundance of knowledge: this is Educated Beards.
WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT
The quick and easy breakdown? Natural and holistic ingredients mean no irritation, lots of hydration (we'll get to that), premium, hand-picked ingredients, no fillers, and ultimately one of the more environmentally-friendly product lines on the market.
- 100% natural + organic
- ZERO parabens
- ZERO Fillers
- Ingredients that directly benefit the skin + hair - nothing else
- Glass containers for less plastic waste
- Amber-coloured glass to avoid product leaching and UV deterioration
There's no compromise on effectiveness, either. Natural products can get a bad rap, but with Educated Beards, you're still getting all of benefits and functional advantages of any non-organic line; the only difference is that your skin and beard aren't coming into contact with harsh chemicals and irritating fillers.
SIMPLE STUFF: WHY FEWER INGREDIENTS MAKES A BETTER PRODUCT
Educated Beards makes a point of noting how few ingredients their products carry - when it comes to marketing, wouldn't you think that pointing out a whole bunch of ingredients and listing potential benefits would be helpful? Not necessarily - for Educated Beards, their focus comes with providing only ingredients that work and filling your bottle with that, and that only.
All of their products are free of alcohols, fragrances/perfumes, alcohols, parabens, and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a commonly used sulfate helps with the "suds-ing" effect many washes and shampoos have. The problem with these add-ins and fillers is that repeated use can have negative effects on your skin and hair, causing buildup in hair that effect growth patterns and styling, drying out the skin, and causing an environment that's not conducive to healthy hair growth.
THE PRODUCTS
You've heard about the beard oil - but we wanted to introduce you to all of the main products that are part of the Educated Beards line. Most importantly, all of these products will be available online and at Tommy Gun's locations Canada-wide.
BEARD OIL: THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL!
Facial hair inevitably robs the skin of its natural oils as the hair grows - this can cause that unfortunate dryness, itching, or flaking that you might experience when growing and maintaining a beard. Beard oil is essentially a cocktail of organic oils (including jojoba, argan, grapeseed, and sweet almond oils) that takes care of this by nourishing the skin and hair. This mixture softens coarse facial hair and simultaneously moisturizes the skin underneath, eliminating any of the irritating dryness and/or flaking.
The best part? A little goes a very long way. Educated Beards recommends only a few drops a day - if you're left with oily hands, then you've used too much!
SHOP BEARD OIL HERE
BEARD BALM: THE NATURAL NEXT STEP
EB's Beard Balm is the natural pairing to their bear oil; the balm works similarly to nourish and moisturize the skin and hair, but also provides additional structural support to help "train" your beard to grow downward. The light hold gives you just enough weight to control and shape where your beard sits, without being heavy, sticky, or tacky.
Raw organic shea butter, raw beeswax, and organic sweet almond oil lend their nourishing properties to this light hold formula. If you've got a beard that grows outward (i.e. the crazy prospector look), and you can't seem to get it under control, this is definitely the product for you.
SHOP BEARD BALM HERE
BEARD + BODY WASH: THE SIMPLE 2-IN-1
This might come as a shock to hear, but... you shouldn't be using that 3-in-1 from Old Spice on your beard. If you've got a spectacular beard, you definitely need to be using a dedicated wash. Regular shampoos and conditioners aren't formulated for the combination of sensitive facial skin and coarse beard hair, most often leaving something to be desired in the way of hydration.
Luckily for you though, you still get a 2-in-1 with this product; since it's been made gentle enough for the sensitive skin on your face, you can also use this on your body! No need to mess around with six different bottles in the shower.
SHOP BEARD + BODY WASH HERE
MOUSTACHE WAX: FIRM HOLD, HEALTHY HAIR
Don't just train the beard - guide your moustache to awesomeness, too. Educated Beards uses raw beeswax, coconut oil, and balsam resin to create a perfectly blended formula with just the right hold. Over time, this product will create a healthier and more nourished environment as well, making sure that your 'stache doesn't get neglected in the grooming process. You'll also notice that this wax will help to gradually train the hair, similarly to the beard balm. No more rogue moustache hairs here!
Hot tip: roll the product gently between your fingers to warm the wax and make it easier to work into your moustache.
SHOP MOUSTACHE WAX HERE
BOAR HAIR BRUSH: THE GROOMING MUST-HAVE
The Boar Hair Brush was specifically designed for use on facial hair; the boar hair bristles are gentle enough not to cause irritation, but firm enough to pull through the hair effectively. Regular brushing of your beard keeps the hair clean and free of debris, exfoliates the skin underneath, and helps remove dead skin cell buildup that can cause ingrown hairs.
SHOP BOAR BRISTLE BRUSH HERE
HAIR POMADE: IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE BEARD
Don't worry, they didn't forget about the rest of your hair. Educated Beards' hair pomade is a medium hold formula comprised of all-natural ingredients; raw organic shea butter, raw beeswax, avocado oil balsam fir resin, castor oil, and kaolin clay make up this nourishing pomade. A smooth finish and reworkable hold gives you flexibility throughout the day - wear it with confidence!
SHOP HAIR POMADE HERE
ALIGNED VALUES
We're excited to be carrying Educated Beards' products primarily because they provide an exceptional experience. Customer satisfaction (and great hair + beards) is always our top priority.
Beyond that, Educated Beards aligns with so many of the values are important to us at Tommy Gun's - caring for the environment, providing products with wholesome ingredients that aren't harmful or irritating, and most importantly making sure effectiveness is top-notch.
Check out Educated Beards here, now available online!
