A well groomed beard looks amazing. It transforms into a part of our look and is just as important as that suit or shirt you spent hours picking out. However, nothing instantly ruins your look and confidence faster than angry red pimples underneath it.
Especially in cold weather, your face can react badly to the increase in wind and the decrease in temperature, resulting in beard-related “acne”.
Don’t worry, all of us have suffered from this at one point or another. Luckily there are things you can do to prevent it. A few small steps can keep your mane looking glorious and your skin crystal clear.
What is beard acne?
If you are here looking to rid yourself of these annoying red patches, one could wager that your dive into the world of beards is fairly new. Moving from a clean shaven face to a manly beard can cause unintentional dips in hygiene.
When your beard is new, you may negate beard grooming or not know how to do it quite right, this can cause a lot of dirt and bacteria to clog up your skin. We invite you to read on and learn how to get change this.
Take beard hygiene seriously
Your beard needs as much attention as your head hair and your body hair. The skin on your face is more sensitive and open to the elements when you are out during the day. It’s easy for it to take the brunt of dirt and bacteria in your surroundings. To avoid buildup of acne-causing bacteria, use an organic, premium beard wash and conditioner while you shower.
Post-shower, comb your beard to prevent any dirty tangles and keep your beard hairs from curling back and irritating the skin. It may sound silly, but if your beard hair curls back up to your skin, your body will see it as something foreign and mount a immune response to it. This is more common with shorter beard styles but we should all be wary of this.
Some also recommend to carry a dedicated beard comb at all times. This may be a bit extreme for some, but even I find myself with a beard comb in my backpack wherever I go.
You can keep your beard protected all day with a good beard butter – locking in nutrients and acting as a shield against the elements.
Get a beard wash and conditioner routine
You need to use beard wash and conditioner, there’s no two ways about it. Just remember that too much beard wash can strip your beard and skin of natural oils.
Everyone’s body has different needs, so you need to experiment and see what works best for you. Try to alter the amount of times you shampoo and condition your beard and check the results. Of course, you can’t go wrong with using organic products on your beard, especially beard oils and balms.
The best thing about your grooming routine is that you learn to love it. The effects can be seen and enjoyed instantly – so remember to mix it up and find the perfect regime for you.
Moisturize
Moisturizing is hugely important – dry skin clogs your pores and causes more pimples. Try a mild facial cleanser for your skin along with a beard oil for your hair. Both of these in tandem will make sure your beard is lacking nothing and keep it growing strong.
Many of us forget that the skin under our beard is still skin, and you may find yourself using a face moisturizer but forgetting to apply it to the skin under your hair. Take the time to moisturize your whole face just like you would if you were clean shaven.
Don’t scratch that itch
Resist the urge to pop your pimples or start scratching at itchy areas. Causing distress to the skin under your beard may not always be visible, but scratching and prodding is sure to spread infection and start to become painful.
Be patient for a day or two and up your hygiene, this will all pass soon enough.
Watch how you trim and shave
While you are styling your beard and evening up your lines, be careful not to be too haphazard with that razor. Take a look at your razor and trimmers before you use them, make sure they are clean before they go anywhere near your face. Dirty equipment can cause razor bumps, which can be mistaken for acne.
Never shave against the grain or use products with artificial ingredients that clog the pores. Luckily, all of these can be fixes with just minor adjustments to your routine.
Watch your diet
Like any skin breakout or rash, what you are eating can be the cause. Having a diet full of sugars, processed fats and artificial ingredients can clog up your pores and cause bouts of inflammation. This damages your beard, stunts hair growth and is bad for your body.
You have to take care of your diet if you want a truly fantastic beard. Keep up a healthy balanced diet full of fresh, natural ingredients. This is a whole topic on it’s own, we went over how the nutrients in our food affects your beard here.
Avoid products with artificial ingredients
The main cause of under-beard acne is bacteria building up in your pores. Using shampoos, conditioners, beard oils or balms with artificial ingredients may work out alright in the short-term, but in the long run they invite bacteria and dirt to build up.
Always read the ingredients of anything you use in your grooming regime, and make sure you can actually pronounce the words!
We take this seriously at JC Grooming, all of our products are made of 100% natural ingredients and we post what’s in each item right on the product page.
- To read more about what foods to eat to keep a healthy body and beard, check out our guide posted here.
- Looking for an example of what an experienced beard groomer does every day? We made a straight-forward video to show you just that. See it on the JC Grooming YouTube channel .
- To get more tips on grooming or to keep up on what’s happening at JC Grooming, we invite you to join the family on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter channels.
