A Guide to Beard Grooming: Avoiding Common Mistakes

Unless you’re a reclusive wild Yeti who hides in the mountains, sporting a beard means caring for it regularly. During COVID, many bros went down the Yeti path, neglecting grooming because they figured they had nowhere to go and nobody to see.

Falling for Beard Myths

 1: Falling for beard myths

We’re not sure who the evil Seth Lord was who started these myths about having a beard but we sure wish we could use the Force to banish them forever:

Myth: Shaving will enable your bristles to grow back fasted:

Uh, nope. What determines how fast your beard grows is genetics. And really, most men’s facial hair grows at a very similar rate.

Myth: A beard feels hot in summer.

This just ain’t true. Beard hairs hold sweat droplets closer to your face, cooling your skin as they evaporate.

Myth: Having a thick beard will reduce your chances of landing a new job

This one really makes our bristles burn because study after study has shown that men with beards are regarded as more healthy, trustworthy, serious, professional, and likable.

Myth: Women find bearded men unattractive.

WHAT?! A beard conveys a primal subconscious message of testosterone, virility, and strength.

Giving Up Too Early in the Game

Beard grooming mistake 2: Giving up too early in the game

In the first few weeks of growth, it’s common for a new beard to have some bare patches  and also to feel itchy due to flaky beard ruff. Some bros might even develop nasty beard acne if they don’t have a proper cleaning and grooming routine.

Patience, young Padawan learner! A beard is a work of patience, not impulse. You must give it time and training for it to reach its full potential. Even the patchiest beard will fill out – in the fullness of time.

Just Letting It Go Wild

 3: Just letting it go wild

After 6-8 weeks, you’re likely ready for a first foray into trimming, shaping, and sculpting – at least if you want your beard to look good and avoid the shaggy Wookie thing. If you leave it untamed, it can get pretty strange looking with hairs poking out at all different lengths and angles. So snip those stray flyways and encourage them to grow the way you want through regular washing, oiling, and brushing.

Trimming Too Soon

Beard grooming mistake 4 Trimming too soon

Like a lightsaber in untrained hands, some guys reach for the trimmer way too early in their bearded life. Please… wait at least six weeks before attempting trimming. Otherwise, you’re basically neutering your beard and killing its chances of blossoming into a thing of glory.

Neglecting Your Head Hair

Beard grooming mistake 5 Neglecting your head hair

Yes, this is a beard grooming mistake. Just because your facial hair is being unleashed doesn’t mean you should neglect your head hair. A wild, greasy-looking top mop combined with a newly sprouting beard can make you look like you’ve given up on yourself.

Not Keeping Your Beard and Face Clean

Beard grooming mistake 6 Not keeping your beard and face clean

Dude, just because you’ve decided to look rugged doesn’t mean you can skimp on hygiene. Not washing your beard and face regularly is a huge rookie mistake. Clean facial hair looks healthier, has fewer split ends, and is easier to coax to grow in the direction you want.

Notice I said face as well. At all stages of growing a beard, you simply must keep the hairs and the skin beneath in pristine condition. Properly washing your skin and pores contributes greatly to a healthy, inviting beard. Meanwhile, not looking after the skin below will invite dryness, itching, flaking, irritation, acne, and even ingrown hairs.

Not Using Beard Oil

Beard grooming mistake 7 Not using beard oil

Many new beadsmen figure beard oil is just some marketing hustle and skip it, mistakenly thinking it will make their beards greasy and clog their pores. Major beard grooming mistake!

Beard oil is like the Force… you simply can’t be a Beard Jedi without it. Use it daily at all stages of your beard’s development, even in the early weeks. Here’s why:

1. It takes away the itch or irritation.
2. It makes your beard shinier, silkier, stronger, and fuller.
3. When rubbed in down to the skin, it moisturizes your skin and nourishes the hair follicles.
4. It makes your beard hairs more manageable, especially making brushing a smooth and painless experience.

Shaving Too High Up Your Neck

Beard grooming mistake 8 Shaving too high up your neck

Many beadsmen shave some part of their necks, usually for neatness and comfort. But if you shave right up to your jawline and chin, what’s the point of having a beard at all? It simply looks strange and out of proportion to sport a thick beard on your jaw and cheeks while your neck is as bare as a boiled potato.

It’s on your neck that a beard really develops bulk. If you want a thick, full beard, let it grow down to around your Adam’s apple and across that level on both sides. It’s much easier to grow your neck hair and trim a little at a time than to cut off too much and look weird while you wait for it to grow again.

Applying Beard Oil Wrong

Beard grooming mistake 9 Applying beard oil wrong

As we mentioned earlier, beard oil is as much for your skin as it is for your whiskers. A beard can draw some of your face’s natural oils away from the skin. That’s why it’s essential to know how to apply beard oil correctly. In other words, don’t just rub it into the hairs.

After a good shower and some towel drying, while your pores are still open from the steam, rub a few drops into your hands, then massage thoroughly right down to the roots of your beard hairs. Ensure it really gets into the pores. Applying beard oil right will help avoid beard ruff and will care for the hair follicles, while also hydrating your whiskers.

Not Brushing Your Beard

Beard grooming mistake 10 Not brushing your beard

Brushing is a vital part of beard grooming and care. It has many benefits:

1. Brushing removes unsightly particles of dust, dirt, food, and so on.
2. It helps distribute beard oil thoroughly and evenly.
3. It keeps your beard tidy and looking its best.
4. It trains your hairs to grow in the direction you want (like downwards instead of straight out), especially if you combine brushing with beard balm.
5. It helps your beard be healthier and silkier.

Careless Over-Trimming

Beard grooming mistake 11 Careless over-trimming

So, your beard is developing nicely to the point that you want to prune the wild bush a tad. The key word is tad. Take a very cautious approach so you don’t hack off too much in a landscaping frenzy and look like a half-nude doormat.

Here are the golden rules for avoiding over-trimming:

1. Never rush. Think carefully and set aside quality quiet time to care for your beard. Rushing will result in mistakes that cannot be fixed easily, like hacking off a big chunk because you got the clipper settings wrong.
2. Trim like one hair at a time.
3. When it doubt, don’t. If you’re concerned about trimming too much away, leave it for a while and look again later after reflection. More is more!
4. Trim only when it’s dry. Dry beard hairs have some curl to them. When a beard is wet, the hairs appear straighter and longer. If you trim them wet, as they dry they’ll curl and shorten into strange, uneven lengths and shapes.

Not Using a Beard Balm as It Lengthens

Beard grooming mistake 12 Not using a beard balm as it lengthens

When a beard gets longer, it can easily become frizzy and make you look like you joined ZZ Top. Of course, you may like that look, but many dudes don’t. This is where beard balm comes in. With a combination of butters, essential oils, and a little beeswax, beard balm will help guide your whiskers in the direction and shape you want while also being a moisturizing conditioner.

A beard balm is truly an essential weapon in a beadsman’s arsenal. It works perfectly in tandem with a wild boar hair brush. Just be sure the balm’s ingredients are organic where possible and are free from damaging silicon and alcohol.

Uneven Cheek Lines

Beard grooming mistake 13 Uneven cheek lines

Hair typically grows more sparsely and unevenly on the upper parts of your cheeks, which can be unsightly and annoying. It makes sense to want to trim and shave them into sharp lines. But it’s oh so easy to unintentionally trim one cheek lower than the other. Then the typical reaction is to trim the higher side again, which risks making it into the new lower side. This then spirals out of control and before you know it, you’ve made a bad situation much worse and ended up with a chinstrap beard.

rimming Your Mustache Too Far

 

Beard grooming mistake 14 Trimming your mustache too far

We’re not talking about a mustache that naturally grows thinner or shorter than the beard. We’re referring to cutting the mo back too much.

It’s your call, of course. But an over-trimmed mustache combined with a thick beard is a look that only a select few will appreciate.

Straighten Your Beard

Beard grooming mistake 

This really is a rookie mistake for beard grooming. You might think a hair dryer is a quick solution when you’re in a rush after showering, but the heat is deadly to your beard. While it works fine for head hair, it will damage facial hairs, making them dry and brittle. If you absolutely must use a hair dryer, use it only on the cool setting.