Beard care products serve as springboard for new business

Cheryl Hentz

Contributor

January 5, 2026

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – As winter grips Wisconsin, many men sport beards, and keeping them healthy, along with the skin beneath, requires proper care – something Grey Ghost Beard Essentials and its founder, John Arts, specialize in.

Having sported a beard since age 18, Arts said he’s always kept it trimmed – because once it grew beyond a certain length, the itching became so intense he just couldn’t handle it.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, he said he started growing it longer again.

But this time, Arts said he did more research to understand why his beard itched at a certain length and how to prevent it.

“That’s when I discovered there were companies out there that made beard oils, beard butters and beard balms,” he said. “Those things all do something different, but the oils did seem to help with the itching, and I was able to grow my beard longer than I ever had in the past.”

Though his beard was longer and he was able to tolerate it better than in the past, Arts said he still wasn’t entirely happy with the oils he had bought. 

As he looked deeper, he said he realized that though there are many scented beard oils on the market, they mostly use the same base oil – with additional ingredients added for fragrance or other purposes.

But whether they were scented or unscented, and though they did help somewhat, Arts said he just wasn’t entirely satisfied with the oils he was buying – each coming up short.  

Unable to find the beard oils he wanted, Arts said he began crafting his own. 

He said he started experimenting with oils he purchased locally and online, developing his own recipes while researching the unique benefits of each ingredient.

For about the next year, Arts said he tried developing his own recipes, and after about 20 different oils, he settled on one which he really liked with the ingredients he favored.   

“At that point, I thought to myself, ‘Why not try to sell it?’” he said.

Determined to do it the right way and fully commit, Arts said he spent five or six months developing a business name, a process he described as a major challenge.

“I looked at my own grey beard and all of a sudden it hit me,” he said. “There were a lot of businesses that had the name Grey Ghost in them, but not for anything having to do with beard oils. I was the only one using it for that purpose.”

After settling on a business name, Arts said he had a logo designed, requesting a look that was both vintage and unique.

“They gave me six different designs,” he said. “I sent them out to some family and friends to get their opinions, and we all kind of agreed that the one I picked was the one they liked, too.”

Throughout the process, Arts said he valued input from others, knowing that personal preference alone wasn’t enough for success – it also had to resonate with people.

“So, it’s important to me that I get the thoughts and ideas of others and what they like, not just what I like,” he said.

With a name and logo in place, Arts said he sought input on his oil recipe from trusted family and friends – and by early summer 2024, Grey Ghost Beard Essentials was officially established.

More benefits than just a scent

Arts said many people who decide to grow a beard often overlook the skin underneath, neglecting its care.

“What they’re not thinking about is that the beard actually draws out of the skin some of the natural oils that are in it,” he said. “That’s when you end up with what I call beard-druff – it’s kind of like dandruff. The beard dries out the skin, then you get the itching, the skin flaking and all of that.”

Beard oils, Arts said, nourish the skin underneath, and when the skin is healthy, the beard hair stays healthy as well.

“The oils help replenish natural oils from skin,” he said. “The oils also help keep your beard soft and help nourish it for future growth and the overall health of the hair.”

Grey Ghost’s beard oils double as an effective aftershave, but Arts said his formulations stand apart from many other oils on the market.

“A lot of aftershaves are alcohol-based to kill the bacteria and all that,” he said. “My oils have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits to them. Besides that, the alcohol in most aftershaves also dries out the skin, where my oils kill the bacteria, yet softens the skin.” 

Since creating his first oil, Arts said he has developed nine different beard oils, all available online at greyghostbeard.com.

All Grey Ghost Beard Essentials’ oils start with the same base, but Arts said he experiments with different scents for variety, keeping one option completely unscented.

Current oils available, he said, include:

• Headless Horseman
• Taproom Terror
• Cellarman’s Shadow
• Nyx’s Shadow
• Invisible Man
• Fiery Demon
• Dark Wraith
• Phantom Barber
• Beach Shade

“The Phantom Barber has an old barber shop scent to it, while Beach Shade has a clean, just-out-of-the-shower scent,” he said. “I have another one that has kind of a cinnamon, very spicy scent to it. There are two beer-scented oils, and I have a seasonal one for the holiday season, and when the holidays are over, it’ll [go back into the inventory] for next year.”

Arts said his beer-scented oil is one of his biggest sellers so far. 

In addition to being available online, Arts said Grey Ghost Beard Essentials products are available at a few local barbershops and Stevens Point Brewery.

He said he plans to expand to other local businesses as his time and interest allow.

Beyond oils

In addition to the oils, Arts said he offers a couple of beard butters and plans to launch a beard balm soon. 

The beard butter, he said, provides extra nourishment beyond the oils, while the balm adds a waxy texture for styling.

“I usually use the beard butter at night when I go to bed, because there’s such a slow absorption of it that when I wake up in the morning, it’s all soaked in,” he said. “I’m also busy experimenting with beard balms. I don’t have one yet, but I’m working on it. I’ve been buying different waxes to experiment and come up with my recipe – to see what I like best. I’m experimenting with five different balms right now.”

Despite plans for additional products, Arts said he does not anticipate opening a brick-and-mortar store soon – noting that his current lineup isn’t large enough to justify one.

A bright future is on Grey Ghost’s horizon  

The 59-year-old Arts said he currently works full-time at The Worth Company, a local manufacturing plant.

Whether he grows Grey Ghost Beard Essentials to the point of leaving his job or waits until retirement to run it full-time, he said he has ambitious plans for the business’s future.

Besides expanding the beard oils, butters and balms, Arts said he envisions offering other grooming essentials like brushes and combs, as well as branded merchandise, including T-shirts and caps.

He said he has also been working with his daughter on some new and exciting things that he plans to launch next year. 

“I don’t want to divulge anything publicly right now, but we’ve been working on several things for various other aspects of the business,” he said. “It’ll be something other than new oils, butters, balms and aftershaves. It’ll be a whole new product line. A lot of it is coming out in 2026. But there’s a lot of room for expansion of my product lines down the road. So, people should stay tuned.”

Arts said he also intends to showcase his products at a variety of craft shows and farmers’ markets in 2026.

What sets Grey Ghost Beard Essentials apart, he said, is his fresh perspective and genuine passion. 

Fully invested in his business, Arts said he finds joy in the work, including making cold calls to introduce his products to new barbershops and retailers.

Though he hopes to expand Grey Ghost Beard Essentials globally, Arts said he is committed to preserving the enthusiasm and love for the business that started it all.