Welcome, fellow (or aspiring) bearded brethren, to your go-to grooming guide for an epic beard. Whether you’ve decided to grow your facial hair out for the first time, or you’re a seasoned vet when it comes to the face mane, you can grow and maintain a better beard with our guidance— and maybe even step your game up with some new products with *ahem* incredible scents.

An Introduction To Beard Grooming

We hate to break it to you, but if you’re washing your beard and face with soap and water, it’s time to step it up. In better news, you don’t necessarily need any fancy items and expensive creams to do so. If you like to keep your routine simple with products that actually work, you’ve come to the right place.

Beard grooming doesn’t have to sound as daunting as it may seem. All it takes is a solid routine with reliable products to unlock your best beard yet.

Read along to discover how to use beard oil, balm, and butter to grow a beard worth showing off.

Beard Wash

First things first, wash the mug.

Washing your beard is arguably the most important step in your beard care routine - and the best part? You can do it at the same time as you’re washing your face.

To make your life easier, use a product designed for both facial hair and the skin underneath like our Every Man Jack Face + Beard Wash. It will cleanse the hair thoroughly while keeping it hydrated and soft.

After washing your face and beard, it’s always best to follow up with a beard + face lotion to keep your hair and skin deeply moisturized.

Pro tip: the number of times per week you should deep wash your beard depends on your skin type. Daily wash is great for normal to combination skin types. However, drier skin types could do just fine with a single deep wash a week, opposed to oily skin types that benefit from two to three washes a week. Washing daily for certain skin and hair types can rid your beard of its healthy, natural oils, so give them a chance to shine (literally).

Beard Balm

What is Beard Balm

Beard balm is a thick, conditioner-like styling product that also helps soften your beard to achieve a well-groomed look.

Beard Balm is an awesome grooming essential to help banish that dry, scratchy texture and annoying itchiness because it’s chock-full of moisturizing ingredients that lock in hydration. It also has great hold, doubling as a styling agent. Beard balms even smell pretty dang good— because anything that close to your nose should smell nothing short of amazing.

How to Use Beard Balm

It’s best to use a balm after you wash your beard or take a shower. Rub a small dab of beard balm into your palm to warm it up and get it pliable. Gently work the product into your beard and onto your skin with your fingertips. Style beard as desired.

Beard Oil

Beard oil? Won’t that make me feel all greasy? We admit, that’s a valid concern, but if you’re worried about feeling slick and sticky like you just lathered up in movie-theater popcorn butter, that’s not the case here. Beard Oil is a must for a fantastic-looking beard. Even Jonathan Van Ness says so.

What is Beard Oil

Beard oil is an incredible grooming product that leaves your facial hair feeling soft and looking shiny (the good, natural kind of shiny, we promise). It works best for very dry beards.

It’s an oil designed to condition and soften facial hair fibers while hydrating and soothing the skin— it even tames flyaways and prevents flakes because of how moisturizing it is. Did we mention how amazing it smells? If you’re not a cologne kind of guy, investing in a scented beard oil could do the trick.

How to Use Beard Oil

It’s best to use beard oil after washing your face or taking a hot shower because the oil will easily absorb into open pores and hair follicles. The key to not feeling greasy/the wrong kind of shiny is using the correct amount— just a few drops to start. Pump a very small amount into your palms, rub it into your hand to warm it up, then gently thoroughly massage it into the beard and on your skin. If your hair is longer or thicker, a beard comb works great for evenly distributing the oil to coat every strand.

Beard Butter

Butter isn’t only for your bread. It’s actually a beneficial product to add to your beard grooming routine. When considering beard balm vs. beard butter, you may feel like you only need just one or the other, and maybe you’re right. But we promise you won’t regret incorporating Beard Butter into your routine, especially after seeing the results.

What is Beard Butter

Beard butter is a thick product designed to deeply condition, soften, and moisturize facial hair and the skin underneath. It’s a creamier consistency than beard balm and works to style the unruly hairs and tame flyaways; however, it does not achieve as strong of a hold as a balm.

Beard butter provides an even coating among all hair follicles, deeply hydrating and rejuvenating the beard—even lending to a fuller appearance. If you suffer from an itchy beard or struggle with beard-druff, this is your new best friend.

How to Use Beard Butter

Very similar to how you’d apply beard balm, you should apply beard butter on clean, dry hair. Apply a dime-sized amount of product right into your beard, using your hands to work the product evenly throughout.

What About Beard Wax?

Ah, good question. Beard wax is not really ideal for stubbly or short beards. Leave it for the unruly, coarse, and wild— the long, thick-haired beards that need more attention to look well-maintained and styled.

That’s not to say you don’t need it in your beard grooming routine. It’s an absolute essential if you have the right beard and want a super-strong hold and cohesive shape and style. It’s mostly made of beeswax, so it won’t necessarily nourish your hair and skin the same way oil or balm would.

If you’ve got a Duck Dynasty-level beard or a wicked handlebar mustache, then this product is for you.

Beard Brush Or Beard Comb?

We’re not picky; whatever floats your boat. Using a Beard Brush or Beard Comb isn’t only great for untangling hairs and taming flyaways, it’s also ideal for styling.

Fun fact: Did you know you can train your hair follicles?

Yep, brushing your beard daily can sort of ‘train’ your hair to grow in the desired direction you brush it. This maintains a nice shape and well-groomed appearance.

How To Groom And Shape Your Beard

You’re all caught up to speed on some must-try grooming products, but we wouldn’t be good facial hair factotums without touching on how to groom and shape your face mane.

Even if you’re actively trying to grow out your beard, it’s always a good idea to trim and shape it to maintain a nice shape and encourage even hair growth. Although it takes diligence to groom, the stud-worthy results are worth it.

• Start by brushing your hair in the same direction. This will help define your overall beard shape and length. If you have a rounder face, opt for a fuller beard to help balance proportions. For slimmer faces, a more streamlined, refined beard would better suit your mug.
• Next, trim the side of the cheeks and the beard itself with an electric razor. Work downward along the sides, front, and shelf (underside near your chin and neck) of the beard to preserve length. It’s important to always brush downward, be careful, and go slow.
• Finish up by cleaning up the outline, like the cheek line, neckline, and lip line. This simply defines the beard’s perimeter and really cleans things up for a just-left-the-barber type look.

Should You Shave?

If you’re new to the facial hair club, then yes.

It’s best to start from scratch if you’re wanting to grow a beard for the first time.

Giving yourself a close shave helps your skin stay fresh and exfoliated so you can combat irritation and ingrown hairs as the follicles start to grow out. Shaving also stimulates hair growth, which seems counterintuitive, but we promise it’s true.

For those that have a lil somethin’-somethin’ grown out, try to resist the urge to shave it, no matter how patchy it may look. We promise it gets better in due time.

If you’re beyond the point of patchiness, shaving around your beard perimeter (mostly the cheeks and neck) can really define the outline and shape— baby steps, though.

How Long Will It Take Me To Grow A Beard?

If you’re questioning how to grow a beard and how long the process will take, you’re not alone. Google is no stranger to these questions, and we aren’t either. We got you! Read our full post here on how to grow a beard in 3 steps .

There’s no beating around the bush here: growing your first beard may take you around two months. Patience and perseverance will help you deal with the awkward patchiness of it at first, so make good friends with those two. You’re gonna need their company.

As your beard care confidantes (and also your friends), we should give you a heads up that sometimes, beards aren’t in the cards for some folks. And that’s okay! Growing a beard may just not be your thing, but you’ve probably got a boatload of other redeeming qualities.