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Beardruff: What It Is And How To Nix It
Beardruff is the stuff no bearded guy wants even if he doesn’t know what it is. It is the dandruff that appears within your beard. As with all types of dandruff originating in any location, beardruff is caused by dehydrated skin that flakes off in tiny pieces. So how can you can rid of it from your facial zone? We will examine beardruff from all angles in a bit.
At What Point Does Beardruff Rear Its Ugly Head?
Whenever you want to resolve something, you need to understand the origin and reason of the problem. If you were to study a facial hair strand (or any other type), you would see that at the root there is a hair follicle. Each follicle has a few sebaceous glands that produce a waxy, oily substance called sebum. Sebum coats your skin and hair, keeping the moisture within the cells from escaping into the air. Normally, the naturally occurring sebum suffices in keeping your skin and hair well hydrated. However, imagine how a small pot can hold enough water to keep a small plant hydrated; yet when that plant grows larger, it requires a larger container to supply it with sufficient amounts of water.
The same idea applies to your skin and hair; as your facial whiskers grow, they need more and more sebum to help maintain the proper moisture levels. So in other words, you require more sebum even though your sebaceous glands can only produce a finite amount of it. At a certain point in time, your sebum will not suffice in locking in enough moisture. At that point, you have another option at your disposal: beard oil (as well as beard balm). If you live in weather conditions that are conducive to dry skin and hair, you will need to use beard oil even sooner. Dry and windy weather, no matter if it is hot or cold, leads to dehydrated skin and hair.
So What To Do?
We men tend to detest shopping, even if it is for our own good. You might feel tempted to grab your dandruff shampoo and apply it to your beard. Please do not make that mistake; Neutrogena T-Gel and Head And Shoulders Shampoo are only for your scalp hair. The chemicals contained within those dandruff fighting products would wreak havoc on your face.
There is a huge array of beard products available which are made of natural ingredients and will not irritate your face. These products contain natural oils which are easily absorbed into the skin and hair cuticle so that they can deliver maximum benefits without a chemical in sight. Let us explain the difference between the beard oil and balm.
Beard Balms’ Common Ingredients
Although not all beard balms are created alike, they all tend to contain 4 main ingredients:
1. Beeswax
2. Butter
3. Carrier Oil
4. Essential Oil
It is always a smart idea to know what substances are in any potion you are planning on putting on your face. So, the beeswax is the ingredient that provides the consistency and holding power of beard balm. It is a natural protectant and has no side effects. It does act similarly to a styling gel, so it is perfect for adding shape to longer beards.
The second main ingredient is butter, and not the stick of butter you use in the kitchen. Beard balms usually contain either cocoa butter or shea butter. Both of these butters are completely natural, so they are good for your facial hair and skin. If you check out labels of various beauty products, you will notice that many contain cocoa and shea butters. Their primary purpose is to provide extra moisture. They also give a smoothness to the application of beard balm.
Our review on beard balms actually uncovered that the most popular beard balm uses a substitute instead of the usual butter; the substitute is lanolin. Lanolin is a substance derived from sheep’s wool. Actually, the sheep’s sebum is extracted from the wool. This process occurs when the wool already has been shorn off the sheep, so none of the animals is affected in the least.
For the third main ingredient, beard balm has carrier oils, which are the base oils that help
“carry” the final potion to your cells. There is a whole gamut of different carrier oils, all natural and beneficial for your skin and hair. Some of the common carrier oils found in beard balms include jojoba, sweet almond, as well as argan oils. Since these oils are made from nature, they tend to be gentle to the skin. If you have especially sensitive skin, however, you might want to choose a product that uses jojoba oil, which is less likely to cause an allergic reaction or irritation.
For the final main ingredient, most beard balms contain essential oils. Once again, there is a whole plethora of different essential oils. These are like the spice of your beard balm concoction. If you like to smell like an outdoorsman, you should look for essential oils that have an earthy, woodsy musk, including pine, sandalwood, and cedar wood oils. If you prefer to give off a squeaky clean, fresh scent, check beard balm labels for essential oils with a citrusy note, such as mandarin, lemon, lime, or grapefruit oils. Then there is always the minty musk of peppermint and other oils which give your beard that refreshing, invigorating smell.
The choice is yours as far as what essential oils, if any, you want in your beard balm. Beside their aromatic “essences,” they also add other benefits like astringent properties or anti-bacterial action, depending on the particular oil.
Beard Oil Is Like A Fluid Beard Balm
Beard oil is like a diet version of beard balm. It contains the same ingredients found in the balm, minus the heavy butter and wax. So beard oil is composed of:
1. Carrier Oil
2. Essential Oil
So beard oil is the liquid potion to beard balm’s pomade. For that reason, beard oil is missing the hold and style capacity of a balm. Men with longer whiskers might prefer the holding power of beard balm while those with shorter bristles may find the oil easier to apply. If your beardruff is especially out of hand, however, it is recommendable to use balm rather than oil because the former provides the secondary layer of moisture protection provided by the extra ingredients.
If you are opposed to putting all this waxy, buttery stuff into your facial mane, then just go for a simple beard oil containing just jojoba or another carrier oil. Any beard oil with just base oils and no essential oils will be a simple, scentless potion.
More Than Nixing Beardruff
So far, we have concerned ourselves with resolving the problem of beardruff. Beard balm and beard oil are the solution to your beard’s problem of dry, flaky skin. Yet there are many more benefits you will receive from these two products. Not only will your skin change from dry to hydrated, but you will also notice your beard change from dehydrated, prickly bristles to moisturized, downy whiskers.
As a result, the ladies will enjoy your cuddles and kisses much more. The hydrated facial hairs will also be stronger, more supple, and less likely to split and break off. If the hairs don’t break off at the ends, your beard will be able to attain a longer length.
Ah, But My Pockets
So you checked out beard balms and oils at the store on online, and you feel like they will make a real dent in your pocket. The truth is that with the beard boom a couple of years ago, the manufacture of beard products has really increased. The competition among brands has created a nice variety to select from as well as brought down prices. Yet the subsequent interest in and demand for these potions and pomades has kept the costs relatively high.
In general, the same amount of beard oil will cost about $5 more than beard balm. Either way, you are spending good money on all of these products. Additionally, the longer your facial hair is, the sooner you will finish the product each time you buy a container.
Our suggestions is that, for those who are on a tight budget, you can become a beard manufacturer in your own right. Once you follow our incredibly detailed and simple instructions on creating your own beard potion at home, you will be an expert in no time. Beard oil is easy to create because you just have to add two core ingredients to the mixture. Creating beard balm, though, requires more intricate steps, including measuring and melting ingredients.
So What About The Beard Cleansers?
Beard shampoo is a cleanser that fits somewhere between a beard oil and a beard balm. The reality is that beard shampoo is in a completely different category than regular shampoo for your scalp. The traditional hair shampoo is made to strip your hair of anything and everything, even down to the sebum.
It would be detrimental to your beard if you were to use that shampoo and remove all of your facial sebum from your skin and bristles. For that reason, we recommend that you invest in a good beard shampoo, such as Fuzzworthy’s Beard Shampoo, which will not strip you of oils and moisture. You see, beard shampoo is not created for the sole purpose of stripping away anything and everything.
Beard shampoo is created with carrier oils and other beneficial ingredients in order to lock moisture in and keep your bristles hydrated. If beard shampoo is that good, you might figure that that’s all your whiskers need; you may be tempted to forget all about beard oil and balm. However, all these products are made to work in concert with each other. So don’t skimp on one or more of these concoctions; the more dry your bristles are or the weather is, the more products you may need to get the ideal results you are seeking.
A Concise Summary On Nixing Beardruff
Using traditional hair shampoos or dandruff shampoos in an attempt to get rid of beardruff is a bad idea that most likely will backfire because they are designed to strip away sebum and moisture. The best course of action is to apply beard oil and/or beard balm on a regular basis (depending on your beard’s needs) in order to provide a protective layer that will lock in the moisture your skin and hair need. Within a week of starting this routine, you should have succeeded in kissing your beardruff good-bye.
Grow Your Beard Thicker & Faster With The Help Of Beard Oil