The Dr. Bronner's + B Corp Breakup; Fatboy Giveaway; Travis Kelce Hair Transplant Rumors, and More

Hi from Nikko, Japan! Two hours north of Tokyo; we’re tucked away here for three days (yeah, at Ritz-Carlton Nikko… the fabulous assignment continues). We’ll be pouring tea, snowshoeing, showing skin at the onsen, making prayer-bead bracelets at the temple… classic Nikko. Then back to Tokyo through month’s end to cap this grand visit.

Let’s jump into the meat and potatoes, because there’s a lot to cover this week; maybe I should launch that inevitable Blue Print podcast sooner than later.

First up, y’all love a giveaway so…

Fatboy Giveaway: Win Their Entire Hair Care + Styling Lineup

The giveaway for this week + next week is from the faaabulous Fatboy Hair—makers of my favorite-ever hair putty (both solid + spray, the former oft-decorated at GQ). They have many salon styling/care staples, and you can win that entire assortment. $239 worth, pictured above. Just enter this single-question giveaway.

Per usual, you have to be 18+ and in the contiguous 48 US States (or DC) to win. Deadline to enter is Saturday, March 1.

ENTER GIVEAWAY

Dr. Bronner’s Ditches Their Once-Prized B-Corp Cert

The most interesting industry news of late, in my humble opinion: Dr. Bronner’s ditched its B-Corp certification, despite being the highest-scoring brand in their lane (PR blog post here). Their reason? The B Corp water is tainted after some multinational conglomerates have been granted the same status while being allowed to withhold certain supply chain detail. (Namely Unilever Australia, Nespresso, and Nestle as outlined by the press release.)

“Certified B-Corp”, for the uninitiated, is a seal that brands can earn from the global nonprofit B Lab, by meeting certain social and environmental standards. They achieve a score for various categories, resulting in a collective score. The average score of B Corp applicants is 50.9 out of a possible 250; brands get Certified B Corp status if they score 80 or above. Dr. Bronner’s latest score was 206.7.

Certified B Corp is meant to be a badge of honor—a badge you also pay to showcase, the cost of which is scaled to your company’s annual revenue. (Turns out, even nonprofits need income to keep the lights on.) Many grooming brands I love and respect for their ethos are B-Corp, like Ursa Major, Davines, Medik8, Stubble & ‘Stache, Exponent, Blue Lagoon Iceland, ISDIN, Nécessaire, the list goes on…

I’ll let y’all read the blog post linked above, but here’s a Frankenstein summary of the Dr. Bronner’s statement as to why they broke up with B Corp:

Mic drop. I don’t mean for this to be a tear-down of the Nestles and Unilevers, nor do I hold any brands to these kinds of standards (just be the brand you promise us to be). Rather, the shortcoming here is, of course, with B Corp / B Lab. What’s the point of the badge anymore? And if Dr. Bronner’s, with its highest standard and highest score, isn’t willing to swim in these waters anymore… will the other brands follow them out the door?

To draw a parallel: will anyone of actual cultural merit want a Kennedy Center Honors distinction anymore, now that Trump installed himself there? Like, who’s gonna win one this year? Joy Villa? Tucker Carlson? Betsy DeVos? Give us Tim Allen or Carrie Underwood, at least.

I digress: When the well is tainted, it’s time to dig a new well.

Here are the certs Dr. Bronner’s currently touts, in case you were curious:

Putting Rejuran to Rest: Review Vlog + Hatred Hyperbole

I finally uploaded my Rejuran/PDRN overview vlog, since I’m a month removed from the procedure we got in Seoul, and both André and I are “showing” the radiant results. In the video I walk through the procedure’s various steps and then offer my two cents. (And as a reminder, we uploaded one of just André’s entire procedure, no voiceover, if you want to stream the entire 700+ shot visual.)

I will spoil the verdict for you: I have a hard time endorsing this one—and the more I sit with it, the more it kind of gives me an uneasy feeling, particularly since it is so buzzy lately. I cannot get over how painful this one was—an 8 or 9 out of 10, compared to a 2 for botox, 3 for hair transplants, 4 for PRP.

Sorry for perpetuating that PDRN buzz—but it seemed like an obvious thing to try in Seoul, given that buzz is making “getting salmon sperm facials in Seoul” the new “getting hair transplant in Istanbul”. But therein lies the issue: This one is built almost solely on buzz. It’s being treated as a one-and-done experience for passers-by that should, in theory, be repeated quarterly if not monthly to get the reported-on benefits. Not sustainable. And not to be a broken record but… not worth the pain, either.

The hyperbole suggests that Rejuran, as a collagen booster and skin brightener, is the absolute best thing to ever hit cosmetic procedures. And I just don’t think it merits that reputation. Does it work? Sure! My skin looks great in terms of radiance, but I’m just trusting the docs and the buzz because, tbh… I can’t really tell the difference. I have a great regimen already. I have access to so many things—and even with a few key products/ingredients in one’s regimen, any person can (in theory) have great skin. What difference do these 700+ injections make?

The tenet of having good complexion is, of course, longterm upkeep. It’s skin wellness. And a skin “booster” like this isn’t meant to give us quick-turnaround transformative benefits. So we have to put it on a lower pedestal and then compare it against similar “booster” or “upkeep” options. To which I ask again: Why bother? You have so many options available to you locally for a collagen boost (and as prevention against accelerated collagen degradation—don’t forget that the best offense is a good defense).

Stick to your daily SPF defense, and peptide-powered skincare products. Maybe incorporate red light masks or consider lasers/microneedles in clinic. For antioxidants + brightness, add Vitamin C. For smoother and clearer complexion, add retinol. Continue with botox as a means for preventing / masking wrinkles, and consider PRP injections for its regenerative growth-factor bennies—all available stateside, btw!

I had to lean into my own anti-Rejuran hyperbole with a quick TikTok recap, too. Look, I don’t hate Rejuran as much as the below clip suggests. I’m much more down-the-middle (as the above YouTube vlog outlines), because I trust the science and tech but… a lot of things work and don’t deserve hyperbolic fanfare. And from there, my opinion takes shape:

@blueprintgrooming

700 consecutive injections in your face, for the pursuit of youth. Glad I tried it so you don’t have to. Pass! Does rejuran work? Yes! Doe... See more

I wish I had just gotten botox last month instead! At least I can discern its benefits outside of my regular daily skincare regimen. Also, how many of these people who claim Rejuran gives them their “best glow ever” are also posting or writing every third day about a product that is giving them “the best glow ever”? Besides, how much glow can one possible get? (Pat McGrath enters the chat…)

These are people who care so much about their skin that they fly to Seoul to do this treatment; they’re the least necessary candidates for a skin booster, lol. It’s pure flex. Will they have the best skin at 70? Sure. But guess what? I’m just gonna get a face lift, because that is a transformation worth the agony!

Newness of Note: Vacation, Huron, Fulton & Roark, Guy Fox, Aestura

Lotsa good rollouts this week.

• Fulton & Roark added another scent to their already chock-full top-shelf assortment; meet Ghost Trees, a musky-sea-breezy ode to the legendary surf spot in Pebble Beach. It’s available as an extrait spray, a solid application, bar soap, deo, and utility oil (same 5-SKU sprawl as all F&R’s fine frags).

• Vacation rolled out yet another sunscreen, Crystal SPF 50 Invisible Face Gel; they’ve got seemingly every expression of SPF but continue to find new and necessary ones. Crystal doubles as a primer and has soothing, hydrating, and firming ingredients (great to get from your daily SPF).

• Huron announced their new body wash in the deeeelicious Sea Salt and Driftwood scent; that fragrance was one of my Best Products of 2024, so I’m thrilled to see them pumping it into their bodycare assortment, too.

• Guy Fox just unleashed Palmer, a palo-santo-tinged nod to Northern California’s pine-peaky landscape (“a mountain hike at sunrise”). Will get my hands on a bottle when I catch up with the San Diegans next month—and can confirm that their male model for this campaign is Christian from US Traitors Season 1, haha.

• Aestura: The ever-affordable and sensitive-skin-approved Aestura has officially launched at Sephora. This brand is basically the CeraVe or Cetaphil of Korea. They are also available on Amazon (and have been, like most AmorePacific-owned labels). But, fwiw, now with the Sephora seal of approval, they may achieve offline and stateside ubiquity. My favorite SKU from them is the Atobarrier 365 Hydro Soothing Cream (Amazon/Sephora), a more lightweight version of their best-selling Atobarrier 365 Cream (Amazon/Sephora).

Two Followups: Biologique Recherche P50 and Aesop Aurner EDP

Two quick followups on newsletters past: First, regarding the discontinuation of Biologique Recherche’s P50 Lotion (1970 formula). This Gloss Angeles podcast ep clarified that the discontinued one is not the formula that most of us are using at present; so chances are, if you’re using P50 Lotion, you’re likely still going to be able to find it (unless you were specifically seeking out that 1970 version). Whew!

Secondly: Despite being unable to receive product all quarter, I got my nostrils on a bottle of the fresh-floral Aesop Aurner EDP here in Tokyo this week: It’s a HIT. Looks like they’re sending out sample vials of it at Aesop.com if you buy $125 of product; if you were already planning to top up some Aesop goods, maybe this is your chance to sniff it yourself—if you don’t have a store near you otherwise.

Has Travis Kelce Had a Hair Transplant?

Multiple people (two is multiple) asked me to write about the rumors of Travis Kelce having a hair transplant because of his serious Super Bowl flow. Let’s use the below exercise as a way for y’all to also do your own future digging on this topic. Also, he’s a very public figure—famously he loves attention—so no harm in analyzing him. Plus, I do think it’s good to know when our celebs and idols have had work done, since it sets our own expectations about what is feasible / realistic.

My first thought was: If he had a transplant in 2024 (or any year of the past decade), his only chance would be March through July, during his offseason. Well, or December through July in a bad year but the Chiefs have made the playoffs 10 seasons in a row, and made the AFC championship every year since 2018. (Double checks that stat… WOW.)

And if you go back this past year (linking Getty images with dates): he’s buzzed per usual at last year’s Super Bowl (February; roughly the same time the above ad aired); and still buzzed and teary-eyed at brother Jason’s retirement announcement in March; he’s clearly starting the grow-out in May as seen at the White House; jump ahead to this mustachioed helmet-head quiff in October.

He’s been growing his hair all year, folks, from a buzzcut that shows previous thinning but which seems to be holding strong. I think it’s just that his hair looks darker and fuller when it’s grown out (imagine that!); I’ve had plenty of people tell me how I look like two different people with short hair vs. long hair.

I already have my verdict, but for posterity let’s go back more, because… He wouldn’t be showing this kind of flow unless the transplant were done 12+ months prior. So that does rule out 2024.

Then let’s peep 2023: he’s got the same buzzed hair on display in March, May, July… so, nope. And to confirm even more, let’s jump back about 5 years just to see what he was working with then: To me, it’s the same buzzcut he was sporting a year ago. I’d bet the farm on the fact that he’s using necessary hair retention means, too.

Case closed: No transplant.

Whew. OK, that’s that on that. See ya next week. Oh, and if you like the newsletter, please forward it to a friend, or tell ‘em to subscribe here. I keep promising myself to do shorter ones, but then the Dr. Bronner’ses and Travis Kelces keep me chatty…

Leaving ya with a cute highlight of the week: Capybara café! (Cappiness, to be precise.) Tokyo stays weird.