The third national lockdown (and those before it) has given many men the opportunity to experiment with a beard for the first time. Many of them have found they enjoy being bedecked with a beard and are going to keep it. Which is a great retail opportunity for barber shops when they open on 12th April.
Here are the top 6 products you can retail to your clients so they can take care of their beard between visits.
The importance of beard care
Before we detail the top 6 beard care products, let’s first take a look at the importance of beard care. After all, you want to be armed with some good answers if your client asks why they should shell out money on maintaining their beard!
Keeping your beard clean
Your client might assume that they can just whack a load of normal shampoo on their beard and be done with it. But, they’d be wrong.
Using normal shampoo or soap will dry out the beard hairs and strip them of their natural moisture and oils. Instead, you should encourage your client to use a beard-specific shampoo.
When choosing a beard-specific shampoo you should try and buy one that contains natural ingredients such as soybean oil, castor seed oil, sunflower seed oil, cocoa butter and argan oil. These types of ingredients will restore and nourish both your skin and beard.
Keeping your beard neat
A well groomed beard looks great. If your client wants to avoid looking like Tom Hanks in Castaway, then they would be well advised to invest in a good quality brush and scissors.
As with shampoos, you’ll want to advise your client to buy a beard-specific brush. Ideally, the beard brush should be one that is made with long, tough bristles such as boar hair. Boar bristles are excellent at preventing hair breakage, stimulating blood circulation and sealing split ends.
When it comes to scissors, the same story applies. You shouldn’t use any old pair of scissors on your beard. Invest in a good quality pair of pointed beard trimming scissors. Pointed scissors are very precise and are perfect for making those minor touch ups and trims in between visits to the barber.
Keeping your beard nourished
So, that’s cleaning, trimming and brushing ticked off. But, there’s something else that you should be doing to care for your beard – nourishing it.
If you want to keep your beard in top condition and nourish the skin underneath you should invest in some beard oil.
Beard oil will make your beard hair softer and more manageable and it also moisturises your skin (when you grow a beard, the hair absorbs moisture from the skin underneath, drying it out). A good beard oil (or serum – the terms can be interchangeable) will also encourage beard growth. If you want to make your beard fuller, thicker and longer, buy some beard oil.
With those answers, you can effectively retail beard care products to your clients. Now, let’s take a look at the top 6 beard products available at the moment.
American Crew Beard Foam Cleanser 70ml
For a quick, convenient (and dry!) way to clean your beard, use the American Crew Beard Foam Cleanser. Billing itself as being like a dry shampoo, you just need to use 2-4 pumps, apply it to your hands and spread evenly throughout your beard, and… that’s it! You don’t need to rinse it out.
It’s a brilliant way of keeping your beard clean and fresh, can be used daily and makes a perfect upsell for your barber shop clients.
Baxter of California Grab & Go Kits
For your clients who want an all-in-one kit, there’s the Baxter of California Grab & Go Kit.
The kit includes a daily fortifying shampoo, a daily face wash (which is designed to be used as part of your beard grooming routine), a super shape skin recharge cream and an exfoliating body bar.
Baxter of California has been specialising in men’s grooming since 1965 and continues to innovate to this day. The super shape skin recharge cream in this kit is particularly special and in our opinion is one of the best anti-aging creams available for men.
This is a higher value product, but one that’s great to keep in stock for when you have a client who wants to buy top tier grooming products.
Dark Stag Beard Brush
Beards can be tough. So, you want a brush that’s equally tough. That brush is the Dark Stag Beard Brush. Made from tough, firm wild boar bristle (that’s 100% ethically sourced), this brush will pull through any beard, taming all unruly and stray hairs.
It also features a palm size construction, so it’s ergonomic and comfortable to use too. The brush uses a large surface area for the attachment of the bristles, maintaining the quality of the brush over a long period of time by reducing bristle loss.
Morgan’s Beard Oil 50ml Glass Bottle
If your client is particularly keen to keep up a daily beard grooming regime, then you should definitely encourage them to buy a good quality beard oil.
Morgan’s Beard Oil fits the bill. Containing a unique blend of 100% natural essential oils to nourish the beard and skin, this beard oil doesn’t just pack a punch, it looks the part too. It’s contained within a cool, vintage style bottle with a rubber topped glass pipette for accurate dispensing.
Key ingredients include Indian Peppermint, Mandarin and Tea Tree Oil. All the good stuff that encourages beard growth and keeps your hair and skin in top condition.
Morgan’s also has one heck of a back story. The brand was originally founded in 1873 and has been made in the UK ever since, so it’s a great option for retro-style barber shops.
American Crew Beard Serum 50ml
On re-opening your barber shop you may find you have clients whose beards haven’t fared well during lockdown. They might be dry, full of split ends and generally in a sorry state. If that’s the case, recommend to them the American Crew Beard Serum. It offers a highly conditioning treatment for dry, lifeless, facial hair.
Incorporating Cipero, Linen and Argan natural oils, this serum makes for a nourishing treatment that leaves a super shiny, healthy finish. It’s also easily applied and doesn’t leave any unwanted residue.
The Bluebeards Revenge Talc 100g
Talcum powder is the ideal way to finish a beard grooming session. Bluebeards Revenge Talc will protect your client from chafing, sweat and stickiness.
It contains a set of distinctive ingredients such as cooling cucumber extract, aloe vera and shea butter to create a talc that’s perfect for ending a beard trim or grooming treatment.
Those are our top 6 products to retail to your clients to look after their beards between visits. Stock up now so you have plenty of upsell options when you reopen!
Shop moustache and beard care products at Salons Direct now.
Read more barbering advice and articles on the Salons Direct blog…
Beard Growth Tips for Your Barber Shop Clients | The Moustache Styles Guide | The Best Barber Scissors for Your Barber Shop
