Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Duke Cannon Offers Manly Grooming Products You Can Feel Awesome About Using

Duke Cannon is a brand any self-respecting American man needs to know, and know intimately. That’s because this is personal hygiene brand, and personal hygiene is intimate stuff. But don’t confuse intimacy and delicacy, because there’s nothing delicate about Duke Cannon, whose mission statement can be summarized by this excerpt from their site:

“As any historian worth his salt will tell you, this country was built by folks with a sense of purpose. Duke Cannon’s purpose is simple: to make superior-quality grooming goods that meet the high standards of hard-working men. Our products are tested by soldiers, not boy bands. And they’re made in a little place we like to call the United States of America. We value things like hard work, family, community, bacon and country; we champion builders, creators, sledge hammerers, holders of doors and fixers of toilets.”

Related Videos

In other words, Duke Cannon has no time for “weak, watered down” body washes that “smell like a high school dance” or “bubble gum-flavored lip balm in dainty little tubes.” No, these are big, bold, personal care products manufactured to “meet the needs of 12-hour work days, not 45-minute tennis lessons.” And they’re products with awesome names, like Trench Warfare Body and Foot Powder and Best Damn Beard Balm.

Now, would you pay more for a shampoo because it has a name like News Anchor Hair Wash and certified that “your hair is a weapon … that commands the respect of others” or a shower soap called Naval Supremacy designed for “hard-working men [who] require a shower of substance to accomplish a full day’s work?” You might, right?

Well good news, you don’t have to.

Duke Cannon products may come with some charmingly inflated rhetoric, but they don’t come with highfalutin price tags. The company’s products, which span from shaving and beard care products to hair styling products to lip and knuckle balms, are decidedly male-oriented and are of high quality, yet they are more than affordable for daily use. I should know, as I use several of them daily. (And maybe it’s the power of suggestion, but I’d say my shower gel really does rather smell like naval supremacy as they say. Or maybe it’s just bergamot.)

The Duke Cannon brand persona is manly and swaggering and largely tongue in cheek, but they back up their bravado with more than a slew of fine personal grooming products. They liaise directly with active duty soldiers, using military men as their focus group for product testing and donating a share of profits to charitable groups working with veterans.

Also, the Big Ass Brick of Soap that comes in scents including Campfire, American Bourbon, Fresh Cut Pine, and more is directly modeled after the bars of soap issued to American GIs during the Korean War, and is made in the very same factory that supplied much of the soap to our soldiers back in that era.

And if you’re looking for a great gift for that manly man you call husband, dad, son, bro, or… uh… Chet, Duke Cannon has you (and Chet) covered there, too: their gift bundles are a great deal and are brilliantly packaged.

Shop Now

Editors' Recommendations

The Manual Grooming Awards 2022: The Absolute Best Grooming Products for Men
The Manual Grooming Awards

Anyone who thinks skincare is light work hasn't been inside The Manual when approaching our fourth annual Grooming Awards. For the 2022 edition, we tapped four of our most experienced writers and six grooming influencers. For more than six months, they squeezed, daubed, and scrubbed their way through a cornucopia of more than 700 products. Any wobble in quality or mediocr e results when tested? Into the rubbish bin of editorial excess. With picks in hand, these grooming experts entered into a March Madness-like playoff bracket, wheedling their picks against others in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all struggle for inclusion. But in the end, just 18 products survived, rounding out this year's list of what editors and contributors feel are the best-of-the-best skincare, hair care, and body care products that got us through a long, hard year.

All of our Grooming Award-winning products are effective, of course, but they also share a certain economy (because if 13 months of coronavirus lockdown taught us anything, it's that money sure doesn't grow inside the house). They're also relatively accessible through Nordstrom and elsewhere, and none of them require you to charter a jet to Paris. So, if you've neglected your appearance over the last year and need a reset, or just want to see what's latest and greatest in grooming, The Manual's got you covered. With Covid-19 restrictions loosening, vaccinations rolling out, and both domestic and international travel already looking promising, it's time to get out there and shine. Our carefully selected products will help you do it brighter.
The Winners

Read more
Is Chemical Sunscreen Safe? Everything You Need to Know
Man in hat applying sunscreen to his face.

With summer just around the corner, it's about time to bust out the shorts, flip-flops, and not-so-ironic Hawaiian shirts that have been gathering dust all year. As you dig for the swim trunks stuffed in the back of your dresser drawer, you can't forget about another summer style essential: sunscreen.

Sunscreen is a must-have not just on boats, beaches, and boardwalks, but also every day. Dermatologists recommend using an SPF of 30 or higher every day of the year, but especially during the summer when the sun's rays are at their most powerful.

Read more
Grooming Journals: Luke DiTella’s World-Inspired Skincare Routine
luke ditella grooming journals 0

Welcome to Grooming Journals, where we talk to men across the country about one of their most intimate daily investments: Grooming.

This week, we sit down with professional surfer turned model and overall modern-day Renaissance man, Luke DiTella. DiTella is an actor, model, brand ambassador and a motorcycle enthusiast with an extensive (and impressive) resume. From sun gazing to using all natural deodorants, we take a look at what goes into DiTella's skin care routine to keep him dapper and looking his best. DiTella will serve as a panelist for our annual Grooming Awards, which will launch on April 27. Read on to learn more about his grooming routine. 

Read more