How To Comb Your Beard
If you’ve been growing out your beard for a month or longer, you’ve graduated onto the next phase in the beard grooming process: beard combing. Yep, it’s time to start combing that thing. (That is if you REALLY want to have the best looking and fullest beard possible, which we’re assuming you do.)
You’re probably thinking, big deal, it’s just simple combing right? Wrong. Learning how to comb your beard the right wayworks wonders for the look and feel of your beard, whereas combing it the wrong way - or with the wrong type of instrument, can actually create unnecessary problems.
As we’re here to help you achieve the most awesome beard possible, we’re going to explain everything you need to know about why you should be combing your beard, how to comb your beard, and what type of comb to use.
But first, here’s a quick refresher on the benefits of combing your beard:
Ok, this is a pretty obvious benefit but it’s worth repeating. You can’t expect your wild and wooly beard to detangle itself, so the only way to solve this is by combing. Combing your beard helps the hairs lay straighter and look better. It also helps get rid of food that’s caught in it, loose hairs and other particles.
Every time you comb your beard, the teeth of the comb will stimulate your hair follicles. By encouraging blood flow to the hair follicle, your hair receives more nutrients meaning it’ll grow better and faster. Need more convincing?
By repeatedly lifting the hairs and straightening them, you’ll be doing a lot to prevent annoying and painful ingrown hairs from forming.
You’ve probably heard about the benefits of beard oil, and why you should be using it but there’s no point using beard oil if you can’t get it through the hair evenly. Therefore, using beard oil and the practice of beard combing go together. Combing your beard after you put on beard oil will help distribute the oil evenly through your beard.
When NOT to comb your beard?
When it’s saturated - It’s never a good idea to comb your beard when it’s saturated as doing this can cause hair breakage. Combing your beard when damp is best.
When it’s without beard oil - Combing a bone dry beard will most likely create beardruff (beard dandruff) and again, breakage. Coating the facial hair with beard oil, from the root to the ends, is the best way to ensure maximum benefit.
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When there’s no need - As much as you may find the habit strangely therapeutic, try not to comb your beard more than twice a day. Over combing can dry out your skin and put stress on the hair.
How to comb your beard the right way.
Making sure your beard is not saturated nor totally dry, follow these steps:
Step 1 - Apply beard oil
As we said earlier, it’s not wise to comb a dry beard, so make sure you put beard oil on first. Check out our article on how to use beard oil.
Step 2 - Comb upwards
When you start combing your beard, start at the bottom of your neck and comb upwards and outwards. Your beard should stand straight out and it could look a little odd.
Step 3 - Comb down
Starting at the top, now comb downwards. This will lay down all the hair you just stood up. Follow this Up-Down method at least once to make sure the beard oil is spread evenly throughout.
What sort of beard comb should you use?
YES - there are special beard combs out there, and you should be using one. Using any old plastic comb or brush is a surefire way to stuff up the beard you’ve just painstakingly grown out. Avoid.
Why? Plastic combs create static electricity and will leave your beard frizzy and unruly. On the other hand, sharp metal combs can rip and shred the hair which is totally counterproductive to beard grooming in the first place.
The best beard combs to use should be made of either wood, bone or horn, and in some cases only, metal.
To save you the hassle of wondering which beard comb is the best, we’ve created one. Our beard comb is designed to detangle and smooth your hair in the best way possible. Get our beard comb here.
To get up to speed on everything else you need to know about beard care, check out our advice section.