At this point, you gotta be living under a rock to not notice the trend of men opting for full beards instead of shaved faces. It’s everywhere!- magazines, TV commercials, on the streets, and in pretty much every barbershop around the world.
I like it from the standpoint that I’m really enjoying the many styles that enter the barbershop, and the tons of emails I get asking advice on how they should be shaped. But beyond the daily trimming and shaping of the beard comes the importance of also caring for the beard as well!
I mean, let’s face it (no pun intended)…
If your beard is not getting daily or at-least weekly exfoliation from shaving, then the skin underneath is at a great disadvantage. So not only does the hair itself need to be washed, conditioned and moisturized just like the hair on-top of your head, the skin underneath needs to be acre for to! Of course “odor control” goes without saying, right? I mean it’s bad enough that our noses have to deal with unpleasant smells on a daily basis, there’s absolutely no need to voluntarily add another.
So here’s the deal.
Below, is a list of ‘Must Do’s’ in order to keep your BEARD in TIP-TOP shape!
1. Wash & Condition – The shampoo you use on your head should work just fine for your beard. However, since your scalp produces much more oils that your face, be sure to follow with a conditioner 2-3x’s a week.
**Beard specific products are definitely on the market if you decide to “kick it up a notch”. So here are a few that are proven –
- Bluebeards Original Beard Wash w/Extra Conditioning Agents
- Ultra Beard Conditioner and Wild Berry Shampoo by Beardsley
- Professor Fuzzworthy Beard Shampoo
2. Exfoliate – Every time you shave, you’re exfoliating (<- click to read why!) your skin. However when growing a beard, shaving is obviously off the table. So here are a few exfoliants on the market that are tough enough to get through even the thickest beard. (Do this only once a week!)
- Baxter of California Facial Scrub
- Invigorating Face Scrub by Lab Series
- St. Ives Fresh Skin Invigorating Apricot Scrub
3. Trim – No one should ever know what your last meal was unless you tell them. So with that being said, here are a few trimmers to keep you mustache OUT of your food. –
4. Style – the key to a healthy looking beard in one that has a nice clean (and shiny) coat. Consider an unscented or lightly-scented wax, cream or oil. This maintains the beards moisture and in many cases ads a bit of hold just enough to keep the fly-aways at bay.
**Here are a few waxes, creams and oils for you to try!
- Honest Amish Original Beard Wax
- Professor Fuzzworthy’s Beard Care Gloss & Conditioner
- Men’s Bay Lime Beard Conditioning Oil by Botanical Skin Works
**You can’t go wrong with a small beard comb or brush so here are a few I like –
COMBS…
BRUSHES…
- Military Style Hair Brush by eBarbershop
- Bass Classic Men’s Club Brush
- Semi-Oval Wild Hair Boar Brush
