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The Best Men’s Grooming Brands — and Which Products to Buy

Pick a brand you already like (or one you’re really interested in trying). Order every product you need — from shampoo to serums — from there.

gear patrol Henry Phillips

By Evan Malachosky

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Even if your skincare routine starts and ends with face wash, you’ve probably been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options there are — and that’s just a single category. A complete skincare routine encompasses washing, moisturizing, applying sunscreen, adding a retinoid and applying an antioxidant serum, meaning the total routine — referring to both skincare and grooming — is a whopping 12-step ordeal if you include body washing and moisturizing, shampooing and conditioning and shaving and applying after-shave.

Products in the Guide

Simplify Your Routine, Buy From One Brand

I don’t recommend picking a shampoo from one brand, a moisturizer from another and so on and so forth. It’s not that products from different brands can’t coexist, but you never know, and it’s easier to be certain they can work together and effectively, too. Buy everything from one source and seek out specialized items from other labels only when necessary.

Unsurprisingly, though, there aren’t that many brands with that kind of catalog. Sure, Dove definitely makes hair and body products, but the soap giant doesn’t sell serums. On the contrary, artisanal, all-natural label Caldera+Lab makes excellent creams, but they don’t sell shampoo, deodorants or deep-cleaning body washes, for example. Do you get what I’m saying? There’s a shortlist of brands you can truly count on for the entirety of your everyday skin, hair and body routine — deodorants, moisturizers, pomades and more. But, fret not; we’ve found them.

Infused with aloe vera, this option’s gentle and boasts notes of bergamot, jasmine and cedarwood.

Skip the stick! Be sure to wash your hands before you apply this butter-soft lip balm.

Ursa Major’s new Glow Golden Serum is formulated with 44 active ingredients, resulting in a potent product for all skin types.

Instead of cool mint, try citrus for deep cleaning. It has a similar effect, but the freshness is compounded by actual fruit ingredients — like lime peel, which encourages cell renewal.

The Charcoal Cleansing Bar clears dry skin and purifies the skin’s surface, all while leaving a fresh, woodsy scent.

Style essentially any haircut with this water based pomade, which is easy to work in and reactivate.

A clarifying shampoo cleans deep down by clearing flakes and other debris from the scalp and encouraging even oil distribution down through the ends each of hair.

It’s important to always apply SPF. It doesn’t always need to come via sunscreen, though. This UV-defending balm, for example, acts like a hydrator but has protective properties.

Unlike with Axe, there are no aerosols at play here. This is a pure, proprietary spray that delivers the potency of a stick deodorant without the irritating stickiness.

It’s hard to describe this shaving foam. I mean, shaving foam does a good job, but the texture of this option is superior to so many others I’ve tried — and it’s only $9.

This sleek cylinder is packed with potent anti-aging ingredients that encourage cell regrowth. The vessel, a green tea-infused foaming cream, lathers on nicely and washes off without fuss.

There’s serious depth to this body wash’s scent. Notes of cognac and bergamot complement a clean, amber aroma. But it doesn’t just smell nice. Green tea, coconut oil and vitamins A, C and E clear dirt and renew the skin’s surface.

Using a “proprietary combination of 15-percent encapsulated vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E,” Oars and Alps face serum invigorates and awakens the skin both at the surface level and deep down, actively undoing signs of aging.

If you’re not one to sweat a ton or wear a heat-trapping hat, it’s not likely you need to shampoo every single day. But, conditioning between washes is important. Conditioners keep the hair hydrated, as is the case with this option, fresh and healthy.

You (should) know to apply SPF all over, every day. And that means on your lips, too.

This cleanser employs charcoal as an exfoliant. The natural additive does just as the name implies: buffs the skin’s surface so as to clear the pores, remove impurities from the surface and leave the skin ready for post-shower moisturizers and serums.

Work this lightweight cream into your curls or waves for better definition. But, fear not: This option doesn’t dry out or flake, and it’s super easy to wash out.

Not just for acne-prone or oily skin, this face scrub clears dead skin sells and opens pores, which regulates oil production and reduces the visibility of blemishes.

The brand’s cult-favorite bar soap comes in three scents (at least right now), Peppermint, Lime and Rum. It’s our pick because it’s less boozy than it is dark and brooding.

Even though skincare products are already designed for sensitive places (your face), they can still irritate those with skin issues like eczema. This replenishing face serum is specifically formulated not to, as the founder bases the products off what works for him, because he is someone that deals with eczema, seborrhea and fragrance allergies.

Cleanse+ is “superfood for your skin,” the brand proclaims. And, honestly, if there is such a thing, this might be it. It features a prebiotic blend that helps balance your skin’s pH, vitamins to encourage tightness and an even tone and the obvious additions to help clear pores and clean the skin’s surface.

This face oil goes on easy and not greasy, hydrates and tones and helps the skin “digest” daily sun.

A fortifying shampoo does the work of your usual soap but without stripping the hair and scalp of all of its natural oils. You need them to keep peace (balance).

Even if you’re using a nice shaving cream, you still need to consider your post-shave routine. It should absolutely include an after shave, which can help prevent clogged pores, razor bumps and ingrowns.

This ready-to-order body wash emphasizes users with sensitive skin — even the “ultra” sensitive, they say. It’ll cleanse and clear without stripping, always promising to do more good than harm.

Instead of rough particulate, Hawthorne uses papaya extract and other enzymes to unclog pores and lift dead skin cells.

Look at this ingredient list: chamomile, bergamot and willow bark, polyphenols and mucilages from cold-pressed rose petals, polysaccharides from aloe vera. All of this to say, this cleanser clears using a suite of skincare’s best bioactive ingredients.

Some lotions are too thick, making them hard to lather and even harder to dissolve into the skin. This cream’s more subtle yet super effective — and nice-smelling.

The citrus tingle, affordable by lemon and grapefruit rind, makes you feel even cleaner after using this.

Meant for folks with oily skin, an astringent toner, like this one with bitter orange, works to even skin tone and clear caked on buildup caused by sweat and oil.

Harry’s does broad basics well — like 2-in-1s and body washes. Available in four scents, this option cleans without stripping and doesn’t feel like a drastic departure from the gel-like ones we all used to (used to, right?) use.

The brand even covers specialized items like targeted treatment gels. This one works on acne, dark spots, red patches, plus general rough spots.

Cold-pressed and free of any additives, The Body Oil, as it’s plainly called, delivers your skin a shortlist of much-needed nutrients.

Don’t forget about your hands — especially when seasons change or reach their real extremes.

Trust Kiehl’s for classics like body wash and shampoo, even hand lotion, but also luxe extras like hyaluronic acid serums.

Coconut and jojoba oils contrasts this conditioner’s amino acid base, an element that cleans with unmatched efficiency.

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