Barrister and Mann. The story of a barrister and a man

People in the casual wet shaving circles of the Russian internet call the brand all kinds of things: just «barriister," BM, «barrikis," and even the puzzling «beavers» (it does sound similar). Barrister and Mann sounds like two surnames, but they are not the founders’ surnames. In fact, the company name comes from the legal profession that its founder, William Carius, was studying for. A barrister is the British colloquial term for a lawyer. And «Mann» is a wordplay on the English word Man. If translated literally, it would give the meaningful «barrister and man» or «barrister and human.»

It all began on March 18, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts. William was studying at law school when he ran into the problem of irritation while shaving. His extremely sensitive skin reacted with strong irritation to cartridge razors and canned shaving foam, which he used like everyone else his age.

Part of the problem went away when he discovered traditional shaving, but finding a soap was still difficult — not every product both worked reliably and suited his sensitive skin.

After spending 5 months searching, testing formulas in his Boston kitchen, studying ingredients, and experimenting with ratios, William finally managed to create a soap that produced a wonderful, smooth, creamy lather and did not dry out his skin.

To get proper feedback on his product, he reached out to the wet shaving community on Reddit and sent several samples to other wet shavers for testing. What worked for his irritation-prone skin also worked for many other people. Finally, on March 18, 2013, Barrister and Mann was born.

So far, this looks like a fairly ordinary company story, one of many on the market. So what is the secret of BM? Why do people all over the world compare other brands specifically to Barrister and Mann? The answer lies in William’s own story and that of his family.

The future soap maker grew up in the rural woods north of the Catskills, near Cooperstown, New York. His parents ran a small private bakery: they produced baking mixes for sale in upscale grocery stores, and also sold ready-made baked goods at farmers’ markets. The defining feature of their bakery was the highest product quality and a careful attitude toward ingredients. They paid maximum attention to quality. No preservatives, only real butter and sugar, no high-fructose corn syrup, not to mention any modified additives.

The bakery existed for almost 10 years, but lost to the mass market. In William’s view, his parents were simply ahead of their time. However, the drive to work only with high-quality products was passed on to him as well, and his parents fully supported their son in his wish to dedicate his life to what truly interested him. And he was interested in many things.

While studying at law school and during breaks between soap tests, William became interested in perfumery. In San Francisco, where he was interning, one of his roommates was obsessed with fragrances, and she and William spent a lot of time in perfume boutiques just to smell scents and then talk for hours about what made up a particular fragrance. She showed him how fragrances are composed.

His interest in perfumery naturally came together with soap making. William tried to create a soap that would produce excellent lather, protect against irritation, and have an amazing scent. This became the hallmark of Barrister and Mann products.

When he needed special industrial equipment to produce consistently high-quality products, his parents stepped in, having kept all the machinery they had used in their bakery. His father, a good engineer, converted a chocolate steam boiler into a soap-making machine. In both chocolate and soap production, there is a similar requirement — the product must not be overheated. Industrial planetary mixers were perfect for mixing soap and achieving a uniform consistency.

Today, Barrister and Mann is a family business run by William Carius, his mother Paula, and his father Hal.

Barrister and Mann shaving soap formulas

The story of Barrister and Mann began with soap. Throughout its history, Barrister and Mann has been known for constant experimentation with formulas. Almost all of the formulas were tallow-based and contained lanolin. The first lines were White Label and Black Label — you can still find reviews of them on forums, but these collections have long been discontinued. In 2015 they were replaced by the Glissant formula — slicker, and in 2018 that was replaced by the Excelsior base, which combined the advantages of all the previous formulas. Until 2018, there was also the Latha base without lanolin. The current Omnibus formula is the richest in skin-beneficial ingredients such as cupuaçu butter, kokum, avocado, shea, marshmallow, and so on.

B&M soap is loved because it performs excellently in any conditions, with any shaving brush, on any skin. The soap creates a dense, abundant, creamy lather even with hard water, and has a subtle, complex scent.

Barrister and Mann aftershaves

The aftershave formulas were experimented with no less than the soaps. The aftershaves came as tonics, alcohol and alcohol-free lotions, based on witch hazel or aloe leaf… The current formula is alcohol-based, but with a very rich composition. B&M aftershaves are suitable for sensitive skin and belong to the skin food category — «food for the skin». This skin-nourishing liquid differs from traditional aftershaves in that it contains beneficial ingredients: plant extracts, oils, glycerin, and components that offset the drying effect of alcohol, moisturize the skin, and restore its natural protective functions.

Barrister and Mann aftershave balms

The first creamy aftershave product was called «wonder balm» — Wonderbalm. It was a special «winter» product that retailed for 30 dollars for 2 ounces — very expensive for its time, so Wonderbalm never became popular.

However, in mid-March 2020, with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company faced a serious alcohol shortage — all stocks worldwide were redirected to the production of disinfectants. This made the production of alcohol-based aftershaves unreasonably expensive. So a balm with the same scent appeared in each collection. Only a year later, on July 8, 2021, alcohol aftershaves returned to the lineup, but the balms stayed as well, because over that year many customers had already grown used to them. Now each collection includes 3 products: shaving soap and an aftershave of choice — an alcohol-based one for oily skin and a balm for dry skin.

Balms contain even more nourishing components, oils, and extracts than lotions. In terms of properties, they are similar to a daily facial care cream, indispensable for dry and mature skin, as well as for those who cannot tolerate alcohol-based aftershaves. They can be used year-round for dry skin, and for oily and normal skin — during the cooler season.

Only 11 years passed from the day when future lawyer William Carius decided to make shaving soap not only for himself, but for all wet shavers with sensitive skin. His careful selection of the best ingredients, his love of fine perfumery, and his drive to make the best possible product turned the young brand into a benchmark for artisan shaving products in just a few years. It is «Barristers» that any artisan brand in the mid-to-high segment is compared with. And a tub of Barrister and Mann soap has become a must-have item in a wet shaver’s bathroom.

Tried it? Share your review of Barrister and Mann products here.