5 Ways to Take Care of Your Beard
How men should take care of their beards
While growing out your beard is easy enough — after all, almost any guy can do it — maintaining, grooming and managing it takes work. Still, most men don’t use beard oils or balms to maintain their beards because the process seems complicated. But with the right care and beard styling products, achieving a smooth, even and silky beard is surprisingly simple.
Which types of products should you use? What kind of maintenance is absolutely necessary? And what sorts of lifestyle changes can help you keep your beard at its healthiest? We’ll look at all of these factors to help you determine how to manage your beard.
Whether you want to look your best for your partner, grow your beard out to its maximum length, or just clean up your overall look, we’ve got your needs covered. Keep reading for our top beard maintenance tools and tips.
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Groom and trim routinely — but grow it out first!
If you’re just getting into styling, you’re eventually going to want to style and trim your beard into an awesome look. Before you do that, though, here’s some important advice: wait! When you’re growing your beard out, you want to wait a month or so before styling and trimming it down. That way you’ll have a full beard to work with, giving you lots of options when it comes to styles and products to choose.
Tired of waiting for your beard to grow? Remember that a healthy lifestyle promotes faster beard growth. We’ll touch on this in detail later, but eating right, exercising and getting good sleep are all going to help your facial hair grow quickly and fully.
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Make sure your beard stays hydrated
It might sound strange to hydrate your beard. After all, what business does your mustache have being moist? But in order to make sure your beard stays soft, healthy and shiny, hydrating it regularly is a must. If you don’t, you can fall victim to itchy-flaky-beard-syndrome, which can leave you with beard dandruff as well as red, inflamed skin under all that hair.
In order to keep your beard hydrated, you’re going to want to use a good beard oil. Beard oil can be a little tricky, as it takes time to find a product that works best for your specific skin and hair needs. Choosing beard oils that are organic, handmade and high-quality over cheap over-the-counter drugstore products will help you steer clear of beard oils that are too thick, greasy or pore-clogging.
New to beard oil? Here’s a few tips and tricks for you:
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When applying beard oil, you don’t need to use a lot. Just squeeze a couple drops in your palms and spread them — like you would pomade for your hair — evenly throughout your beard. Massage the oil into the base of your beard before working it up to your beard tips.
- Beard oil doesn’t need to be applied every day! Dole it out depending on the dryness of your hair and the climate. If you live in an especially dry area, once every other day should keep your beard healthy and hydrated. If you’re in a hot and humid area, twice a week is probably enough. In the end, it’s all about feel: pay attention to how your beard looks and feels, and you’ll get the swing of it.
If you’re serious about keeping your beard at its best, you’ll also want to pair your preferred beard oil with a quality beard balm. Think of beard balms as a kind of leave-in conditioner aimed at moisturizing and softening your beard while also helping it hold its shape and style. Beard balm keeps your beard growing healthily and also gives it a fresh, clean scent. For these reasons, applying it acts as a great endcap to your beard hydration routine.
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Keep your neckline in check
Ah, yes — the dreaded neckline. Men fear it almost as much they don’t understand it. Where are you supposed to trim to, and how can you avoid the awful chinstrap look? For starters, while neckline care is important, don’t ever trim your beard right along your jaw. That’s going to give you the awkward, unnatural look you don’t want.
Instead, when it comes to your neckline, remember that less is more. Try this: place two fingers horizontally above your Adam’s apple and feel where your top finger touches your whiskers. That’s a good spot for your neckline to begin. Trim your beard to that spot, and then come down from your sideburns on either side to meet it. That’ll give you a natural beard neckline that doesn’t feel overdone.
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Wash your beard with the right products
News flash: your beard gets greasy and dirty, too. Most guys wash their hair regularly without thinking twice about their beard, which is a problem, especially if you’ve got a long beard. Bits and pieces of food, stray hairs, sweat, dust and other grime can turn your beard into a real mess if you don’t use the right beard and body wash products several times a week.
Some people say you can just use what’s in your shower already — shampoo and conditioner for your hair, that is — but if you really want to take your beard to the next level, we’d recommend using beard wash products designed to give you that full, bright facial hair shine.
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Eat, sleep and sweat right
Look, we get it: if you’re a regular rough rider with a flowing beard, going gluten free and hitting the gym for morning yoga might not be your thing. But did you know that eating clean, exercising regularly and getting plenty of rest can actually help your beard grow faster and fuller?
If you’re new to exercise or healthy eating, do what works for you. If you don’t like running, you can swim, lift weights, play sports or go climbing. At the same time, lots of healthful foods that promote beard growth are delicious — grilled chicken, eggs, nuts and healthy oils, nightshades and cruciferous vegetables, and more. Think of a healthy diet and exercise as part of your beard care routine: they’re just as important as any beard balm or oil.
It’s your beard: treat it right
Your beard deserves the best care you can give it. After all, more than just facial hair, your beard is an expression of how you carry yourself. A scraggly, unkempt, patchy beard that sits limp on your face isn’t going to wow anyone — yourself included. By contrast, a lush, full beard that’s soft, well-groomed and silky smooth will give you the confidence you need while impressing those around you.
Amp up your beard care game today with trimming, grooming, products and lifestyle changes, and you’ll soon reap the benefits of a top-tier beard.