By: Kymberly Amara
Derryck Anderson is making significant strides in shaking things up when it comes to beard care. Anderson whose the Founder and CEO have taken a novel approach to quality beard products and partnered with acclaimed chef G. Garvin to bring healthier beards to men everywhere. Heart&Soul recently caught up with Anderson to discuss his beard care line, Beard Daddy, and his journey as an entrepreneur.
If you or someone you know is a part of the beard gang club, then you know all too well about the difficulties in finding good quality products that aren’t too harsh and will dry out your skin. After experiencing issues with finding products that didn’t have a lot of fillers and worked for his beard, Anderson began searching for products and ingredients that would give him the results he was looking for. Anderson first researched the cause behind his dry beard and underlying dry skin and avoided using those products. He then began searching for products and ingredients that would be good for his skin and help his beard flourish. With this knowledge, the newbie entrepreneur was driven to create a product that wouldn’t dry out the skin, particularly African-American skin, due to its sensitivity. After making products for himself, he began receiving positive feedback and solicitations for his homemade product because his beard was flourishing.
Initially, he sold his products under Melanin Care, which launched in 2019, where he focused on products that were beneficial for Black males’ skin and hair. Anderson’s product found its way into the hands of chef, philanthropist, and author G. Garvin who became a consumer of the product and expressed interest in working together. Despite minor setbacks brought on by the pandemic and other personal matters, Anderson and Garvin discussed working together in April 2021. After rebranding the product to make it a more mainstream product, Beard Daddy was born.
So, what should one look for when it comes to beard care. Anderson says you should aim to have something that “keeps your beard moisturized, keeps it from breaking off, and from drying the skin underneath your beard.” Anderson emphasizes these things are important and go hand-in-hand when keeping a healthy beard. For African-American skin, alcohol and alcohol-based products are the most damaging. Anderson points out that it’s also essential to know the right oils to use on your skin, “Coconut oil, for example if you don’t use
the right ratios, too much coconut oil can clog your pores, cause pimples and breakouts, and block your hair follicles.”
Perhaps the most innovative thing about Beard Daddy is the thought and care that goes into making the product. Anderson decided to focus on self-care by drawing from both personal experience and the unmet need for Black men to deal with certain social issues that are often overlooked and stigmatized. “I worked with an aromatherapist to create scents that boost your self-esteem; it’s stimulating, helps with anxiety and depression, and smells great. Let’s say I go to work and get a compliment on my beard because I use this beard oil, and that’s positive attention I wasn’t getting before. That may encourage me to take care of my skin or maybe get into the gym. I’ve been trying to push that [self-care], and I feel like that is where much of my support comes from.” Anderson worked with an artisanal aromatherapist in New York, Butter By Keba, who studied scents for years. Through Beard Daddy, Anderson wants to focus on men taking better care of themselves overall to encourage the concept of men “bossing up.”
Beard Daddy’s boasts several wonderful products like his dual-use aromatic beard oil. The oils come in two different scents, Zen Moments and Confident Not Cocky, “Confident Not Cocky helps you relax and helps you with anxiety, so if you’re going to wear Confident Not Cocky, you should probably wear it when you’re going to bed. Zen Moments is a masculine scent that smells like your everyday manly smell. You have to have the confidence to wear it.” Both scents benefit your beards as they help combat fungus and promote growth. Both are also considered to be aphrodisiacs.
Beyond having a great product, Anderson is focused on empowering and encouraging better self-care among Black men and maintaining the integrity of Beard Daddy and the business by not taking shortcuts and learning everything there is to know in the beard industry. He is focused on building rapport with the consumer by providing impeccable service. At the moment, Anderson hopes to normalize the concept of Black men dealing with issues like anxiety, self-esteem, and overall mental well-being. Although Anderson is still just a one-person show, he is actively trying to figure out where to best place additional help once he crosses that road. As he grows, one thing is certain he’s not only changing the game but is helping contribute to Black men changing the narrative and how they are viewed.