What is beard oil?

 

Beard oils are in fact especially designed for the beard bristles and skin. They moisturize your face allowing it to look healthy and sleek. Like we just mentioned, beard oils are not only working on your hair—but also on your skin. The reason why this is important is because your beard will also beneficiate from a healthy hydrated skin. In order to get that shiny beard you've always dream about—you will need to use beard oil. The hardest part is to get the right beard oil for your specific needs—but no worries, we will guide you thru.

Hydration

Hydration is the most important aspect to keep in mind when we talk about the beard and face. It's precisely via this process that beard oils come in play. Beard oils hydrate the skin and help soften the suffering beard hair, in addition to their dual function as a styling agent. The ideal beard—one that will make those dear ladies turn heads around—should be shiny and neat, not dusty, flaky or shaggy.
 
Beard oil is a very popular topic among bearded men, so we'll examine the issue in depth.

The Trials and Tribulations of Growing a Beard

Growing a beard comes with its share of problems and daily struggles, as most men who have a beard know. Dry skin, coarse hair, beardruff, and itchy, flaky skin are all issues that beard lovers face on a daily basis.
 
These problems occur because the beard acts as a wick for the natural oils produced by your skin. This process is simple to understand: your beard hair drains out the oil naturally produced by your skin. Without these oils, the skin becomes dry and irritated—and that's when the itching starts. From that moment, on things can escalate pretty quickly. If you scratch where it itches, this will only irritate your skin yet more. This often leads you to grapple with the twin curses of beardruff and peeling skin. At that point, you enter a vicious cycle: your beard hairs can't absorb anything more from your dry skin, so they get dried out as well.
 
So, those are the causes of beard problems. To your dismay—and to the consternation of all those who want to get up close and personal to your beard, and snuggle against it—it's dry, rough, and much less attractive.

The Cure

Unless you're one of the lucky few whose beards don't undergo this process, you've likely already experienced one or several of the above-mentioned problems. This is where the famous beard oils enter the game. Beard oils are all different, and they have diverse compositions, but they all start with transport oil base. This base is generally some combination of argan oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E, hemp, and oils with similar properties. These oils are mainly used to rehydrate the hair and skin. Beard oils may also contain certain essential oils, such as peppermint, cedar, tea tree and others.
 
Although essential oils each have their own beneficial properties, most of the time they are employed for their unique scent. Thus, combining them allows their producers to achieve extraordinary scents that are perfectly suited to manly beards.

 

Beard Oil: Proper Application

 

Let's say you want to use your beard oil to cure a pesky little itch. So, would you just tap a little oil into your beard and continue your day as normal? Unfortunately, the answer is no: that you need only to apply oil to your beard is an incredibly common misconception. Sure, it's better than nothing, but it's not a sustainable solution. You'll remember that earlier we mentioned that your skin was dehydrated? Well, that's what needs to be fixed!
 
First, you must ensure that your pores are clean. You can use your beard oil in the morning, following a hot shower. This way, your hair follicles and pores will open up well, and they will easily absorb the oil. Cleaning and moisturizing your skin is crucial, especially if you live in a cold or dry climate. If you don't have time for a full routine, you can also splash some hot water onto your face before applying the beard oil. Afterwards, be sure to dry your beard with a towel, because water and oil don't mix. However, your beard should still be slightly damp, so that the oil displaces the water, therefore allowing the hair shaft to retain more oil.
 
Depending on the size of your beard, the amount of oil you'll need may vary. However, as a rule of thumb, we recommend that you squirt onto your palm an amount of oil about the same size as a nickel or dime. Afterwards, rub your hands together to spread the oil to your fingers. Then, apply the oil on your face, starting with the skin under your beard. Afterwards, make your way through your beard to the tip. If you wish, you can apply the oil that's left over to your hair without any problems. If your beard is very long, you can use a comb to ensure that all layers of hair are well-moisturized. It's important to remember that you want to hydrate your skin first. This will help enormously in the prevention of dry flakes and itching. Consequently, by adding extra oil to your beard, you'll prevent it from drying, which will then prevent your skin from draining out. Your well-hydrated beard should now have a smooth, pleasant texture and a fresh scent. Bard oils that contain woody essential oils like cedarwood and sandalwood also act as a natural perfume, which can replace your usual cologne in the process. Another misconception about beard oil is that it leaves your beard feeling oily and greasy. In reality, this is not the case. Usually, the oil is completely absorbed in less than one hour. If you feel that your beard is too oily after you've applied some, then you probably used too much oil. In the coming weeks, try to keep using less and less—until you reach your sweet spot.

How Often Should I Use Beard Oil?

As for how much you should beard oil use and how often, that depends on your beard, your skin and the severity of your problems. Another myth regarding beard oil is that it should be used only once a day. Although, in most cases, this is more than sufficient, in other cases, two or three applications per day will be required. Be mindful of the needs of your skin and your beard, and they will thank you. That being said, keep in mind that your beard should be oiled as often as needed. During the driest periods of the year, you might need 3 to 4 applications a day, making sure that you apply it to your beard when it's damp (wet).

How Should I Wash My Beard, and Should I Use Conditioner?

As we mentioned above, hydration is the key to a healthy beard and healthy skin. In this sense, it's absolutely certain that washing your beard with proper soap and moisturizing with conditioner are both very important, as they will help your beard reach tip-top shape. We’ll go into more detail about this in under the ''Beard Care” category, which we encourage you to take a look at.

Beard Oil vs. Beard Balm/Butter/Wax

Can beard and mustache balms and waxes can replace the use of beard oil? This is a question that comes back again and again. In fact, there are roughly two different styles of wax: those that give style (styling agents) and those that contain conditioning agents, like oils and butter. In most cases, beard balm is used after beard oil to give your beard hair a finalized look. However, if your wax contains conditioning agents, you can use it to complement your beard oil by applying the oil first and the wax second. In this case, you'll want to decrease the amount used for both. it's quite possible to completely replace your beard oil with a beard wax, provided that it contains conditioning ingredients. Since waxes are generally not as effective as oils. As mentioned, butter offers more control over the hair, but balms do more for the hair and skin. In that sense, if your beard is only a little dry, beard balm will do. But if you're stuck with itching or beardruff, you'll want to use beard oil most of all. Although there are many variations, depending on the brand, the general rule states that waxes must be exclusively intended for styling, while balms are a marriage between beard oil and wax.

 

Different Types of Beard Oils

 

Now, as for almost every kind of products—they are several types of beard oils. Below we will explain the different composition and their own benefits.

Vitamin E Oil

One thing that notorious beard growers know; is that vitamin E is the most important of all. Not only does vitamin E moisturize and hydrate the skin and the facial hair—but it also helps prevent premature graying and has the potential to repair split end, problems that most beards en up dealing with. Vitamin E oil is present in almost every brand of beard oil and is widely used in skin care products also.

Sweet Almond Oil

The sweet Almond oil is by far the beardsman favorite's—as it is used is almost every beard oil. The sweet Almond oil is well known for its invigorating effect—it does not only conditions your beard and skin, but it also softens it very well. The sweet almond oil is in fact extracted from almond. The Almond oil prevents both itchiness and irritating skin. The almond oil is a phenomenal product—not surprising that almost every top-rated beard oils contain Almond oil.

Argan Oil

The Argan oil, which is extracted from the Argan tree—originnaly comes from Morocco in Africa. The Argan oil, once used in beard oil will provide an exceptional shine and softness to the beard's bristles. It will also tremendously help hydrate the skin underneath your beard—as well as providing vitamin E. Beard oil mixtures that don't have Argan oil tend to leave thick residues after use, but with Argan oil, it will leave your beard with nothing else than the feeling of freshness and shine.

Jojoba Oil

The name of this essential oil comes from the name of the plant that the oil is exctracted—the Jojoba plant is native from the southwestern states of the United States and from Mexico as well. The Jojoba oil has a golden color at room temperature and provides the skin with what we call ceramides. Which have incredible hydration effect on human skin's. The Jojojoba oil also contains the famous vitamin E—which helps to get rid of those pesky free radicals that cause aging.

Castor Oil

The Castor oil is very unique—this type of oil has been used for centuries for beard improvement. The Castor oil is, in fact, a vegetable oil that is obtained by pressing the seeds of a castor oil plant. The Castor oil has a very pale yellow color, almost colorless, with a very distinctive odor. Although the castor oil is a lubricant that has many benefits for both skin and hair—it as also known for being a laxative. Now, will you notice that effect if you use it as a beard oil? Probably not. Another great thing about the castor oil is that it does provide both antifungal and antibacterial proprieties.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil provides a very rich and unique impact on both beard hair and skin. Its health benefits include prevention of hair loss and moisturizing protein. Although some beard oils contain Coconut oil—it is less used than the other oils, because of its solid form at room temperature. We will find it more often in beard balms and butter.

Grapeseed Oil

As you probably guessed—the Grapeseed oil comes from the grape seed. The use of Grapeseed oil in beard oil is less frequent than the others oils we just spoke about. The reason being that Grapeseed oil is part of the oils that leave greasy residues in the beard. However, some peoples like the feeling. The Grapeseed oil will also moisturize your hair and skin, but unfortunately, it does lack of vitamin E. Regarding beard oils—the Grapeseed oil is mostly used as an ''add-on'' rather than a ''base''.

 

Different Types of Essential Oils

 

Now that we've gone over some of the different beard oils type—you should have a better understanding of the different options that you can choose from. But, there is more to the quest of the perfect beard. Moving on, we will now go over the principal essential oils that are used in the manufacture of beard oil. For beard oils—essential oils are like a touch of personality. The reason being that they are those who provide scent. Before having a look at some of the different kinds of essential oils that you can use on your king's man, let us explain what they are first. In fact, an essential oil is a natural substance that is made by condensing components that can be found in plants, herbs and other natural material into a concentrated formula.

Eucalyptus Oil

The number one in our list had to be the Eucalyptus oil. Widely used in the making of beard oil—not only does it have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, but it will also give a wonderful scent to your beard.

Tea Tree Oil 

Coming in in second place is the Tea Tree oil, well know about bearded men for its magical proprieties on beards—it is a healing against blemish and cut, but also a follicles stimulant that promotes hair growth.

Pinewood Oil

Coming third is the Pinewood oil. When speaking about skin benefits—you simply can't go around this one. Pinewood oil is not only used in beard oil but also in the treatment of skin condition like psoriasis, itching, and other breakouts.

Fir Needle Oil

The Fir Needle oil has a quite extravagant ''woodsy'' scent, along with some aromatherapy health benefits—what a great quality for a beard oil!

Cedarwood Oil

Cedarwood oil takes the prize for our fifth position—with its Sesquiterpenes, who are special organic compound that increases blood flow and helps the body rid itself of toxins.

Sandalwood Oil

Last in our list, but not the least; the Sandalwood oil. Aside from being one of the best smelling essential oils around—it is great to clear up acne and other skin related issues.

 

How To Use Beard Oil

 

Now that we have gone over all the crucial beards stuffs—you might begin to be curious on how to actually apply beard oil. Because in fact, if you want the best outcome, you must follow a special technique. The first thing to understand is that different beard length requires a different beard oil amount.
 
At the very beginning—when first starting to grow out a beard, you don't need as much beard oil than you would think. Usually, 2-4 drops daily is perfect. Now, if your beard is 2-3 months old, then you should be using around 4-6 drops daily. With progression going on—just increase the amount used daily in increments of 2 drops.
 
To apply the beard oil in your beard—first drop the beard oil into the palm of your hand, then rub it into your beard and mustache, working all the way down to your skin. We also strongly recommend applying the beard oil with a beard combs.

 

Is it possible to Grow a Thicker Beard?

 

First, let's have a look at your genetics—were your father and his father before him able to grow a full thick beard? If the answer is yes, chances are that you have been blessed with the same genetic and are ready to achieve a great beard without you even noticing it.
 
Now don't fall for the hold trap that shaving more contributes to beard growth—this is totally wrong. In fact, shaving less contributes to the entire cultivation process of a beard.
 
That being said, for those of you having problems with the uncontrollable genetic predisposition that won't allow you to grow a full thick beard like Santa—they are many things to try before giving up. Also, keep in mind that even if your friends seem to grow their beards faster than yourself—your eyes are probably fooling you due to the color or thickness of their hair. Because every beard is unique, some people grow thicker hair, while other grow darker hair, or both. These characteristics were assigned to them via genetics, and that's how it is. Never be jealous of one brother's beard. Also, chances are that these friends of yours are already taking into consideration the proper beard care and have perfected all the ingredients needed. Forcing hair to grow faster than it is humanly possible—is in fact, impossible. But, growing a thicker beard through density is still very possible with a big ''YES''. If you apply the proper care.

 

Conclusion

 

Because the ideal routine for your skin and beard can be different from your neighbor’s, making your beard as amazing as possible can only be achieved by trial and error. But keep in mind that, the more elements you have in your routine, the more likely it's that you'll achieve success. If your beard is short or of medium length, it's likely that adequate washing and only beard oil will do the trick. Conversely, if your beard or mustache is long, it's likely that the oil alone will not be sufficient to hold and give body to it. At this time, you'll want to add a wax to your daily routine in the same way that you use the styling spray or gel in your hair.
 
You and your beard can now enjoy a healthy, happy relationship together!