Most good things in life require some effort and maintaining a well-groomed beard that’s worthy of admiration is no exception. True, growing a beard can seem easier than shaving every day, but properly maintaining a beard requires discipline and consistent care.
Fortunately, products such as beard balm help provide a foundation for savvy beard grooming. A quality balm serves a variety of functions, as we’ll discuss in this post about to how to use (and apply) beard balm.
How to use a beard balm in a way that maximizes its benefits includes a variety of factors. For one, we recommend using balms that include all-natural rather than synthetic ingredients. Synthetic ingredients – such as sealants – can irritate your facial skin and damage beard follicles. Balms that contain all-natural ingredients and sealants such as shea butter, lanolin, and beeswax will help hold your beard in place, soften beard hair and reduce skin irritation.
A good balm also moisturizes your skin and beard without sealing in dryness or making your beard brittle and prone to split ends and breakage. If your beard is patchy or thin, a balm that contains shea butter is a good choice because it helps beard hair appear thicker.
Beard balm is thicker than most other beard grooming products, which is easy to tell just by looking at it. But, because it’s thicker, beard balm – in general – works ideally on thicker, longer beards. By longer, we mean when your beard’s follicles are at least 1.5 inches in length.
One of the reasons beard length is that the thicker and longer the beard, the more you need a product that provides a firm hold.
That’s not to say the beard balm isn’t as effective on shorter beards, however. Far from it. Balm offers many of the benefits of beard oil – such as providing moisture and relieving beard itch – and the shea butter found in most balms provides a superior hold regardless of beard length.
In general, however, beard balm is your go-to product when your beard becomes thicket-like, more prone to stray hairs, and harder to tame when you’re going for a sculpted look.
There’s some debate among grooming experts regarding whether it’s wise to use beard balm and beard oil together. Some say you should use one or the other, but not both, while others say a combination of balm and oil packs a powerful one-two punch that’s hard to beat. So, we’ll let you decide whether they can work hand-in-hand, but here’s how to use beard oil and balm together.
(Illustrations)
Another way to use both beard oil and balm on your beard is to use one in the morning and one at bedtime. Beard balm offers a great solution for when you wake up with bed-beard – you know, the one with pillow dents and unruly stray hairs. While you can also use beard oil in the morning, and many men do, you can choose to apply it just before you go to bed to keep it soft and moisturized as you sleep.
Beard oil is also a good option when you’re going on a date because most of them come in great scents (so does beard balm, for that matter, although a balm’s fragrance may not be as strong as beard oil). But be careful to make sure the fragrance isn’t overpowering because A) subtle is always better, especially if the scent isn’t particularly to your date’s liking, and B) some people have allergic reactions to fragrances, including headaches.
If things get, ahem, particularly romantic (and physical) with your date, you may need to use a balm in the morning to re-shape your beard into its original style.
Is there a right and wrong time to apply beard balm? Strictly speaking, no – but most men’s grooming experts say that applying your balm after you first get out of the shower is the ideal time.
You’ll want to gently pat some of the excess moisture out of your beard with your towel, but you also want to leave it slightly damp because that allows you to work the balm into your facial hair and skin more easily.
Once you’ve reduced your beard’s moisture to the “damp” stage, comb or brush it to remove tangles and knots, or stray hairs that have already fallen out. Note: A multitude of loose hairs isn’t a reason to panic. It’s normal to lose facial hair every day. If you feel like you’re shedding more hair than normal, then try using a comb instead of a brush.
Whichever grooming tool you use, however, do yourself a favor and use a brush with bristles made of boar’s hair and not a comb that’s not handmade – such as the plastic kind you can purchase almost anywhere for a few bucks. Mass manufactured combs and brushes often wreak havoc on your beard.
Leave a comment