By: Purple Bear
Ever since joining the Bear community, when I meet a high-morality person with a skill or small business, I like to support it. Even when they tell me, ‘Nah, man, I’ll just give you some!’ But that’s part of why they deserve to be supported. I’ll accept the generosity of a gift, but eventually, I want to send my energy to my in-group. Not some stranger. Not some foreign entity. Not some commercial product using ingredients you’ve never seen in nature. I want someone real with something real to support. And there’s no one more real than the Bears! No exaggeration.
So with that mindset, look around your home. What are you buying from the store that, in all honesty, you don’t need to be this commercial-constant staple in your day-to-day? Is it made in your nation? Can you identify the ingredients? Would your ‘continuing to buy it’ not only feed a problem outside of you but feed a problem inside you? Wouldn’t it be great if you could just ‘have a Bear’ for all these things you keep getting by habit? And not only is it healthier or of higher quality, you just helped a good family.
For me, the simplest thing was hygiene products. Of course, we guys will just buy whatever so we can go back to work without people nagging about how work makes us smell. But the ‘just buy whatever’ can easily be switched to ‘just buy Bear stuff.’ Easy, right?
So I got on the app and said, ‘Who makes soap? Body wash? Toothpaste? Mouthwash? Shampoo? Conditioner? Deodorant? Beard products?’ And in minutes, someone commented with an answer. So one great confidence you can have is there’s a Bear for everything good and valuable! And every connection is a bridge worth trying to build.
Maggie’s Home Essentials was the most frequent answer to my question. Maggie is @MaggiesHomEssentials on the Beartaria app and has her website here with all her products that Bears and non-Bears can shop. All her stuff is homemade and natural. You can look at each item on her site and see the small number of simple ingredients, all readily recognizable in nature. Now, sure, her designs have pretty flowers on them. But guys, they get the job done! The people nagging about your post-work smell will stop their whining and leave you alone! And look what you’d be supporting: The in-group.
I made a post on the app reviewing some of the things I bought from Maggie over the course of a year, and the Beartaria Times Editorial staff were nice enough to reach out and suggest I turn it into an article. And here we are. As for my review post, here it is:
“I wanted to review some @MaggiesHomEssentials products I bought this year. Most of these come in different fragrances for men and women. I’m a man, so the scents I went with are mostly sandalwood, I think. Except for the toothpaste, that one is peppermint.
Shampoo: It does the job just fine. It’s watery, but it lathers (Castile base with coconut milk), so you’ll get plenty of use out of it despite how small the current bottle size is.
Conditioner: Also does the job. Maggie went out of her way to make this liquid version of her ‘conditioner bar’ when I suggested it. It’s much better than the bar, in my opinion.
Deodorant Stick: The paste is excellent, though it’s a bit softer than expected, so you might notice the stick squish faster than a commercial stick. This brings me to the…
Deodorant Paste: This is just the paste in a little container, which is better for how soft it is, in my opinion. The stick kind of makes you accidentally use too much if you’re rough with it
Deodorant Spray: Another way to get the job done, albeit not as manly. Just do it quickly!
Mouth Wash: Our own natural mouthwash! This was another one Maggie went out of her way to make. This first one has a kind of salty taste to it, but it works fine. No burn.
Body Wash: This one crushes as a general body wash, but it also works as a shampoo if you want something that has multiple uses. This one also lathers, if I remember correctly.
Mustache Wax: I mainly got this out of curiosity because I’ve never messed around with beard products. If you like beard wax, I’m sure you’ll like it. I guess I just don’t need it.
Beard Balm: I still don’t quite get the point of balm, but I’m glad I tried it. It’s firmer than I expected, but I guess this helps with split ends and stuff. I’m not sure. Sorry, haha.
Beard Oil: I like this one best. I wore it to a Bear’s wedding! The lid has an eye dropper, so you can put as much or little in your beard as you like. I may use this more, allegedly.
Charcoal Toothpaste: Finally, some stuff I know for sure doesn’t have any bad ingredients in it. If you know, you know! You might have a spoon or something near the sink to get it out. And rinse really well!
Bar Soap: Good bar soap. This was a free gift in one of my orders. She does that a lot!
Exfoliating Pine Tar Soap: I’ll be honest I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks cool, and it has good stuff in it, like goat milk and charcoal. You know, the good stuff! But in soap!
Conditioner Bar: I much prefer the liquid conditioner, mainly because you have to keep the bar in the fridge. But I also found this one very waxy and hard to fully get off the hair and hands after putting it on. I guess if you want your hair to be a little shapable or have that sort of wax sheen to it, this is fine. Me, I’m sticking with the liquid version. Which also has a LITTLE bit of that wax feel but not nearly as bad. Maggie is accommodating on the app, so just message her for feedback, and she’ll crush new methods!
Overall Opinion: Maggie’s products are great if you’re looking for alternatives to stuff you buy at the store. She listens to feedback and suggestions from her customers and even throws in free gifts with your orders! Good stuff. I’ll buy from her again for sure.
