Beard Care: Do’s and Don’ts

Beard: (noun) a growth of hair on the chin and lower cheeks of a man's face.

Beard has been a symbol of masculinity, dominance, strength, vigor, virility, courage, and a lot more. In several surveys, women preferred beards over clean-shaven guys as their companion. In those same surveys, a small percentage preferred for having just the mustache while almost 40% preferred a beard alone, more than 50% preferred full beard look. Now, full beard look varies from a simple stubble to full face of beard to a lumberjack while a mustache or just beard varies from Goatee to Van Dyk to just Handlebars like its 1920s. In another study, women preferred light to heavy subtle for a boyfriend to a one-night stand for a companion as opposed to full beard men as husband material. All in all, one thing is clear that be it the 19th century, 20th century or 21st century, the beard will always be in style, in trend and the best thing a man could have.

While there is no offense towards people prefer staying clean from Koreans & Japanese to Professional with no option of having one such as our healthcare workers and management guys. Today, we will be talking about how to care for the bush if you’ve one.

1. Washing

Just like luscious hair on your head, make sure to wash it regularly or depending upon the weather, and environment to keep it clean off bacteria and dirt. The last thing a girl wants to see is smelly, frizzy, dry, and dirty beard which will certainly turn her away. Now, don’t use the face wash you use on your face, hoping that you don’t use body wash or a bar of soap and if you do stop, or a hair shampoo for the beard. There is specific beard shampoo in the market for a reason. That is not marketing or money but rather dedicated beard care. Beard wash contains natural oils minus the harmful chemicals in regular shampoo that strip away oil. These special beard shampoos, therefore, are designed to keep your beard better hydrated, while cleaning, removing excess oil and freshening.

2. Condition

Now, unlike the usual hair conditioner, I would prefer using beard oil. Beard oil is hydrating to the skin and helps soften and tame beard hair, which means it also does double-duty as a styling agent. According to Schneidman, the ideal beard should look shiny and groomed — not dusty, flaky, and shaggy. Just take your preferred beard oil, just a few drops in your palm, rub it properly first in your hand to activate it with frictional heat, and then massage it inside out, edge to edge, folic to folic.

3. Brush

Brushing exfoliates your skin, helps distribute natural oils through your beard to moisturize, stimulates blood flow, and, by consequence, can improve beard growth, because more nutrients are going to your beard follicles. Beards tend to be patchiest in areas with the least blood flow, like the cheeks. You’ll need to stick with it for six to eight weeks to see what results from it you might achieve. Combined with a natural beard oil five minutes after showering, you can rest assured you are doing everything in your power to help your beard flourish. But make sure to use a natural hair beard brush or a soft one instead of a harsh one.

4. Trim, Don’t Shave

Shaving will grow the beard is a myth, just like Undertaker was dead and resurrected was (or was it?). Don’t shave regularly or even every month, just let it grow. Instead, trim to keep it in check every 2-4 weeks. You just need to shave your neck area. Anything below jawline needs to be gone and anything above the ear line to nose end line needs to be gone, everything else can be taken care of with a simple trim. The best advice would be to let it grow for 2 months and pay a visit to a barber. Explain to him that you’re in the process of growing out, and would like just simple trim and shave any unnecessary areas around cheekbone and neck. Just see what he does and you’ll be ready to replicate afterward.

5. Follow a Proper Diet

Diet is important for everything. Be it your muscles, your height, your hair on the head or the beard. A balanced and nutrient-rich diet is what you need. Few of the known promoters of beard growth are:

1. Brazilian Nuts are rich in Selenium which is an important mineral for beard growth. Just 2 per day enough for the diet.

2. Eggs are an excellent source of both protein and other essential micronutrients that are necessary for facial hair growth. It also has biotin which is essential for hair growth.

3. Along with protein, carbs are also useful for DHT which is the hormone responsible for hair growth. Potatoes are rich in carbs which means they can boost DHT.

4. Raisins are one of the most powerful natural sources of boron, a trace mineral that has been found to boost the synthesis of testosterone and DHT.

5. Fish offer a healthy variety of multiple micronutrients that your body needs. It is a good source of protein and B vitamins that help your body produce hair and skin. Besides, fish is a good source of omega-3s, which help protect the cell membrane so that your whiskers are healthy and strong.

6. Stay Hydrated

Just like your body, facial hair needs healthy water intake as well. It will help to flush out any toxins and harmful stuff from your body, giving the body the time to recover and stay healthy, Dry skin is the biggest enemy of your facial hair.

Avoid these following things to make sure you have the most beautiful beard:

• Avoid Beard Oil & Beard Wash with Silicon and harmful chemicals.

• Avoid Cigarettes and Alcohol. Don’t be Kabir Singh, they’re harmful and will only affect the growth instead of promoting it. Beer has shown some minor improvement in growth but not enough for you to finish a keg every night.

• Synthetic bristles are quite often more rigid than natural bristles. That can damage your skin and beard hairs, which in turn can affect your growth in those patchier areas. Worst of all, it will strip away the natural oils from the beard oil, as well as the sebum your skin secretes.

• Don’t think much about a patchy beard. Learn to style it right. People from like Actor Keanu Reeves to Models like Mariano Di Vaio can’t grow a full beard as well. It’s natural and nothing you can force.

• Don’t take tension, it’s one of the worst enemies which you have to control yourself.

If you take proper care, eat the right food, drink plenty of water and meditate. After that be proud with handlebar or stubble to a Van Dyk or a Lumberjack, and remember to celebrate No Shave November every year with pride. Just don’t go to Norway and challenge a Viking, or maybe do challenge one.

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