Lock Stock & Barrel not Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels but a brand, specifically targeting hair care for men, which recently arrived at Ape to Gentleman HQ. Lock Stock & Barrel was conceived in London, England in 2006 and inspired by Brand Director Mark Snowdon and his team who have created a professional hair-care line-up designed specifically for the modern gentleman whilst “injecting a distinctly British personality” into the brand.

The surprisingly small line consists of seven jar styling products and two cleanse and conditioning products. Small does not necessarily mean bad though – after all, how many apes like too much choice? The products are housed in deep claret coloured jars and bottles, perhaps not overly ‘manly’ but I think they look stylish.

I trialled three products from the range:

85 KARATS GROOMING CLAY – I’m not sure why but I was intrigued by the expensive sounding name, 85 KARATS. The ‘puck’ itself contains a grey clay like affair – it smelled fresh, was easy to apply to my hair and held it in place most of the day – my only complaint was that it wasn’t easily washed out. 60g, £7.90

Next up was RUCK MATTE PUTTY – my preferred hair styling product type. I enjoyed the matte finish and choppy effect on offer here. The hold was sufficient without it feeling like there was a truck load of cement in my hair. This was easily washed out and smelled fresh. 60g, £7.90

RECONSTRUCT PROTEIN THICKENING AND STRENGTHENING SHAMPOO – a shampoo for men with fine, thinning, limp or lifeless looking hair aka balding! There’s plenty of technical jargon such as “Panthenol (Vitamin B5) to infuse into the hair cuticle to help build strength and volume whilst providing gentle cleansing”… and more but the truth is, the bottle looks good, the dispenser is novel and easy to use in the shower but more importantly it smells good and the my hair does feel thicker. 250ml, £8.60.

CONCLUSION: A welcome addition to the men specific hair care category and at a more than reasonable price point for what’s on offer.

Available in the UK, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Brazil and South Africa at professional salons and Barbershops. Also online at:

Harvey Nichols (UK), lookmantastic.com (UK), groominglab.de (Germany), Men and Boys (India) and more.

For more information or to view the whole range check out Lock Stock & Barrel’s website www.groomingmen.com