Now it’s not every day that you come across a unique product offering like this one.
A laundry detergent designed for men.
It made me take pause and think to myself…
…a laundry detergent for men? Surely this is a joke right?
After a bit of internal convincing, I figured it was worth giving it a detailed look…
…after all, this was the same exact response many had when men’s grooming products first came out on the market.
But, after a bit of field testing – I think the folks of Frey are on to something…
…here’s why:
A bit more about Frey
If being a pioneer in the men’s detergent world isn’t enough, one notion about Frey that I am really liking is their social responsibility…
…and this goes on many different levels:
First up, their lack of animal testing.
All of their products are both cruelty free and vegan.
Next – the clean ingredient labels:
The ingredients used across their entire product line heavily skew all natural and are absent of many of the nasty things typically found in the soap aisle of your local grocery store.
But if not torturing animals and using natural products aren’t enough – Frey takes it even further…
The company is committed to planting at least 1,000 trees every year.
Furthermore, Frey also donates a portion of their net profits (10%) to charity with their Wash For Wash program.
As a company, Frey pretty much checks all the boxes when it comes to corporate stewardship…seriously guys, you are making your competition look REALLY bad right now.
What’s Inside The Box
Now, as I mentioned in my review of Harry’s, I am a sucker for sweet packaging.
Never in a million years would I have thought that laundry detergent would show up in the mail evoking design aesthetics of Silicon Valley.
But alas, here we are.
In this oh so sweet matte black box by Frey – you get a host of goodies including the following:
- Laundry Detergent
- Fabric Conditioner
- Dryer Sheets
- Wrinkle Releaser
- Nomad Freshener
- Stain Remover
Whether you are a guy that likes to rough it out in the field or one that needs to present well in front of the execs at the weekly meeting – this comprehensive line by Frey should serve you pretty damn well.
Here we want to take a deep dive into each one of their products to give you an idea of what you should expect when the box of Frey gets delivered:
Laundry Detergent
A mix of Cedarwood, Oakmoss, and Amber – this is detergent is masculinity (i.e. John Wayne) in a bottle.
Evoking the scents of a great smelling cologne or beard oil, it’s a refreshing change from the chemically derived ‘Clean Breeze’ scents that we have been huffing for as long as we can remember.
But what takes it a bit further is the oh so sweet design. Instead of clumsily pouring it out into a cup or tipping the container while pressing a button to get the last remnants typically found in other popular detergents, Frey’s application is super simple – it’s a pump.
With clear instructions on the back:
- 6 pumps – medium loads
- 7 pumps – large loads
- 8 pumps – XL loads
You can get consistent results load after load – all without getting your hands coated in soap.
Now if you have a HE washer or an old school standup washer – the Frey detergent will work with either.
So don’t fret about breaking the washer or having soap suds overload when using this stuff.
So how about the performance?
When it comes to washing clothes (with the complimentary products also by Frey), they are top notch.
The clothes came out looking clean while also delivering a subtle manly scent from the natural fragrances that were included.
Now some might think that the expected results doesn’t make Frey worth buying– but consider this:
Given that this detergent is heavily relying on a natural solution that is free of sulfates, parabens, dyes, and any other nasty stuff – it’s pretty impressive.
Fabric Conditioner
Remember the Snuggle bear on TV as a kid?
Yeah, replace him with Chuck Norris and you have Frey’s conditioner.
Evoking the same scent profile as the detergent, this laundry conditioner will help to not only add an additional subtle layer of manly scents to your clothes once they have been washed, but the conditioner will also fortify the fabric to resist wrinkles while simultaneously making your clothes feel much softer.
Now I know a lot of guys will think that the conditioner is the ‘optional’ step when cleaning their clothes.
After all, who wants to spend MORE on their laundry cleaning products?!
But trust me – if you plan on splurging and getting a men’s laundry detergent, we suggest you go all the way and spring for the conditioner.
After trying it out once and seeing the results, you’ll be hooked – trust us.
Dryer Sheets
Now if springing for the conditioner might not be your thing, perhaps dryer sheets are?
Ringing up $5.50 cheaper than the standalone conditioner, the dryer sheets are a great (albeit not nearly as effective as a conditioner) in not only getting your clothes feeling softer, but also helpful in reducing static.
In true Frey fashion, the dryer sheets are comprised from recycled material and formulated with other natural ingredients in order to lessen their impact on the environment.
Like the detergent and conditioner, the sheets are scented with Cedarwood, Oakmoss, and Amber.
Wrinkle Releaser
Whether you neglected a pile of clean laundry or you are trying to revive a shirt that has perhaps been worn the previous day (don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone), a wrinkle releaser like this one by Frey is perfect for making your clothes look on point again.
Primarily geared towards lighter weight fabrics, this releaser will help to reinforce the fibers in your shirt by reversing unsightly wrinkles.
Formulated with no scent (although we found a very light/feint soapy/clean scent present), this solution is marked as being derived from natural ingredients.
It’s a key product to save you in a pinch on a Friday night when you don’t have two hours to burn waiting for the washer and dryer to go through their cycles.
As a quick field test on our battle-worn undershirt – here’s what it looked like prior to using the wrinkle releaser:
And after a few pumps on the left side only – this is what it looked like about 20 minutes later:
While it’s not perfect – it sure has heck did an amazing job…
Especially given that this is an all-natural solution.
Nomad Freshener
Sure, Febreeze may be the name that everyone thinks of when it comes to fresheners used on old duffle or gym bags, but the Nomad Freshener is the perfect choice for men who don’t want their gear to smell like lilacs and pansies (no offense mom).
With a few pumps, you should have some manly smelling couches, closets, etc. in a matter of minutes – but don’t worry, the natural ingredients won’t stain nor linger too long.
Stain Remover
This was by far the weakest offering in the Frey lineup.
With the help of some chocolate syrup, tomato sauce, and a really old undershirt, we put the Frey Stain Remover to the ultimate test:
Trust us – that is chocolate syrup you see!
While we might have been a bit heavy handed with the chocolate spill – we thought it was a fairly accurate representation of a real world scenario ?
Then we circled up the area where we would be applying the stain remover (marked B) and our control (marked A):
Then we doused the circled area with the Stain Remover spray:
…we got our fingers crossed (although we also realized at this point that we would never get this shirt back as we drew Sharpie all over it >_<).
Now after loading up the laundry:
And adding about 7 pumps worth of Frey detergent – we gave it a whirl:
After waiting what seemed like an eternity (ok, 30 minutes), our shirt came out of the washer looking like this:
Needless to say, we were disappointed in the results.
As you can see clearly in the pic above, the stains still were present on the shirt.
Despite the stains, and for the sake of completeness of this review, we went ahead and tossed it into the dryer to see if it would get any better at all:
As you can see – it didn’t.
While the clothes smelled and felt downright amazing – when it comes to stain lifting, we would still recommend going with some of the other alternatives on the market.
Final thoughts on Frey
Now, as I mentioned at the start of this article, never in a million years would I have thought that men’s geared laundry detergent would be a thing.
But alas, after a few wash cycles, I am a convert – simply based on scent alone.
While their stain remover wasn’t a huge success, the detergent seemed to perform on par with the leading brands and their conditioner provided smooth feeling fabrics.
At the end of the day, if you are a guy looking for a new detergent that also does good for the world, Frey is definitely worth considering.
Disclaimer: Like most publications, the reviewed products mentioned above were samples provided at no cost. We did our best to provide an objective look at the product in order to give you an accurate assessment. The fact that these products were given complimentary had no effect on the outcome of this review.
