What is Beard Oil & Why Should You Use Beard Oil?
Outside of maintaining a trim beard, nothing will make it look and feel better than beard oil. What exactly is beard oil though and why should you use beard oil?
What is Beard Oil?
The best beard oil is usually a base such as jojoba oil and other natural ingredients, mixed with essential oils that give it an intoxicating scent. Jojoba oil is a natural, non-toxic and hypoallergenic ingredient that’s been used for hundreds of years. Essential oils are natural oils distilled from plants for their scents- such as peppermint, orange, eucalyptus, etc.
The hair on your face is similar to the hair on top of your head – it needs to be cleansed and conditioned. However, most guys discover that beard hair happens to be coarser than the hair on top of their head. Why? Hair on the face is grown because of androgens (such as testosterone) and this type of hair happens to be flatter than head hair, thus more coarse and curly. Coarse hair is more prone to breaking and drying out, causing a need to keep it well conditioned. This is where beard oil comes in.
Why Should You Use Beard Oil?
As the hair strands in your beard grow longer (learn how to grow a beard here), nutrients from the follicle will have a harder time reaching the outer parts of your hair strands. Nutrients from the follicle can only move so far down the hair strand. This means your beard will become more coarse and dry as it grows.
The key to having a healthy and touchable beard is keeping it hydrated. Hydrated hair strands are softer, have a nice shine, and don’t tangle. As your beard grows, it will also prevent the skin underneath from staying moisturized – causing itchiness, flakes, and a less than desirable environment for beard growth.
A beard is only as healthy as the follicles it grows from. This is where beard oil comes in. Beard oil will allow you to keep your beard and the skin beneath it well hydrated – creating a softer, less itchy, and more manageable beard. As you’ve probably noticed, your beard looks better when it has a slight shine. Your beard oil should have natural conditioners such as Vitamin E, Argan Oil and Grapeseed oil to bring out the shine.
The best beard oil will be 100% natural and should contain a high percentage of organic ingredients. If your beard oil has an ingredient you can’t pronounce, you probably shouldn’t use it.
How to Use Beard Oil
Applying beard oil is simple. First, we recommend you wash your beard a few times a week before applying beard oil. Using a natural shampoo for men is the most ideal solution. You’ll want a natural men’s shampoo as you don’t want toxic chemicals found in most shampoos to be used in your beard or around your mouth. Non-natural shampoos are more likely to dry out your beard. What about “beard wash?” Beard wash in general is overpriced shampoo. Buy the best natural shampoo for men and use it a few times a week when your beard feels like a bit too much oil and sweat has accumulated on it.
Once your beard has been shampooed, squirt a dime sized amount of beard oil into your hands and rub between your hands until both are lightly saturated. Take your hands and gently rub the oil into your skin underneath the beard and work your fingers up through the beard until you reach the tips of your beard hair, making sure to evenly distribute the oil. If you have a really long beard, you may need a second application. Why start at the skin? As we discussed above, your beard is only as healthy as the skin beneath it. Hydrating and feeding the follicles the nutrients in your beard oil will give it the best chance possible to reach its full potential. The best beard oil will make your beard feel soft, manageable, prevent flakes, and your skin underneath non-itchy.