But wait, your beard has been looking dry and frizzy lately, so you take a closer look and see split ends. Man, we hear you. Beard split ends can be massively frustrating, even devastating. You spent months or even years getting your Beard Split Ends How To Spot Manage And Prevent Them beard into the shape you’ve always wanted, only for those split ends to come along uninvited and wreak havoc.
Here’s What Split Ends Look Like
The name says it all the ends of your beard hairs split and divide themselves into smaller mini-strands, like frayed strings. When you look closely at individual hairs, that’s when you can see the separated ends.
When you have split ends, your beard looks dry, messy, and tired. Plus it feels dry, rough, and itchy – especially on your partner.
Hairs prone to split ends are also going to break easily. And too many breakages can cause gaps in your beard, which believe us, you don’t want!
What Causes Beard Hair Split Ends?
Simple… dryness. When whiskers lack moisture, the shafts and cuticles break down, leaving them primed to split.
- Not enough natural sebum oil produced by your face’s sebaceous glands.
- Washing your beard with regular hair shampoo or soap – these are too harsh.
- Using inferior beard care products.
- Blow drying your beard.
- Using a curling or straightening iron.
- Neglecting your regular brushing.
- Using a plastic or metal comb instead of a proper beard brush. Both can tug and tear hairs.
- Too much sun exposure.
- Harsh climate/environment.
- Improper grooming habits.
- Poor diet.
Long Beard Hairs Are More at Risk for Splitting
When you have a long beard, you need to be extra vigilant in preventing split ends. That’s because you produce a limited amount of natural sebum oil to condition and moisturize your facial hairs. Once those hairs reach a certain length, there’s not enough sebum to go around to nourish the entire length of every hair. This makes your beard dry, coarse, and brittle. Split ends are bound to follow.
Can You Repair Split Ends?
Nope. Once hair ends are split, they’re split.
How to Get Rid of Split Ends in Your Beard
You have to trim those split ends away. That’s the only way to be rid of them after they develop.
Use sharp scissors to do this work and trim to the part of the hair that isn’t broken. If you want to shorten your beard all around, you can use trimmers.
Sounds easy, but it has some challenges. When in any doubt, see your barber.
Prevention is Best (And So Much Easier)
If you have lush, healthy, strong beard hairs, you wanna keep ‘me that way! Hairs that are properly nourished, hydrated, and groomed won’t split.
And to get your beard hairs into that tip-top shape and prevent split ends, you’ve got to have an ace grooming routine using beard care products made with natural ingredients and without harsh, drying chemical additives.
Here are some dos and don’ts that will help you kick split ends to the curb.
DO Use Beard Wash
Avoid using hair shampoo on your beard at all costs. And don’t use soap, either! Beard hairs simply are not the same as scalp hairs.
A beard wash made with gentle, natural ingredients is exactly what your beard needs. It will not only clean without stripping moisture away but will also help condition your skin, follicles, and hair shafts.
Avoid like the plague any product that contains sulfates, phosphate, mineral oils, silicone, parabens, or artificial colors because these will denude your beard of essential nourishment and moisture.
Don’t overdo the washing. Three times a week should be plenty, unless you’re in a particularly tough, harsh environment.
Moisturize Your Beard
Not with regular face moisturizer though. Facial moisturizers are designed for skin, not beard hairs. So, after washing, add some gentle, non-greasy beard moisturizer as an all-day hydration base layer.
Do Use Beard Oil
Whether your beard is long or short, use beard oil – every day. It’s a potent weapon against split ends.
Beard oil simulates and supplements the natural sebum oil your skin produces, so your beard can be nourished and hydrated from the follicles to the tips. Plus, it adds sensational softness and shine.
Oiling becomes doubly important when your beard is long because there’s only so much sebum to go around. A long beard gets dry easily, becomes coarse and frizzy, and it has a higher risk of developing split ends.
Do Brush Your Beard
Just make sure you brush with a high-quality beard brush. One made with wild boar hair bristles and a wood handle is what you want. It’s gentle yet firm enough to do everything you need to help prevent those dreaded split ends.
Do Balm for Extra Calm
Lock in that glorious moisture from the beard oil by adding a little beard balm. It helps you style, shape, and hold your beard in place while adding extra nourishment and smoothing the outer layer of each strand.
This crucial step in conditioning a beard is often overlooked by beadsmen. That extra conditioning can make the difference between split ends and silky softness.
Do Look After Your Diet
A healthy beard begins on the inside. Poor nutrition can adversely affect the health of the hairs sprouting out of your face and encourage split ends. So eat your veggies and ensure you get plenty of protein, vitamin B, and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Don’t Brush or Comb with Plastic or Metal
Plastic is definitely not fantastic. If possible, never use a plastic comb on your beard. It will tug and snag hairs, weakening them and breaking them. Worse, a plastic comb doesn’t distribute oil properly.
Don’t Blow Dry Your Beard
A huge no to the blow! It’s like sticking your beard in an oven. The hairs become completely dehydrated and weakened by the excessive heat. Once that happens, split ends are pretty much inevitable.
Blow drying your beard also dries out and damages your follicles. Damaged follicles mean weaker hair shafts.
Don’t Use Hair Dye on Your Beard
The beard is often the first place gray hairs appear on a dude. But as tempting as it can be to try to turn back the clock with a little dye, we have to advise you to go easy. The chemicals in hair dye are harsh and dehydrating, which can undo all the grooming work you’ve done and allow split ends to creep back in.
Conclusion
Follow these tips and you should keep those awful beard split ends at bay. Look after yourself, look after your beard, and use the best beard products to ensure that the only thing that splits is your attention – between all the chicks throwing themselves at your super dope beard.