John BenosEver seen a man on the street with a thick and healthy beard and wondered how he does it? Whether you have tried to grow a beard many times in the past or you’re trying it out for the first time ever, there’s always a chance you may be dissatisfied with the way your beard looks and feels.
Most men complain about beards being itchy in the first few weeks as they grow out stubbles. Then comes the flakes and dryness that goes along with having a thick set of hair on your face. Years of shaving have also made the tops of your beard hair sharp and pointed, like a spear. These flaky and poky beards are not what you were looking for when you first set out on this journey of masculine expressionism.
All this may have left you wondering how those guys in photoshoots get their extra clean and soft looking beards. What can you do to change the way your facial hair looks and feels like?
Thankfully, there is a solution for this.
It’s called beard oil and men across the world are taking note of just how useful it really is.
Beard oil is usually made of either jojoba oil, argan oil or any other variety of oil used in cosmetics as a base oil together with other ingredients such as essential oil that gives the beard oil more properties such as vitamins and scents.
Remind me, what’s beard oil again?
Beard oil is essentially an oil that you apply to the beard to make the hair and skin on your face look amazing. It also has many health benefits so your facial hair not only looks good with the oil but also grows better. It’s a win-win.
So, are you ready to learn how to use beard oil?
Here is everything you need to know about this magic potion for the beard.
The best time to apply beard oil
A lot of men pick out their favourite brand of beard oil and then wonder when and how often to apply it. Of course, if you live a very busy life and struggle to find the time to apply beard oil you could just do it whenever you get a chance. The problem, though, is the results won’t be as great unless you apply the oil regularly.
The best time to apply the oil is in the morning right after your shower. A warm water bath or shower opens your pores up and allows easier access to the skin and hair roots. This is also the reason why its best to shave right after a shower – you can go deeper with the blade.
But you don’t need to open up your pores with warm water only when shaving. You can apply beard oil and allow the skin and hair follicles to soak up the super healthy ingredients much more deeply if the pores are open.
Now, you’ve got to make sure you have thoroughly towel dried your hair before you go ahead and put the oil on. Oil and water don’t mix so you have to make sure your beard is as dry as possible before going any further. Let your hair air dry for a bit too but don’t wait too long or your pores will shut back up.
How much beard oil should you use?
Remember how you used sunscreen for the first time on vacation? You didn’t know exactly how much to use and thought that more was better. Boy, were you wrong! You had sunscreen dripping all over.
Beard oil, like sunscreen, has nowhere to go if it won’t be absorbed into your skin. Neither beard oil nor sunscreen are water-based so the solution won’t just evaporate off the top of your skin, it needs to be soaked up.
This means that there is a chance you could be using too much. A little goes a long way with beard oil so get the quantity just right. How much exactly, depends on you and you may need to figure this out by trial and error.
The amount also depends on the length and thickness of your facial hair. It may take a while but eventually you will figure out the right amount and this is the key to getting the most out of that bottle of beard oil.
The Process
Once you’ve got a hang of how many drops of oil your beard needs, just pour some out onto your hand and rub it onto your face. This process is very straightforward if you haven’t grown a full beard yet. The hair on your face is short and its easy to distribute the oil all over the beard evenly.
Use your fingers
But if you hair has grown a bit longer, you may need to put in a little more effort to use the oil effectively. Basically you need to use your fingers to rub the oil everywhere you can on your beard. Start with the thickest part of the beard and rub all over the chin, neck and cheeks. Don’t forget the sideburns as well.
Beard brush can do wonders
Image Courtesy: flickr/samuelhteer
Your secret weapon at this stage is a beard comb. A good quality comb will help evenly distribute the oil into your beard hair and skin. You need to run the comb through the hair in a upward motion so that you are pushing the oil in and not taking it away. Make sure its nicely in there and there is no spot left.
A boar bristle beard brush can really make the difference here since it’s able to distribute the beard oil across the length of your facial hair. Not to mention that it’s softer than artificial brushes.
Alternatively, you can use a beard comb and not a cheap brush. Invest in a good quality beard comb. Don’t go for the cheap ones you get from the pharmacy since the sharp and jagged teeth on those combs will in fact damage your hair and skin.
It is a lot of fun seeing your beard hair get all puffed up and crazy while using the comb. It’s one of the many pleasures of having a beard.
Just make sure the oil gets pushed as far as it can go into your beard. The longer the hair on your face grows the harder it is to get oil down to the skin so thats what you need to try and tackle with this beard comb.
Lift up the hair and push the oil towards the cheeks and neck. Don’t forget the moustache as well.
Once you are done applying the oil you can use the comb to nicely shape the beard up. I know it would be a lot of fun keeping the beard all puffed up and crazy big looking but you have to show your face in public. Just use the beard comb to get the whole thing in line and then use your fingers to twist up the moustache.
Note: Beard oil is made entirely of natural products and is designed especially for your facial hair. Don’t hesitate to use any whenever possible.
Why you are going to love using beard oil.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, using beard oil is extremely simple. The product doesn’t cost a lot in most cases and its easily available. Not only does it make the hair on your face healthier it also makes it look shiny and spectacular. The facial hair is so shiny and soft its almost magical in a way.
Try it out and walk down the street with your sophisticated and glorious beard.
So, how do you use beard oil? Any other techniques you might be using?
# You can also check this video from Zeus Beard that shows you how to apply beard oil directly on your beard with an eye dropper, without putting it in your hands first. After that you can use the brush to distribute the oil across your facial hair. Check it out
Image Courtesy: StockVault
