For many men, a beard brush is only to be remembered when it has to be used. After that, it is completely forgotten. Well, that’s the type of attitude that will get you searching through stores for a new beard brush ever so frequently. Generally, beard brushes are designed to last for long, but that will depend on how well you tend to it. And there is a right and wrong way to treat your beard brush.
A beard brush requires regular dry-cleaning and some occasional thorough washing. Proper care of a beard brush will make it last longer and spread oil, balm, wax, and other conditioners evenly throughout the beard. Dirt, dead skin, and hair strands can accumulate in the bristles if the brush is not cleaned properly.
Don’t worry about it if you don’t know which brush is best for your beard. There are several great recommendations below, so we’ll get to that in a bit. However, what is important right now is learning exactly how to care for this all-important bearded man’s tool.
Stick around to learn the dos and don’ts of beard brush care.
Just a heads up: caring for your brush is simple, but you will need to commit to the process. If you want your beard to look good but don’t want to put in the effort to care for your brush, you’ll have a brush full of dead skin cells sooner or later!
Caring for Your Beard Brush Is Vital: Here’s Why
There’s hardly any bearded men who haven’t used a brush at one point in their bearded journey. Regardless of how long, short, thin, or thick your beard is, you need a brush to maintain it. Even if you choose to wax your stubble, a beard brush was involved at some point before the waxing.
By the way, is it okay to wax your stubble, or is it a terrible idea? Check out this post to learn more.
The greatest advantage of a beard brush is that it helps condition your beard. Beard brushes make it easy to distribute oils, balms, and other beard care products evenly throughout your beard. It is also used to train your beard to grow in a particular direction, style beard hairs how you want it, and make beards appear fuller.
Beard brushes also have the benefit of removing dead skin cells and loose hairs, getting rid of beardruff, and eliminating build-up of oils. Although all these qualities are good, there is still one downside: all debris and waste are deposited right inside your beard brush!
If you use a beard brush without cleaning it first you will be brushing your beard with the same dirt and rubbish that you cleaned out from your face. That’s not so cool, is it? Fortunately, cleaning a beard brush is not that difficult.
There are essentially two methods for cleaning a beard brush.
Method 1: Basic Cleaning
The basic cleaning method is what you need to use more regularly.
Here’s how to do basic cleaning for your beard brush.
Step 1: Get a metal brush cleaner, fine-toothed comb, or pair of scissors.
Step 2: Stand over your sink, garbage can, or a table covered with a piece of dry cloth to collect dirt.
Step 3: Run the comb, tip of the scissors, or metal brush cleaner through the bristles.
Step 4: Gentle tap the brush against the side of your sink, trash can, or on top of the table to remove the dirt and hair.
It is best to do this at least once a week and as frequently as possible.
Method 2: Deep Washing with Shampoo
You will need the following items:
- A fine-toothed comb or pair of scissors.
- A small bowl or dish.
- Your preferred beard shampoo.
Step 1: Use the comb or the tip of the scissors to run down each row and column of your beard brush carefully. This will dislodge any product and oil build-up, dirt, dust, hair, and dead skin particles.
Step 2: Tap the bristles on the sides of your sink, tabletop, or garbage can gently. This will remove all the hairs and dirt stuck in the bristles.
Step 3: Pour a small quantity of lukewarm water into the bowl. The water level should only be enough to cover the bristles without covering the brush top or handle. This is particularly important if you use a wooden brush (which is highly recommended by the way). You don’t want to soak and weaken the wooden handle or top.
Make sure to use good-quality beard wash. There are several options, but I recommend Viking Revolution Beard Wash or Seven Potions Beard Wash because of their excellent ingredients. Although the bristles on your brush won’t have the same texture as the hairs on your beard, you will still need to use a wash that is mild. After all, whatever is worth doing should be worth doing well.
If you’re washing your brush in a sink, simply plug the sink, run or pour in warm water, and then follow the rest of the steps:
Step 4: Add a few drops of beard shampoo into the warm water. Stir to get some soapsuds going.
Step 5: Place your beard brush into the bowl, ensuring that the bristles are covered in the soapy water. Let the brush soak for about 3 minutes. Remember to set your timer.
Step 6: Gently shake the brush in the warm soapy water to loosen any dirt. Then, run your fingers across the bristles to remove any particles or residue lodged between them.
Step 7: Empty the soapy water and add clean cold water to the bowl. Dip the brush into the water and rinse thoroughly.
Step 8: When your brush is clean without any soapy residue, place it face down on a dry towel or piece of cloth and let it dry.
Check out this video to see a live demonstration of these steps:
How to Store a Beard Brush
Many people often store their beard brushes in their bathroom’s medicine cabinet.
Although that’s very easy to do, it is not the ideal place to keep your brush. The humid environment of the bathroom can affect the bristles adversely and make them splay and perform poorly.
You can carry your beard brush along in a leather messenger bag, dopp kit, or in your car for quick midday clean up, especially if you keep a full and long beard. But whatever you do, avoid keeping your beard brush in wet or humid locations.
Store your beard brush in dry and fairly airy storage. Some brushes come with storage tins, whereas others come in a small box. Always store them there or in your bedroom dresser, away from humidity or wet conditions.
How Often Should You Replace Your Beard Brush?
Overall, your beard brush should last from a couple months (if you don’t take care of it) to several years. In fact, if you care for your beard brush properly, you could use it until it breaks. However, unless you have developed a strict cleaning routine, an old beard brush can be a safe haven for harmful microorganisms and bacteria.
For this reason, it is better to get a new quality beard brush when you notice the bristles of your brush are becoming shorter or coming off. This could take a long time, especially if you have a good-quality beard brush. That is a good thing because you won’t be spending money unnecessarily.
Obviously, if your brush is broken, you’ll need to replace it. Good-quality beard brushes will hardly break unless mishandled. You won’t necessarily have to get a new beard brush if there are too many hair strands and dirt tangled in it. Proper washing should take care of those problems. The fact is this: if you get a new brush just because your old one was dirty, pretty soon you will have a house filled with beard brushes!
What you need is to learn how to care for your brush. Thankfully, that’s what this post is all about.
Another reason you may have for replacing your beard brush is that you’re flat out tired of seeing it, or you want to try something new because your current brush doesn’t satisfy you. In that case, I suggest you go through the final section of this post carefully and choose a brush that suits your needs.
Beard Brush Dos and Don’ts
Now that you know how to clean and care for your beard brush, it is time to learn a few dos and don’ts of beard brushes:
- Do dry-clean your beard brush every other day or at least twice every week. If you can give it a quick dry-clean daily, that would even be better.
- Do not expose your beard brush to dust. Store it in a drawer, small cardboard box, or some sort of enclosed space to prevent dirt and dust from getting to it.
- Do wash your beard brush thoroughly with shampoo once every one to two months.
- Do not over-clean your beard brush. Excessive shampooing of a beard brush can soften the coarseness of the bristles.
- Do store your beard brush where there is adequate air circulation. Avoid keeping it in humid areas.
- Do not use hot water to wash your beard brush. Mild warm water should do the trick.
- Do not brush your beard when it is still wet, especially if you have a long beard. Using a beard brush on your wet beard can cause you to lose hair that you’ve worked so hard to grow. Besides, it will deposit too many hairs in your brush and make it dirty.
That’s it. Seven simple dos and don’ts that can make your brush last longer.
Beard Brush Recommendations
So, you’ve learned how to care for your beard. However, all this info will be meaningless without an actual beard brush.
Picture this: you’re fresh out of the shower and have dried your beard and applied all your favorite beard grooming products. It’s now beard brushing time.
But wait! Where did your sweetheart leave their brush?
After some searching, you finally see it and reach to grab it.
Sounds familiar? Whether or not this sounds familiar to you, don’t do it!
Your beard deserves the best, so get a dedicated beard brush. Don’t use a hairbrush (yours or anyone else’s) on your beard. As a matter of fact, avoid using hair products on your beard entirely.
Picking the perfect beard brush that suits your beard type and length can be daunting, especially with all the many options available.
Thankfully, you can make a choice from the following recommendations. Keep in mind that buying a great brush is one thing; caring for it is another thing completely.
1. Smooth Viking Beard and Mustache Brush
Smooth Viking Beard and Mustache Brush is popular for effectively handling knots and tangles. It is best for particularly coarse beards that always look unkempt.
Its 100% boar’s hair and firm bristles do a good job of preventing knots. The length of its bristles reaches the skin underneath your beard to remove flakes and clear away dry and dead skin cells. The brush also does an excellent job of sculpting any beard style you want.
2. Seven Potions Beard Brush
With its first-cut boar bristle, the Seven Potions Beard Brush ranks easily among the best in beard brushes.
The bristles do not just untangle beard hairs or distribute oils on your beard and skin; it goes one step further to exfoliate and massage the skin under your beard. This means you’ll be less likely to experience itches caused by dead skin cells. It also has an oval handle that makes handling it easy and comfortable.
If you have a fuller and longer beard, you may need to consider the next option on this list, and the Seven Potion Beard Brush may not be the best choice for your type of beard.
3. Badass Beard Care Beard Brush
If you have a particularly long beard, this could be the beard brush for you. Badass Beard Care Beard Brush is designed to make your beard appear thicker and fuller, thanks to its 100% natural boar bristles.
The bristles are arranged intentionally in a non-uniform pattern to enable them to reach the base of your skin while you brush your beard. Its extended hardwood handle gives you full control when you style your beard.
4. Can You HandleBar Beard Brush
This list wouldn’t be complete without including a good-quality beard brush for men with short or thin beards.
Can You HandleBar Beard Brush is carefully crafted using horsehair, making it a solid choice for short and thin beards. Many beardsmen rate this brush highly. One cool thing about this beard brush is that it also comes with a storage tin for proper storage.
5. Cremo Beard Brush
Are you just starting out on your beard journey, or are you considering taking your beard more seriously?
Begin your journey with Cremo’s inexpensive beard brush that comes with all the right features of a great quality beard brush. Its bristles are made from 100% boar’s hair that spreads natural oils evenly on your beard and skin. The fibers are anti-static, so you won’t experience any static during brushing.
Its compact and oval design makes it fit comfortably into your hand and can be carried along for a quick midday cleanup. The brush is small compared to other options, but that doesn’t take anything away from its effectiveness.
This option is great if you are on a budget.
6. ZilberHaar Beard Brush
ZilberHarr’s beard brush is arguably one of the best options available for a couple of reasons.
First, it is designed for all types of beards. The bristles are made from authentic boar’s hair, and it works for both new stubbles and full beards for several months or years. The natural bristle fibers will ensure adequate distribution of beard conditioning products throughout your beard.
The design has an extended handle for easy control and stability. The best part? It comes at an affordable price.
7. Billy Jealousy Beard Envy – Beard Refining Kit
Lastly, you’ll love this option because it comes as a three-piece beard care kit containing beard wash, conditioning and styling treatment, and, of course, a boar’s bristle beard brush. This brush gets rid of tangles and knots effortlessly and will also spread conditioning products across all parts of your beard.
Consider this option if you want a beard brush that can train your beard effectively to grow in the direction you want.
Conclusion
A beard brush is an indispensable tool for any man who wants to maintain a healthy beard. A clean brush ultimately leads to a healthier beard.
The brush recommendations here are superb, but they won’t magically clean themselves. Thankfully, the cleaning process is pretty straightforward.
It is easy to forget to clean a beard brush, which is why you need to invest some time and good money into buying one that means a lot to you. The more valuable your beard brush is to you, the more likely you will be to care for it.
