Description

A man's beard demands lots of care and grooming. Exposure to the elements, debris, dirt, sweat from workouts, or hard work all takes their toll on the health and quality of your beard. Maintaining a well-groomed and nice-looking beard is critical if you are to attain the coveted beard goals you set for your beard journey. And the path to achieving a thick, healthy beard comes with its fair share of challenges.

Luckily, several reliable techniques can be applied to soften the beard. Top among these include using the best products on your facial hair and changing your beard grooming routine to maximize the beard products' benefits.

For example, avoid using regular body washes and bar soaps intended for the body as they offer a much harsher clean. While such products are great when you want to scrub off the grime from your body after a hard day at work, when used on the face, it dries out the skin and leaving your beard dry, flaky, itchy, with split ends and unhealthy growth. Your beard needs more care than the hair on your head.

Keeping your beard looking awesome has certainly been made easier by the availability of many personal grooming products. A question that plagues many men is the importance or necessity of using one or two beard products or even a variety. For example, why not simply use regular hair shampoo on the beard? What's the difference between a beard wash and beard conditioner versus hair shampoo and hair conditioner? Let's get right to it!

About Beard Shampoo

During the day, the beard collects microscopic dust and debris that constantly float in the air. Your beard also comes into direct contact with germs, smoke, food, drinks, and odors, as well as lots of stuff from your hands whenever you touch it. Washing the beard daily cleans it of such germ-carrying particles and saliva, and prevents their buildup in the pores that could lead to acne and beardruff.

A quality beard wash product is specifically designed for your beard. It offers a thorough cleanse, soft enough for the delicate facial tissue but strong enough to handle the more dense, thicker beard hairs. A beard wash is designed to work with your natural oils generated by your skin and hair rather than against them.

Benefits of Beard Shampoo

Beard washes will not only cleanse your facial hair and skin, but they also help soften the beard. Often, beard washes contain essential oils, Shea butter, and vitamins designed to help hydrate the beard, leaving it feeling soft and smooth.

It is worth mentioning once again that properly used beard washes don't strip away the natural sebum oils in your hair, which are essential for keeping your beard and skin and moisturized. With beard shampoo, the natural oils help keep the beard feeling soft and reduce the number of beard products needed for personal care.

Beardruff is the result of dead skin cell buildup. The dead skin cells leave specks of white flakes everywhere; on your beard, shirt, seat cushions, pillows, and other places where they would least be expected. Colder temperatures, wind, and indoor central heating contribute to dry hair and skin. When combined with the usage of wrong beard cleansing and moisturizing products, it contributes to accelerated flaking.

During the winter months, beardruff is particularly prominent. As the temperature drops, you may be tempted to skip regular hair and beard washing, shampooing, and conditioning. The cold months are very drying for your beard and skin, often requiring you to adopt a special beard care regimen.

Consistently using beard washes prevents and treats beard beardruff and dandruff. Beard washes gently cleanse the skin beneath the beard while functioning as an equally gentle exfoliant helping remove dead skin cells. Beard wash has natural ingredients designed to treat beard itch, which generally tends to emerge and bother men during the early stages of beard growth. Bacterial and fungal infections, acne, ingrown hairs, and poor hygiene habits may also contribute to beard itch.

Beard washes offer relief for itchy beards as they contain unique ingredients that reduce skin irritation. They also function as antibacterial agents preventing various acne forms.

Why Choose Beard Shampoo

You could be wondering why you need to use a beard shampoo rather than a hair shampoo. Hair shampoos are specifically formulated for cleansing the hair on your head and the scalp. The shampoo is more concentrated to lift excess oils, dirt, and product buildup from your hair and scalp. Shampoos can be harsh and excessively drying. Applying such products can leave your beard feeling and looking dry. On the other hand, beard washes are gentle on your beard and face. They leverage your natural sebum oils to boost the anti-inflammatory and hydration process.

Another angle to check when looking to buy a beard wash is whether the ingredients list contains silicone. You will want to avoid beard products with silicone because such products are not water-soluble. That means compared to water-soluble hair shampoo, regular hair shampoos are harder to wash out.

Then why would silicone be included in beard products? They help to make the beard look shiny, a desire of many men. Silicone tends to fills in the porosity found in your hair, thus artificially plumping it to give a look that is shinier and healthier. On the other hand, when you use premium products made without silicone, your beard will still look shinier and become healthier.

How Often Should You Wash Your Facial Hair?

Avoid washing your beard too frequently. This is because it strips off the hair’s natural oils which are vital for its health and nice-look. Similarly, while washing regularly might appeal because it does reduce the natural sebum oils, you may want to skip the beard wash if your beard is shorter. The general rule of thumb to observe is a beard shorter than 0.5″.

The production of sebum oil throughout the day generally compensates for any oil that is stripped out when you wash your beard. Nevertheless, dependent on the length of your beard and your levels of activity, you may want to wash your beard once a day and go from there. If you notice your beard is drying out, you may want to reduce it to once every 2-3 days.

If you fall under the active guy category, spending lots of time working in sports or out in the sun, the social outdoors type, you may want to have your beard washed daily. If you mainly work behind a desk or from home most of the days, you might only need a beard wash two times a week.