How To Care For Your Beard During The Winter
It’s one thing growing a beard, but it’s another looking after it and keeping it looking great. When you see majestic beards on characters in films and TV, it gives the impression that it takes no effort at all. But if you don’t look after your beard at all it’s going to look a mess.
So, if you don’t want the nickname ‘Bird’s Nest’, we suggest you start to take care of your beard. And that’s especially important in Winter. The low temperatures and harsh conditions can have a really bad effect on your facial hair. It’ll dry out, the ends will split, and you could do some real damage to your beard.
Luckily for you, we’ve created a handy guide to stop that from happening. Follow these tips for caring for your beard this winter and you should enter spring with a glorious and healthy face full of hair.
Take Cool Showers
The biggest thing you can do in the winter to look after your beard is to change your daily washing routine. It’s good to add moisture to your beard but you need to do it in the right way.
You’re not going to like the sound of this, but those hot showers in winter are doing your no good for your beard. When you come in from the cold, there’s no better feeling than a nice hot shower, but the problem is it strips your beard of its natural oil, which results in making the hair more brittle and can even make your skin dry out. If you really need your showers hot, then make sure you don’t leave your beard under the water for too long.
Use Beard Shampoo
It might seem easier to just use the shampoo that you already use for your hair, but it’s not going to do your facial hair any favors. The hair on your head is much more robust, which means it needs a different type of shampoo. Head hair shampoo is designed to strip sebum oil from your skin so that it doesn’t make your hair stick together and look greasy. Sebum oil is what stops your beard end from becoming split and your skin from flaking, so you don’t want to be getting rid of it.
Beard shampoo doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals and is designed to work with the natural oils in your beard. It’s absolutely essential that you choose a shampoo that will improve the health of your facial hair in winter otherwise, come springtime, it’s going to be full of split ends.
Don’t Blow Dry
Actually, there’s a bit more to this piece of advice than meets the eye. You can blow dry your beard, but you have to do it in the right way. To avoid damaging the hair in your beard, you should blow dry it on the coolest setting, but before that there’s a drying routine you should follow. First, pat your beard (don’t rub it) with a towel until it has stopped dripping. Then, let it dry naturally until it’s around 80% dry. Apply a few drops of beard oil to protect it at this stage. Then finally, blow dry it on the coolest setting. Make sure you hold the blow dryer at least six inches away from your face and comb your beard whilst doing it. This will leave you with a perfectly dry and undamaged beard.
The hot setting on your blow dryer is one of the worst things for your beard during the winter. The heat traps water inside the individual hairs and boils it causing serious damage to the hair. We know this way might seem like a little more effort, but it really doesn’t take long at all.
Use Moustache Wax
It’s easy to focus on your beard and completely forget about looking after your mustache. The hair above your lip is just as delicate and requires the same amount of attention, but with slightly different products. Moustache wax contains ingredients like beeswax, jojoba oil, and lanolin that protect both the hair and skin from the harsh conditions.
One of the biggest problems for facial hair fanatics in winter is dry skin, which is why you should look for products that moisturize both the hair and the skin. This way, you have a sort of double protection against the elements.
Moisturize Every Day With Beard Oil
Beard oil is the best product to use as an everyday treatment. A lot of other products have a particularly positive effect, but if you use them too regularly, they can cause damage. You can use beard oil three or four times a day and it will still have a positive effect. The main use of beard oil is to moisturize your facial hair and the skin beneath it, but it can also be used to style your beard.
The best time to apply it is just after a shower (as we mentioned above) just before you finish drying it. This gives it the best chance to soak into the hair and skin properly. Once a day is normally enough to provide enough moisture to your hair, but you can also use it throughout the day as a way to protect your beard against the weather. Check out the 15 Best Beard Oils In 2019.
Beard balm is another product that has amazing moisturizing properties. It’s great if you want to make your beard appear thicker because it contains shea butter. You can use it with beard oil or without it.
Don’t Use Any Product With Silicones
When you’re shopping for products to use on your beards, make sure you look out for silicones. They are minerals that are found in a lot of hair products that make the hair smoother and straighter. Sounds great, right? Problem is, they also act as a sealant on the hair, which means it locks all of the moisture out of the hair and causes it to dry out. Not only does this make it look scraggly and unkempt, but it will make it much more vulnerable to the wintery weather.
Get The Right Comb
Once you’ve invested in the right shampoos and oils for your beard, you need a comb to keep it in shape. This isn’t just a vanity tool, it has some practical benefits as well. It helps to distribute the oil and/or balm throughout your beard and make sure it’s all protected. A good quality beard comb will also help promote healthy beard growth, which is perfect in winter when beard growth slows down.
Use A Straight Razor To Tidy The Edges
If you’re going to have a magnificent beard, you can’t be tidying up the edges with a cheap disposable razor from the grocery store. It just isn’t right. Instead, you need to invest in a straight razor (the type that professional barbers use). You can pick them up on their own or as part of a shaving kit.
They will actually benefit you as well, it’s not just about looking cool. First, you get a much closer shave than you would with a cheap disposable razor, which means you have to shave less often, and your face will look better. Secondly, you won’t have to pull it over your skin as many times, so you avoid that nasty razor burn that can be so painful in winter. And finally, you’ll save money! You don’t have to replace the blade, just sharpen it a few times a year.
Buy A Humidifier
This might seem like a weird one. Why would buying a humidifier help your beard? Again, it goes to back to fact that your beard is more likely to dry out in the winter. A humidifier adds moisture to the air, which will make your beard healthier. Plus, it will make it easier to breathe at home and improve your skin health.
Go To The Spa
Your local spa is another great way of adding moisture to your hair and skin. A few sessions in the sauna and steam room every week will do your beard wonders. Oh, and it’s pretty relaxing too.
Wear A Scarf
Of course, the most obvious way to protect your beard against the winter weather is to literally cover it up. You could do this by wearing a scarf or finding a coat that naturally guards it. You can also carry around a dry towel, so if it gets moist from snow or ice, you can dry it off quickly. Maybe this isn’t the sort of rugged lifestyle you were imagining when you grew a beard, but if you’re serious about beard health, you need to protect it.
Get A Barber To Tidy It Up
Sure, you could take a pair of scissors to it yourself in the mirror, but do you really know what you’re doing. A professional barber will know how to cut your beard to remove split ends and give it a chance of growing out again. This will improve the health of your beard and make it better prepared to handle the cold weather.
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