8 Beard Grooming Tips for the Best Beard of Your Life

Looking for some beard grooming tips to transform your unruly beard? We’ve got you covered.

You’ve spent months or years growing your beard. And it looks incredible. Heck, you might even have a killer mustache to match. But what comes next?

In a word: Grooming.

Really, growing a beard is only the first step. For the best beard of your life, you have to follow a proper beard grooming regime. That includes things like washing, conditioning, combing, and oiling your beard.

Think of it like this: An incredible beard is like a well-kept lawn. You have to spend time maintaining it, or next thing you know, it’s overgrown, full of weeds, and if it gets really bad, you might have to rip up the sod and start over. Who wants to spend all that time growing a beard only to have to shave and start anew?  

OK, so what goes into a truly awesome beard?

The good news is beard grooming isn’t time consuming or costly. With the right beard grooming tools and products, you can turn that mess on your face into the best beard on the block. We’ve compiled a few of the best beard grooming tips to keep your facial hair looking great.

1. Lather Up with Beard Oil

Most new beard wearers don’t know they need to use products to style and condition their newly grown facial hair. And one of the most important is beard oil.

What is beard oil, you ask? Essentially, beard oil is a natural hydrator and conditioner. A great beard oil moisturizes the skin beneath the beard and conditions your whiskers. This is really important. As a conditioner, oil gives your beard a natural, healthy-looking sheen. Plus, the hydrator helps to alleviate common beard problems like beard-ruff, itchiness and split ends.

• Beard Grooming Pro Tip: Apply beard oil after your morning shower. Your pores and hair follicles will be open and can best absorb the oil. 

2. Beard Balm Is the Ultimate Protector

OK, so you’ve hydrated and conditioned your beard. What comes next? Well, another product that should be in every bearded man’s medicine cabinet is beard balm. Balms are the perfect complement to oils. In fact, balms act as a sealer, sealing in the moisture and oil, while preventing your facefro from drying out.

A great beard balm also acts as a styling agent. You can use it to naturally shape your beard, and not to mention, balms smell great. In other words, a dab of beard balm in the morning is a must.

3. Wash, Rinse and Repeat

Whether you’ve worn a beard for years, or you’ve got three months of growth on your face, beard hygiene is super important. Beards can be sponges for bacteria. Regularly washing your beard – but not too often – will keep your beard healthy and clean. A couple of beard washing tips include:

• Don’t Overdo It: Typically, you’ll want to wash your beard about 3 times per week. Washing more than that can have a drying effect, robbing your beard of natural oils and turning it into a wiry mess.
• Use a Beard Wash: Facial hair has a different structure compared to the rest of your hair; the follicles are thicker and coarser. Similarly, the skin under your beard has less oil, and therefore, shampoos designed to remove excess oil can really dry out your face. (That’s the No. 1 cause of an itchy beard.

4. Trim Your Beard Like a Pro

Anyone who’s ever grown a full beard knows that there are some awkward stages – e.g. a beard that hasn’t reached peak fullness or a beard that’s overgrown and scraggly – along the way. Trimming keeps your beard looking great on this journey.

How do you trim a beard properly? Here’s one tip you must follow: Ditch the electric trimmers.

Instead, pick up some quality barber scissors. A pair of scissors provides more precision, and allows you to do a thorough “spot check.” Essentially, your goal should be to maintain shape and a uniform length. A beard starts to look out-of-sorts when lengths are uneven, so be sure you’re keeping length in check.

• Beard Grooming Pro Tip: Avoid trimming your beard when its wet. Wet hair can look longer than it is. Therefore, you might lop off more than you want!

5. Shape It Naturally

The beard frizz struggle is real. But you can eliminate frizz and actually train your beard to grow straight with the right tools. Think of it like this: Your beard is naturally wiry, and the follicles want to grow in whatever direction they want. To tame the dragon on your face, you have to train it daily.

Start with a daily brushing. A stiff-bristle beard brush is one of the most useful tools in your arsenal; use it to brush your beard down and to work in oil and balm. A daily brushing will help train it to grow in a downward direction, and also helps to add volume and soften the hair.

Another tip: Avoid brushing too frequently. Once a day is plenty, if you have a longer beard. Too much brushing can damage the follicles. 

6. Make Your Mustache Match

Unless you’re going full Amish chinstrap, you can’t forget about the mustache. That means trimming your ‘stache and, if you fancy it, shaping it with wax.

A few tips for easy mustache trimming:

• Start with a thorough combing.
• Trim for shape along the bottom and edges using barber scissors.
• To trim for length, comb upward into your mustache, and use the comb as a guide for length.
• Cut along the comb for a perfectly even ‘stache.

7. Use the Right Tools

Just as regular shampoo won’t cut it for beard washing, any-old pair of scissors or a brush won’t work for beard grooming. You need the right tools for the best effect. Essentially, there are three main tools you’ll need:

• Beard Comb – A beard comb is typically built of a sturdier material. This is important. Cheap plastic combs won’t work on coarse beard hair; they’ll give you lots of painful snags and pulling.
• Beard Brush – A beard brush typically has stiff, yet soft, bristles that do a few things. A beard brush works oil and balm evenly into the hair and onto the skin. Plus, the sturdy bristles work perfectly on coarse beard hair, helping to train the hair, make it softer and increase volume.
• Barber Scissors – Don’t use regular paper scissors on your beard! Barber scissors are essential. They tend to be sharper, have narrower blades, which allows more precision, and you can typically change the tension for the perfect cut.

8. Keep Your Neckline in Check

A messy neckline gives your beard a disheveled look, that’s why a neckline trim should be a part of your beard grooming routine.

For trimming the neckline, electric chippers work great, or you can use a straight razor. One rule of thumb: Your neckline should follow a U shape. Place a finger or two fingers above the Adam’s apple. This is the spot the “U” should crest. Then trim along the jawline until you reach the crest. It’s really that simple.

Now You’re Ready to Groom Your Beard Like a Pro

Whether you’ve just started growing a beard, or you’re looking for ideas to tame six months of growth, these tips will get your beard on the right track. Really, it’s all about the maintenance. Remember: Wash, oil, trim and shape. If you follow those steps, your beard will look the best it ever has.

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