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There’s a lot of backwards thinking regarding how to grow a better beard. Better does not (always) mean bigger and fuller. Better means living up to your beard’s potential. You can only really grow what you’re capable of growing. That sounds trite, but it’s important to stay realistic about what your best own best beard is going to look like.
The good news is that there’s so much potential, no matter how full or patchy your beard may be. So stay the course, embrace whatever it is you’re working with, and do what’s in your power to help maximize your handsome.
1. Get a multitasking trimmer
One of the best ways to unlock that aforementioned potential is with a beard trimmer that minds the details—it goes well beyond having 20 different trimming guard lengths. Find a device that can help you achieve any beard style or shape with its attachments. For example, interchangeable heads, one for micro shaving to disappear unwanted patches of hair, or another that spot-trims hairs and allows for precision detailing. Similarly, get a device with T-blade head that draws clean lines and gives professional-grade perimeter cleanups. Even the more expensive options cost shy of $100 and will last years on end, and multiple hours on each full charge.
2. Prioritize nourishment at every step
Make sure to be fueling your beard every day with nourishing creams, balms, or oils, as well as cleansers that promise to flush excess oil and grime without dehydrating. The length of your beard will determine the products you need; most stubbly or short beards will benefit as much from a facial moisturizer as anything else. But once things start growing out, a beard oil at a minimum will help prevent things like itching, skin flaking, end-splitting and so forth. They can also help coat strands to prevent poofing on humid days, and beard oils can give you slight control over the hairs until it’s time to introduce a taming balm.
3. Take multivitamins (or eat more vegetables)
A healthy diet (and perhaps smart supplementation) benefit every bodily structure—not just skin and hair. So at the very least, consider taking a multivitamin that packs all the necessary daily nutrients, and your beard hairs will all benefit in some way, perhaps by growing slightly thicker or faster or stronger.
4. Get a beard brush
A beard brush is a not-so-secret weapon in beard improvement, but not everyone uses a brush properly. Many people think of a beard brush as a styling tool, and while it can help coach longer beards into place, it’s rarely used for the finer details and finishing touches. Instead, a brush is best for distributing oils (those from the skin and those applied manually) all throughout, in order to nourish the ends of the hairs and prevent everything from split ends to brittle whiskers. Another excellent use for beard brushes is exfoliation, since they can help buff away dead skin cells underneath your beard in advance of a shower or facial cleanse, and in turn prevent those flakes from overstaying their welcome as you navigate the day. (But if you do find yourself with beard dandruff, it’s time to up the ante on nourishing oils, creams, and so on.)
5. Treat yourself to hot oil
Four words: hot oil beard treatment. It’s a barbershop staple that you can bring home. In short, you apply beard oil, then do a hot towel treatment so that the pores and cuticles open up. Your skin’s oils and those beard oils you applied seep into the strands, after which you’ll cool down and finish with another oil to smooth the cuticles back down. This gives the whole beard some serious luster and softness. This could be a weekly or even monthly treatment, and is going to benefit medium beards most (those close enough to the face that can be wrapped in a towel, and that are also long enough to necessitate extra nourishment).
6. Take shorter, less hot showers
One rule of general skin and hair care is to take cooler, shorter showers—sorry. That couldn’t be any more true for beard wellness. Hot water dehydrates hairs, since that heat opens up the strands’ cuticles and lets any moisture seep out. This can result in frizzy, poofy, untenable whiskers. (It’s also why the aforementioned hot oil treatment ends with a cool splash, followed by even more beard oil applied to help close the cuticle.) The hot water can also deplete the skin of its moisture, and will increase your chances of beard dandruff, among many other skin grievances.
And while you’re turning down the water temp, try to cut back on the shower duration. Any and all direct water contact with hair can also have a frizzing and poofing effect. Beard strands will be much less susceptible than the more delicate hairs atop your head, but it’s good practice to minimize water exposure. You can’t nix it entirely, since you’ve gotta wash your face at least twice a day (and rinse the beard at least once), but taking shorter and cooler showers will make it much easier to tame the beard, and will require less beard oil (and other nourishment) on the back end of that shower.
7. Don’t shy away from beard dye
Beard dye isn’t just about changing a beard’s colors. It is also one of the best ways to fill in a beard and make it appear fuller. Many of us have beards that are lighter in color than the hairs up top the head, or are simply lighter than what we’d like to present to the world. Beard dye can deliver on boldness, and the best ones of late are especially adept at doing so without it looking like something filled it all in with shoe polish for a middle school play—they blend things more naturally. There are a lot of guys with gray beards who choose to dye just their mustaches, too, or with gray hair all around the head who prefer to have a dyed beard paired with gray hair. Those contrasts give added character to your overall appearance. Don’t write off beard dye simply because it looked unnatural a couple decades back.
8. You still have to go to the barber
Many guys don’t treat beard maintenance like they do head hair maintenance. If you’re a guy who demands frequent upkeep and has no desire to do it yourself (or if you simply don’t trust yourself with the task), then add a beard trimming to your routine haircut appointments, and visit the barber every two weeks to keep things looking fresh. If you want a super-fancy beard fade, then you may need to go every week! You never know where inflation might start showing up, but chances are that your main barber isn’t going to charge you more than $10 or 20 bucks with each cleanup. Heck, he might even throw the beardwork in for free on top of your haircut, depending on how easy the cleanup is. (Be sure to give him a handsome tip nevertheless.)
9. Master the neckline
If there is one thing every guy needs to be good at when it comes to beard trimming, it’s the neckline cleanups. This will buy you as much time as you need between barbershop visits or at-home clean-ups, and it’s also the thing that helps define how a beard looks overall—specifically, how it flatters the face. We’ve all seen the guy who shaves his neckline across the vertical part of his jaw, on full display. Some of these guys might be doing so to help give the illusion of jawline definition, but it’s not doing any favors. Instead, keep the edges soft at the bottom of your beard, no harsh lines. Imagine a “U” type shape that connects the bottom of both ears, and which dips just above the Adam’s apple—about 1-1.5” (about two fingers wide). Don’t bother trying to fade the neckline if you aren’t practiced in it; a hard-stop neckline looks great on everyone. Shave down everything below this “U”, using a bare trimmer head, electric shaver, or actual razor. Tidy it up every few days (or every day, if you like to keep it that clean). The best thing is, once it’s defined (and your barber can even do this for you the first time), it’s incredibly easy to maintain, since you’ve already got the cheat lines drawn on.
10. Protect your beard from the elements
Basically, the world is out to get your hair. Every little thing can compromise hair’s moisture levels and tame-ability, from water to heat to sun to blisteringly cold and parched winter air. Even air conditioning can deplete strands of their moisture, just like how humidity can open the cuticles and extract moisture. Since hair health really just boils down to trapping moisture inside the strands and keeping cuticles smoothed down, then you need to do your best to fortify the defense. Beard oils and balms are your best bets, since they coat the strands and prevent the environment from compromising the moisture inside each hair. They can also fortify the strands with antioxidants to counter any damage absorbed by UV rays and environmental pollution, which can keep hairs stronger as well as prevent discoloration. While protecting the strands is a 24-hour task, these products take the load off and do all the heavy lifting without weighing down your whiskers.
