Brand Spotlight: BAVE
Introducing BAVE: The self-care brand who are encouraging us all to enjoy a bit of TLC, especially in the bath!
Apr 13, 2023
Slipping into a warm bath after a long day at work is proven to be a lot more beneficial than just for personal hygiene. And although there are many men who still prefer a shower, there are products out there that make taking a bath a highly pleasant and valuable experience, for body and mind. Enter: BAVE!
Set up by Joe Henshaw and Reece Best during COVID, BAVE's key aim is to provide personal care products which make your showering - and more specifically - bathing time something you enjoy and not something you feel you should be doing as part of your grooming routine. Submerging yourself in warm water (not boiling hot!) not only helps improve blood flow but it also reduces inflammation; relaxes joints; gets rid of bacteria, and generally helps to switch off your mind, relax and have some time to yourself. Using BAVE products whilst you bathe also helps to cleanse and moisturise the skin.
BAVE's range of products includes hydrating soaks, exfoliating soap bars, and nourishing shower gels which have been formulated to look after your skin without leaving you feeling dry or smelling like a rose garden (not a terrible thing, but we can do better!). All of their products are packed full of natural essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and cedarwood.
We spoke with BAVE to discover more about their brand, why bathing is so important, and how their products are beneficial to men.
1. Please could you give us a quick introduction to your brand and explain how the company started?
BAVE is a personal care brand centered on fragrance and function. We make products that allow people to embrace simple but effective self-care routines to help them to relax, recover and recharge. We started the brand with a range of bath products during the first COVID lockdown.
We both love a soak but found most bath products were overly floral and often left the skin feeling dry. We wanted products that felt and smelt better and with a lot of spare time for research and development we just started experimenting with making them ourselves (where would we be without Google!?).
After growing the brand with Bath Soaks and Salts, after 18 months we developed Salt Soap Bars, and just recently launched Shower Gels and Body Butters too.
2. What’s been the most challenging part of creating your brand?
Neither of us had any experience in the personal care industry and so learning the ropes was probably the most difficult part of getting started. We mix and make all of our products ourselves and so there was a steep learning curve in that area.
3. Why do you think having a bath is an important part of self-care?
We think having a bath can be a transformative experience. We advise turning notifications off (or preferably leaving your phone in another room) and simply reading, listening to a podcast, or just plain doing nothing. Physically speaking, there’s a whole load of research into the benefits of a hot bath for muscle recovery, sleep, the heart, mind and mood.
4. For anyone who prefers to have a shower, how would you persuade them to start having a bath?
Now that we offer Shower Gels and Soaps, we’re less militant in trying to convert people into Bathletes as they can embrace BAVE and our products benefits in the Shower. But we stand by the notion that nothing beats a hot bath when feeling tired, stressed and in need of a rest.
5. If any of our readers aren’t aware of your brand, which product would you advise they try first?
The fragrance most people seem to be surprised by is Tobacco and Vanilla. It certainly sounds odd, but smells incredible, so we’d advise people to try any of our products in that fragrance.
6. What makes BAVE products unique?
Our fragrances are certainly one of our most unique selling points and we haven’t come across many other products that smell like ours. We’re also super focused on the utility and function of the ingredients we use; you’ll only see ingredients that provide discernable benefits.
7. What are your top tips for running the best bath?
We have a comprehensive guide to running the perfect bath on both our website and included with each BAVE Bath Set, but in summary we’d say focus on environment, water and product.
Environment: A dark room, no notifications or distractions and an allocation of undisturbed 'you time'.
Water: We always go four parts hot to one part cold. Tweak to preference, but a little on the hot side is always good.
Products: No surprise here, but in our view the best bath needs a BAVE Soak and Salt.
8. Which BAVE products do you use in your own ‘bath routine’?
Reece - Pomegranate and Plum Soak and Magnesium Salt.
Joe - Eucalyptus and Orange Soak and Himalayan Pink Salt.
9. Why do you think it’s important to use natural essential oils in your products? And do you have a favourite essential oil?
We find they give a much richer and deeper fragrance. Not only that, but the scent lasts much longer and they leave the skin feeling great.
Our favourite is in constant flux and is different dependent on the product and time of year. Right now, Reece is using Frankincense and Black Pepper Shower Gel, and Joe is using the Bergamot and Cedarwood Salt Soap.
10. Why are BAVE products great for men?
Simply put, the brand was developed by men who wanted a change from the all to common floral fragrance and artificial ingredient full products to ones that smelt, felt and did great.
11. What’s next for BAVE?
We’re currently expanding the range to include products in more areas of self and personal care. Eventually, we want to provide every product anyone could need for their personal care routine.
On top of smelling amazing, BAVE products are great for muscle recovery. They are ideal for any of you guys who regularly hit the gym and need a way of releasing any muscle tension. BAVE have also discovered there is plenty of research on the improvement in quality of sleep (due to a trigger of melatonin production) with a soak before you hit the hay.
Whether you already love to sit back in the tub, or are just starting to dip your toe in (no pun intended!), BAVE products will undoubtedly immensely improve your bathing experience.
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