If you’re curious about Dr. Squatch’s products, this review has everything you need to know. Read on to learn more.
You’ve probably seen Dr. Squatch’s ads. They’re all over the place! Like a lot of guys, I was curious to know what all the buzz was about with this natural grooming brand, so I tried a few of their products.
In this review, I’ll share my thoughts on Dr. Squatch’s products to help you decide if they’re worth buying for your grooming needs.
Quick Take
Overall, Dr. Squatch offers natural alternatives to some basic grooming items. If you find a scent you like, give it a try!
Pros
- The soap and hair care products smell nice and work well
- Their products are natural
- Reasonably priced
Cons
- The deodorant scents smell a bit “teenage boyish” (and there are no unscented options)
- The soap feels like Castille soap which some guys find drying
- The branding is kitschy
Click here to check out Dr. Squatch, or read on for the full review.
About Dr. Squatch
They’re well known now, but they were unknown when they started back in 2013. That’s when their founder, Jack Haldrup, began making batches of natural soap in his garage.
A couple of years ago, this brand was suddenly all over the internet with their advertising. In a relatively short period of time, Dr. Squatch has attracted “millions of happy customers.”
Our goal is to inspire and educate men to be happier and healthier.
Jack Haldrup, Founder and CEO
The company has a noble mission to make products that are natural, omit harmful ingredients, and are made specifically for men.
While their site has in-depth info on their ingredients and practices, suffice it to say that their products are made from at least 98% natural ingredients.
What I Tried
Here are the Dr. Squatch products that I tested:
- Deodorant
- Bar soap
- Shampoo and conditioner
Now, let’s get onto the review…
The Deodorant
At the time of writing, Dr. Squatch offers seven different scents of deodorant. I tried three of them. The Alpine Sage, Fresh Falls, and Wood Barrel Bourbon scents.
Despite their rugged outdoorsy names, these aren’t robust, masculine-smelling deodorants — they smell similar to Old Spice or Axe. They’re kind of sweet, adolescent scents. That’s good or bad, depending on personal preference, but I’d love to see them start offering some unscented options.
Scent aside, the deodorant does work well. In fact, I wouldn’t know it was a natural deodorant without reading it on the container.
The Bar Soap
Dr. Squatch offers their bar soap in three levels of coarseness; zero grit, medium grit, and heavy grit. That’s awesome of them, as different guys have different skincare needs and preferences.
I tried their Deep Sea Goat’s Milk scent, which is medium grit. This soap smells very good. I don’t really know what to compare it to, but it’s a nice, masculine, “classic” scent.
However, using the soap wasn’t great for me personally as it felt drying and left my skin feeling tight. I’d compare it to Castille soap. If you like Castille soap, then I think Dr. Squatch’s soap would be a solid option for you!
The soap had a nice lather to it which is a plus.
The Goat’s Milk soap is the only one I tested, but I also got the Grapefruit IPA and Pine Tar scents. They smell nice too. Overall, the soap made a way better impression on me than the deodorant.
A huge plus about their soap is that the ingredients are very minimal. I’m talking between seven and ten ingredients per bar, and I actually kind of know what most of the ingredients are.
There are no long chemical names. Their soap has oils like olive oil, sustainable palm oil and coconut oil. The other ingredients are stuff like fruit essential oils, sand, oatmeal, shea butter, activated charcoal and sea salt.
It’s cool to know that you’re using a soap that really is natural and not full of strange ingredients that are hard to pronounce.
Dr. Squatch actually has a “Sh*t List” on their site, a list of harmful ingredients they refuse to put in their products. I love their philosophy and transparency!
The Shampoo and Conditioner
I tried the Cypress Coast shampoo and the Cool Citrus conditioner. Just like the deodorant, Dr. Squatch’s hair products felt pretty “normal” to me. That’s partially a good thing and partially not.
The shampoo and conditioner smell great. They’re subtle, pleasant scents that don’t smell like they’re loaded up with strange fragrances.
On the other hand, I found the shampoo to be very drying, and it really changed the texture of my hair.
That’s been my experience with every shampoo I’ve ever tried. With my coarse, curly hair, shampoo doesn’t seem to do me any favors.
In my case, using shampoo and conditioner feels like an odd cycle of using shampoo to suck all of the moisture from my hair and then using conditioner to try to re-hydrate it. It irritates my scalp too. I don’t know that I get any benefits from it.
That being said, that’s just how my body is. Dr. Squatch’s shampoo and conditioner seem really solid and should work well for most guys.
For me, their hair products don’t offer a compelling alternative to traditional shampoo and conditioner. They just offer shampoo and conditioner that doesn’t irritate my scalp as much as non-natural ones.
If you want your scalp and hair to be clean and hydrated and regular shampoo doesn’t work well for you, I recommend avoiding Dr. Squatch and using aloe vera gel instead.
If you like using shampoo and conditioner as part of your grooming routine, then I say give Dr. Squatch a shot! Their hair care products are natural just like everything else they offer.
A quick note about foam: people often ask whether or not natural shampoos foam up as much as regular shampoo. They don’t foam as much, and that’s okay!
If you’re an adult who needs clean hair, you can use a shampoo that doesn’t foam up a lot. If you’re a child who needs to have a bubble bath on top of their head, natural shampoo probably isn’t for you.
Joking aside, foaming is nice, but it’s not essential.
Questions About Dr. Squatch
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about Dr. Squatch:
Is Dr. Squatch Made in the USA?
Yes, all of Dr. Squatch’s personal care products are made in the United States.
Is Dr. Squatch Really Natural?
Yep! Dr. Squatch’s products are made using high-quality, natural ingredients.
What Is Dr. Squatch’s Soap Made Out Of?
Their soap is made from stuff like vegetable oil, lye, shea butter and essential oils. You can see a full list of their soap ingredients on each product page or take a look at their ingredient glossary here.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
Overall, Dr. Squatch is a very solid brand that offers natural products at an affordable price. Another plus is that all of their stuff is made here in the USA.
Based on their kitschy branding and some scents smelling similar to brands like Old Spice, I think their target audience might be teenage boys and guys in college, but I’m not sure.
For example, when I think of bay rum, I think of Royall BayRhum, which is classic and masculine. Bay rum that has a cartoon sasquatch on it isn’t something I’d be proud of having in my Dopp kit.
That being said, as Brock (the founder of The Modest Man) often says, “wear the fit, not the label.” That applies to grooming products as well. Use products because you like them, not because you do or don’t like the branding.
Plus, Dr. Squatch may be silly with their branding and advertising, but they take their mission to make natural products for guys very seriously.
Questions? Comments? Leave them below!
All these soap companies like Dr. Squatch, Sudsy Bear, etc buy their ingredients from the same places. While they don’t use bad things in the soap itself all of them use the same fragrance oils that contain nasty carcinogens. The only safe soaps are fragrance-free.