Most people think that growing a beard is as easy as just not shaving for a month… But it is anything but simple and requires care and discipline to maintain a curated beard as there are plenty of challenges that come along with beard life. We have identified three of the most common problems that we’ve come across from our experience over the last 9 years of manufacturing products that fix and ease these common issues. If you’re growing or maintaining a beard, you’ll likely face at least one of these common issues at some stage so we hope you find this helpful.

“Beardruff” / Beard itch

So your two weeks into growing your beard and it's driving you crazy, and dry skin is flaking everywhere! Well, you’re not alone. One of the head dermatologists discovered while creating a moisturiser for Nivea men’s range found that the average man’s face takes 10-14 days to go from a fully dehydrated state to a hydrated state. Also, that between day 10-12 is the average time of transition between heavy stubble and a full beard. This is where the hair follicle will require much more nutrients from the skin in order to maintain its health so wicks away all the nutrients from the skin leaving your skin dry, making it itch and when you do itch it, creates beadruff that falls all over your shirts.  If you have a full beard but are still itching, it just means you have not moisturised your face enough under your beard and that your skin is dry and malnourished. The first step is to look at what you are washing your beard with. Regular hair shampoos and cheap soaps will strip away all the natural oils in your face and beard leaving them extremely dry and feeling like a wire brush! Here is what we recommend you do to wash your beard correctly.

1. Use a Beard Wash bundle that is designed to specifically wash your beard and face. They are super gentle and designed specifically for your face and beard, so they don’t strip all the natural oils from your face and skin, so it won’t dry out your face or beard. 

2. Look at how often you are washing your beard. Most men only need to wash their beard with 3-4 times a week depending on what their job entails. 

3. If you’re getting with beardruff or beard itch, you should consider using a beard oil or beard balm to your daily routine. Beard oil acts as a hyper intensive moisturiser nourishing the skin under the beard and providing the hair follicles with nutrients to maintain its health. Beard balm will act as a stay in conditioner protecting the beard from everyday use. 

4. Exfoliating dead skin under your beard is an important part of your daily routine. This will help remove dead skin and also encourage blood flow to the area helping nutrients get to your hair follicles. We recommend using a stiff-bristled boar hair beard brush to remove any dead skin trapped under your beard and the natural boar hairs help distribute your natural Sebum oil throughout your beard evenly.

“Crazy Beard” Syndrome

Every mans beard is different. Some grow curly, some grow wavy, some of you are super lucky and have a straight beard. There are a few easy ways you can tackle the crazy beard syndrome.

1. Blow-dry and brush – Using a blow dryer with a diffuser on it will allow heat to get to your beard without burning your face of your beard hair, and making it tangle. Using a blow dryer with the diffuser along with a good boar hair beard brush, come your beard down to the desired shape or style. The heat will help make the hair confirm to the way you are brushing it. Once you have the desired shape, turn the hair dryer to cool to lock in the shape. 

2. Use a styling product like a beard balm or moustache wax to style those stray beard hairs into shape.

Patchy Beards 

Everyone wishes they had a full perfect beard, but unfortunately this is not the case. If you have a patchy beard, time is your friend. 30 days is a minimum that you want for your beard to grow in. If you still have patches after 30 days, do not stress, some of you might need to run out to 90 days plus in order to give those patches time to fill in. Once you get some length those patches may be covered by the length of your beard filling the gaps. Your age can also be a factor of beard growth. Some men do not have their full beard grow in until they are 25 so patience may be required if you’re under 25. The ultimate factor with beard growth are your genetics though and its likely if your dad has a full beard, you will get a full beard and the same with a patchy beard. Patchy beards can still look epic and it’s all about choosing the style then. Think Johnny Depp.  

We hope that helps answer some of your questions about this topic. If you’d like to learn more, check out our youtube channel or give us a call on +61467232737.