About Us

Across time and cultures, beards symbolize strength, warmth, courage, kindness, etc.  Men from all walks of life sport beards of varying length, shape, style, and ability.  No matter who we are or what we do, as men we should take pride in our beard.  Every man's facial hair is unique to him, no two beards are alike!  I have had a short well-groomed beard as well as a wild, unruly and untrimmed one.  Some men don't want a beard at all and that is their decision, however, those of us that do should take great care of them!  Facial hair gets a lot of wear and tear whether it's from rubbing it as we contemplate and ponder our thoughts or from wind, sun and heat. 

 

As I gave more thought to how much I love having a beard, I thought, why not develop my own product that would help other men nourish and nurture their own beard.  I had to take into consideration my own skin issues and make sure I used products that are beneficial and non-irritating and of course I wanted it to smell good!  Now I had the daunting task of coming up with a name, again I turned to things I love and care deeply about: having a nice beard, the beach, and flat caps. The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a long, winding, windswept chain of barrier islands, known for its rich maritime, aviation, and American history.  There is one bearded man we all know by name, that loved to hang out on the Outer Banks, Blackbeard!  I have a deep and unconditional love for this place and its history.  The name "Alligator River" stems from a wildlife refuge located on the Outer Banks.  The Alligator River Wildlife Refuge is large with thousands of acres of swamp and woodlands.  That'll make the hairs on your beard stand up!  This refuge is home to all types of wildlife which include black bear, the endangered red wolf, and of course, alligators. 

 

George Washington Creef Sr. was born in 1829 just a few miles north of Alligator River at a place called East Lake.  GW Creef is noted as the designer and builder of the shed boat, which was designated the North Carolina State historical boat in 1957. Mr. Creef built his first shed boat on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks in the 1870's. One of his boats, the Foul Play, is on display at the Maritime Museum on Roanoke Island. As someone who loves the Outer Banks and its people and history, I wanted to know more about GW Creef Sr.  When I saw a picture of him it all came together. Mr. Creef had a long, full beard that would even make old St. Nick jealous. I can see GW Creef at work on his boats with his beard weathered and groomed by salt air with the scent of pine being blown around by the breeze coming from the Atlantic Ocean just a few miles away.  Not just any pine, but tall, towering Longleaf and Loblolly pine trees, common along the North Carolina coast. I imagine Mr. Creef often had sawdust in his beard from working wit the wood used to build his vessels.

 

  With all of this in mind, I painstakingly selected oils that I believe embody the scent of life on the Outer Banks and that matched what I know about GW Creef Sr.'s personality - warm, inviting, a little spicy, all topped off with just a hint of the cooling nature of an ocean breeze in Autumn. It is my sincerest wish and hope that Alligator River Beard Oil becomes part of your daily beard care.  I promise to always bring customers the highest quality product that I can.