In the male grooming world, you’re hard pressed to find a manlier name than Bulldog. The skin care company is rather new (launching in 2006) and is aimed at men; even more interesting is that they claim to be a “natural skincare” line. According to the company “Our products never contain parabens, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colours [sic], synthetic fragrances, or ingredients from animal sources.” That’s great news; even better news is that the small British brand is coming to the United States.

Bulldog will be sold through Whole Food locations throughout the United States. At the moment, they’re offerings which you can find on their site are limited but seem to be marketed towards a guys essentials products. You won’t find any cellulite creams or products to deal with age spots in this company. What you will find are face washes, basic moisturizers, shaving products, and shower gels. The prices also aren’t too bad, a 6.7oz container of “Original Shower Gel” costs £3.49 or a little under $6.00 though there is no word yet on if those prices will change once the product hits the states.

Unfortunately, the company does have one small fault.

I just want to start by saying that I completely applaud Bulldog for putting up their ingredient list on the site. You can literally see everything they use on one page, click one of the ingredients and you’ll find out a description of it, if it’s natural/synthetic, and which of their products contain it. I absolutely love this function, it’s especially great for individuals who are sensitive or allergic to certain ingredients so they can know for sure what to avoid. While looking around this master list, there was only one ingredient that caught my attention- Phenoxyethanol, which might not sit well with some consumers. Many of the others are rather low hazard according to the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database (phenoxyethanol ranked as a moderate hazard depending on usage). They even have a small fair-trade set of products that uses natural fair-trade ingredients from countries like Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.

Overall, a decent lineup of ingredients and it’s comforting to see that under the company’s ingredients a note saying “We do not use ingredients strongly linked with negative health effects.”

I think Pangea Organics may have set the bar too high for a natural skincare line but in terms of value, and soon be availability here in the states; I would actually use this brand. Overseas in Europe, Bulldog seems to have found a place in drug stores that sell the less than great stuff like Neutrogena, I hope that Bulldog can keep pushing their way deeper into the states and eventually into our drugstores. Time will tell if this ever growing company will hold steadfast to their natural values and not cut corners by adding the high hazard stuff. Look for Bulldog to hit Whole Foods in the states around May 2011, if you really can’t wait, feel free to order from their online store.