PR Collaborators is a blog series highlighting hardworking individuals who help Portland Razor Co. be the best we can be. We consider the people and companies featured here to be integral to our success and hope our readers will show their support for these wonderful makers.
We first became aware of Al Braun and Hawaiian Shaving Company via a social media interaction in early 2021. Al had responded to a story we shared about our negative experience working with the Portland Police Bureau and how that contrasted with the care we received from the community of friends, fans, and fellow small businesses who stepped up to help us when our shop was burgled in March 2020. That interaction prompted a more lengthy conversation about values and a deep dive into each others’ online presence. Besides his luxurious, handcrafted shave soaps and koa brushes, we were immediately drawn to Al’s focus on sustainability and responsibility in his product and branding. It was a real case of, “This is a product I like and a person I would like to know better and work with.”
Q: Tell our readers about your business. What do you do? What is your company story?
Hawaiian Shaving Company is the brainchild of an eight-year-old girl from the Big Island of Hawai'i. When our daughter Anna Kaimālie was born, my wife Tara and I began taking her to Kaimū. Kaimū is a black sand beach on the Big Island. Kaimū means "gathering by the sea" in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). It was once a popular beach famous for its black sand and abundant coconut trees but was overrun by a lava flow from Kīlauea Volcano in 1990. After the lava cooled, a new beach was formed at the intersection of rock and ocean. Kama'aina (residents) and malihini (visitors) began planting keiki (young) coconut trees to replace the groves covered by the lava. During our family's frequent visits to Kaimū, we planted coconut trees to help restore this special place to its former beauty.
I have been an avid wet shaver for over 20 years, shaving my face (when I'm not growing a beard) and head daily. I wanted to find a quality shave soap from our island that used local ingredients and supported our local economy. Often, my family would visit Kaimū and then stop at local retailers and farmers markets across the island in search of this elusive shave soap. After over a year of fruitless searching, Anna Kaimālie exclaimed "Daddy, you should just make your own shave soap!"
Tara agreed, "Yes! This is a great idea! We can make the soap with local ingredients, and keep it all-natural." With their encouragement, product design and testing began. To connect our soap to our favorite place, Kaimū, we made certain that coconut oil would be a primary ingredient. We decided to use activated charcoal from coconut husks to make our soap reminiscent of the cooled lava flow at Kaimū. We also chose to use kukui nut oil to condition the skin, as our ancestors have done for centuries. After months of testing, samples were given to'ʻohana (family) and hoaloha (friends). The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Tara encouraged me to begin offering our products for sale, and thus, Hawaiian Shaving Company was born.
Q: Is being in Hawaii important for you and your business? Why/why not?
I was born and raised here in Hawai'i. I am kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiian), and a U.S. Navy Veteran. This is my home. The ingredients we use in our soap are connected to our culture. Living here we share a connection with the land and the ocean, like our kupuna (ancestors). That connection, aloha ʻāina (love of the land), guides us in making environmentally responsible decisions.
Q: You name your products after places that are important to you and share their stories, which we love. Where else do you look for inspiration?
We look for inspiration in the way that our kupuna did things. Our kupuna were voyagers. They arrived at this archipelago on waʻa kaulua (double-hulled canoes) after sailing thousands of miles and bringing limited resources with them. Some of these resources had to be used in multiple ways. One of them was the kukui nut tree. The oil from this nut can be used as a medicine, a topical ointment, or burned as a candle (the ōlelo word for light is kukui). It was also used for waterproofing. We use it in our shave soap and to waterproof the koa wood that we use to make shave brushes.
Q: What sharp things do you use (knives, razors, axes, etc) at work? What tools are your favorite to use?
As I said before I shave every day. Aside from that, my day job is as a nurse practitioner in interventional pain management. I do intramuscular, tendon, and joint injections all day every day, so I use needles more than any other sharp object. When I hunt pigs and wild sheep, I hunt with a longbow and use broadhead arrows. My favorite sharp thing is what I get to use in my spare time. I enjoy throwing axes and have a WATL legal target in the shop that is used daily.
Q: Do you straight shave? If not, would you consider it?
I do straight shave on occasion. I shave my head, so it is slow going. I usually shave with a safety razor just for the sake of time, but every once in a while I will straight shave my head.
Q: The past year has been challenging for all kinds of reasons, forced us to ask tough questions of ourselves. What has changed for you and your business? What are you currently wrestling with?
One of our biggest challenges was the lack of tourism during the pandemic. We had just secured a contract with a high-end barbershop/salon in a very exclusive hotel when the pandemic shut down all salons and hotels. We also saw a drastic drop in orders from local businesses. It did allow us time to focus on reformulating our soap to be more environmentally responsible by eliminating any palm-based stearic acid. Our previous soap was a soft-style soap that came in a steel tin, but we wanted to use packaging that was both recycled and recyclable.
I think our biggest challenge is appealing to shave enthusiasts that only want to use a cream-style soap. When launching the new product line, we knew that we would be going against the grain by making a puck and not using containers for our soap.
Q: We appreciate your values-forward approach to your brand. What role do you feel small business plays in a more global context, such as climate change, politics, and social justice?
As a customer of small businesses, I like to spend my money with companies that support and practice environmental and social causes. I think that small businesses have a platform that allows us to reach more people than the average person. With that opportunity comes a kuleana (responsibility) to be pono (righteous). We have the ability to share a message of protecting the environment, standing up against social injustice, and caring for our planet and its inhabitants. Sometimes the stance that we take may not be popular, but we can sleep well at night knowing that we did our best, whether it is for the planet or marginalized groups or individuals.
Q: What is one thing you wish more of your customers knew about you or your work?
Exceptional shaving and environmental and social consciousness are not mutually exclusive. I would like to see our entire industry move toward greater sustainability and social awareness.
Q: How can readers get in touch with you?
They can contact us through our website www.hawaiianshavingcompany.com, through our Instagram @hawaiianshavingcompany, or email us directly at hawaiianshavingcompany@gmail.com.