When we first decided to do a Men’s Skin Care week we sent out a lot of emails asking what our readers wanted us to review. One company that got a lot of response was Sharps. I had not heard of this brand until we started the review, but I can thank our readers for the find. We tried a lot of Sharp’s products this last week and found them all to be top notch, easy to use, and priced well. We contacted Kerry Geise with Sharps and spoke to him about the line and what we were doing here at THP. He told us before we speak again, “try some of our stuff”. Always happy to oblige I took him up on that offer.
A few days later a box arrived that was fairly large. Once opened, I realized that Kerry sent A LOT for us to try. Once again happy to oblige we put this line of products through the ringer. One thing you notice about this brand is that they classify everything by picture. It is nice and easy to navigate through their site. It is broken down into 4 categories. Hair (astronaut), Shave (goat), Body (Asian woman), & Face (microphone). Don’t ask me, I didn’t come up with them. But I must say that it really makes it easy to find what you are looking for and for organizing products at home. We had products to try from each of the groups and I looked forward to diving in.
Before I get into the products themselves, I wanted to give a little history about the brand. Sharps opened for business five years ago to help get guys comfortable in their own skin and spark a major movement around new-school barbering.
“Grooming” sounds stuffy and boring to us so we call it prep.
We believe that being prepared in life can make all the difference. So why not have fun doing it with no-fuss products and services that work?
We launched our first product, the Kid Glove Shave Gel, in April ’03 at a small barbershop in NYC. All of our products are barber-tested.
Sharps is now sold in top barbershops and retail stores in the US and a few other countries.
Let us get on to what really matters here, and that is the products. What we found was that the readers liked the brand for one reason and one reason only. BECAUSE THEY WORK! We liked almost everything we saw. But one thing we liked that the readers had not mentioned is the customer service. Everyone is very friendly and knows what they are talking about when discussing this line.
First up in the review of Sharps is the Body Category. Pictured as an Asian Woman as listed above. Their body product that was sent in this category is called Happy Me All Over Wash. The smell of this one can only be described as CLEAN. It lathers up really nice and your skin feels great afterwards. I noticed that it works much better with a wash cloth or loofah than it did when just using hands. And I want to add that just a little bit of product goes a long way.
The next category that we tried out was Hair as shown with an Astronaut like we stated above. We got three products to try out in this line. But because one of the products was a sun screen called Bald Head Balm and is made for gentleman that shave their head or are bald, we were not able to effectively review this product. So we will focus on the other two in this line that all of us really liked. First up was the Mission Control Conditioning Shampoo. It is a two in one of sorts in that when you use this shampoo you do not also need a conditioner. For those that like to have two seperate shampoo and conditioner, Sharps carries that as well. The smell of this product is wonderful. I call it a cross between candy canes (peppermint) and Eucalyptus. It is a little strong but that is good because you need very little of this product to have your hair feeling and smelling clean again. While using, you feel a slight tingle as the peppermint invigorates your scalp. I really liked the way it felt, but others might not. It definitely wakes you up in the morning before your round of golf, that is for sure. After hopping out of the shower and toweling dry we gave the 2nd product in the astronaut line a try and that was the Mission Control Guck In A Puck Hard. It is hair styling stuff that seems to me to be a cross between a hair clay and a hair gel. I loved the consistency of it. It is easy to work with and does not get your hands all disgusting. The best part about this product is that you don’t have to reapply during the day if you have to fix your hair. It stays moldable throughout the entire day. The hair products we tested were quite good and if you like the scents of the traditional barber, you will love the scents of the astronaut part of this line.
Next up was the Goat section of the review. As stated above, the goat section refers to the shaving products that Sharps carries. We got the opportunity to test out both the Kid Glove Shave Gel and the Kid Glove Hydrating Gel After-Shave. We wet our face down and applied the Shave Gel like any other. The 1st thing I noticed is that it gives an incredible cooling sensation on your skin. But not an extreme menthol smell like the canned stuff you find at your local grocery. While shaving I noticed that the razor glides quite well across my face. This stuff is slick! After shaving we went to the after shave gel and it is different than the others we had tried. This one is ultra soothing. If you are prone to razor burn or redness, this is definitely the product to try. Any irritation was gone instantly. The scent was simple like the rest. It smells clean and very barber shop like.
The last part of this extensive product line is the microphone series. This is the section of their products that are geared towards the “man’s face”. We got three products to check out in this line. We got the Daily Prep Skin Tuner, Daily Prep Oil-Free Moisturizing Lotion, and the Daily Prep Foaming Scrub. This is where the line got a little tricky. As a normal guy, I never know what I am supposed to use first or in what order products go. We started with the foaming scrub. I really liked this product. It comes in a white tube and you squeeze about a pea sized amount onto your hand of this light green, gritty scrub. Once you start to work it into your face you instantly can tell it is working. It is rough, but not too rough. When you rinse your face off, it feels so smooth. It is like you just had “work done”. The next tiem we tried was the Daily Prep Skin Tuner. This stuff is instant cooling on your skin. We tested it with 4 people and 3 people absolutely loved this stuff. I however did not. It just seemed to dry my skin out a little bit. But do keep in mind that our other 3 testers loved this stuff. You can always contact Sharps to see if it is right for you. The last product that we tried in the entire Sharps line is my favorite. It was a Daily Prep and Moisturizing Lotion. The kicker for me, is that it is also an SPF 15 Sunscreen. It is the perfect size bottle and has an easy to use pump dispenser. The lotion is fragrance free and a little goes a long way like with most of their products. Once again, it is fast drying and never needed to reapply. But here is why I liked it so much. My skin felt amazing when I put it on (to be expected). But after 4 hours in the sun on the golf course, my skin skill felt amazing. No drying out or anything like that. In almost every skin care line we have reviewed, I tell people, “If you only try one product out of this line, try this one.”. This is the one in this line that blew me away. Atleast from the golfer’s point of view.
Overall Sharps products were a pleasant surprise. We liked almost everything they sent to us and think they are a must try for most golfers. They offer a couple of things that really stuck out for the golfer that gets ready at the club or that goes to the gym to work out. They offer everything in travel sizes, as well as the really cool “build your own box set”. This way you get to pick the products you would use rather than have someone pick them for you. One other thing that I cannot forget to pass on. Sharps believes so much in their products that you can TRY THEM FOR FREE. Not a giveaway or a contest but FREE. All you pay is the $3 for shipping and they will send you sample packets of 3 items. You can check it out HERE. That way you can see for yourself what we are talking about. Sharps is available at many fine retailers around the country and of course ONLINE
Till Next Time
Josh B.
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