BEARD CARE AND GROOMING GUIDE
Read time: 5 mins
Growing a beard takes time, devotion and a fair amount of patience but few other things can transform a man’s appearance with quite the same impact. Hundreds (thousands?) of men across Australia set off on their own beard growing journey every day, armed with nothing more than a vision for their future self and a pair of cheeks.
As the days go on and their beard begins to grow, many of these men start to ask themselves two questions: “How can I stop my beard itching?!” and “How do I make it look less… messy?”. The good news is that there are simple fixes at hand. We’ll cover these and more below, and if there’s anything we haven’t addressed, just ask in the comments!
EARLY GROWTH
When starting out with a new beard, the most important thing is to keep the skin clean and moisturised, and in doing so, give the hair the best conditions for growth. Adding a beard wash or shampoo to your daily grooming routine is a great place to start. Unlike regular soaps, beard washes and shampoos are specially-formulated to cleanse away dirt and grime without stripping away natural oils that protect the skin.
Beard oils, with their blends of essential oils, do a great job at softening and conditioning the hairs, making them much neater and more manageable. They also help to replenish natural oils from the skin that can be lost throughout the day or after a shower. This is important in preventing beard itch, which is commonly caused by dry, irritated skin under the beard.
To make choosing easier, our Beard Starter Kit includes our all-natural, Beard Oil and Beard Shampoo which smell great and make beards look even better!
MEDIUM LENGTH
As your beard continues to grow, your maintenance tool kit will expand alongside it. Applying an oil and daily shampooing should continue, but with the extra length, you’ll need to pay some more attention to keeping your whiskers tidy. Enter: hardware.
A good quality beard brush should have a comfortable grip and firm bristles that gently exfoliate the underlying skin whilst straightening and untangling the hairs. This helps to rejuvenate the skin by removing any dead cells, which will then be washed away with your beard shampoo.
Crafting a well-shaped beard, much like a garden hedge, requires trimming. Using a high-quality beard trimmer, like our hero beard trimmer, can make all the difference. Not only does it allow for quick maintenance, but it's also designed for precise shaping, making it a superior choice for grooming. Beard scissors are compact in size, have rounded tips to avoid nasty nicks and easily cut through even the thickest hair. Keep an eye out for stainless steel construction, as they are rust-resistant and won’t be affected by oils or balms.
When shaping your beard, a good rule of thumb is to follow the shape of your jawline. That is, men with round or square head shapes should aim for shorter sides and fuller hair around the chin. Rectangular head shapes call for fuller sides and slightly shorter chin length, whilst oval head shapes look best with a more even length all around.
FULL LENGTH
The line that separates a medium length and full length beard is very fuzzy. However, if your beard is out to a few centimetres from your cheeks or moves around in the wind, there’s a good chance you have a full length beard. Congratulations!
Anyone with a full length beard is likely already well-versed in the art of maintaining their creation, but if your beard seems to have a mind of its own, beard balms and moustache waxes are your saviours!
Beard balms vary in hold strength from light to medium, and can generally be thought of as the solid equivalent of a beard oil (Beard Basics: Beard Oil vs Beard Balm). Many beard balms are made with essential oils to condition the hair and skin, but most will include a wax or similar substance that lends the balm some slight hold.
Combined with a brush or comb, a beard balm is useful in tidying up fly-away hairs and giving a long beard a more uniform shape.
Moustache waxes are generally quite stiff, and hold varies from medium to strong. Don’t be put off by the small containers as only a little wax is needed to give the moustache some serious style. With most waxes, rubbing a small amount between the fingertips to warm it up before application will give the best results.
That about sums it up! If you've made it this far, you should have an understanding of the various beard care products in our range and how each of them plays a role in creating a neat, healthy beard. If anything is unclear or you would like some more information, please feel to leave a comment below or get in touch via our Contact Page. Happy growing!
I have been using percy nobleman products and couldnt be happier!
I have a full length beard, I use beard wax and moe wax in the morning, and beard oil before bed.
I highly recommend beard and blade, they have a great selection of beard products, good prices, and super fast delivery.
5 stars!!!
Hi Michael, thanks for the question! Generally speaking, flakiness under the beard is caused by dry, irritated skin as a result of the beard wicking away moisture. However, for those with naturally oily skin, the flakiness can sometimes be caused by too much oil being trapped against the skin by the beard.
It sounds like the second reason is what may be at play with your beard, and the reason why the beard oils you’ve tried so far haven’t helped. For you, I’d recommend keeping up the beard wash/shampoo daily to keep the oil under control, and switching to a beard balm that’s not heavily oil-based.
I’d recommend the Proraso Beard Balms which are a liquid balm, as opposed to the more traditional wax-like balms. It should provide the extra gloss you like from the beard oils without exacerbating the flakiness you described.
I hope that helps!
Hi B&B,
I have a short beard which is fairly healthy with shampooing and comes up glossier with beard oil but the skin underneath it has a hard time. I have used a few oils but they seem to perpetuate the problem, in fact, I get harder larger flakes when I use oil consistently. Do you think it’s a particular ingredient that causes this for me? Should I try something else? Should I go harder, by applying twice a day for a while until the flaking stops?
Many thanks for your informative website and opportunity to ask questions.
Hi Wan,
Thanks for your question! The early stages of growing a beard can be unpleasant, but the good news is that it doesn’t need to be! With a good quality beard wash to keep the beard clean, and a beard oil to soften the hairs and moisturise the skin, you’ll help to relieve any itchiness and prevent any flaking skin. This will make it much easier to keep the beard growing rather than shaving it off after a month.
I hope that information helps! :)
Please I need some guide since ,i have beard but the thing is,the moustache wont connect to my beard ,it like having some gap on it,is it normal? And let me remind you that i never let my facial hair grow more than 1 month since it is so itchy and my question is mainly about making sure that those moustache will connect to the beard. Should I just grow it for a while? I just wish i can really ask someone who is an expert on this,
Hi Robert! I’m sure your beard will love it too! 😁
Just received beard wash product very happy with quick delivery smells great