Growing a beard to full fluff is a bit more demanding than simply allowing your facial hair to naturally blossom. Because while nature doesn’t need much help to take its course, the itchiness involved with facial hair growth is a battle meant for warriors – only the toughest (or just people who do their research) can resist the urge to shave it all off.
If this is your first time growing out your beard, or your thousandth trial, the itchiness is bound to be unbearable. Don’t bring out your shaving stick just yet. Because even though beards start out itchy, you don’t have to put on a brave front because eventually, the itching will stop. Besides, there are techniques you can follow to minimize said vile itchiness.
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How To Clean Your Beard
If you’re used to going clean-shaven, that first beard-growing week is going to be brutal. The reason is that new hairs tend to spring out with very sharp edges, which can chafe the tender skin on your face.
It doesn’t help that stubbles hinder the body’s natural ability to dispel dead skin cells. These accumulated dead cells, coupled with sharp hair edges, make growing a beard a truly horrendous affair.
The first Secret Is to Wash Your Beard Regularly.
Just not any type of washing though. A typical guy would use whatever’s available to clean up their beards – a bar of soap, shampoo, shower gel, anything at all that’s within reach. Beard is just hair right?
Wrong! The thing with most soaps and shampoos is that they contain a ton of harsh chemicals – which work effectively against dirt on your scalp and other parts of your body. However, because the skin on your face is extremely fragile, using shampoos and body washes with these harsh chemicals can clog your pores, cause the skin on your face to flake and lose its natural oil. This why your beard stays itchy even after you shower – when your beard should technically be clean.
Fortunately, there are alternatives you can use instead of subjecting yourself to this dreadful itching. Specialized beard soaps or shampoos help keep things neat,
It’s essential that you read the contents of any beard shampoo before buying. Anything with aloe vera, or argan oil is fine. Run away from any shampoo that contains sulfur – you might as well use your shower gel for all the good it will do.
Bear in mind that just because your beard’s meant to be kept clean at all times, doesn’t mean you should wash it everyday. That would be overdoing it, and could strip your beard of its natural oils, like any ordinary shampoo would.
How often should you wash your beard?
1 to 3 times a week should do, unless you’re exposed to dust all the time (if so, wash more often).
How To Wash Your Beard
● Moisten your beard with warm water. This will open up your pores, which is good for beard growth.
● Use your fingers to gently massage the beard shampoo into your beard.
● Thoroughly rinse out the latter from your beard, then towel dry it (or use a hairdryer on low heat).
Do You Need To Condition Your Beard?
It’s a lot easier to prevent beard itch if said beard is soft and tangle free, so if your beard’s too itchy, then you might need to include a beard conditioner (not your typical hair conditioner for the same reason you don’t use an ordinary shampoo) in your beard care routine.
Apply Grow A Beard’s organic softener & leave-in-conditioner right after you’ve towel dried your beard. It has been specially formulated with detangling agents which provide a mild coat over your beard to keep it smooth and tangle free.
Grow A Beard conditioner is made of up of Argan oil, jojoba oil, shea butter and sweet almond – ingredients known to promote thick and healthy hair growth. The shea butter keeps your hair hydrated and prevents slit ends, which is useful if you plan on growing out your beard more than a few inches.
You’ll basically need to apply beard conditioner when you’re just starting out, to prevent itching, and when it’s all grown up – maybe Gandalf sought of length (kidding, but you get the point).
How To Keep Your Beard Moisturized
As great as beard conditioners are, they only keep your beard hydrated, not the skin beneath. For that, you’ll need a beard oil. Oils are responsible for preventing flaking, chin dandruffs (or bearddruff) and breakouts caused by your body over-producing natural oils to compensate for what it perceives as extreme dehydration.
Note that its this lack of oil that’s responsible for your itchiness, so straight up, your first goal is to get a beard oil treatment or a balm.
If you’re looking for something a little more natural and unscented, because the distance between your beard, mouth and nose isn’t far, check out Grow A Beard oil. It’s made from organic and unscented jojoba and argan oil. It’s vegan friendly and will also smoothen out your beard’s texture. The oil’s sought of light, but if you’re looking for something thicker you can try Grow A Beard Balm. It contains jojoba oil, wax and butter – which is more conditioning properties than the oil.
Grooming Your Beard
Unfortunately, itching – caused by flaked skin – isn’t the only thing you’ll have to worry about when you start growing your beard. Even worse are ingrown hairs.
You can fight these by maintaining a regular grooming schedule. Run a boar bristle beard brush, like Grow A Beard’s eco-friendly bamboo brush, into your beard to scratch off any dead cells from your skin. Grow A Beard brushes come in a set made of a bristle brush, a small mustache comb and a dual action comb, to help you groom in the direction you want.
Make sure you start brushing immediately after you shower, otherwise you risk allowing your beard to get tangled up in knots.
Other healthy grooming habits you’ll want to incorporate include beard trimming with the right beard scissors or trimmer, all of which are available in a set by Grow A Beard.
Bottom Line?
Having an itchy-free beard is possible, you just need to maintain a healthy grooming lifestyle, with the right beard tools. That said, don’t neglect the role a healthy diet and exercise contributes to an itch free beard.
Just because beard itch is a thing, doesn’t mean it has to be your reality. So keep a healthy diet, exercise and keep grooming.
Keeping your beard as healthy as it can be is a great way to avoid unnecessary irritation. For the most complete beard care package, check out our 6-in-1 Grooming Kit that includes a beard brush, beard comb, balm, oil, trimming scissors, and shaper.
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Hmmm. I always thought it was the Just For Men that was making me itchy.
Yes Maybe 😉