smooth-shave seeker creates calgary-made luxury men's grooming products
calgarian tim gutwald set out to create shaving product...
2 minute read
tim gutwald, creator of midnight and two two grooming products for men.
mike drew
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mike drew/postmedia
calgarian tim gutwald set out to create shaving products partly for himself.at the time, he had tried various products already on the market and he wasn’t happy with what he found. mainstream big-brand products just irritated his skin and contained a slew of chemicals. products with natural ingredients typically come from overseas and are often made the same way they were made 100 years ago.“but there are new all-natural ingredients out there that are actually better than what they had access to back then,” gutwald says.so he began experimenting after work in his kitchen, to see if he could make something better, with some of those newer, natural ingredients — hemp oil and argan oil, for instance.after six months and thousands of hours of testing more than 100 different formulas, midnight & two luxury shaving products was born.named after the late-night hours when gutwald typically had time to work on the products, the line currently contains an aftershave balm/moisturizer, a pre-shave oil and a soap.they’re available unscented or scented with essential oils. the study fragrance, for instance, contains essential oils of vetiver (a type of grass native to india), sandalwood, petitgrain (bitter orange) and lavender. the cabin contains black spruce, himalayan cedar wood and nutmeg essential oils.all are for sale at many retailers across canada. in calgary, you’ll find them at chin whisky, edges salon, express, kent of inglewood, london barbers and taylor & colt.or buy them online at midnightandtwo.com, fendrihan.ca, kentofinglewood.com and gentlemansblade.com.
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midnight & two grooming products for men.
mike drew mike drew
/
mike drew/postmedia
born in calgary, gutwald, 28, grew up in castlegar, b.c. when he was 18, he moved back to study at the university of calgary and has been here ever since.since starting the line, gutwald has seen it expand, to the point that this past summer, he quit his job working in corporate finance for an oil services company.“i was very comfortable in that position. i wasn’t laid off or even feared losing my job,” he says. “but i had to make a decision. i’ve always wanted to be a business owner, so it just made sense to continue with midnight and two.”so far, so good. the old-school hot shave scene has been growing rapidly across north america, he notes, and the demand for locally made, natural products isn’t slowing down either.“guys are starting to realize that shaving doesn’t need to feel like a chore,” he says.“it can be an enjoyable and relaxing experience with the right products.”
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