Here's a king cake product you haven't tried

Parker Dash said he knew his beard was too coarse when a clipping hit his bare foot and embedded itself in the skin.

"I thought I'd been stung," he said. "It's not supposed to be that bad."

He launched Reign Beard Care in November after a crash course in how to best care for facial hairs. There's an idea that men's facial hair should be rough, but that's not necessarily so, Dash said.

Each hair has two glands in the skin that produce oil to nourish the hair, Dash said, and once a beard gets too long, natural oils can't keep up, and the beard needs a boost. Beard oil conditions the hair and the skin, and balm is solid and similar to leave-in conditioner.

Dash said he and his group of friends talked about the need for better beard products when they took their kids trick-or-treating in 2015. They talked about it again around Halloween in 2016. In early November, Dash started researching beard care more in-depth. By mid-November, he was making half-ounce samples of beard balm for him and his friends to try.

"We loved them. Everybody else loved them and responded, so I started making a few to sell. We sold our first one the day before Thanksgiving, and we've sold a little over 500 since then," Dash said. "I wasn't prepared for that at all, but I'll take it."

News about the startup primarily spread via word of mouth and on Facebook.

"Word of mouth has been huge. ... I guess the bearded community is a community. My wife thinks it's weird, but if I see somebody with a big beard, I can go talk to them for 20 minutes about beards. It's just something — it's a camaraderie that we have. It's a lifestyle. It's not just like 'I'm going to let it grow and not deal with it,'" Dash said.

He said he has no problem approaching someone and asking what they use in their beard. A problem here, Dash said, is men either don't use any product in their beard or their wife knows what she buys, but the husband has no idea.

"A lot just use shampoo and conditioner, which is the worst thing you can do because it's going to wash out all those natural oils and leave it drier," Dash said.

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He started with Orange Spice, Christmas Tree and Candy Cane because he launched the brand so close to the holidays. Christmas Tree and Candy Cane have been retired, but Orange Spice will run through spring. When the weather warms up, he'll change it out for an orange cream option that smells like Push-Up frozen treats.

Bob Wilson, owner of Tummy Yummy Creations, has been acting as Santa for 30 years. He said he's normally clean-shaven from January through May, until he starts growing out his beard and hair to be "Santa-ready" — long and bleached white — by Nov. 1. This year, he's trimmed down the beard and plans to keep it.

In past years, Wilson tried beard oil, lotions and creams. Many Santas, he said, have resorted to making their own beard balms because bleaching is such a harsh process. Those are largely too waxy and require a lot of work just to get them pliable enough to apply to the beard.

When he heard of a local option, he decided to try it and was pleased with the results. The holiday smells helped when working so closely with children as well. Now, he has the full Reign line. He said the smells are pleasant when he first puts them on in the morning but not so strong that he catches whiffs throughout the day.

He likes the fact that Dash is local and has a beard, thus a shared understanding of how products have worked. He said Dash was open to feedback as well.

Dash has a handful of "forever" scents including:

Rockaway Beach: coconut and lemongrass

Purple Reign: lavender, tea tree and peppermint

Commando: patchouli, bergamot and pine.

Up All Night smells like coffee, and the balm is caffeinated. Dash said some customers have been using it to encourage growth for the hair on their heads. He's working with another guy on a super-growth balm, but it hasn't been perfected.

Dash made a special scent for Governor's Cigar & Pipe with cherry, vanilla and tobacco, and he made another limited run for his friends, Empire, that smells like sandalwood and bourbon.

Read this: Every man a king at Governor's Cigar & Pipe

He said his wife uses the balm as lotion. For beards, one 2-ounce container can last about a month, depending on beard length, and he plans to expand into beard oil and shampoo in the future. He creates his blends in his kitchen, and each batch of about 50 jars takes about 30 hours from start to sale.

Dash plans seasonal options in 1-ounce tins.

Through February, he's offering King Cake. One tin has a bearded baby, and the recipient will receive a free 2-ounce balm of his choice.

In March, he plans a whiskey or roasted oatmeal stout option for St. Patrick's Day.

"Fourth of July we'll do, probably, apple pie because I don't think anyone wants a hot dog beard or barbecue beard," Dash joked.

When the seasonal scents reach the end of their term, Dash said, he'll flash-sell about half of them at a discounted price. On his way to work in the mornings, he said, he passes the Salvation Army shelter, where there are usually several bearded men, and hands out the rest.

Reign is carried at six stores in Monroe, and Dash sells it online at reignbeardcare.com and on Etsy, a site for independent marketers. He said businesses in Mississippi and Arkansas have expressed interest in carrying his products. He said within hours of launching the site, he'd received a few orders.

Follow Bonnie Bolden on Twitter @Bonnie_Bolden_ and on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1RtsEEP.

Online

reignbeardcare.com

Etsy: http://etsy.me/2j5C40M

Facebook: facebook.com/ReignBeardCare/

Instagram: instagram.com/reignbeardcare/