Komal Parmar
It may have taken a while, but you finally kicked that nasty beard pulling habit, the gaps are filling in, and your beard is as thick as a bush, Right? If your answer is no, there may be some grooming habits that are preventing you from growing the beard of your dreams.
The number one piece of beard advice that every bearded man needs to digest is DONT TOUCH IT. Every time you pull, touch, yank or play with your beard you are actually adding damaging irritants and thinning out the beard you worked so hard to grow.
Six Grooming Habits That Are Ruining Your Beard
Your beard is a source of pride. It’s your lion’s mane. It took you a long time to grow it, and you definitely don’t want it to fall victim to bad grooming habits. Luckily, by avoiding the below habits you will be able to grow a strong healthy beard that is the envy of your gentleman friends and the talk of the barbershop.
Over Washing
You want to wash your beard. Often. No one likes a stinky beard, but it’s important to your beards health not to over wash. Over washing will dry out your beard.
Every time you wash your beard you remove the natural oils that keep your beard healthy and robust. Using beard oils sparingly after each wash can replenish those oils and moisturize your beard to keep it from breaking and splitting off.
Plucking
Those grey beard hairs make you look distinguished. Stop plucking them. You are doing more harm than good when you pluck errant beard hairs.
Plucking beard hairs can cause redness, irritation and ingrown hairs which then need to be plucked, creating a vicious cycle of skin irritation and poor beard health.
It’s best to leave those grey beard hairs where they are. The ancient Greeks thought of a white-bearded man as wise worthy of respect. They had a point. Drop the tweezers and rock that grey beard.
Forgetting To Moisturize
Your beard is as alive as your skin, and like your skin, it needs moisture to stay healthy and strong. Forgetting to moisturize your beard can lead to dry, cracking skin on the face and a brittle, frizzy beard.
When you forget to moisturize your beard you are depriving it of the nutrients and moisture that it needs to keep from splitting and breaking off. A moisturized beard is a healthy beard.
Not Using Beard Shampoo
We all like to save a buck here and there, but it should never come at the expense of your beard. Products made for the hair on your head contain different chemicals than those meant for your face, and your scalp is far more resilient than the skin on your face.
Using regular shampoo on your face can leave the skin irritated and the beard hairs brittle and dry. Beard shampoos are specifically designed to be used on the face and made with chemicals that won’t irritate your skin or dry out your beard.
Not Using A Beard Comb/Brush
Stop. Put down your girlfriend’s hairbrush. Beard combs and hair combs are not created equal, in fact, that is the entire point.
A beard comb doesn’t have equal length bristles. Beard comp bristles are meant to reach the different sized individual hairs of your beard to remove dust and dead skin.
Using a comb meant for the hair on your head will not reach all the hairs of your bead thus leaving it full of things that you definitely don’t want in there.
Beard combs are sold everywhere your shaving supplies are and should be included in every shave kit you put together. Besides a combed and tidy beard looks far better than an unkempt, over-grown, bushy beard
Poor Neckline
There were rednecks, then no-necks and now introducing the poor neck. The poor neck is a gentleman who has fallen victim to a bad beard grooming habit called poor neckline.
Mastering the neckline isn’t easy. It’s an integral part of the beard as it defines the face from the neck, but it’s also fairly easy to get wrong. Certain beard trimmers have attachments for precision trimming, which works great for necklines.
The neckline of your beard should end about a fingers width above your Adam’s apple.
Overstepping the Jawline
Few things are worse than nailing the perfect shave only to overstep your jawline on the last pass leaving you with an unsightly and noticeable bare patch in your beard.
Shaving guides are available where ever you buy your shaving supplies and are used to ensure the lines of your beard stay sharp. Picking one up can bring your beard game to the next level and even open up a few beard styles that you may not have considered.
Now that you know the habits that were ruining your beard you can grow the perfect beard with confidence.