Every day, we discover new products that could promote the growth of our facial hair. Growing a beard is becoming more popular and men try many balms and oils to help them.
One of the oils in the spotlight nowadays is Argan oil. Does Argan oil help with beard growth?
Argan oil can enhance beard growth when used correctly. Its arsenal of natural ingredients makes it a reliable tool to help your facial hair. It contains many nutrients like Vitamins A and E. It also contains multiple necessary acids that help moisturize the skin under your beard.
It’s hard to limit the benefits of Argan oil within a few lines. Let’s dive in a little deeper, know more about this premium product, and how it can help you.
What Is Argan Oil?
Argan oil, also known as Moroccan oil, is an ingredient extracted from the seeds of the Argan Tree in Morocco.
This premium oil isn’t common because it’s extracted by hand. The point behind this is to keep as much of its nutritional value as possible.
It started as a natural ingredient to condition the hair. However, once more of its benefits started to show; it began to be used as an ingredient to enhance beard growth.
Argan oil contains various nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin E, omega-6 fatty acids., antioxidants, and more.
We’ll discuss in detail how these nutrients can help with your beard growth.
How Does Argan Oil Help With Beard Growth?
Argan oil has many direct benefits to hair growth.
1. Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation is one of the main reasons why some hairs could grow inwards. There is a lot of constant irritation to the beard hair follicles.
The reasons could be scratching, pulling, dust, weather, and bacteria. All of which leads to inflammatory reactions from the body.
The vitamin E and antioxidants found in argan oil reduce said inflammation. Less inflammation means fewer ingrown hairs and fuller beards.
2. Moisturizes the Beard
Argan oil contains squalene, a clear liquid found in some plants and animals. Squalene is present in the human body in the form of lipids. It’s responsible for skin lubrication.
It makes up around 10-12 % of the skin’s oil. When the skin is damaged for whatever reason, this percentage may drop.
This reduces the amount of lubrication on the skin and makes it dry. This dry skin isn’t a healthy condition for hair to grow in.
Argan oil re-moisturizes the skin to provide that much-needed healthy environment. It should be applied throughout the beard until it touches the skin.
Keep in mind that if your skin doesn’t suffer from dryness, your usage of Argan oil should be more careful.
The oil shouldn’t touch the skin in this scenario. It should be carefully applied to the hair endings to nourish them without increasing the oil on the skin.
3. Reduces Itchiness
Squalene lipid on the skin doesn’t only allow for a better environment to grow hair, it also prevents water from escaping the skin.
This water plays an important role in keeping the skin moisturized. If this water is lost, the skin becomes dry, red, and itchy.
The moisturization acquired from squalene prevents this water from escaping the skin. Because lipid (oil) doesn’t mix with water and thus, it keeps the water inside.
A moisturized healthy skin is hardly an itchy one. When you scratch your beard less, you keep the bacteria on your hand from reaching the hair follicles.
Plus, you don’t damage the skin by scratching. It’s a win-win for you.
4. Protects From Heat Damage
Heat damage often goes unnoticed by most people. Nobody would think that excessive heat would slow down beard growth.
Heat dries out your skin, damages collagen fibers, and causes wrinkles in the long run.
If you like to use beard straighteners or flat irons, you might want to cover your skin with argan oil before you do that. The heat from these devices can harm your skin if you’re not careful.
Argan oil can withstand temperatures of up to 400°F. That would make excellent heat insulation to protect your skin and hair follicles from damage.
5. Reduces Dandruff
Dry skin doesn’t take much time to lose nutrition and tear into small flakes. This is called dandruff. It can happen in scalp hair, eyebrows, and beard hair as well.
Dandruff is a sign of unhealthy skin. It collects bacteria and itches your skin. When you scratch that itchy skin, you introduce more bacteria.
The nutrients and oils found in Argan oil protect the skin from dryness. That in turn reduces dandruff and gives room for the hair to grow healthily.
6. Provides Nourishment
Argan oil is rich in nourishments like Phenol which promotes regrowth of damaged hair. It also contains Carotene which the body converts into vitamin A.
This is necessary for cells regrowth in general and hair cells in specific.
Argan oil is also rich in antioxidants and fatty acids that promote hair growth.
How to Use Argan Oil?
As an Oil
Argan oil can be sold in bottles with a 100% pure concentration. The amount is small but it can last a long time if you use it correctly.
To use it the right way, you should clean your beard thoroughly with water to open all the pores. After which you should dry it with warm hair.
Your hands should be clean as well because you’ll add a few drops of the oil to your fingers. Use your fingers to cover all the hair on your beard and reach deep down through the strands.
Make sure that the oil touches your beard skin entirely. If your skin is naturally oily, then restrict the usage of this oil to beard hair only.
It’s important to distribute the Argan oil evenly among your beard hair. It does promote hair growth and uneven distribution could lead to uneven growth.
As a Beard Balm
If you don’t like oils or have the habit of wasting too much while using them; then you’ll love this.
Argan oil also comes in the form of balms. Balms are easier to use and last longer on the surface they’re applied to.
Again, don’t apply the balm unless your beard is clean. Argan won’t do much of a job if the environment is dirty.
If you like to straighten your beard, the balm should be applied after the straightening process.
In a Shampoo
Argan is also found in many shampoos. This makes covering your entire beard hair and skin with argan a lot easier.
Shampoos containing argan are safe and easy to use. Don’t be afraid to use them.
Don’t just throw some shampoo on your beard and be done with it. You need to apply the shampoo correctly on your beard to get the most out of it.
Final Thoughts
So, does Argan oil help with beard growth?
With all its nourishing components, Argan oil is an excellent asset in your journey of getting a beard.
It keeps your skin moisturized, your hair shiny, and your beard healthy. Use it as an oil, balm, or shampoo, and you’ll get satisfying results.
If you’d like to know whether you should use beard oils before bed or not, check out this article.