Why Beards Need Beard Products, Not Shampoo or Hair Brushes
Photo: Kevin Mueller on Unsplash
Your beard’s not just some one-dimensional sex object, you know.
That thing needs proper care. Otherwise, you’re just doing it for the babes. And yes, the babes dig it, but they won’t when it starts nesting garden pests.
Now, some of you who are new to beard products might cry “snake oil!” And that’s alright. That’s your economic shrewdness at play, a good thing. Plus, grooming and beauty is an industry notorious for overproducing all kinds of crap you don’t need. Just peruse the aisles of any major department store.
But, well-made beard products are needed if you wear one yourself. The truth is, a lot of nasty stuff gets caught in your beard on the daily.
Like pizza crust and latte art. And a few other things.
Let’s begin:
You Beard Gets Dirty, But Don’t Freak Out About It. Remember that study from last year that likened beards to dog fur? Look, we love canines, but we’re not going that far. Yes, men’s beards accumulate bacteria, the likes of which the naked eye never spots. But technically, that study proved that dogs can be used in the same MRI scanners as humans without posing a health risk to us, not that our beards are deadly. Check it out:
“A total of 18/18 men displayed high microbe counts, while seven dogs exhibited moderate microbe counts and 23 dogs had high microbe counts. More human-pathogenic bacteria were found in the men's beard than in the dogs' fur. In 7/18 humans and 4/30 dogs, we found human-pathogenic bacteria. However, this difference does not meet statistical significance (p = 0.074)." Source: European Radiology
While our beards can collect more bacteria than a dog’s coat, it doesn’t mean they’re disease factories. And, if anything, science has shown that some of those microbes in our manes can actually kill the bad kind of bacteria.
That said, you scratch your eyes and head, let alone all the contact you make with things like bathroom doors. And, you touch your face and scratch your beard with those same, bare hands, and without even thinking about it, too. Which brings us to point two…
Beard Wash Is Your Beard’s Best Friend, Shampoo Is Not. And if you’ve used shampoo, stop. Your common, name-brand shampoo cleans, yes, but it also strips sebum from your skin, a natural oil our sebaceous glands make to stave off dryness. Your scalp produces more of this stuff than your face does, thus making shampooing your head ideal. No one wants greasy hair (though, you should only shampoo two to three days a week, or you will dry out your scalp… which secretes less sebum as guys age). Our face-friendly beard wash has no parabens or sulphates, the two main culprits when it comes to dry skin. Not to mention it’ll get rid of that annoying itch. Lather your beard up with a good amount when you’re showering, that way it’ll penetrate the hair and clean your face, too.
Never Skimp On Beard Balm. Beards—and the skin beneath them—need a fresh layer of moisture post-wash, which makes a good quality balm a must for keeping a handsome mane. They usually have Vitamin E, the undisputed champ for moisturizing skin.
Boar Hair Is Your Beard’s Other Best Friend. Beards can be unwilling traps for dead skin cells, residue and excess oil (that sebum we mentioned earlier.) That’s why running boar bristles through it on the regular keeps all that unwanted stuff out, which, in turn, prevents acne and rashes. Boar hair’s also great for distributing our balm throughout your whole beard, keeping it soft, stylish, and split end-free. Once you’ve worked in some beard balm, just brush your whiskers downward, start from the top of your cheeks. You’ll know you’ve finished when your beard’s got a subtle luster to it.
Remember—don’t picture all that benign bacteria partying in your beard. It can’t harm you. Same time, if you’re going to commit to wearing a beard, keep the right tools and habits around, and that thing will live the rest of its life in glory and splendour.
You want that.