Review: Mountain Monk Beard Butter

From time to time I like to do a review of certain things like products, or books. I haven't actually done a review in some time, in fact I have only done one review, and that was for a book for a friend. But, the time has come for me to write another review.

Back in August when I visited Ladyminster, Fr. Joseph Marie gave me a tin of Mountain Monk Beard Butter to try. I promised* to write a review, so now that I've used most of the tin, and need to reorder, I have decided to go ahead and review the beard butter.

I absolutely love this tin! It is very simple, and not at all flashy. The first thing that I noticed is the partial St. Benedict medal that can be seen in the top left, which tells you that these monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Mountain Monk because the monastery is in the mountains of Colorado. And simply, Beard Butter, because that is what it is. 

Also, the ingredients are right there on the label and easy to read.

The Ladyminster website says this about the Beard Butter,

"Mountain Monk Beard Butter is now available for ordering through our website and at the Monastery! This high-quality Beard Butter is made by the monks in small batches, and packaged and distributed from the Monastery. The first "scent" available is called "St. Benedict," and contains a discreet hint of Frankincense. This scent is great for those who enjoy a hint of fragrance, but prefer not to attract the nostrils of everyone in the room -- yet still provides the softening and shaping properties valued by all who love masculine facial adornment." 

Opening the tin, I was met with a subtle hint of frankincense, as opposed to a stronger hint of most other beard balms that I have used. I was very much reminded of Lucky Scruff's original beard oil and beard balm (which I think they renamed "Holy Beard Oil" and "Holy Beard Balm") which had frankincense, but those had a stronger scent to them than Mountain Monk.

As an aside, I used Lucky Scruff for years until their website (which seems to no longer exist) stopped putting orders through for some reason. The company was owned by a friend, and I really liked their products, so I didn't mind ordering their stuff and having it shipped from Tennessee to Alaska.

Their website not processing orders left me looking for a company to replace Lucky Scruff, and for a while I was using a certain brand that I could find at Kroger before I settled on Duke Cannon.

I had an issue with the beard balm from Duke Cannon in that it didn't melt all the way when I rubbed it in my hands, sometimes leaving small chunks of the balm visible in my beard. I've not had that issue with the Mountain Monk Beard Balm.

I still use the beard oil from Duke Cannon, but only because Mountain Monk does not offer a beard oil.

One other thing that I have noticed with Mountain Monk is that my beard is very noticeably softer. Don't get me wrong, when I wasn't using any beard oil or beard balm I could tell that my beard felt rough. When I started using oils and balms, I could tell that my beard was softer. But with Mountain Monk I've noticed that my beard is even softer. 

The hold with Mountain Monk Beard Butter also seems better than with other balms I've used. But it doesn't feel like I used a mega hold hair gel on it (I did that once to see what would happen, never again). It holds well, without weighing my beard down.

And, lastly, as far as this review goes, my hands don't feel overly oily or greasy after applying the beard butter to my beard like they have with other beard balms.

Overall, with the subtle hint of fragrance, the excellent hold, and the softness of my beard after use, as well as the fact that this beard butter is made and distributed by real monks, I would have to rate Mountain Monk Beard Balm as ☦☦☦☦☦/☦☦☦☦☦ It truly is the best beard product I have tried to date.

And yes, this scent is called St. Benedict, rather than keep writing "St. Benedict" and make it seem like I was reviewing the saint as opposed to the product I simply referred to it as beard butter.

Also, there is a new fragrance that was made available around Christmas last year, appropriately called St. Nicholas. It apparently smells like Christmas should. If I ever get my hands on some I'll probably write a review of that as well.

Lastly, I will not rate everything as 5 out of 5 - it just so happens that what I have reviewed have both been excellent. I plan on writing a review on something I got myself for my birthday from Bespoke Post probably next week, and it won't be 5 out of 5.

*Promised, as in I was in no way compensated for this review other than being given the beard balm for free even though I protested and said I would pay for it. But when a monk tells you not to worry about it, you tend not to worry about it. I do hope that with this review that others will purchase this beard balm, thereby covering the cost of my usage of this wonderful gift.