What does beard oil do? A guide to man’s most enigmatic grooming product

a guide to beard oil

Rubbing oil into your beard doesn’t sound like a particularly enjoyable activity, in fact, it sounds down right greasy and disgusting.

But if you’ve grown yourself a fully-fledged Viking beard over the last few months or years, you’ll be well aware that plenty of beardy blokes smother their man hair in beard oil every day.

But what exactly does it do… and you should be joining these weirdy beardies on their quest for oilier facial fur?

Let us give you the lowdown on all things beard oil…

What Is Beard Oil?

Beard Oil is a grooming product made up of a mixture of carrier and essential oils.

Carrier oils such as jojoba or grapeseed oil are the key ingredient, acting as a moisturising and hydration agent while a small amount of essential oils helps give off a pleasant scent.

what does beard oil do

What Does Beard Oil Do?

Just like with the hair on your head, facial hair can become dry, irritated and even suffer from a little thing we like to call beardruff (a dandruff of the face) if you don’t take care of it properly.

So just like when those lasses on the adverts pour fancy oil and shampoos on their perms, a formulated oil for the beard can help combat suffering facial hair and keep things soft, supple and hydrated.

In layman’s terms, it’s a conditioner/moisturiser for your whiskers… But why should you use it?

Benefits Of Beard Oil

While you might be tempted to get on using basic shampoos or shower gel on your scruffy facial fuzz, if you find it suffers from dryness, feels itchy or is even smelly or patchy, it might be time to turn your attention to beard oil.

Because beard oil is designed for facial hair specifically, it is able to provide better hydration and soothe inflammation in a way that standard shampoos or body gels can’t achieve.

Beard hair needs this extra attention because it is far thicker and coarser than the hair on your head, meaning effectively penetrating the hair roots takes a more specific and specialist product.

The coarser hair is, the more moisture it requires to thrive and so facial hair is quite taxing on your skin, constantly drawing moisture from it and leaving it dry and scratchy.

Then as beards get longer, the follicles struggle to provide enough moisture to cover the full length of your long strands and so your beard hair itself can also start to feel dry and wiry.

In short, it’s not a good look and doesn’t feel that food either, which is where beard oil comes in to save the day!

The carrier oils in such products help to remedy dryness and loss of moisture by replicating the natural sebum produced by your skin, making up for your body’s shortfalls. Essential oils can also help give your hair some much needed nutrients from included vitamins and minerals, ensuring your beard becomes healthier overall as well as less irritating!

why use beard oil

But even if you aren’t particularly suffering from any itchiness or skin issues, beard coarseness and roughness is a problem all of its own, as rubbing your fingers through what feels like a hedge isn’t exactly nice for you or your partner either.

Oil can help remedy this, as it’s absorbed by facial hair much more readily, helping to soften the hairs and keep them hydrated for longer. This can also provide your facial fur with a fuller, more attractive appearance.

This in turn will make your fuzz much easier to style if it’s approaching caveman levels and as an added bonus, will condition the skin underneath your goatee which could use a little love.

We also hate to break it to you, but sometimes… well, your beard can whip up a pretty nasty stank.

Thankfully, almost all beard oils are gently fragranced, meaning you can smell like a hairy hunk all day without having to spray aftershave or other nasty smells onto your face.

Does Beard Oil Clean My Beard?

The short answer is no.

While we may have mentioned earlier that standard shower gels and the like aren’t very good at hydrating your beards, they are definitely still better at cleaning it than oil.

does beard oil clean beards

Using beard oil is not a substitute for washing it and so it’s still recommended you invest in beard-specific shampoos and conditioners to effectively keep your facial hair clean and free of dirt and bacteria build-up.

Do Beards Need To Be A Certain Length To Use Beard Oil?

Even if you’re only rocking a wee bit of stubble, you can technically still apply a beard oil to your wispy whiskers or use it as an aftershave, however you won’t reap the benefits in the same way as a big beard sporter would.

Without a decent length of hair to play with, more oil will end up directly on your skin, which can end up feeling pretty greasy and your main aim is to hydrate your beard hair, not slime up your face.

For that reason, we recommend only using beard oil once you have a sufficient thatch, approximately enough to cover the skin underneath.