Catholic Beard Balm Review

There are seemingly endless hair-care products on the market, and so differentiation is important, with this product presenting a unique take on the beard balm product.

Catholic Beard Balm is for the bearded individual looking for a unique product to care for their facial hair, with this product providing in droves. This product is not only all-natural with proceeds going to an organization supporting Catholic youth ministries, but some versions have the scent of the sacraments.

What is Catholic Beard Balm?

This Beard Balm came about when founder Tony Vasinda, a director of faith formation at a Catholic parish in Seattle, found himself with an excess of liturgical oil known as chrism. The substance was purchased in non-blessed form as, according to Vasinda, “I love it when people can engage with the materials of the sacrament… so I wanted to have some non-blessed chrism we could use for the candidates to smell.”

With the excess of chrism Vasinda had purchased, some three excess gallons over the ounce he required, an idea came to his mind. Having been making his own beard balms for himself and his friends, Vasinda realized the chrism could be applied as a source of scent for some beard balms he was producing.

And so the brand and concept were born, through founder Tony Vasinda’s mutual appreciation of beard cremes and the Catholic religion, alongside his co-founder Michael Marchand. They sold the natural, handmade batches of his first three scents. The purpose of the product beyond educating clients on the scents of the sacraments is to tend to beards.

Catholic Beard Balm presents a number of benefits to the possessor of the beard, including conditioning, nourishing, and the promotion of a fuller appearance. The proceeds generated through the Catholic Beard Balm are to benefit the ministry of the founders, ProjectYM, a resource hub for Catholic youth ministers.

Product Specs

Beard balms are meant to add shine and pliability to beards, while also imparting upon them a unique scent. Catholic Beard Balm provides the basic function of a beard balm, alongside scents, but it is the story behind the scents and choices thereof that sets the brand apart.

What makes Catholic Beard Balm stand out is the story behind the brand, and the unique contents that are included in it. Founders Tony and Michael realized there was likely a market in place for their unique product offering, and confirmed the appeal of a sacrament-infused beard balm at a conference of Catholic youth ministers. To their surprise, one hundred units of balm sold in just a few hours at the conference.

The Catholic Beard Balm founders recognized a trend in Catholic culture of men having beards. As stated by founder Tony when asked about beards on Catholics, “I don’t think it’s a new thing, I think the real question is kind of like, what’s up with the lack of facial hair?” Recognizing the prevalence of beards amongst Catholic men, Tony offered them a unique product they can relate to.

There are five different aromas offered by Catholic Beard Balm. The brand began with three scents, the first of which was the chrism. Next came the Franciscan, the unscented version with all-natural ingredients, a nod to the simplistic lifestyle of the Franciscan community. Next is Lectio, meant to resemble the scent of old books or old bibles, with amber, vanilla, and sandalwood.

The next two scents to be added to the line were those of Holy Smokes and Orthodoxy. Holy Smokes is the incense-scented offering by Catholic Beard Balm, keeping in the theme of smells found in a church. Holy Smokes incorporates scents of myrrh, and a touch of wood smoke. Lastly, the Orthodoxy scent has tobacco and hops in the bouquet.

Pricing 

The pricing that has been chosen is not prohibitively high. For purchases made directly from the Catholic Balm Company, the cost of the first can of beard balm is $12, with each additional can costing the client $9. A portion of proceeds go to the Catholic youth minister advocacy group owned by the founders of the company.

How it Compares

We picked a couple of similar products available on the market to see how they compare to the product made by Catholic Balm. We’ll be exploring their price, function, scents, and other key characteristics.      

• Honest Amish Beard Balm Leave-in Conditioner
• Wild Willie’s Beard Butter
• Smooth Viking Beard Balm

Catholic Beard Balm

The sacrament-scented offering by the Catholic Balm Company

PRICE	Scent Options	Volume/Quantity	The Brand
$$

Price

$12 for the first container, $9 for each additional

Scent Options

4 unique scent options are offered, as well as an unscented version

Volume/Quantity

Each can includes 1 ounce

The Brand

A clear brand identity and target demographic

Pros

• All-Natural Ingredients
• 5 Scents
• Charitable

Cons

• 1oz Containers
• Scents Largely Linked to the Catholic Religion

Honest Amish Beard Balm Leave-in Conditioner

The Honest Amish brand of beard balms is on the first brands to enter the business of Men’s grooming products. The company bases is product line upon an age-old recipe taken from Amish culture, in which beards are central. Honest Amish uses no chemicals, no man-made preservatives, and no fake fragrances or colorants in their products, which are packaged in a fully biodegradable, re-usable tin.

Honest Amish presents all-natural, vegan-friendly beard balms that contain a blend of carrier oils, essential oils, and butters. A hint of beeswax is used for hold. The products keep the underlying skin moisturized, giving the beard a natural sheen that is easy to style.

PRICE	Scent Options	Volume/Quantity	The Brand
$

Price

For about $13 or $14 you’ll get a tin of beard conditioner, although the size of double many of the competitors’ products.  

Scent Options

Honest Amish has two offerings, one scented and the other unscented. The scented option is mild with sweet and woody notes, while the unscented version offers a non-fragrance alternative.

Volume/Quantity

Each can of Honest Amish beard balm comes with 2 ounces of product.

The Brand

Honest Amish is an established brand in Men’s grooming products, and the Amish branding evokes a sense of the simplistic yet well-produced that echoes with the consumer.

Pros

• All Natural Ingredients
• Large Size

Cons

• Only 1 Scent, Plus Unscented

Wild Willie’s Beard Butter

Wild Willie’s is a brand with the slogan “Build your beard. Defend your skin.” The company presents a lumber-jack centered image that presents to “otherwise manly-less world” a line of “all natural manly products”. The company offers a variety of Men’s grooming products, the flagship of which is beard balm.

The purpose of Wild Willie’s beard balm is to tame wild facial hair, helping the user to keep facial hair in place by combatting split ends and hair growing in all directions. The balm reduces irritation and can prevent beard dandruff, itchiness, and flaky skin. Wild Willie’s Beard Butter is a made-in-USA product that moisturizes hair and treats the skin.

PRICE	Scent Options	Volume/Quantity	The Brand
$$$

Price

At a regular price of $19 per tin, Wild Willie’s is one of the more expensive options on the market.

Scent Options

Wild Willie’s offers two scents, original, and cool mint, both comprised of the unique 13 ingredient list containing no chemicals, preservatives, colorants, or fragrances.

Volume/Quantity

Each tin comes with just .5 ounces of product.

The Brand

The Wild Willie’s brand is strongly focused upon the concept of “manliness” and underlines the strength of its products. The majority of its models are dressed like lumberjacks, many of whom are carrying axes. The products are smaller than the competition, so the branding efforts are larger.

Pros

• All-Natural with no Chemicals
• Offers Extra Control for Wild Beards

Cons

• Just .5 ounces per container
• Branding a Bit Off-putting

Smooth Viking Beard Balm

The Smooth Viking Beard Balm presents to the user a product that tames beards, from the wildest to the most subdued. The company presents an entertaining personality, asking of its prospective customer “You were totally expecting us to say something corny like “this product is da balm,” didn’t you? Well, you’re wrong. Like we would ever do something that lame… unbalmlievable.” Beyond humor, the company does offer high-quality products to the consumer.

The company was started in 2014, with its founders feeling the current beard care products on the market to be below the standards they would prefer. It was thought that many existing products had too many ingredients that did not add function or value, so they sought to pare down the beard balm into what would ultimately be suited for the “Smooth Viking.”

PRICE	Scent Options	Volume/Quantity	The Brand
$​

Price

Smooth Viking beard care beard balm is moderately priced at $14.95, particularly considering the volume of product that is provided.

Scent Options

In line with the minimalist perspective of the founders, there is just one version of the beard balm, unscented, and with minimal ingredients

Volume/Quantity

Smooth Viking Beard Balm contains 2 ounces of product per tin.

The Brand

The Smooth Viking has a casual branding position that presents a Viking boat and hopes to offer products to help the “modern Viking” keep up on their grooming, not unlike their historical counterparts. The brand is light and fun which adds to their products’ reception.

Pros

• All Natural Product
• A Large 2-ounce tin

Cons

• No scented options

Conclusion

Beard balms enable their users to sport facial hair in greater style, providing styling ability as well as pleasant scents. The many options available on the market present the consumer with a broad range of choices when making a purchase. This underlines the importance of brand differentiation and consumer targeting, and the beard balm by Catholic Balm Company does both of these quite well.

Catholic Balm Company’s beard balm offers religiously-influenced beard balms with smells found in Catholic churches, with proceeds benefitting a Catholic youth outreach ministry. In terms of branding and client targeting, the product does an exceptional job. The target market for the product is clearly identified, and the ingredients of the product cater to the target market.

Rating:

The product itself is made from all-natural ingredients and has a following of satisfied clients. The drawback of the brand is its focus upon the Catholic religion not only in its branding but in the scents that are offered by the brand. Functionality and general attractiveness govern the general buyer’s purchasing decision, but niche products like those offered by Catholic Balm company are targeting specific persons.

For the general bearded consumer for beard balms, the focus is upon the performance of the balm, in addition to the general scent of the balm. Scents based upon the smell of sacraments or bibles may appeal to the target clients of Catholic Balm Company, but may be lost on the general consumer. Thus, while the ingredients are natural and positive and the charitable aspect of the business adds to goodwill, the focus on Catholic Church-related scents limits the audience of the product.

Price: $ of $$$

Ultimately the price is moderately competitive at a $12 starting price that drops down to $9 for each additional purchase. The size of the container is one ounce, while competitors offer 2 ounces for approximately the same price of marginally more.

Catholic Beard Balm is a unique product containing scents that will remind you of the Catholic Church, or if you’ve never been, can teach you the smell of old bibles, the sacrament chrism, all while keeping your beer tamed and moisturized.