Earlier this year my friend Antonio Centeno of Real Men Real Style reached out to me about a new line of grooming products from Australia, Vitaman, that is launching in the U.S. with his help. Antonio has a pretty good eye for products that work well so when he offered to send me some samples I took him up on it.
Vitaman Background
From the Vitaman website:
Company Founder, Clare Castles, Australian born and raised, has always had a passion for skincare and haircare.
Clare went on to become a successful hairdresser, make-up artist, beauty therapist, and international skincare lecturer. She ran a successful training academy teaching Beauty Therapy, Photographic Make Up and Corporate Grooming.
While teaching Qantas’ new recruits, Clare realized she had nothing to recommend for men. So began the journey of creating a range specifically for men, that would solve their skin and hair concerns.
Fast forward to 1999 and we officially launched in Australia with 9 products – becoming one of the world’s Pioneers of Men’s Skincare & Grooming.
We must have been doing something right because we quickly built up a dedicated following of Vitamen in over 20 countries.
In 2019, Antonio Centeno – founder of online men’s style community, website and YouTube Channel Real Men Real Style, joined Clare as co-owner.
In Antonio’s words, after meeting Clare, he “absolutely loved” what we were doing in Australia and wanted to bring our natural grooming products to the 1000s of men he helps every day in the USA.
The Vitaman Products I Received
Antonio was pretty generous with the products he sent me:
- Pre-shave oil
- Shave Gel
- Aftershave Balm
- Volumising Shampoo
- Volumising Conditioner
- Face & Body Cleaner
- Skin protector
- Face Scrub
- Face Moisturizer
- Face Mud Masque
My Use Of Vitaman Products
I’ve been giving these products a pretty thorough workout over the this year. Of course my main interest have been the shaving products.
Shave Gel
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Allantoin, Vitamin E, Eucalyptus Oil. This is brushless and clear. While this type of shave product is not my usual “cup of tea” it works well, I’m able to see what I’ve shaved more easily when I’m rocking more stubble than usual, and the nice post-shave feel is notable to me.
Pre-shave Oil
With Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Coconut Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Patchouli Oil, Mountain Black Pepper Oil, Vitamin E. I find using the pre-shave oil provides a noticeably better over-all shave performance than the shave gel alone. I’m not a big fan of pre-shave oils generally but I actually like this one.
Aftershave Balm
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Witch Hazel, Chamomile Flower Extract, Comfrey Leaf Extract, Vitamin E, Allantoin, Menthol, Blue Cypress Oil, Lavender Oil, Spearmint Leaf Oil. I think this is a solid performer with a lot of good, nourishing ingredients.
Volumising Shampoo
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Witch Hazel, Hydrolysed Sweet Almond Protein, Peppermint Oil, Sea Salt, Kakadu Plum Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Menthol, Citric Acid. This shampoo works well for me but it doesn’t really stand out in any particular way: it just cleans my hair without drama.
Volumising Conditioner
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Hydrolysed Sweet Almond Protein, Peppermint Oil, Witch Hazel, Argan Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Kakadu Plum Fruit Extract, Panthenol. While I think the shampoo doesn’t really stand out, I think the conditioner is the stand-out of the non-shaving products from Vitaman for me! I find it makes my hair softer and more manageable, and seems to stay that way for a longer time, compared to other conditioners I have used. I’m actually quite pleased and impressed with the Vitaman Volumising Conditioner.
Face & Body Cleaner
With White Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Witch Hazel, Australian Sea Salt, Sweet Orange Peel Oil, Lemon Myrtle Oil, Citric Acid, Capsicum Fruit Extract. Like the shampoo I think the general cleanser goes about its business without drama–a solid performer but it doesn’t really stand out from the many other products on the market.
Skin Protector
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Kakadu Plum Extract, Wild Rosella Flower Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Green Tea Extract, Pine Bark Extract, Shea Butter. This is a product that is supposed to reduce wrinkles and improve the skin’s over-all texture. I don’t have a lot of experience with these types of products. It took a number of weeks of regular use for me to notice any difference (my understanding is that is normal) but just recently my wife said she noticed my face’s complexion has improved, so something must be happening! 🙂
Face Scrub
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Walnut Shell, Bamboo Powder, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Witch Hazel, Allantoin, Vitamin E, Sweet Orange Peel Oil, Lemon Myrtle Leaf Oil, Citric Acid. This is an environmentally-friendly scrub that uses walnut and bamboo powder instead of synthetic beads to exfoliate. Taking a cue from this Sharpologist article about exfoliation I only use this product occasionally but it works well.
Face Mud Masque
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Kaolin (Australian Natural Clay), Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Coconut Oil, Allantoin. I’ve used face masques before but this one left me with some irritation, no doubt because my skin is a bit sensitive to Kaolin clay, so I only used it once. Not a knock on Vitaman, it’s a quirk of my skin.
Face Moisturizer
With White Tea Leaf Extract, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Shea Butter, Argireline, Coconut Oil, Squalene (from Olives), Vitamin E (from Soybean Oil), Rosella Flower Extract, Kakadu Plum Fruit Extract, Blue Cypress Oil. I find this product absorbs quickly and leaves my face with a nice matte finish.
Conclusion
I find Vitaman generally a really good, solid line of men’s grooming products. They concentrate on ‘natural’ ingredients and avoid the ones with long chemical names. The stand-out for me was easily the hair conditioner which works better than others I have tried.
