Men’s Grooming Brand Guidelines: Barbers, Shaving Houses and Grooming Brands
Thirty-five brand guides to grooming — St James’s barbers and shaving houses, razor start-ups and the conglomerates that bought them.
Grooming runs from London houses founded before 1800 to direct-to-consumer start-ups bought by consumer-goods giants. These guides set out who owns each brand.
Historic houses
D.R. Harris, the St James’s apothecary, was founded in 1790; Truefitt & Hill, founded in 1805, is described as the world’s oldest barbershop; Taylor of Old Bond Street has been family-owned since 1854; and Geo. F. Trumper has been a Mayfair barber and perfumer since 1875.
Who bought the start-ups
Many newer brands now belong to large groups: Dollar Shave Club and Dr. Squatch to Unilever; The Art of Shaving, Native and Old Spice to P&G; Jack Black, Bulldog, Cremo and Billie to Edgewell; Baxter of California to L’Oréal; Every Man Jack to Carlyle; and Flamingo and Lume to Mammoth Brands, Harry’s parent.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Grooming, part 1
Harry’s, Merkur, Proraso, Baxter of California, Mühle, Beardbrand and Truefitt & Hill.
- Harry’s — The direct-to-consumer razor brand from a Warby Parker co-founder, its German blade factory, olive-green design, and honest caveats.
- Merkur — The Solingen maker of classic double-edge safety razors like the 34C and 38C, its chrome-and-steel palette, and honest caveats.
- Proraso — The Florentine shaving brand of the green eucalyptus-menthol cream, its colour-coded lines, retro barbershop look, and honest caveats.
- Baxter of California — The pioneering LA men’s grooming brand behind the Clay Pomade, its clean blue palette, L’Oréal ownership, and honest caveats.
- Mühle — The German family shaving house of premium brushes and razors, the Silvertip Fibre, award-winning design, and honest caveats.
- Beardbrand — The content-first men’s grooming brand of the “urban beardsman,” its earthy palette, Shark Tank story, and honest caveats.
- Truefitt & Hill — The London grooming house founded in 1805, the world’s oldest barbershop, its regal green-and-gold palette, and honest caveats.
Grooming, part 2
Bevel, The Art of Shaving, Dollar Shave Club, Jack Black, D.R. Harris, American Crew and Malin+Goetz.
- Bevel — Tristan Walker’s grooming brand built to solve razor bumps for Black men, its premium black-and-gold palette, and honest caveats.
- The Art of Shaving — The New York luxury wet-shaving house of the 4 Elements ritual, its apothecary palette, P&G ownership, and honest caveats.
- Dollar Shave Club — The irreverent DTC razor brand of the $4,500 viral video and Unilever’s billion-dollar buy, its bold palette, and honest caveats.
- Jack Black — The Dallas men’s skincare brand behind the Intense Therapy Lip Balm, its clean navy palette, Edgewell ownership, and honest caveats.
- D.R. Harris — The St James’s apothecary founded in 1790, its Arlington cologne, the Pick-Me-Up, a heritage palette, and honest caveats.
- American Crew — The brand that pioneered men’s salon grooming, its icon Fiber, a classic barbershop palette, and honest caveats.
- Malin+Goetz — The New York modern apothecary from a Kiehl’s and a Vitra alum, its minimalist design, grapefruit accent, and honest caveats.
Grooming, part 3
Taylor of Old Bond Street, Geo. F. Trumper, Uppercut Deluxe, Murdock London, Duke Cannon, Dr. Squatch and Grown Alchemist.
- Taylor of Old Bond Street — The family-owned British shaving house since 1854, its Sandalwood cream, heritage palette, and honest caveats.
- Geo. F. Trumper — The Curzon Street Mayfair barber and perfumer since 1875, Extract of Limes, Eucris, a Victorian palette, and honest caveats.
- Uppercut Deluxe — The Australian barber-founded grooming brand of the Deluxe Pomade, its retro black-red palette, boxer logo, and honest caveats.
- Murdock London — The Shoreditch barbershop-turned-grooming house, its British-made products, cream-and-charcoal palette, and honest caveats.
- Duke Cannon — The Minneapolis grooming brand of the Big Ass Brick of Soap, its military-surplus palette, veteran support, and honest caveats.
- Dr. Squatch — The San Diego natural men’s soap brand of the Sasquatch mascot and viral ads, its woodsy palette, Unilever buy, and honest caveats.
- Grown Alchemist — The Melbourne design-led clean-skincare brand from two brothers, its minimalist palette, ownership story, and honest caveats.
Grooming, part 4
Bulldog, Ursa Major, Captain Fawcett, Manscaped, Native, Flamingo and Old Spice.
- Bulldog — The British natural men’s skincare pioneer with the friendly bulldog mascot, its white-and-green palette, Edgewell ownership, and honest caveats.
- Ursa Major — The independent Vermont B Corp of natural, gender-neutral clean skincare, its forest palette, the Great Bear name, and honest caveats.
- Captain Fawcett — The British grooming house built around a fictional Edwardian adventurer, its moustache wax, ornate palette, and honest caveats.
- Manscaped — The San Diego below-the-waist grooming brand of the Lawn Mower trimmer, its bold black-and-gold palette, cheeky voice, and honest caveats.
- Native — The aluminum-free natural deodorant DTC brand that P&G bought for ~$100M, its clean minimalist palette, and honest caveats.
- Flamingo — The body-positive women’s shaving brand from Harry’s (now Mammoth Brands), its bright pink palette, anti-pink-tax pricing, and honest caveats.
- Old Spice — The nautical American grooming brand born in 1937, its ship logo, P&G reinvention, the 2010 viral campaign, and honest caveats.
Grooming, part 5
Billie, Cremo, Scotch Porter, Every Man Jack, Hawthorne, Lume and Fellow Barber.
- Billie — The body-positive women’s razor brand that first showed real body hair in ads, its warm palette, blocked-then-Edgewell ownership, and honest caveats.
- Cremo — The American men’s grooming brand built on its concentrated shave cream, its barbershop palette, Edgewell ownership, and honest caveats.
- Scotch Porter — The Black-owned men’s grooming brand from Newark focused on beard care for textured hair, its rich palette, and honest caveats.
- Every Man Jack — The California brand of affordable, naturally derived men’s grooming for the masses, its clean palette, Carlyle ownership, and honest caveats.
- Hawthorne — The personalized, quiz-driven men’s grooming brand known for custom-matched cologne, its premium palette, and honest caveats.
- Lume — The doctor-founded whole-body deodorant brand of candid marketing, its warm friendly palette, Mammoth Brands ownership, and honest caveats.
- Fellow Barber — The NYC barbershop that helped spark the barbershop renaissance, its monochrome look, styling products, and honest caveats.
At a glance: founding, owner and signature
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Crew | 1994 (USA) | Revlon | Fiber |
| Baxter of California | 1965 (Los Angeles) | L’Oréal | Clay Pomade |
| Beardbrand | 2012 (Austin, TX) | See guide | See guide |
| Bevel | 2013 (by Walker & Co) | P&G | Single blade |
| Billie | 2017 (New York) | Edgewell | Project Body Hair |
| Bulldog | 2006 (London) | Edgewell | The bulldog |
| Captain Fawcett | ~2010 (Norfolk) | See guide | Moustache Wax |
| Cremo | 2005 (Laguna Beach) | Edgewell | Shave cream |
| D.R. Harris | 1790 (St James’s) | See guide | Arlington |
| Dollar Shave Club | 2011 (Venice, CA) | Unilever | The viral video |
| Dr. Squatch | 2013 (San Diego) | Unilever | Pine Tar soap |
| Duke Cannon | 2011 (Minneapolis) | Main Post (PE) | Big Ass Brick of Soap |
| Every Man Jack | 2007 (California) | Carlyle | See guide |
| Fellow Barber | 2006 (New York) | See guide | See guide |
| Flamingo | 2018 (by Harry’s) | Mammoth Brands | See guide |
| Geo. F. Trumper | 1875 (Mayfair) | See guide | Extract of Limes |
| Grown Alchemist | 2008 (Melbourne) | See guide | See guide |
| Harry’s | 2013 (New York) | See guide | See guide |
| Hawthorne | 2016 (New York) | See guide | Custom cologne |
| Jack Black | 2000 (Dallas) | Edgewell | Lip Balm |
| Lume | 2017 (Dr. Klingman) | Mammoth Brands | See guide |
| Malin+Goetz | 2004 (New York) | See guide | See guide |
| Manscaped | 2016 (San Diego) | See guide | The Lawn Mower |
| Merkur | See guide | See guide | 34C / 38C |
| Murdock London | 2006 (London) | See guide | See guide |
| Mühle | 1945 (Stützengrün) | See guide | See guide |
| Native | 2015 (San Francisco) | P&G | Aluminum-free |
| Old Spice | 1937 (by Shulton) | P&G | The ship |
| Proraso | See guide | See guide | Green cream |
| Scotch Porter | 2015 (Newark, NJ) | See guide | Beard Collection |
| Taylor of Old Bond Street | 1854 (London) | Family | Sandalwood |
| The Art of Shaving | 1996 (New York) | P&G | 4 Elements |
| Truefitt & Hill | 1805 (London) | See guide | See guide |
| Uppercut Deluxe | Late 2000s (Australia) | See guide | Deluxe Pomade |
| Ursa Major | 2010 (Vermont) | Independent B Corp | See guide |
Frequently asked questions
What is the world’s oldest barbershop?
Truefitt & Hill, founded in London in 1805, according to our guide.
Who owns Dollar Shave Club?
Unilever, according to our guide.
See also our wet shaving and personal care brand guidelines.
Part of our Beauty & Grooming brand guidelines. See also all collections.