Beard Care Mistakes to Avoid and What to Do Instead
Is body soap or hot water bad for a beard?
The five beard care mistakes to drop first are washing with body soap or hot water, ignoring the skin under the beard, trimming a wet beard, setting the neckline too high and putting on too much oil. Start in the shower. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) tells men with beards to wash the face and beard every day with a gentle cleanser rather than soap, because a cleanser removes dirt without drying the skin, and dry skin under the beard is the common complaint. Rinse with lukewarm water: Cleveland Clinic says hot water is drying and that rubbing or scrubbing strips the skin's top layer of moisture. Pat dry with a clean towel and leave the skin a little damp. The second mistake follows straight away. The AAD says that without moisturiser the skin beneath a beard turns dry, flaky and itchy, and that oily or acne-prone skin is no reason to skip it, because moisturising softens the skin and the hairs. Put it on straight after washing, on the skin and through the beard. Cleveland Clinic also advises moisturising right after washing. The last mistake in this group is a habit. The AAD's dermatologist, Anthony Rossi, asks you to stop touching and stroking the beard, since hands carry germs and dirt to the skin underneath.
Trim a dry beard and keep the neckline low
Trimming does most of the visible damage. Mistake three is cutting a wet beard. Gillette explains that trimmers are built to cut dry hair, so wet hair is picked up unevenly, you go over the same spot several times, which the skin dislikes, and the lengths come out ragged. Wash it if you like, then dry it with a towel, a hairdryer or the air before the trimmer comes out. Mistake four is the lines. Wahl says a neckline set too high gives a chin-strap look, and Braun warns of an unnaturally angular line. Braun and Wahl both place the neckline two fingers above the Adam's apple, while Philips uses one finger just above it, so when in doubt take the lower mark. Wahl adds that you can always trim more later. If the line is already too high, Braun's advice is to let the hair grow back for a few days before trimming again. The cheek line has its own trap: Philips says the lower it sits, the more length it gives the face, and it suggests leaving a natural cheek line alone when it already looks clean. The beard trim at 044 Barbershop in Kyiv is modelling plus a dry or hot-towel shave, which covers shaping both lines.
Use a little oil, then add only if the beard needs it
The fifth mistake is too much oil. The AAD says to use beard oil or conditioner sparingly because too much looks greasy, and you can always add more. Start with a small amount, work it through the beard to the skin and add more only if the beard still feels dry. The AAD also matches the product to the skin: beard oil for normal to dry skin, beard conditioner for acne-prone skin and a fragrance-free, non-comedogenic moisturiser for sensitive skin, so oil is not the right answer for every face. The AAD adds that dirt, oils and dead skin cells build up on the skin every day and, left unwashed, clog pores and irritate the skin, so oil belongs on a washed beard. Wahl also lists oil or balm as the step after a neckline trim, to keep the skin moisturised and itch-free. Apply it straight after washing, while the skin is still a little damp, and use a beard comb to spread it evenly, as the AAD suggests. A beard that looks greasy by midday has probably had too much, so use less next time. Come in for a beard trim and a barber can set the neckline and the cheek line on your own jaw, which leaves you a line to follow when you pick up the trimmer at home.