I hope other brands are taking notes on Fellow’s recent relaunch and redesign. The eight-product assortment debuted last month with label-less plastic packaging in Fellow’s signature bright green. Gone is the “Barber” from its former moniker, Fellow Barber. Shave cream and aftershave were swapped out in favor of a hair-centric lineup, with two new stylers brought into the fold, and two distinct shampoos—one for warmer days, one for colder and drier ones.
It’s an indication that Fellow is taking itself more seriously as a player in the hair care and styling space, and is drawing a fine line between its product assortment and its brick-and-mortar barbershops in NYC and San Francisco. Those barbershops are excellent, but until now, the product assortment always felt like something you just bought impulsively after a haircut onsite, like a candy bar at the grocery. This redesign and more considered assortment is for enthusiasts and loyalists, something that you proudly display on your sink ledge. Fellow feels ready to compete against other salon- and barbershop-backed bigshots like V76 and Blind Barber.
Surely you’re curious about the efficacy of these products, too. Because, after all, if you’re going to display it on your vanity, they had better not collect dust in the meantime. You’ll get plenty of mileage from whichever product you need — and the brand’s five-product styler assortment ensures that, in the very least, there’s a product to suit your demands. The one notable omission is a standalone conditioner, which I imagine will be among the next launches. It should also be said that you cannot yet purchase the brand’s winter shampoo—which is part of this relaunch—but as the season changes, so too will the assortment.
Here’s a look at Fellow’s hair-centric relaunch, excellent both on your sink ledge and on your head:
Stylers
Fellow Mineral Spray
New to the assortment, this mineral spray texturizes hair and gives you a medium hold without adding or dulling your natural shine. You can use it on its own as a light styler, or as a finishing spray after applying other products. Just don’t confuse it for your standard-fare hairspray; it’s not going to make you feel flammable on contact.
Fellow Styling Cream
A lightweight, low-hold styler that remains one of Fellow’s strongest products. Wear it in short styles to tame flyaways, or in medium and longer styles for touchable, windsweep-able perfection. It’s loaded with shea butter, meadowfoam seed oil, cacao seed oil and Vitamins A, C and E to nourish and soften the hair.
Fellow Hybrid Clay
A new product for Fellow, this clay styler gives medium hold, and no shine. It’s ideal for medium styles and gives definition and body to otherwise lifeless or post-shampooed hair. This clay is water-soluble so that it rinses out clean. And, thanks to the addition of beeswax as well as Vitamins A, C and E, it also nourishes hair and doesn’t leave it clumpy or suffocated.
Fellow Texture Paste
Fellow’s most universal styler, this medium-hold, light-shine paste delivers serious texture and definition, plus the power to restyle throughout the day. (Just wet a comb and toss it back for a business meeting, or muss it up with wet fingertips by day for a choppy, surfer-like finish.) It also rinses clean since it’s water-soluble.
Fellow Strong Pomade
High hold, high shine. Slick your hair back, or go for a short, piecey look. This water-soluble pomade rinses right out, unlike crusty and crunchy pomades of the past.
Washes
Fellow Summer Wash
One of two shampoos to debut in this new assortment, this summer wash addresses the fact that most cleansers strip the hair and scalp of all moisture. This one is sulfate-free, so it doesn’t foam like most shampoos — which is what strips the hair of moisture — and it’s packed with zinc and rosemary lead oil to tone oil production in the scalp (which can often work overtime in hot, humid months). Additionally, meadowfoam oil, mango butter and jojoba oil soften, strengthen and hydrate the hair.
Multipurpose Product
Fellow Everyday Tonic
You might think of tonic as a skincare product — and you’d be correct — but the team at Fellow also engineered this dual-use tonic for the hair. It’s an alcohol-free formula that pulls residue from the face, hair and scalp, giving you a clean canvas for styling, or leaving your skin refreshed and purified. (Bald guys will especially appreciate this.) It contains witch hazel, aloe vera and eucalyptus, to tone and soothe the skin. Then there’s arnica to calm and reduce inflammation, as well as Vitamins A, C and E to condition both skin and hair alike.