How to Wash a Beard

I received the following products in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. This post contains affiliate links.

This is a picture of my husband and me. One of my husband’s most notable features is his big beard. At first, it started out as a goatee, which my husband maintained for several years. My husband then decided that he didn’t like shaving anymore, so he grew out his beard. I don’t mind it as long as he maintains it well. 

Maintaining a big beard means keeping it clean. This mean more than picking out the bits of food that almost always seem to land in it whenever he eats. It is a matter of taking care of the facial hair and skin beneath it.

What to Use to Wash Your Beard

Some men use facial soap, which is great for cleaning skin, but not necessarily hair. Others use traditional shampoo, which is good for cleaning your hair and scalp, but not the skin on your face. While you can use facial soap or shampoo to wash your beard, the best thing to use is beard shampoo. This product is specially formulated for facial hair, which is different than the hair on your scalp.

My husband received a bottle of beard shampoo from Beardsmen Spirit in exchange for a review and this blog post. My husband used the shampoo several times and told me that enjoys it. He said that he likes using the beard shampoo for his facial hair better than regular shampoo because it makes his beard feel a lot cleaner. The “Bold Forest” scent come from the eucalyptus and tea tree oil, which help nourish and protect skin. 

When telling me about the beard shampoo, my husband stated he has to use beard oil or a beard conditioner after shampooing his facial hair because the product tends to strip the natural oils.

How to Wash a Beard

1. Wet your beard with warm water. It is a good idea to do this in the shower.
2. Place a small amount of beard shampoo into the palm of your hand, like you would traditional shampoo.
3. Rub your hands together to distribute the shampoo. Then rub your hands in your beard so the shampoo starts to lather.
4. Use your fingers to spread the shampoo to your skin, mustache and the lengths of your beard. Keep your mouth closed and take care to avoid getting the shampoo up your nose.
5. Rinse your beard with warm water to remove all the shampoo.
6. Dry your beard with a towel.
7. Close the pores on your face using a facial toner. Or, splash cool water on your face before drying your beard.
8. Apply beard oil or conditioner to your beard. Since you closed your pores in the previous step, the conditioner or oil is less likely clog them and make your skin breakout.

How Often to Wash a Beard

Shower daily. Wash your beard twice a week. Like the hair on your head, washing facial hair too often will cause it to dry out, become brittle and lose its shine. On the days that you shower but don’t wash your beard, simply rinse it with water. However, if you sweat or get your face dirty, you may need to shampoo your beard more often. 

What are your favorite beard care tips?

I received the products mentioned in exchange for an unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission if you click on a product link and make a purchase through Amazon.com.

How to Care for a Beard + DIY Beard Oil

I received the products mentioned in exchange for an honest review on my blog. The opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Well, today they are my husband's.) This post contains affiliate links.

Today, the beard is about 2 inches longer

My husband has a BIG beard and it brings him great pride. Not only is he keeping up with Pacific Northwest Fashion, he never has to shave. (This is a bonus for him because he hates shaving.) People ask him about how he cares for his beard and learn that it's not that hard. Here are some tips that he offers for awesome beard care:

1. Wash It

Like the hair on your head, you have to wash the hair on your face. My husband uses regular shampoo for his beard. If you have sensitive skin, a baby shampoo will be better.

2. Condition It

Beard hair is naturally coarse and wiry. My husband used my hair conditioner until he received Smooth Viking’s Beard Conditioner, which he liked. He said that it’s like a balm or soft wax with a light scent that you can’t even feel when you apply lit. He thinks that it’s a good product to use every day if you’re not using beard oil.

3. Oil It

If you don’t want to use a beard conditioner, beard oil is a good substitute. My husband recently tried and reviewed three different oils:

• RealMan Company Beard Oil: My husband was surprised by the oil’s scent because it smells like coffee. He likes that it’s an all-natural product and that it comes with a dropper for easy application. He hates pouring beard oil into his hand.
• CanYou Handlebar Beard Oil: This was my husband’s least favorite of the three oils that he tried. While the oil comes in a cool-looking flask, the container is the product’s flaw. When you pour out the oil, it collects around the flask’s mouth, forming a gum. When this happens, the lid doesn’t close tightly. So, if the flask tips over, the oil spills. He also said the oil’s scent is “interesting” and lingers for most of the day.
• SmoothViking Beard Oil: My husband thinks this is a good beard oil for everyday use. It does not have a strong scent and it comes with a dropper.

4. Shape It

Most guys don’t use hair gel or mousse in their beards. Instead, they use a balm. My husband used Smooth Viking’s Beard Balm, which is like a slightly stiff wax. He says that it’s “Really nice if you want to keep part or most of your beard from moving around as much as it does normally.”

5. Wax It

If you feel like getting fancy, you may choose to give your mustache a particular shape. My husband likes to have a handlebar mustache sometimes and uses mustache wax for this. He tried Can You Handlebar’s Moustache Wax, which he says has a light tobacco-like scent. While the wax held all day, my husband said that it wasn’t as good as a different brand he tried. 

How to Make Beard Oil

If you’re on a budget, you may have the ingredients necessary to make beard oil at home. Otherwise, a small investment in the items necessary will last you a long time.

What You Need

• Carrier oil, I like the fractionated coconut oil from goPure Naturals
• Essential oils in the scents that you like
• A small glass jar that’s tinted (tinted is best because light exposure degrades some oils)
• Funnel

What to Do

1. Pour the carrier oil into the small jar until it’s ¾ of the way full. In addition to fractionated coconut oil, rosehip seed oil is another great option because it won’t cause your skin to break-out. 

2. Add two or three drops of essential oil into the jar. Feel free to mix the oils to create a blend that you like. Some ideas for manly smelling oils include:

• Tea tree oil
• Peppermint oil 
• Lemon oil
• Orange oil 
• Anise oil 
• Bay oil 
• Cedarwood oil 
• Cinnamon oil 
• Frankincense oil 
• Lavender oil 
• Eucalyptus oil 
• Juniper oil 
• Sandlewood oil 
• Rosewood oil 
• Sage oil 
• Vanilla oil 
• Rose oil 
• Lilac oil 

While rose, lilac and vanilla don't seem like manly scents, they smell nice when mixed with other oils. Some ideas for combinations are rosewood oil with rose oil or sandlewood oil with orange. Keep in mind that a drop or two of essential oils go a long way, so you don't need much. 

3. Put the lid on the bottle and shake to blend. If the scent of the oils is too strong, add more of the carrier oil to the bottle.

I received the products mentioned in exchange for an unbiased review on my blog. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission if you click on an Amazon.com link and make a purchase.