Who wouldn’t want an all-purpose product? We all want that product that will not just save money, but time too. In a bid to come up with an all-purpose product, men tend to ask questions surrounding skincare. One of those questions is if they can use beard wash on the face.
The simple answer to this is NO. The truth is, a beard wash is meant to clean your beard and not your face. To clean your face, you will need a separate face wash. Likewise, for your beard, you shouldn’t use a face wash to wash your beard.
Different products have specific purposes. This should be taken seriously to avoid stripping your skin or beard of its natural oil. In the following sections, I will be answering questions such as why you need to use a beard wash, why it shouldn’t be used for your face, and other common questions surrounding beard wash.
Is It Important for You to Use a Beard Wash?
Just as it is important to wash your face, your beard shouldn’t be left out. There are bacteria clinging to your beard as you run around completing your daily activities. Using a beard wash will help get rid of them, keeping your beard fresh and healthy.
While your beard is protecting your face, it attracts and traps pollen and allergens, which can cause you big problems if you have seasonal allergies. Using a beard wash regularly will ensure you aren’t sniffling and sneezing causing people to think you are sick.
By using a beard wash, you are replenishing the all-important natural oils that have been stripped off your beard. You also get to hydrate your beard when you use beard wash. The beard wash will also treat coarse hair and split ends.
Can You Use Beard Wash On Your Face?
Since you know the amazing benefits of using a beard wash, you may be wondering if you can use this product on your face. You shouldn’t use a beard wash on your face. The goal of beard wash is to clear build-up underneath your beard. These build-ups are dead skin cells and sweat.
Your face doesn’t have as much build-up as your scalp. Thus, it doesn’t need a harsh cleanser that will annoy your skin and strip off its natural oils. Using beard wash on your face isn’t advisable if you have redness, breakouts, sensitivity, and dryness. Many beard washes have cleansing agents that are harsh on the face and can throw off the balance of your skin’s pH.
A beard wash won’t give you flawless skin like some people think. On the other hand, genetics plays an important role in how flawless your skin looks. Yes, skincare helps your skin to glow, but your genes are very important.
Using beard wash for your face will make it harder for your skin to recover from the harsh effects of stress, hormones, pollution, diet, and weather.
Since the ingredients used in a beard wash aren’t right for your skin, a face wash is ideal for keeping your face clean.
How Often Should You Use Beard Wash?
Now that you know that you should be using a face wash for your face and a beard wash for your beard, it is time to find out how often you should use your beard wash.
The general rule states that you shouldn’t use your beard wash daily. Using it daily will dry out your skin and cause beardruff (dandruff of the beard) and itching if you already have dry skin. Instead, wash your beard every two to three days.
How often you should wash your beard depends on factors such as:
- How active you are: If you have a busy lifestyle, then your beard will require frequent cleaning. Getting active will make you sweat, and oil will flow out of your skin. This will cause a build-up in your pores, resulting in ingrown hairs or acne.
- How thick your beard is: Thicker beards are coarser and dry out faster. If you have a thick beard, wash your beard twice a week. If you have a thinner beard, you can use a beard wash more frequently because it will make your beard look fuller.
- How oily your skin is: People with oily skin need to wash their beards frequently. Using beard wash daily or every two days is ideal as it prevents an excess oil build-up. Too much washing has a negative effect on dry skin, so it’s better not to wash every day unless you are also using moisturizing products.
- How your weather is: The weather has a huge effect on how your beard turns out. Dry weather dries out your beard, while humidity makes your beard frizzier. If your environment is dry, give time between washing to provide your beard with time to absorb more moisture.
Why Is a Beard Wash Better Than Shampoo?
Beard wash has natural oils and less harmful chemicals than are contained in regular shampoo. These harmful chemicals will strip your beard of its oils if used.
Instead, use a beard wash that is designed to remove excess oil, freshen, clean, and hydrate your beard. The ultimate goal of a beard wash is to make your beard shinier, softer, and less brittle. Avoid using regular shampoo on your beard.
Why Should You Use Beard Wash?
I believe you can easily detect if someone hasn’t washed their hair for a few days. The hair may look matted, or greasy, and be a mess. It is important to use a beard wash to maintain your beard and keep it healthy.
Let’s look at some of the reasons why you need a beard wash as part of your grooming products.
- Your face doesn’t produce much oil: Using regular shampoos for your beard isn’t ideal. They are too harsh for your skin. They will strip your face of its natural oil and unless you replace it, dehydration may occur. You will start experiencing itching and beardruff.
- Your face needs more oil: The texture of facial hair is different when compared to the hair on your head. It is thicker and coarser. The longer it gets, the more quickly it dries. Using regular shampoo isn’t ideal, and this is where a beard wash comes in.
Cleaning Your Beard With Beard Wash
In this section, I will be giving you tips on how you can take care of your beard and the skin underneath it. I will be giving you my secret tips. I hope you try them out!
Before you start, you will need to exfoliate. Ensure your beard is wet before adding a generous amount of beard wash to your hand and rub them together. Using your hands, apply the beard wash all over your beard and rub it in to get rid of dead skin.
While applying, ensure that you work the beard wash all the way to the roots. Ensure the product is well spread into your beard and the skin underneath. Use warm water to rinse well and clean up. Comb through your beard as you rinse.
Ensure you aim the shower or whatever you are using firmly near your beard so that all the dead skin and particles can be properly washed off.
Getting The Best Result
Washing your beard with a beard wash is usually done once a week, though it depends on how active you are, and how long your beard is, among other things. The timing really depends on your activities for that week. Remember that washing more than you should make your skin irritated and your beard dry and brittle.
You may need to use a softener on your beard to get the best result. Although, you won’t likely need a softener if you are using an exfoliator. Again, consider using a device like a Be-Bop to ensure the beard wash and softener gets worked in properly. If you’ve not used a softener before, make sure you include it on your next wash day to see what a difference it makes.
If you want to use a softener, you shouldn’t use too much. You only need to massage a small amount of the softener into your beard. Rinse it out after a minute, then dry your beard and comb it. It is now time to apply your beard oil. Once you apply the beard oil, facial serum can then go into your face.
Tiny little drops of serum are what you need to get moisture back to your face. If you are concerned about making your face oily with the serum, you shouldn’t be. It won’t make your face worse. The serum will penetrate deep into your skin and work its magic. Who says women are the only ones that should pay attention to self-care? You deserve some pampering too, so take care of yourself, bro!
Once clean, you may want to give your beard a gentle comb and brush. Keep your grooming tools clean!
| Check out How to Wash and Clean a Beard Brush in 5 Steps to find out easy ways to clean your beard brush. |
Conclusion
It is important to wash your beard regularly. How often depends on your beard type and length, and how oily your skin is, as well as how dry the air is where you live.
Use beard wash, never shampoo, on your beard. Shampoo is too harsh for your beard. Beard wash makes your beard look fuller and softer, and it also helps prevent skin issues like odor, clogged pores, ingrown hairs, and itch.
At Beard Guidance, we advise that you keep your beard clean at all times with high-quality beard care products. There are so many of them out there to choose from!