Beard care – 5 steps to a beautiful beard

Like most things in life, beards are beautiful when you care for them. A good beard doesn’t just happen; that clean, healthy, and well-groomed beard you envy didn’t just happen; it took some effort. While growing a beard is largely down to genetics, taking care of what you have will determine how great it looks.

Taking intentional care of your beard (Good beard hygiene) is also closely tied to good skincare. Men who take care of their beards take care of their skin too. Irritated or flaky skin would make a beard look unkempt and also feel uncomfortable because of the inevitable itching that comes with it. Here’s something extra, taking good care of your beard is good for you and your partner too as they won’t have beard burns which are quite common.

Getting your beard clean and beautiful comes down to three basic things: keeping your beard clean, cutting as needed, and nourishing your skin and hair from the inside. Here are 5 basic steps you can follow to get a fine and healthy beard.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle

Growing a beard takes time, and caring for it goes beyond shampooing and brushing. A beard needs careful nurturing to grow and develop into a healthy one. Maintaining your general health is the foremost step in keeping your beard healthy.

Getting sufficient sleep every day is vital for one’s overall health. An added bonus is a shinier and healthier looking beard.

Your diet also plays a huge role on how healthy your beard looks. It might not seem like so, but changing what you eat or drink towards much healthier choices will definitely result in clear changes in how your beard looks and feels. Good eating habits and maintaining a well-balanced diet that contains all of the vitamins and nutrients your body needs are essential.

It is also very beneficial to maintain a regular exercise routine. Exercises help blood flow around your body and this is great as hair follicles need nutrients in the blood to grow. Avoid using tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and other harmful substances.

Additionally, consider taking a vitamin supplement to improve beard texture and boost growth (this is optional). BeardOrganics.comadvises that “supplements should only be taken with a medical personnel’s directive to ensure adequate knowledge of the right dosage, risks and benefits”. They recommend Ashwagandha which is a very popular supplement that supports healthy beard growth by acting as an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties.

While you can make do to eat a diet containing biotin, folic acid, vitamin b12 and vitamin C, you can also take supplements like TheBeardClub’s Beard growth vitamins. It packs all the vitamins you need and it is safe as well as affordable. This supplement can be purchased on Amazon where it has  countless positive reviews.

Wash Your Beard

It might seem like a no-brainer to wash your beard, but it is pertinent to note and do it properly. A mild shampoo is ideal for both your beard and your skin. If you have dandruff, you should use a specialized shampoo to treat it.

It is important to wash your face and beard regularly to remove dirt, oil, germs, pollution, and dead skin. Apply your shampoo to your beard and massage it in carefully but thoroughly. Allow the product to rest on your beard and skin for a few minutes before washing it off. This allows more time for  it time to work.

Take care to rinse your beard to eliminate any shampoo residue properly. ByMybeard has a package deal of a shampoo and a conditioner. You can get this on Amazon. According to the reviews on Amazon, a lot of men and their partners swear by this product. My top pick, however, is the Viking Revolution Beard Wash and Conditioner. MiamiHealth.com lists it as the best shampoo and conditioner kit of 2022 because It helps hydrate your beard while softening it and keeping it clean. If you have beard dandruff, this highly moisturizing beard set is a good pick.

Your Beard’s Neckline Should Look Like a “U”

A clean neckline is a sign of a neat beard. Your neckline should have a clean and well-lined shape around your jaw. The ideal shape for your beard is a U-shape just under your jaw because it looks perfectly symmetrical and gives a lift to your face. While you can get this clean shape at your barber’s, it is an added benefit if you can also do it yourself (the pandemic showed us the importance of mastering certain skills!). Robert McMillen, founder and head barber at Mildred Barbershop, detailed an easy way to do this yourself; “Take your index and middle finger, and place them together above the Adam’s apple to determine the baseline for the bottom of the beard. It’s helpful to set a line from this point straight across the neck with your trimmer or razor first, then trim the hairs below. Next, from this point above the Adam’s apple, shave a “U” shape from the back of both ears behind the jawline. This is your neckline and should be every guy’s neckline. No debate.”

Beard trimmers are a good investment and it’s advisable to get the best so you can get good, reliable results every time. You don’t want to mess it up and have to walk around with a funny-looking mistake on your face, do you? That said, the better the trimmer, the easier it is for you to manoeuvre. In a New York Times article written in November 2022, they stated after tests on a lot of beard trimmers, “We’ve found the cordless Philips Norelco MG7750 is the trimmer best suited to getting most beards looking great.” The  Wahl Aqua Blade 9899 was a good runner-up in the tests and will give you good results too.

Good Skincare: Skincare is also beard care.

Even if your beard covers half of your face, you should still take care of the skin behind your whiskers. However, many of us neglect to take care of this skin, which causes it to become dry, irritated, itchy, or flaky, depending on our skin type. An excellent way to avoid this is adopting a suitable skincare routine. Exfoliate your skin weekly to keep your pores clear and avoid ingrown hairs, which can be itchy and cause bumps. A simple but efficient skincare routine containing beard-friendly cleansers and moisturisers will do wonders for your skin. Check out our guide to a simple-to-follow skincare routine.

Groom your beard.

This part is the step that crowns the others. Your clean and healthy beard needs to be brushed, moisturised and styled. Brushing or combing your beard daily helps avoid tangles and an unkempt look. Brushing alone can be sufficient, but for better results, you can use oils that help nurture and beautify your beard. Popular essential oils used in beard oils include almond oil, olive oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, and coconut oil. These oils are very dense in vitamins and minerals that support the health of your hair follicles. There are a lot of options in the market for beard kits (packages containing grooming products), but you have to avoid overkill and just get what you need; a shampoo (optional), a brush, a comb, one or two essential oils and lastly a light balm. According to Esquire.com’s ranking of the best beard kits for men, Rapid Beard’s grooming essentials was listed as number one because of their use of totally natural ingredients in their products. Menhealth.com on the other hand recommends Goodfellow&Co’s beard kit for short beards and SheaMoisture’s beard kit for men with long beards.

That’s it, 5 practical and easy ways to improve your beard. A healthy and beautiful beard takes some effort, but it is really fulfilling and even rewarding. Start practising good beard hygiene and you will surely get the best results so you can look like the man you want to be!