How to Keep Your Facial Hair Healthy

Facial hair is a figurative godsend. It’s an extremely powerful distinguishing feature that can inspire confidence in even the most shy and retiring folk, a feature with near-universal appeal across the US – and a cheat code to amazing looks and styles, to boot. It can be all this and more for every man, albeit only if you know enough to properly care for your new face-fuzz.

Facial hair care is often overlooked – and wrongly so. Poor facial hair care is much more evident than many may think, contributing to lackluster results at best and potential long-term issues at worst. Your beard deserves the best; what can you do to keep it healthy? And what are the benefits?

1. The Importance of Cleansing and Conditioning Your Beard

Firstly, and perhaps most obviously of all: you need to clean your beard. After all, it is hair – just like the hair on your head. Now, there are arguments that could potentially be made for allowing your hair’s natural oils to do their job, these arguments won’t be made here. They don’t work for everyone! And besides, your facial hair sees a lot more action than the hair atop your head, particularly when it comes to contact with food.

Cleaning and conditioning your beard needn’t be a daily task, but it can be incorporated into a weekly routine with ease. Don’t make the mistake of using the same 3-in-1 shower gel to look after your beard, though! Beard shampoos and conditioners are specifically designed for facial hair, and the unique treatment it gets you’re your body.

2. Moisturizing Your Beard and the Skin Beneath

Hydration is of extreme importance to you as a person – and also from a beauty perspective, contributing as it does to skin and facial hair health. Topical moisturizers are great for providing localized support to high-traffic parts of the body, including both your beard and the skin underneath. 

Facial hair can dry out, and the skin beneath can become irritated or flaky; this is why, as part of a comprehensive skin care regimen for men, it’s essential to use the right beard oils and moisturizers to keep both your facial hair and the skin underneath hydrated and healthy. 

3. Regular Trimming and Shaping for a Healthy Beard

If you’re growing your beard out, you might be content with just letting it do its thing until it reaches your preferred length. The hands-off approach may save you a few minutes a month, but it won’t do any favors for your appearance; facial hair does not grow evenly, and failing to keep it in shape with trims and shaves can lead to a bedraggled look far from the dapper looks you may be hoping to achieve. Trimming your beard hair regularly prevents split ends from proliferating and promotes better growth, on top of keeping you looking suave.

4. Protecting Your Beard from Environmental Damage

Finally, there is the environmental aspect. We’ve touched on your beard being part of a high-traffic area of your face, but it also faces environmental threats beyond your actions; sun exposure, pollution, and harsh weather can all have deleterious impacts on your facial hair, to say the least. Preventive protection where possible is the best policy, from wearing sunscreen to keeping a baseball cap about you for sunny weather.