Winter is coming!
As the cold settles in, moisture seems to dissipate out of thin air.
With all of that dryness, you may notice something crazy going on with your beard – its seemingly getting both dry and scratchy.
You might be noticing also some sort of beard dandruff, or simply called by some as ‘beardruff’.
Beard dandruff is a real problem for some men, personally I get it whenever I let my beard grow out – even in the warmer months as well.
However, with that beardruff, there are surprisingly simple cures for it believe it or not.
Let’s dive into the deep end and figure out how you can dry up that beard of yours hopefully within a week or heck even a couple of days!
Does Beard Oil Really Work?
Absolutely yes!
If there is one thing that you should take away from this entire article is that you should absolutely have beard oil sitting in your medicine cabinet.
Beard oil is by and far one the best things that you must have to cure a dry dandruff ridden beard.
If this is your first time hearing about beard oil there are a few important things that you must know about it and why it is just so damn great to begin with.
First of, think of beard oil like an Oreo cookie.
There are two core parts to the cookie right?
The cream filling and the two sides that hold it together.
Just like an Oreo beard oil has two core parts to it – carrier oils (the black part of the cookie) and essential oils (the best part – i.e. the cream filling).
All this talk about Oreo’s and I am getting hungry!
So where am I going with this?
You see carrier oils make up the majority of the beard oils you see on the market today.
In fact there are actually beard oils out there that all they contain are just a couple of carrier oils.
These types of oils are typically considered ‘unscented’ – how its marketed however it may vary company to company.
This is what you need to know when it comes to the ingredients found in beard oil:
Carrier oils make up the majority of the beard oil contents.
To put numbers behind it, of any off the shelf beard oil, a carrier oil will make up between 95-99% of the finished product.
There are a TON of different carrier oils out there.
The best one for beginners is jojoba oil.
Don’t do what I do when I was first learning about it and calling it JO-JO-Ba. No! Jojoba is pronounced ho-ho-ba!
Why is jojoba so great as a beginning base for your beard oil?
It’s about as close as you can get (even closer than whale oil) to the natural oil that you are already producing called sebum oil (I will touch on this in a minute).
Therefore there is a VERY small chance that you would be allergic to it (of course if you are suffering from skin aliments or are concerned make sure you always perform an allergy test first or visit a dermatologist).
Being that this is such a safe ingredient to work with, it pairs really well with beard oil and countless other beauty products on the market.
Another popular carrier oil that you will see is argan oil, which again like jojoba is a safe all natural ingredient that is derived from a plant.
The second important part to beard oil is essential oils.
What are essential oils you might be wondering?
Essential oils add a variety of benefits to the beard oil.
Think of it as the frosting on the cake (this is the last time I am writing a post while hungry!).
Essential oils give a lot of great benefits, one of the most important especially if your fighting off beard dandruff (beardruff) is tea tree oil.
Just a few drops of tea tree oil in a beard oil will vastly knock away that pesky beardruff.
Not only that but tea tree oil also helps out with bacterial infections, acne, cold sores, psoriasis, etc.
You will notice while looking at all the beard oils, many of them offer not only one essential oil, but typically around 3-7 essential oils per bottle.
With all these great added benefits that essential oils give, your beard will be looking great in no time.
Here’s the kicker though:
As I mentioned above I said a few drops of tea tree oil will help clear up your beardruff.
So the next logical thing is, why not just buy a $5 bottle of tea tree oil and use that instead?
Essential oils are harsh!
The carrier oils that we were talking about earlier really dilute the essential oils making them relatively safe to put on your skin.
Again these are all natural ingredients, however some essential oils, if applied to liberally may cause irritation to your skin.
Carrier oils are critical to the beard oil ingredients and cannot be skipped out on.
First Time Using a Beard Oil But Not Sure Where to Go?
Not a problem!
As I covered all the foundation to a beard oil above, the next part is deciding where to pick it up from.
Luckily I had just published a post a few weeks back deciding the best beard oil – so be sure to check it out!
There you can see my comprehensive breakdown of all the popular beard oils in action.
Another great resource is my lengthly list of places on where you can buy beard oil online (this stuff is pretty tough to find in stores).
Once you become a seasoned vet at the whole beard oil thing, you may start to see that it does tend to add up.
Which will lead you to the next thought:
If this stuff is so expensive, but I want my dry beard to go away, why don’t I just make this myself?
Well guess what?
Here is by and far one of the most comprehensive guides on making your very own beard oil. There I cover all the ins and outs to making your very own beard oil.
The more you experiment with beard oil and are comfortable you are branching out, you will see there are a TON to choose from out there.
Beard Oil Doesn’t Only Cure a Dry Beard, But Beard Balm Does As Well!
We have spent so much time talking about beard oil, but you need to know another great option that also is available – beard balm.
What’s the deal with beard balm, and how is it different from a beard oil mentioned above?
Not that much actually!
You see beard balms contain 4 main parts to it:
- Carrier Oils (found in beard oil)
- Essential Oils (found in beard oil)
- Beeswax
- Butter (usually shea butter).
As you can see 1 & 2 both are the same ingredients found in beard oil, but what’s the purpose of the beeswax and butter?
Beeswax is used in beard balm as more of a styling agent.
However, its important to note that is is completely different than a styling agent to make your beard go in different directions like this guy.
Instead the beeswax found in a beard balm will give your beard a slight hold for simple styling.
The butter found in beard balm is primarily there to help with the spreadability of the balm whenever you are getting it ready to apply (application of products will be covered below).
Also as you can guess from the picture above, beard balm itself isn’t a liquid like beard oil, instead its got a closer consistency to a pomade and can be scraped out easily with your thumbnail.
Beard Wash Does Help Prevent You From Having a Dry Beard
Funny enough there are beard washes available for guys in the marketplace!
One of the single worse things that you can do to your beard is to use a harsh bar of soap on your beard while you are in the shower.
Soap in general is meant to go on your skin.
When was the last time you used a bar of soap on your hair?
Exactly!
So naturally you would want to use a beard specific wash on your face instead of your typical off the counter shampoo.
But why?
You see the beard washes available on the market today are formulated to help cure a dry beard and more importantly stop that nasty beard itch and beard dandruff.
Here was a quick beard wash description I just came across while looking on Amazon earlier today:
There are a ton of beard washes and shampoos to choose from.
When checking them out the key things to look out for is that it is formulated for your beard and most importantly it’s core purpose is to help moisturize your beard.
Last but not least, you need to make sure you don’t kill your beard by over washing.
Sure if you use a beard specific shampoo that’s great! But it still unfortunately does have some chemicals in it that will fry your beard with overuse.
Most guys that take their beard seriously don’t wash it but only a couple of times a week. This helps ensure that the sebum oils naturally found in your hair are helping keep your skin well nourished.
What Your Morning Routine Should Look Like If You Want Your Dry Beard To Be Fully Moisturized
If you have an extremely dry beard or really prevalent beard dandruff, this is the ultimate routine that you should do in order to make sure that your beard looks and feels its absolute best.
1. After hitting that dreaded snooze button for the 5th time, you are going to want to scrape yourself off of the bed and hit the shower.
Once in the shower, you will want to use a high quality beard wash. This will ensure that you set up a good base of moisturizers for your beard.
As metioned above, don’t overwash your beard. You only want to wash it a couple a times a week – MAX.
2. Once out of the shower, you will want to go ahead and pat dry your beard (don’t pull on it too much with a towel to ensure there is no breakage).
Then with a quality beard oil of your choice (my personal recommendation is this one), you will want to pour out about a dime sized amount into the palm of your hand.
The amount may vary depending on the thickness and length of your beard.
As you work in the beard oil you will want to start from the root of the follicle – this ensures that you are going straight to your skin that is causing the beard dandruff.
Massage in with your fingers and then work your way to the tip of your beard.
Make sure that you have it evenly coated throughout.
3. To make sure that you really moisturize that beard and cure all beardruff, you will also want to check out a solid beard balm.
If its your first time picking up a beard balm, the industry standard for all beardsmen is Honest Amish.
To apply, you will want to scrape out about a thumbnail sized amount and scoop it into the palm of your hand.
Once you dug out enough, you will then want to rub your hands together until its fully melted.
Just like beard oil, you will want to rub the balm in from the base of the follicle then work your way gradually to the end of your beard.
4. Last but not least, if your beard is getting lengthier you may want to introduce a comb or boars hair bristle brush into the mix.
These are a great way to both style your beard and also train the follicles on your face to grow in the correct direction (i.e. mustache doesn’t go into your mouth).
If you have a longer beard, a boars hair bristle brush is great for evenly distributing the oils through your beard evenly.
To learn more about the combs or brushes, I would definitely recommend checking out my comprehensive guide that completely breaks down the differences between a beard brush vs a comb.
Recommended Products To Check Out
If you are serious about completely getting rid of your beard dandruff and curing that dry beard, here are a few products that are definitely worth checking out that should take your beard game to the next level:
This beard oil is great for beginners for a couple of reasons. First off its downright cheap!
Secondly it contains ONLY 2 ingredients – organic jojoba oil and organic Moroccan argan oil.
As mentioned earlier these 2 core ingredients are about as close as you can get to the sebum oil that is produced naturally in your skin. Therefore this will likely be the best starter oil that you can get.
CanYouHandBar did amazing in many ways, here’s why:
For me it had a great set of carrier oils (jojoba, argan, grapseed, etc) but also it smelled downright amazing.
It smelt like a nice woodsy pine that really is great for the winter and holiday seasons.
The thing is too, that our rating was also backed up by being one of the most highest rated beard oils online as well (4.8 out of 5 on Amazon)!
Definitely check it out if you have the chance, you’ll be happy!
For those that aren’t fans of beard oil, beard balm is the next of kin.
Coming in a pomade like texture, beard balm like the one made by Honest Amish is a terrific way to make sure that your beard stays well moisturized.
As touched on earlier, beard balm is all the benefits of beard oil but with the extra layer of styling with the introduction of butters and more importantly beeswax into the mixture.
Contrary to popular belief, beard moisturizing isn’t all about beard balms and oils.
You need to start your day off right and use a quality beard wash or else your setting yourself up for a moderately hydrated beard.
This is why a product like Zeus Beard Wash is great.
It’s formulated to help reduce itch and overall a dry beard. The ingredients found in this wash help prevent your natural sebum oils from your beard unlike the more harsh shampoos and soaps.
Don’t Take My Word For It – Here Are What Other Guys Think Too
It’s one thing for me to give you advice on the different ways you can hydrate your beard.
Let’s be honest – that only goes so far!
So here are some hard facts and testimonials from other guys that have worked in balms and oils into their everyday use.
As you can see for yourself the results are incredible:
Let Me Know How It Goes!
I hope that this post helps cure your dry beard in a matter of only a week or less.
But I won’t know if you don’t tell me!
So please feel free to drop a comment in the box below and tell me how everything has turned out.
Or if you do have any questions and would rather not comment, feel free to email me at shawn {at} toolsofmen.com
Until then – beard on!
