If you look at all the beard products on the market, it can get confusing on which one to use. There are beard butters, balms, oils, conditions, waxes, washes, etc. While oils and balms have been popular for a long time for beard grooming, a newer product called beard butter is becoming more popular. Both of these products are great for your beard care routine.
What is the difference between beard butter and beard balm? The main difference between beard butter and beard balm is balm contains a styling agent like wax. Beard butters do not contain wax as they are designed only to condition and moisturize your beard.
Beard Butter Vs. Beard Balm
Both balm and butter work great for your beard grooming routine, but which one do I need? If you need a product for deep conditioning that will moisturize your facial hair, then go with beard butter. If you need a product that will condition your beard and give you some hold, then use a beard balm. This will help you determine between a beard balm vs. beard butter.
But there are some differences between them.
What Is Beard Balm?
Beard balm is a grooming product that is designed to condition and style your beard. They can come in a variety of holds like mild, medium, and heavy.
Typical ingredients in balms:
- Beeswax
- Natural Carrier oils (Sweet Almond, Coconut, Argan, etc.)
- Butters (Shea, Mango, etc.)
The primary ingredients in balms are oils. These make up a large portion of the product, and this is what supplies moisture and shine to your facial hair. They also help to condition your beard hair.
Beeswax is used to make the product more solid, and depending on the desired hold will determine how much wax to use. If the balm is a heavy hold it will include a higher percentage of wax.
Butters are also used to provide conditioning, and it helps to make the product more solid. Butters are solid at room temperature and when mixed with carrier oils, it helps to thicken up the mixture.
Usually, the consistency of the product is like a soft wax. If you can think of melted candle wax that has cooled a bit, but not quite a pure solid yet. You need to use your fingernail and heavy pressure to get some out of the jar. Some companies will even include a guitar pick with their balm to help you get the product out. We have never seen a butter that needed a pick to remove it from the jar.
Some great beard balms are Badass Beard Care which can be found at Amazon.
What Is Beard Butter?
Beard butter is similar to balms except they usually do not include beeswax. This provides a product that can easily be scooped out with your finger. It does not have a semi-solid texture, and you do not need a guitar pick to remove it from the jar.
The ingredient list is similar to balms except that is has a higher ratio of butters to oils. Usually, butters will make up over 85% of the product with carrier oils as the remaining ingredients. If you can easily stick your finger in the product and touch the bottom of the jar, then you have beard butter.
There are tons of beard companies that make butters, and if you want to take a look at our review of the top beard butters for an epic looking beard, we have a great article on that.
Other Considerations
There is no standard definition for beard butter. Any company can put whatever they want in a jar and call it beard butter. There are products that are 100% natural butters like Fable Beard Co. They do not use any carrier oils at all.
Also, Honest Amish Beard Balm has the consistency of a butter, but it is labeled as a balm. At Beardedblade, we would consider that a butter instead of a balm. But again, they can call it what they want.
The primary ingredients in it are Kokum butter and cocoa butter. It does contain carrier oils and Candelilla Wax. Even though it contains wax like a traditional balm, the consistency of the product is similar to porridge or cold grits.
Conclusion
Whether you want to groom your beard with oils, butters, or balms, there are plenty of products out there. Some guys can get everything they need from just one product, while other guys like to use multiple beard products. Either way, there is a difference between balms and butters, and hopefully, you have a better understanding of how each one will work for your facial hair.
If you are looking for a beard product that can provide some hold and tame fly away hairs, then a beard balm is better. If you need a beard product that will condition your beard, then the beard butter is best.
It is not necessary to use beard butter and balm at the same time since they essentially do the same thing. You can use beard balm during the day to help style your beard. Then you can use the beard butter at night to hydrate your beard hair while you sleep.
