Beard Care: What beard products do you really need for a groomed beard?

A groomed beard doesn’t come out of the blue: it’s hard work! But if all the marketing talk is to be believed, you need to buy a lot of products for proper beard care. Nothing could be further from the truth: some beard products are essential and others are optional.

The Beard Man has spent a lot of money on beard care in the past including to stimulate beard growth. Has it made a difference? Little … the only products you really need for good beard care is: beard shampoo and beard oil.

The best grooming products 2023

Not all beards are the same: some are born with genes for heavy beard growth, while others suffer from limited or no beard growth. Unfortunately, there are no miracle cures as some manufacturers claim, but there are some products that are important for a healthy beard and underlying skin.

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Beard oil

If you ask me, beard oil is the best grooming product every beard man should have in the house. Why? It moisturizes the beard hair and the skin underneath, thus preventing dried out beard hair and dry skin. Most beard ailments are caused by dry skin.

I prefer to use beard oil in the morning after showering to emerge with a shiny beard. Likewise, it makes the beard hair softer.

Some beard oils have a fragrance. This can be quite nice, but only when it comes from natural ingredients. Find out which beard oil suits your beard best in our list of the best beard oils.

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Beard shampoo or soap

A beard shampoo or soap specifically for the beard is essential for proper beard care. This is because it is important to wash your beard daily. Beard hair can get dirty from the outside air, food particles and dander. To keep your beard hair healthy, wash them daily with a good beard shampoo or soap.

Why not just use regular shampoo? A good beard shampoo contains natural oils that are important for caring for the beard and the skin underneath. You can wash your beard with a normal shampoo, but it often dries out the underlying skin. Something you want to prevent with good beard care.

A fledgling beard needs a different shampoo than a full-grown one. There are also special beard shampoos for such things as beard dandruff. Find out which beard shampoo best suits your beard in De Baardman’s overview of the best beard shampoos 2023.

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Beard conditioner

Does your beard feel naturally oily or do you use a beard wax to style your beard? Then a beard conditioner can help. Using a normal beard shampoo can be difficult to wash grease out of your beard hairs. In this case, it is best to use a beard conditioner that removes all the dirt including grease.

For a healthy beard, it is important that the beard hair and the underlying skin are not too oily. This can clog pores, which is not good for the health of the underlying skin. However, I do recommend that you limit your use of beard conditioner to 3-4 times a week because not all ingredients are natural, which in turn can dry out beard hair and skin.

Curious about the best beard conditioner? De Baardman has compiled a list of which beard conditioner is best for each type of beard.

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Beard serum

A beard serum is similar to a beard oil, but is “lighter” and therefore leaves less residue. Some beard oils leave a lot of oil in your beard, which is not pleasant for everyone (especially if you already have oily skin). A beard serum also makes it easier to style the beard hair than a beard oil.

The ingredients in a serum vary by brand, but it generally contains more nutrients for the beard and underlying skin compared to a beard oil. A beard oil consists largely of natural oils, while a serum includes other ingredients needed, for example, to repair damaged hair follicles.

Beard serum is often sold as a miracle cure for faster beard growth. Perhaps it will make your beard grow a little faster, but the difference will be minimal. Beard serum is optional: most beard men use either beard serum or beard oil.

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Beard wax

You use a beard wax to tame your beard hair, or in other words, to shape them. So you use a beard wax in the morning before you head out the door with a sleek beard as a result. The best beard wax consists of natural ingredients without the use of synthetics. Depending on the beard wax, it also gives the beard a nice and healthy shine.

Whether you need a beard wax depends on your current beard and how you like to style it. Some beards are already naturally nicely shaped. A beard wax is particularly popular among men with full and long beards.

Sometimes a beard wax can also help “hide” bald spots if you suffer from uneven beard growth.

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Beard butter

Another option for taming your beard hair is beard butter. The difference with beard wax is that butter is soft and fluffy with no wax added. This allows the active ingredients to penetrate your skin and beard hair more easily. Thus, beard butter has a caring effect, but it also helps you shape your beard hair. Another good thing about beard butter is that it softens the hair and underlying skin.

What is the difference between beard butter, wax and serum?

All of these products have a conditioning function, but you also use them to style both long and short beards. Wax is a firm substance that allows you to shape beard hair more easily. The disadvantage of beard wax is that it is harder to get it out again. Beard serum is much lighter and therefore easier to wash out. The downside is that it is less easy to shape the beard hair, especially with longer beards.

Finally, we have beard butter which is generally a little less popular. Beard butter is less greasy than beard wax, but it still allows you to model your beard hair quite easily. Whereas with beard wax you need a conditioner to wash it out, a shampoo is sufficient with beard butter.

Which of the three is the best option for you depends on what kind of beard you have, how you want to style it and finally your personal preferences.

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Beard Care Kit

A beard care set or kit consists of various beard care products and accessories. The contents of such a kit vary from one provider to another. There are special beard care kits that include beard oil, a comb and a beard roller. A beard roller punctures tiny holes in your skin, allowing it to better absorb active ingredients from the beard oil. This should promote beard growth.

You make a beard care kit as a gift for someone else or for yourself. It can also be ideal when you are growing a beard for the first time.

A beard care set can be meant for different beards. Find out which care set suits you best in the overview of the best beard care sets from The Beard Man.

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Buying beard care products, what do you look for?

That more and more men are adopting a beard is clear from the size of the market for beard products. Unfortunately, there are also many products with ingredients that could actually be harmful to your beard and underlying skin. That’s what The Beard Man wants to keep you from, so he’s got a bunch of tips for getting only the right products:

• Natural ingredients: we have found several products that really contain a lot of crap. A caring product consists of 100% natural ingredients. You want the best for your beard, then choose ingredients from nature.
• Beware of perfumes or fragrances: your facial skin can be sensitive to synthetic fragrances or perfumes. Cheaper brands use synthetics to give the product a certain scent. These scents linger much longer.
• Rather spend a little more: good products really don’t have to be extremely expensive, but if you see a bottle of beard oil for less than 5 dollars you may question the quality of the ingredients.

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Read also:

For good beard care you don’t just need high quality products; it is just as important that you groom your beard regularly.

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Frequently asked questions

The Beard Man’s goal is to answer all questions regarding proper beard care. If you still have questions, check out our frequently asked questions below. Is your question not listed? Then visit our blog page or send us an email.