Beard Care Products for Hair Stylists

Beards are here to stay. If you are a barber or hairstylist you have undoubtedly gotten several requests from bearded customers for beard care products. Until recently there has been a dearth of men's facial hair products. Fortunately that trend is drastically changing.

Photo Credit: Simon Townley Hair

There are now a wide variety of beard care products available that stylists can use on their bearded clientele. The right beard care products can help promote healthy skin and hair growth, relieve and prevent dry, itchy skin beneath facial hair, tame frizzy hair, help heal damaged skin and hair, as well as moisturize and hydrate. The following items should be part of any modern day stylist's or barber's styling kit.

• Beard balm/conditioner
• Beard oil
• Beard soap/shampoo

First let's look at beard balm; Beard Balm is a pomade that moisturizes and conditions facial hair, adds sheen, and provides a light to medium hold which can aid in styling. Beard balm will coat the hair follicle and may make the beard appear thicker. Beard balm works best for people with short to medium length beards, but can certainly be useful for longer beards. It may take some experimentation to determine if balm will weigh down a beard of substantial length (10" or more). For best results, look for beard balms containing all natural ingredients. Quality beard balms contain either unrefined jojoba and/or pure argan oil to moisturize and shea, beeswax and/or lanolin to seal in moisture and provide styling hold. Avoid beard balms containing oils that go rancid easily like grapeseed oil, synthetic sealants like petroleum jelly, or synthetic fragrance oils. Grapeseed oil, sometimes referred to as vitis vinifera oil, is a great light-weight moisturizing oil that doesn't leave a greasy residue, however it only has a 3 month shelf life in the best of conditions, which can force companies to use synthetic preservatives that may compromise the overall health benefits of the beard balm or beard oil.

Next lets look at beard oil. Beard oil is simply beard balm without the sealants. Beard oil works great on all beard lengths, and as a supplement to beard balms. Look for beard oils made with premium quality moisturizers that are easily absorbed by hair and skin, such as unrefined jojoba and pure argan oil. Just like with beard balm, avoid beard oils containing oils that go rancid easily or synthetic fragrance oils. Although synthetic fragrance oils are extremely common in grooming products, they can contain over 500 undisclosed chemicals that have the potential to damage your skin and hair. Don't risk it. Make sure your beard oil is scented with an essential oil blend.

Now lets look at beard soaps and shampoos. Facial hair and skin are very delicate. For this reason we advise avoiding liquid shampoos as they tend to contain synthetic ingredients that strip skin and facial hair of its natural oils. Instead, we recommend a solid beard shampoo or a beard soap still containing it's natural glycerine. (Most store bought soaps are stripped of their moisturizing glycerine for use in other products.)  Hot processed birch tar soap is perfect for facial hair due to its natural moisturizing and conditioning properties. It's also gentle on skin, which is especially important when using a product on your face.
Together beard balm, beard oil and beard soap work to keep your bearded client's facial hair healthy and happy.