A common question that comes up in beard care is how often should you wash your beard. If you ask 5 different guys that question, you may get 5 different answers. The reason is because every man has different needs and requirements for beard hygiene. Someone who works an office job and is sedentary will not need to as much as a mechanic who is an active runner.
There are so many factors that determine how many times a week you should clean your beard. Some factors would include activity level, job, beard length, social life, and lifestyle. Some or any of these will determine how many times a week to clean your facial hair.
You should wash your beard at least twice a week, and there is no reason you cannot wash it everyday as long as you use a good conditioner and some beard oil to replace any lost moisture. Showering and soap will strip your facial hair of beneficial oils, so it is imperative that you restore moisture to your beard.
How To Wash Your Beard
When it comes to washing your beard, there are several ways to do it. You can do water only, soap and water, or conditioner only. Conditioner only is sometimes referred to as co-washing or conditioner washing. How you do it will depend on your needs. The most common way when men shower would be to use regular shampoo on their facial hair. This is ok, but it is not the best solution for your facial hair.
Does it work? Well, yes, of course regular shampoo cleans your beard, but many of them are harsh and full of detergents that will strip away too many oils from your face and beard hair. The skin on your face is different than your body, and it needs products that are designed for it. This includes your beard, which as you know, grows on your face.
The best way to wash your beard is to use a beard shampoo followed by a beard conditioner. This way you won’t strip too many oils from your skin and hair, and a conditioner will soften your facial hair. There are a lot of great beard companies that offer grooming products, and they offer a lot of great scents that you won’t find from national brands.
Reasons To Use A Beard Shampoo:
- Smells Better
- Designed For Your Face
- Less Harsh
- Support Smaller Businesses
Steps To Clean Your Beard
- Get some beard wash. We like Mountaineer Brand because it is all natural. You can get it here from Amazon. It only uses natural oils instead of synthetic detergents.
- Wet your beard in the shower and apply a small dollop of shampoo to your hand. Gently rub your hands together and apply to your beard until you get a lather.
- Rinse out the lather.
- Repeat the same process but use a beard conditioner. This will soften your beard, and it will help to condition your facial hair after stripping away benficial oils. We recommend Bossman beard conditioner. They offer a lot of great scents as well, so you should be able to find a scent that you like.
How Often To Condition Your Beard
You should condition your beard as often as it needs it. This can be every day or several times a week. Beard conditioner is not harsh, and it will not strip your beard and dry your face out. It should not have detergents and cleansers in it, but it should use natural oils to condition and moisturize your beard.
This allows you to keep a tangle free beard so that it is easy to comb. Your beard will look more healthy, and you will be better groomed. Everyone knows that the ladies love clean looking beards that smell great.
What we like to do is use a beard conditioner every day that we shower. It helps to wash out any bad smell, and it will take care of some mild dirt and oils. It certainly won’t clean your beard like a shampoo would, but it is better than water only. Plus, you get so many benefits from doing this.
Benefits Of A Beard Conditioner:
- Makes Your Beard Soft
- Helps To Remove Unwanted Smells
- It Makes Your Beard Smell Better
- It Helps To Remove Tangles
- You Can Brush And Comb It Easier
- It Does Not Dry Out Your Beard Hair
Most experts that we have talked with agree that washing your beard every single day with a harsh shampoo is not the best option. The alternative is to use a daily conditioner, and then you can use a wash 2 or 3 times a week as needed.
Shampoo Vs. Beard Wash
You can wash your beard with regular shampoo or beard shampoo. Either will work, and they both will clean your beard. However, a wash that is designed for your beard and mustache is going to be the best option. Beard wash is not much more than regular shampoo, and it smells better. You can usually find more masculine scents as well as natural options.
Plus, beard wash is a better choice compared to generic shampoo with detergents and surfactants in it. If you take a look at the ingredients in Mountaineer Brand wash, it contains ingredients like water, sunflower oil, coconut oil, glycerin, palm oil, and essential oils for scent. This is not chock full of chemicals and difficult to pronounce ingredients. We use this product, along with some other brands which is why we can recommend it.
On the flip side, most regular hair shampoo is loaded with harsh ingredients. When we use regular poo, we can tell a difference. Our beards are squeaky, and our skin underneath our beards becomes dry and itchy. That is an unwanted side effect of using a product that is too harsh. It’s your choice which product to use in your beard, but we do recommend a dedicated beard shampoo.
Summary
Every guy is different and every beard is different. You should consider your lifestyle and needs before deciding on how often you need to wash your beard. For most guys, a few times a week will be sufficient, but for guys who work hard and sweat daily, you may need to clean it every single day. Just remember, if you do that, your beard will benefit from a great conditioner and beard oil. These products will restore moisture to your facial hair that was stripped away.
