5 Common Beard Questions Answered

1.    How to apply beard oil?

Place a few drops into your hand and rub your hands together. Run your hands through your beard to spread the beard oil around your beard evenly. 

2.    Does beard oil help growth?

No, beard oil creates the optimal conditions for your beard to grow hair, however, it does not guarantee that your beard will become fuller/longer. The primary use of beard oil is to keep your beard healthy and clean. 

It prevents breakage as it softens brittle hairs, so they do not snap off. It reduces itchiness as it stops you from scratching, which can damage hair follicles even more. It also plumps the hair by moisturising your beard, giving you a fuller and thicker beard as a result.

3.    Is beard oil good for skin?

Yes, because your beard is exposed to all the elements in your environment such as heat, cold air breezes, air conditioning, your skin underneath your beard can become very dry and irritated. This is what leads to flakiness coming from your beard (bearddruff) and itchy skin. Beard oil resolves this by remoisturising the layer of skin beneath your beard and protecting your skin from the build up of bacteria. You can get a wide range of benefits depending on the beard oil you use. A list of these can be found below.  

List of Oils & Their Benefits
•    Avocado Oil: Antioxidants and fatty acids for skin and hair 
•    Jojoba Oil: Long lasting moisturiser that doesn’t clog pores 
•    Grapeseed Oil: Vitamins D, C and E for healthy hair growth 
•    Sunflower Oil: Strengthens brittle hair, reduces breakage 
•    Almond Oil: Natural conditioning agent with high keratin (the same protein as hair) 
•    Shea Oil: Strong antioxidant that slows down moisture loss from skin and hair

4.    Do I need to wash my beard every day?

Every beard is different and there’s not a one size fits all rule when it comes to how many times you should wash your beard. On average it is recommended to wash your beard 2 to 3 times a week using a dedicated beard wash. To keep it maintained, just run warm water through your beard on the non-washing days to remove dust and sweat build up. 

A couple of things to consider are, to avoid washing it every single day, as over washing can strip away your natural oils and to avoid using regular shampoo on your beard. Regular shampoo is too harsh on your beard and strips out the natural oils. 

Listen to your beard, if you find you are over washing, your beard will feel dry and rough. That’s when you can reduce the number of times you wash per week and use a beard product to regain some of those natural oils back into your beard. If your beard feels too greasy or you notice odors coming from your beard, then it’s time to increase the frequency. What’s important is to find a routine that’s right for you and maintain it. 

5.    What tool should I use for my beard? 

While there is a wide range of tools out there for your beard, we recommend using either a beard comb or a boar bristle brush. 

Beard Comb: Best for medium to long beards. It detangles hair and distributes oils without causing static or snagging. It’s also useful for trimming when combining with scissors to get a more precise cut. 

Boar Bristle Brush: Best for short to medium beards. It trains hairs to grow downward, clears out dead skin cells, and tames flyaways. It helps distribute natural beard oils all over your beard evenly with its stiff bristles. It also exfoliates deep beneath the beard into the first layer of your skin. 

These are just some of the most common questions we encounter. If you have any specific questions about your beard, please feel free to reach out to our team so we can help. Beard education is a big part of what we do at Beard Octane Australia, and so we're always happy to pass on the knowledge to our community.