The Gentlemens Refinery

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:31 pm

A relatively new product company has just launched and it is called The Gentlemens Refinery (http://www.thegr.com). This company has been started by a traditional barber who has worked for T and H for many years. His name is Perry Gastis. I recently had the chance to test all of the products and can say they are all excellent. The line is designed around skin care/wetshaving. However, what is unique is the usage of all natural ingredients (no synthetics, no parabens, no propylene glycol, etc). If you like the benefits of what naturally formulated products offer this is a line you might want to investigate.

Over the coming weeks I will offer my opinions on each of the various products. However, in this post I want to comment on the shave cream and the A/S balm.

The shave cream is excellent and is what some would term "new school". It has very little scent (faintly lavender) but lathers incredibly well and can be used with and without a brush. The founder, Perry, formulated this to be used with a brush, without a brush, and also in a lather machine. Coming from a barbering background he wanted to offer a product that was equally useful at home and in a barbering environment. I would say this cream is very comparable to T and H's UC cream in overall performance, scent, texture, etc.

The A/S balm is also a very excellent product. For those that like light weight Aloe type products or very thin"milk" type products this is something to check out. The ingredients list is high quality with a host of naturals that are all good for the skin. Again, this one has very little scent and what of it there is disappears within seconds. This product absorbs quickly and leaves no residue. Fans of DR Harris A/S Milk should check this out.

That's it for now guys. I have to say it is nice to see the industry finally responding to the desires of "traditional shavers" who also want the benefits of naturally formulated products.

Chris

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:36 pm

Sounds good. Thanks!

Blue As A Jewel · Post by **Blue As A Jewel** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:39 pm

Looks interesting...probably the last thing I need, but as always look forward to your impressions!

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 6:50 pm

Chris, Some suggest that this new cream is identical to the T&H Ultimate Comfort. I understand that it too is made in Canada, and, of course, this chap worked at T&H in Las Vegas, as did the other founder of the company, Daphne. Their A/S product sounds interesting to me, but it's VERY expensive, it seems. And, of course, if it contains a significent amount of aloe, I'm out of luck. I haven't yet seen an actual ingrediants list on it though, so I don't know.
Regards,
Gordon

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 10:27 pm

Gordon:

Well anything is possible given the skincare business these days but having used the T and H UC cream this one seems a bit different. They are, however, similar in terms of performance and feel. I haven't compared the ingredients deck and even if they are the same the ratios could be different. This is a similar argument to the one you make for all the Creighton produced creams like Trumper, etc.

The A/S balm has Distilled Water, glycerin, jojoba oil, octyl dodecyl stearate, sodium PCA, stearic Acid, Lactic Acid, sodium lactate, shea butter extract, olive oil unsaponifiables, glyceryl stearate, allantoin, urea, cetyl alcohol, collagen amino acids, arginine, lime oil, sodium levulinate, sodium anisate, xanthan gum, acacia gum, geranium oil and sandalwood oil.

Chris

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:43 pm

Chris, Well, that's right. Even if the ingrediants lists matched up, it wouldn't necessarily demonstrate that the two were indentical. From what I'd heard, it just seemed that they might be, and wondered what your take was. Thanks for the list on the A/S. I don't see anything in there that I know annoys my skin, so it would probably work fine for me. Damn, it is pricey, though. Thanks again.
Regards,
Gordon

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:55 pm

I traded email's today with Perry Gastis, owner of The GR. He confirms that this is not at all a "clone" of T and H's UC Cream. The ingredients deck is fundamentally different. And he was not attempting to "copy" this cream at all. Perry was looking for an all natural base that would work with a brush, sans brush and in a lather machine, the latter being very important as his target sales channel is barbershops where the line will be used for services as well as a retail product. As we all know most barbers use the "Lather King" latherizer as opposed to a brush/cream/soap.

Just FYI.

Chris

Blue As A Jewel · Post by **Blue As A Jewel** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 5:30 pm

Chris - What can you tell us about the Moisturizer and Eye Gel?

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:28 pm

Both are good products though I like the eye gel more. For moisturization it's hard to beat Naprodis/Enchante's A/S cream or good old rosehip seed oil. The eye gel is quite nice. It has a thck texture but absorbs quickly and completely. I don't remember the ingredients deck off and but it does have rosehip seed oil fairly high up on the ingredients deck.

Chris

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:00 am

Corey seems to think well of these products too.

Chris

Blue As A Jewel · Post by **Blue As A Jewel** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 7:12 am

Thanks Chris & Chris! - Yes the Enchante stuff is my [almost] daily A/S Balm. In reality there probably isn't a need to add additional moisturizers on top with this product, but with the winter dryness and cold I do put some on as added insurance!

Does the Eye Gel leave an feeling of tightness? I imagine with a high rosehip seed oil content that it would not?

Taffa · Post by **Taffa** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:55 am

Im with Chris in that the aftershave is excellent the shaving cream is also good but i like it more NB anyway very good products.Regards,Eddie

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:56 am

I second the A/S Balm, it is very good and unfortunately very expensive to get it up here. When you realize how much you paid and look at the "made in Canada" on the package it really kicks in (and you feel it in the seat of your pants).

Good stuff though...

Just for the balm + shipping + duty + handling = $75 cdn.

I wasn't interested in their other products.

Brett G · Post by **Brett G** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:26 am

Richard,
Wow, and I was annoyed at paying $40.

I am also a newly minted TGR balm addict. It has just enough moisturization and sealing properties for my taste, although I think it is strictly a winter product. When the weather warms I will go back to a lighter gel.

northadams · Post by **northadams** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:50 am

TGR a/s is a great product indeed. It feels tighter & even less greasy than the (old) Harris milk. I see your point about it being more of a winter a/s but come the summer heat I tend to use only the cold water rinse and towel pat. Trumpers Ian Matthews once told me to make sure to drink two big glasses of water within an hour after the shave to bring moisture back to the face. Might be true or maybe Mr. Moss is rolling his eyes right now up in Tatamagouche!

Max

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:54 am

Chris

Blue As A Jewel · Post by **Blue As A Jewel** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:00 am

drmoss_ca wrote:

Chris

Oh...I get it...took me a sec...very Charlie Chaplinish!

Barbarosa · Post by **Barbarosa** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:50 am

rustyblade wrote:
Just for the balm + shipping + duty + handling = $75 cdn.

I wasn't interested in their other products.

Ouch... that hurts.