Are you looking for the perfect way to groom your beard?
You wake up. Go about your usual ‘getting ready’ routine, stare at yourself in the mirror…
And “Hot DAY’um!”
You can see from the off, you’re having one hell of a bad beard day.
It’s scraggly. Feels itchy. And is rough as toast.
It’s got you down. Not good.
Beard hairs are flying off in every other direction than where they should be — and man, it’s just a mess.
But don’t you dare reach for that razor!
Cause get this, even beardsmen who stay on top of their beards — day in day out — will come across the odd bad beard day (or what I like to call bed beard), what’s more, encouraging is that they are actually quite easy to fix.
Plan of Action
To lose the scraggliness it basically comes down to the following:
- Applying beard oil regularly (at least once a day, better yet twice: once in the morning and once at night).
- Protecting your beard (using the right wash, make sure it doesn’t dry up).
- Regularly maintain your beard with a brush and comb, plus when needed to snip at the bits that are getting unruly: split ends and knots.
- Ensure that not just your external beard is healthy but your inner beard too with regular exercise and a clean ‘beard-friendly’ diet.
We’ve developed a list of seven simple beard treatments (and by all means experiment a little) to use on your beard to make the most of it, reducing the scraggle and wiry aspect to getting it to something you like the look of when you catch a glance of yourself in a reflection.
#1 Tend to Your Beard
If you’ve got a beard that isn’t behaving, one of the main causes is that you aren’t actually tending to your beard on a daily basis with a proper beard comb or beard brush.
Now, although I would recommend having both in your beard grooming arsenal (you will probably find that you like using either for one slightly different purposes) — having either one and regularly using it will dramatically improve the actual aesthetics of your beard in neatening it up plus it will give it a natural healthy sheen.
Plus, you will start to train up your beard, so it starts to fall more into the shape that you are brushing it. Using the boar bristle brush, followed by the comb — seems to work out for me.
They also help with the distribution of oils — both the ones you naturally produce as well as any beard conditioning product (whether it be an oil or balm, but more on that in a moment).
With a boar bristle brush as well it can even help to stimulate beard growth and help deal with exfoliating dry skin (preventing oncoming issues like beard dandruff).
Just take it easy on your beard and it will work a treat. Brush and comb in the direction your beard flows and try to taper it into the direction you want it to go. I often go for short regular stretches for the best results. You don’t ever want to be tugging on the beard, if you find you are — just ease it up and release, then re-stroke.
Whether you are brushing or combing your beard, don’t go overboard with it — to get the most out of them once or twice a day is enough — more than that, then you could potentially be doing more harm than good. It is, however, a must though for combatting the look of a guy who doesn’t really care about his beard to one that surely does.
#2 Beard Pruning
Once, you’ve got a fair bit of growth on.
It might just be time for what I like to refer as a bit of ‘beard pruning’, basically all this involves a decent pair of beard scissors (to make sure you get a proper cut on your beard, so you don’t run the risk of split ends) and you go about picking off the particularly long scraggly beard hairs that don’t form to your desired beard shape.
This firstly makes the look of a neater and potentially thicker looking beard that’s well-kempt — and falls properly into shape.
Side Note: Just a brief word of warning though, don’t go and make the mistake of over-pruning (especially the first couple of times) or take a pair of scissors to your beard when wet (as it will look a whole lot different when dry).
When it comes to beard split ends and knots, it’s simply a case of hunting them out and when you do find them, make sure you snip just a few millimeters above were the actual split occurs. Once you are done trimming your beard be sure to freshen it up with a splash of beard oil once you are done (which we’ll get into in just a moment).
If you are a bit hesitant (I know I was when I first went to trimming back my beard), I recommend you take a look at the penultimate point.
#3 Hydrate Your Beard
Are you giving your beard ‘nough lovin’ and condition’’?
Seriously though, this is one of the major issues with guys who aren’t getting the beard they want — and probably why your beard is so dry, scraggly and wiry.
I mean, hopefully, you’re aware that the key to the body of a good looking and overall healthy beard is in the general upkeep and routine. See, despite the fact you naturally produce sebum to help keep your beard moist — your beard still tends to get incredibly dry (especially so for the longer beards).
This is where a daily dose of beard oil, will do wonders for your beard. That, doubled with a beard balm (essentially a leave-in conditioner) wouldn’t go amiss either.
See beard oil is made up of carrier oils and essential oils, these are created with the specific intention of ensuring your beard hairs are kept in their best condition. Using an oil daily will provide ensure your beard becomes smoother, more supple and directly combat your beard from being overly wiry.
I go into detail on how to make the most out of a beard oil right here, but if you apply it just after you’ve had a warm shower and towel patted down your beard. This essentially means you are getting added moisture straight to the hair follicle as well as the foundation of the hair (i.e your skin), ensuring it’s getting enough hydration not to dry up.
Side Note: You might need to apply more when it’s particularly hot and humid (basically the summer months) and obviously the more beard you actually have, the more oil you’re going to need.
Literally, if you do only one of the seven ways to battle against a scraggly beard — it should be this one. Grab yourself a beard oil and if you want to take it a step further go with a beard balm as well.
Apply a beard oil at least daily, even better if you can apply at night as well as in the morning (following it up with a brush or comb) and if you are protecting your beard (which is literally the next point) then you should well be on the way to losing that scraggly aspect (plus make sure you’re following the + 2 rule) — you’ll also have a healthy sheen and soften the beard too (and a much more pleasant definition and texture to the beard), so it will have a better cleaner appearance too.
#4 Protect Your Beard
It’s important you actually take care of your beard too and don’t subject it to potential damaging.
The main issue we come across is guys using bog standard shampoo on their beards, this just ain’t at all good for your beard.
Your head hair isn’t the same as your beard hair.
Using a regular shampoo is just going to strip all the moisture from your beard as well as prevent any getting in (even if you followed it up with a beard conditioner) — and basically outright dry up your beard and ruin it.
This is probably the next best answer to why your beard feels so rough and scraggly.
Instead, use a specially dedicated beard conditioner (or like we just mentioned a beard oil) and shampoo (or a natural soap bar will do the job too) to clean up your beard. These are made with natural ingredients that are designed to be gentle when washing out your beard.
Watch how often you actually go about cleaning it too — every few days should be fine, especially if you aren’t in a manual job. If you must clean out your beard daily, we would recommend just using a soft beard conditioner and then using a wash once a week or so (or before it starts to pong and trust me beards can smell pretty bad if they are left uncared for).
Other aspects to watch out for is basically a case preventing your face from getting dry, so in the winter months add a bit more moisture or make use of a leave-in conditioner (or if you live in a generally dry place hot place too). Make sure the shower isn’t too hot, that could potentially damage the hairs or at least weaken them and so on.
#5 Don’t Neglect the Stache
Many guys aren’t paying enough attention to their ‘stache.
Treat it just right and it can be the defining difference between that of a ‘good beard’ and a darn right ‘epic beard’. An accentuated, well-structured mustache can look killer on a beard — and give it the distinctive edge.
So of course, make sure you are properly conditioning with a beard oil — using your fingers to specifically run through your moustache. This will combat against on the scraggly aspect.
However, what you want to be following it up with is a quality moustache wax — this will give you some aspect of moisture but it’s of course primarily there to offer you some hold for stiffening and styling it up.
#6 Beard Shape Up
You can reduce a lot of the excess scraggly mess — just by getting your beard properly shaped.
Just like beard pruning, however with a bit more purpose.
Here, you are looking to construct a specific shape and taper of the ends of beard hairs. If you aren’t confident in carrying out it yourself at home (especially if it is your first time), just visit a trusted ‘beard’ barber.
For those ambitious enough to take it on themselves. Have an idea on what you are trying to actually achieve with your beard, don’t take a pair of shears or clippers to it, without knowing exactly what you’re going after.
However, it’s more to initiate the point that it is a continuing process — you don’t have to carry it all out in just one fell swoop and have done with it. Take out the excessive scraggles and hairs that just don’t sit right with the rest of your beard.
Think about:
- Your beard neckline.
- Cheek lines.
-
Mustache trim (corners and lips)
- Defining the sideburn lines.
- Beard fading.
- Final Clean up.
If you really need to get to grips with your beard just like you used moustache wax to get a good hold of your moustache — a beard wax offers the strength to keep down and flatten even the unruliest of beard hairs. It does also offer you that styling ability too.
Don’t be too scared of heat either.
With the use of a comb and brush, it can really help to sort most issues you are having with the shape of your beard such as wave, distortion and just gives you that added style and shape too.
Side note: Yes, too much can potentially damage your beard. However, using a blow dryer on its lowest setting with a high velocity — for not too long of a period — should be fine, especially if you are taking care of your beard properly too. You could go a step further and grab a heat protectant too.
If you are having real issues trying to keep beard hairs from sticking out and trying to get them to lay flat, not only would a beard wax (as mentioned above) come into play nicely here but an actual beard relaxing cream that will help to tame a frizzy beard will work to help naturally straighten out the beard too, to give you something a little easier to work with.
#7 Feed the Beard
Just like you take care of your beard externally with the likes of beard oil etc. that we discussed above.
It’s also important to take care of your “internal beard” — to make sure it is growing out to its full potential.
The best way to go about that is through three main factors: your diet (making sure you eat a generally healthy diet, although some beardsmen top up with multivitamins and biotin supplements — and drink a sufficient amount of water), keep stress to a minimum (personally, meditation is freaking great) and get yourself plenty of exercises.
All three help contribute to future healthy beard growth — keeping it strong and looking good.
And as always at The Dapper Fellow if you are struggling with a scraggly wiry beard, make sure you hit us up on the contact page or just comment in the section below and we’ll make sure to get back to you.
Let us know how the beard grooming guide works for you.