Men’s grooming has been an important staple, that is constantly innovating and changing, over the decades the classic gentleman’s guide to grooming has also started to expand to different techniques and styles of beards. Here is the ultimate guide for grooming your beard:
Growing it
In order to begin beard grooming you first have to find nourishing and successful methods of growing it. The methods that are used to grow your hair depend on a lot of different factors such as:
Health and Vitamins:
Promoting a healthy lifestyle such as getting enough rest, eating healthy, and getting in lots of water and fluids actually can help your beard grow.
Resting helps your body repair and energize, and that’s why they don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing. When you are staying awake at night and only getting a minimal amount of sleep your body does not have the proper energy levels to fully replenish itself, so sleeping for a good 6-8 hours can really get the job done. Another good habit you can pick up on, in addition, to those habits are improving your eating habits. For example, eating less fried and processed food can actually make your skin more healthy thus, resulting in fewer pimples and acne, and again, improving skin health making it an enriched environment for healthy hair growth. Even adding hydrating fruits and vegetables, along with drinking water is a great way
Ethnicity and Genetics:
Hair growth can also be influenced by different ethnics and genetics, each ethnic group has a different method and treatment required to stimulate beard growth. It can have an impact on the immense or sparse amount of facial hair that is shown, as well as age, so taking a look at the male members of your family tree can also help you learn some family tips and secrets on the growth of facial hair.
Skincare:
The health of your skin is fundamental to growing your beard. There are different skin types and identifying your specific one is key to stimulating beard growth.
Oily Skin
A way to identify oily skin is by examining the size of your pores, and the look of shine that may be on your face regularly. Here are some ways to create a regimen that best reduces the oil production of your skin:
Washing Your Face:
Washing your face at least two times a day will keep your pores from getting clogged and will keep your face nice and dry. And when drying your face make sure to tap or dab it dry rather than rubbing
Honey:
Honey is famous for having many anti-bacterial and skin promoting properties; including helping with oily skin, mainly because it draws out the oil of your face all the while replenishing it with moisture. You can either make a mask and apply raw organic honey to your face, or find a facial wash with honey as one of the main ingredients.
Glycerin Soap:
Similar to honey, glycerin soap is a humectant that can canning out the oiliness within your face while attracting moisture to your skin then sealing it in. Cleansing your face with glycerin soaps is an ideal way of helping reducing oily skin.
Gel:
After cleansing your skin a good lightweight moisturizer is actually a gel. It doesn’t add any additional oiliness such as lotions and creams.
There are many more ways to treat oily skin, such as soaps, moisturizers, etc that are specifically catered to help treat it.
Dry Skin
A way to identify dry skin is by examining the flakiness, texture, and level of moisture (also known as the ash) of your skin. Here are some ways to create a regimen that best increases the amount of moisture in your skin.
Do Not Exfoliate:
While exfoliation may be good a great way of cleaning and detoxifying your skin, it should not be used if you have dry skin. If your skin is dry, it is more than likely because it needs more moisture and oils not less, so avoid beaded body or facial washes, or harsh wash clothes.
Coconut Oil:
Coconut oil is a very hydrating, and moisturizing oil with lots of beneficial properties for the skin, using this as a moisturizer, or facial was will definitely leave your skin feeling nourished and re-hydrated.
An Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Blend:
Using lotions or soaps that contain oatmeal, milk, and honey whether together or separately can help soothe and smooth the flakiness and dryness of your skin. Oatmeal itself is full of rich soothing antioxidants which provide hydration to your skin, as well as honey. Milk contains a fat called, phospholipids, which helps moisturizes and strengthens the skin barrier.
Applying A Moisturizer While Skin Is Still Wet:
When getting out of the tub or shower, and your skin and face are still damp, this is the best time to apply your moisturizer. When you are in the tub or shower your pores are open due to the heat or steam, and while your pores are still open it is best to apply a moisturizer to seal the moisture into your pores while they are closing.
Combination Skin
When you have a combination skin type it can be a little bit tricky finding the right regimen and care for it properly. A way to identify a combination skin type is by examining your skin to see if certain areas of your face are dry, while some others may be oily. Here are some ways to create a regimen that best creates a balance and treats all of the different areas of your skin to promote even beard growth.
Use A Gentle Facial Wash:
Since your skin is a combination of both oily and dry using a gentle facial cleanser that is not too harsh or too moisturizing is a great way to neutralize your skin.
Cucumber Juice and Honey:
This combination for your skin will help even out the textures of your skin, the cucumber will help provide hydration and firmness to your skin while the honey will draw out excess oils and provide hydration as well.
Oatmeal and Curd:
The oatmeal provides a healthy exfoliation of the skin, while the curd acts as a moisturizer for the skin creating a perfect balance.
If you have a combination skin type it is best to combine moisturizing and exfoliating properties together to provide the best results.
Normal Skin
When you have normal skin it typically means your skin is well balanced and doesn’t contain excess moisture or need additional amounts of it. This means you can use whatever regimen you would like and what best makes your skin personally feel healthy and clean.
Beard Growth Advice
As noted earlier different products, such as oils, lotions, soaps, moisturizers, etc can affect different types of skin in a different way than intended, so remember to a closer look at the ingredients within some of the products you use.
Beard products will not only help boost your beard’s growing capabilities, they will also help care for the skin underneath your beard.
Itchiness
When waiting for your hair to grow, patience is probably one of the greatest steps to achieving the beard you want. Try to refrain yourself from scratching, plucking or shaving because it can irritate your already irritated follicles which can be new to having hair. The best thing you can do in addition to all of the following steps is to let it grow, no matter how itchy or irritating. Here are some ways to decrease the itchiness of your beard:
Wash Your Face Regularly
As mentioned before, washing your face is crucial to beard growth, when your hair is growing some of the follicles is still exposed, which can trap food, dirt, oil, etc. so keeping your face clean can help avoid your beard being so agitated.
Stay Away From Chemicals
Using shampoos and lotions that contain harsh chemicals can be a reason that your beard is irritated
Maintaining It:
In order to keep the beard you’ve grown nice and healthy maintaining a healthy daily or regular regimen can promote further growth, improve your health and appearance.
Washing Your Beard
Making sure not only your beard is clean but for your skin that is underneath, is a major part of upkeep and maintenance. Unlike your face, you should not wash your beard every day, men tend to produce more oils that naturally nourish and keep the beard, nice and moisturized, and washing your beard on the daily basis, or too often, will tend to make it rough, and dry. The recommended amount of time to wash your beard maybe once or twice a week, however, if you spend a lot of time in the outside environment, working or playing sports, you can wash as needed, but ensure you are constantly replenishing your moisture.
Here is a great technique to regularly wash and clean your beard while not damaging it as well.1. Apply or Soak With Warm Water
Do not use hot water when cleaning your beard, hot water tends to evaporate and strip the oils in your beard, and although you do want your beard to be clean, however, you do not want the essential oils and vitamins to be stripped in the process, so make sure your water is at the right temperature.
2. Use A Moisturizing Shampoo
Using a moisturizing shampoo or a shampoo specifically catered for beards is the best way to cleanse it, the shampoo can, therefore, remove any unwanted dirt, while still keeping the proper amount of moisture into the beard.
3. Massage Your Beard
When washing your beard it is important to avoid roughly scrubbing or scratching your beard, your face is a more sensitive area and this can cause it to become very irritated with ingrown hairs, and bumps so instead, gently massage the shampoo into your beard.4. Thoroughly Rinse and Apply Conditioner
After gently washing your beard rinse with warm water to make sure all the residue is out, and then apply conditioner, rubbing the conditioner gently into the beard, and then let it sit roughly for about 2 to 3 minutes. This allows the product to soften the hair as well as detangle it before you comb and brush it out.
5. Brushing Your Beard
When brushing your beard ensure that you are not rough, again your face is an extremely sensitive area, and any yanking or pulling could result in irritation. Instead, if your beard is on the longer side, hold the base of your bear and gently comb your beard starting from the bottom, and working your way up.
6. Thoroughly Rinse and Gently Dry
After you have finished detangling your beard, thoroughly rinse out the conditioner to avoid residue, because it can lead to flakiness in the future when dried, and then pat or dab your beard dry to avoid over-drying and split ends.
Vitamins and Nutrition:
Even though it was advised to take vitamins and supplements, as well as an increase in nutrition while growing your beard it is still essential in maintaining the same intake to provide and keep your beard as healthy possible.
Trimming and Shaving:
Something very important and essential to beard grooming and growth is shaving and trimming, it is actually best to wait until your beard is fully grown to your liking. Doing these correctly can actually help your beard grow, however, if done incorrectly it can cause ingrown hairs, pimples, and acne, as well as stunted hair growth. so here are some techniques you can use to properly shave and trim your beard.
1. Start On The Longest Hair Length
When first starting the trim and style your beard take your time, and start trimming on the longest hair length, This is essential because once you trim a bit of hair it’s gone and there are simply no do-overs or coverups, so really take your time during this process.
2. Go Against The Grain
When trimming and styling your beard go against the growth of your hair, to remove any bulkiness your beard may have.
3. Define Your Neckline
After your beard is at the length to your liking defining your neckline is the next step, the best way to trim is to start on one side and work your way to the other. After you have a pretty good definition of your neckline, it is best to shave the hairs that are leftover to solidify a fresh clean look.
Styling It
The way you style your facial hair is not only an important factor for growth and health but for appearance, training your beard while it’s growing can make it easier to hold the style later on, here are some things to consider when styling your beard.
Face Shape
When choosing the style of beard you would like the number one thing to consider is your face shape.
Pro tip: If you don’t know your face shape a quick and easy way to find out is by going to the mirror and tracing the outline of your face onto the mirror and comparing pictures to see what it most resembles.
Here are the best beard styles to compliment the following face shapes:
Oblong/Rectangular Face Shapes
Oblong and rectangular facial shapes tend to be long and narrow, The beards that most are most flattering to an oblong facial shape are the chin strap and mutton beard styles, these will help make your face appear fuller.
Oval Face Shapes
An oval face shape represents the shape of an oval, if you have an oval face shape almost any beard will more than likely be a great fit for your face, due to the fact that it is fairly proportioned.
Round Face Shapes
If you have a rounder face shape with wider jaws and a shorter chin a beard style that is more defined around the cheeks and long on the chin will do perfectly and will make your face appear longer.
Square Face Shapes
Square face shapes usually have well defined chiseled square jaws which are the most popular, the beards to best fit this face shape are that accentuate the jawline such as the “Balboa beard”.
Heart Face Shape
For a heart facial shape, meaning your forehead is larger than your jawline and cheekbones, the best beard style for you would be a full beard because this will proportion your face making it appear wider.
Diamond Face Shapes
Diamond face shapes the cheekbones tend to protrude further out from the face than that of the forehead or jawline. The best beard style for this face shape is the Balboa with a mustache or full beard to bring fullness to your jawline.
Dying and Coloring Your Beard
In case you have a bit of grey coming in or you just want a pop of color for your beard, here are some tips on how to properly dye your beard.
1. Choosing The Permanency of the Dye
What kind of dye you choose is very important because it highly depends on how harsh the chemicals are and how long it will last.
- Permanent hair dye is supposed to hold the color of the dye for a long time after the first and initial application, this means it will more than likely last a few months with a few touch-ups needed depending on the growth of your hair. In order to achieve such a long-lasting color result, the chemicals will be a bit harsher than that of the temporary hair dye.
- Temporary hair dye is only supposed to hold the color of the dye for a shorter period of time after its first and initial application, this means it will last for a few days to weeks tops. This permanency will require a lot more maintenance, because of the fact the product will not last very long.
2. Sensitivity Test
After you have decided on the color and permanence of the dye, it is now time to do a sensitivity test on a small area on the inside of your forearm or another area to ensure no allergic reaction, skin irritation or sensitivity occur. The recommend wait time is roughly 24 hours to ensure there is no sensitivity however if you do feel itchiness, or see redness and swelling, do not use the product. If there are none of the following symptoms then you can proceed with the coloring process.
3. Test A Small Area
Test a small unnoticeable area of your beard to ensure it is the right color for you and does not do any damage to your hair, the wait time for the test to see the best results should be roughly 24 hours as well.4. Do Not Wash Your Beard Directly Before Dyeing Your Beard
Do not wash your beard, shower or bathe before dyeing your hair, because this will strip the natural oils that naturally protect your hair. If you want to ensure that your beard is clean, wash and clean it at least 24 to 48 hours before dyeing it.
5. Protect Your Face and Skin
Adding a layer a Vaseline around the outline of your beard, face, and neck will protect it from being stained later on.
6. Gather All Required Supplies
When dyeing your hair it is best to have all the required supplies in the same area, including towels, gloves, the applicator brush, water, etc. It is also best to wear a T-Shirt you don’t mind staining.
7. Dye It
When dyeing your beard it is best to start from the base or bottom of your beard and your work your way up, and if your beard is on the longer side it is also best to divide it into sections for optimal application and smooth coverage.
After dyeing your beard make sure to shampoo and condition right afterwards and thoroughly rinse to ensure all products are out to prevent residue and further drying.
Another great thing to do is to ensure that your beard as plenty of oil and moisture, to prevent breakage and damage.
There are hundreds of beard tips out there, different all around the world. These tips are universal and can act as the basis for your grooming routine, until you start to do things in your own way.
If you are new to beard grooming, we recommend the JC Grooming kit. It comes with 100% natural and organic Beard Oil, Balm and Butter all in one pack. It’s a one-stop grooming kit, and you can choose from any of our three incredible scents: Komorebi, Zyphr and Trouvaille.
Just like what you put into your mouth, we here at JC Grooming only use natural, organic ingredients to make our beard oils, butter and balms.
- If you want to give your beard the same quality of nutrition you give your body, check out JC Grooming’s line of beard products!
- If you want a more guided look at exactly what to eat to ramp up your beard growth, we wrote a guide on it here.
- To see an example of the beard grooming routine we use at JC Grooming, check our video on YouTube here.
