The journey to a well-groomed and stylish beard begins with the right products and techniques. Among the arsenal of grooming essentials, beard balm stands out as a versatile and effective tool. Whether you're a seasoned beard aficionado or a novice explorer of facial hair, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about using beard balm to tame, nourish, and style your beard to perfection.
What is Beard Balm?
Beard balm is a grooming product specifically designed for maintaining and enhancing your beard's health and appearance. It's a blend of natural ingredients, including carrier oils, beeswax, and butters, which work together to provide style, shape, and hold to your facial hair. The balm comes in a semi-solid form and melts slightly upon contact with your skin, making it easy to apply and distribute evenly through your beard. Later in this blog post we will explore how to use beard balm most effectively.
Difference Between Beard Balm and Butter?
While both beard balm and beard butter serve similar purposes, they have distinct differences in terms of composition and texture. Beard butter tends to have a creamier consistency due to a higher content of carrier oils and butters. Beard balm, on the other hand, contains beeswax, which gives it a thicker consistency and provides better hold for styling. If you're looking for shaping and control, beard balm is the go-to choice, whereas beard butter is more about deep conditioning and softening.
Benefits of Beard Balm
Using beard balm in your grooming routine offers a multitude of benefits:
Moisturizing: The blend of carrier oils and butters in beard balm provides essential moisture to your facial hair and the underlying skin, preventing itchiness and dryness.
Styling: Beard balm helps you shape and manage your beard, taming unruly hairs and promoting a neat appearance.
Nourishment: The natural oils in beard balm are rich in vitamins and nutrients that contribute to the overall health and growth of your beard.
Hold: The beeswax content in beard balm offers a light to medium hold, allowing you to style your beard while keeping it looking natural.
Scent: Beard balms typically contain essential oil or fragrance oil that give off pleasant scents, providing you with a subtle and appealing fragrance throughout the day.
How to use Beard Balm?
Working beard balm in the palm of your hand transforms a semi-solid mixture into a smooth and workable solution. As you scoop a small amount of the balm onto your palm, the gentle warmth of your skin begins to melt and soften its natural ingredients, such as beeswax, carrier oils, and butters. Through rubbing your hands together, the balm begins to warm and melt in your palms. This emulsification process creates a texture that can be effortlessly applied to your beard, leaving it with moisture, nourishment, and a subtle fragrance. The act of emulsifying the beard balm in your hand becomes a sensory experience that connects you with both the product and the art of grooming.
How to style with Beard Balm?
It's important to note that there are many different styling routines when it comes to beards. Most beardsman overtime will develop their own personal grooming routine that best suits their lifestyle and beard. With that said, we will take a look at 2 different beard styling methods using balm, that I find works best for most gentlemen. The first method is for quick styling on the go, and the other takes a little bit of work for those special occasions when you want your beard to look its best.
Quick style method
Here are 4 easy steps when you are on the go and want to quickly style your beard using beard balm:
1. Wash: Wash your beard with a gentle beard wash that leaves your beard feeling clean, conditioned and smelling great. Washing your beard will reset your facial hair in to a natural state and ready to style. This step is optional and not required when you are really pressed for time.
2. Remove excess water: Pat dry your beard then comb out excess water with a beard comb. This will make the application of your beard products easier.
3. Apply beard oil: Apply beard oil to your beard and work the product root to tip while ensuring that you make contact with the skin under your beard. Quickly brush or comb the product through to distribute the oil evenly. Ensure that you are brushing and combing your facial hair in the direction that you would like styled.
4. Apply beard balm: You are ready to apply beard balm to lock in a quick style. Work a small amount of balm through your beard and finish by coaxing the facial hair in to the direction and style that you would like. You can now work a comb through your beard to give the style that you want.
Detailed styling method:
Here are 6 steps when you want your beard to look its best for that special occasion:
1. Wash: Consider washing your beard mandatory when you really want to make a statement. Resetting and softening the facial hair will allow for easier styling and give you the control needed to style your beard.
2. Remove excess water with a comb: This step will make the application of your beard products easier to work with.
3. Apply beard oil: Apply beard oil to your beard to soften the facial hair and prepare for pre-styling. Quickly brush or comb the oil through your beard in the direction that you would like styled.
4. Pre-style with heat: Using a hair dryer and a round brush to style a beard can transform your facial hair game. Gently blow warm air onto your beard with the hair dryer while simultaneously using the round brush to guide the hair in your desired direction. The heat from the dryer will help style your beard and also tame unruly strands and add volume. Use the round brush to curl and coax the hair into the direction of your desired look. The round brush acts as a sculpting tool, letting you shape the beard around your jawline and cheeks. This creates a neat and refined appearance.
5. Hit the beard with cold: Utilizing a hair dryer's cold function for beard styling is a game changer. After shaping your beard with the desired style using the warm air, switching to the cold air setting helps seal the cuticles of the hair strand. This will lock your desired style in place. This cooling effect also minimizes frizz and adds a sleek finish, providing a level of refinement to your beard. Ensure that you are blowing the cold air in the direction that you have previously styled.
6. Apply beard balm: Add a top coat of beard balm in the direction of your facial hair growth to lock in your style and control flyaways. This final step will add necessary hold to your beard style and give you the look that you were seeking. You will also smell great and really set your beard apart from the rest.
Beard balm is a necessity when it comes to maintaining a healthy and stylish beard. Its blend of natural ingredients, moisturizing properties, and hold make it an essential tool in every beardsman's grooming routine. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can confidently use beard balm to tame and style your beard. This will turn your facial hair into a masterpiece that garners attention and admiration. We hope this read has given you some extra confidence on how to use beard balm more effectively.
