Finding the perfect mustache wax was what inspired South Austinite Jeremiah Newton to start his own men’s grooming product company, The Bearded Bastard, in 2012, he said.
Newton, nicknamed “The Bearded Bastard,” said he could not find a mustache wax that worked or smelled good, so he decided to make his own mustache wax. At the time he did not intend to sell the wax, but he stored excess wax in tin cans and gave them to five friends, Newton said.
The Bearded Bastard founder Jeremiah Newton sits in the store’s showroom at Ben White Boulevard. Products are available for purchase at the showroom.[/caption]
“They basically said, ‘If you don’t make and sell this wax, we want the recipe,’” Newton said.
Within the same year of creating his own mustache wax, Newton started The Bearded Bastard. The product line has expanded to shaving oils, beard oils, beard balms, cologne and hair pomades.
The Bearded Bastard’s outdoorsman motif extends to scent names, including Woodsman, Morocco and Opium Den.
“Woodsman is reminiscent of going out of a tent and smelling the cedars and pines in the air,” Newton said.
Some containers for products, such as the mustache wax and beard oils, are designed with cedar wood labels. Newton said The Bearded Bastard is the first men’s beauty product company to use wood labels, and its usage, along with social media savvy, caused the company’s popularity to increase.
Its headquarters on Ben White Boulevard is part development studio, part office and part showroom. The storefront is adorned with wood panels and outdoor Western decor. Customers can visit the showroom to sample and buy new products and meet staff, Newton said.
The Bearded Bastard’s products are sold online, Newton said. Products are also sold at select retailers and salons internationally and locally, including Floyd’s 99 Barbershop at 5601 Brodie Lane and Shed Barbershop at 2201 S. First St., Ste. H.
The Bearded Bastard formed in 2012 after founder Jeremiah Newton gave away his homemade mustache wax to friends.[/caption]
Scent is the gateway
The Bearded Bastard founder Jeremiah Newton said between 40-50 percent of its customers are women, so in some customer situations, a woman buys beard oil for a man, and the man is hesitant to use it—until he smells it.
Newton said once a man smells the beard oil, he will start to explore other men’s grooming products.
“For some reason, we’ve been able to create smells that are effective,” Newton said. “Scent is one of the most powerful things out there.”
Available scents
The Bearded Bastard makes seven outdoorsman-themed scented beard oils, packaged inside a vial with a wood label. The Bearded Bastard founder Jeremiah Newton said the scents are created when an emotional feeling strikes him, and that emotion becomes translated into photos and text.
Barbershop ($35) Memories of a barbershop with tonics, old magazines and cigar smoke were the inspiration, Newton said.
Barista ($35) This oil is like the Pacific Northwest: small-batch coffee, hip culture and nature, Newton said.
Morocco ($25) This smells like an outdoor, fragrant Moroccan market, Newton said.
Opium Den ($30) The scent is similar to Morocco, but with more tobacco and resin tones, Newton said.
R.E. Byrd ($25) Named after the first person to fly over the North Pole, R.E. Byrd is the spirit of adventure, Newton said.
Simply Vanilla ($30) Vanilla is sensual and comfortable, Newton said.
Woodsman ($20) The flagship scent is inspired by camping and aromatic woods, Newton said.
