8 Mar 2022
A classic hair series
When Mr Bear decided to develop a hair series, he started by looking into the past. Eventually, he stumbled across hair tonics that became popular in the second half of the 19th century. More specifically, he looked at the natural ingredients that were often used: nettle, witch hazel and horsetail. All three have many beneficial properties. Nettle stimulates hair growth, horsetail repairs split ends and witch hazel soothes irritated scalps. These three ingredients are present in all of our hair products.
Nourishing styling
By adding ingredients that take care of the hair, we give our hair range an extra dimension. It's something that we strive to do with all our products. We call it nourishing styling. Because who doesn't want to look good while their hair feels great?
Our first pomade
The first pomades came in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and were often based on bear fat or lard. Later variants also used petroleum jelly and beeswax. When Mr Bear set out to create our first pomade: Pomade Matt Clay, he was determined to make it both water-based and with natural ingredients. Talking to other product developers in the industry, he was told that wasn't possible. For those of you who don't know Mr. Bear, the words "it's not possible" are kind of like "drop everything else and make it work." After a lot of work and a pinch of magic in the lab, there it was: Mr Bear Family's first pomade.
An unorthodox pomade
The next challenge was to create an unorthodox pomade. Meaning a water-based pomade that has the same properties as a classic petroleum-based one. Of course, this too would be made with natural ingredients. After all the hard work with the first pomade, this was a much easier mountain to climb, and it was soon finished: Mr Bear Family's second pomade.
Grooming spray with sea salt
A grooming spray is somewhere between a hairspray and a hair tonic. As a seasoned surfer, it was only a matter of time before Mr Bear developed a saltwater spray. The big difference between our saltwater spray and other sprays you'll find on the market, besides the nourishing ingredients, is that we use real sea salt which is much better for your hair.
Grooming spray with hold
Many hair products that create hold use something called polyvinyl. To simplify it, you could say that it's a type of plastic that gives hair hold while also being water soluble, so you can wash it out. Since we have decided to use natural ingredients, we wanted to find something else instead. Thatâs when we discovered that beeswax is a great way to achieve natural hold. After some more tinkering with other ingredients, our Grooming Spray Matt Hold finally saw the light of day.
A very mild shampoo
The basis of a soap or shampoo is something called surfactants. In very simple terms, it's the surfactant that makes the dirt let go of your skin and hair to follow the water down the drain. There are surfactants of both synthetic and natural origin, and we have chosen to use one of natural origin that is very mild. It is a little more expensive than the most common surfactants, but we think it is worth it because it is so gentle and kind to hair, body, and nature.
A nourishing conditioner
It is in our conditioner that the aforementioned ingredients: nettle, witch hazel and horsetail really come into their own. You could say that a shampoo "opens up" the hair strands to clean them, while a conditioner "closes" the hair strands and restores their PH balance so that they are not worn or damaged unnecessarily. On top of this, our natural ingredients get a great chance to work their magic. Nettle stimulates hair growth, horsetail repairs split ends and witch hazel soothes irritated scalps. This is what makes our conditioner an excellent hair mask as well.
