When it comes to best carrier oils for beard care, Moroccan argan oil is often noted as the top one. It’s a versatile edible oil that has a long list of benefits for beard use, skin, hair, and nails.
The many benefits of using argan oil for beard include things like reducing dandruff, preventing dryness, reducing itchiness, and nourishing the beard thanks to its natural E vitamin content.
Not only this but argan oil is also light and emollient enough to be easily applied on your beard. As a non-comedogenic carrier oil it will not clog pores or leave your face and beard feeling too oily and greasy.
Although it’s not the cheapest of oils to include in a beard oil formulation (it’s literally called “Moroccan liquid gold”), argan oil is still worth it due to the beneficial effect it has on beard health and growth.
Let’s take a closer look:
What is Argan oil and Why it’s Used on Beard?
Argan oil is cold-pressed from the kernels found inside the fruits of the argan tree (Argania Spinosa). This tree only grows in the south-west part of Morocco, making it the only source of this precious and demanded oil.
While argan oil has many culinary uses, the main reason it’s produced these days is for cosmetics use. After it was noted that this natural oil was quick to absorb and loaded with vitamin E and other antioxidants, the skin care industry started formulating it in their products.
When beard care suddenly became extremely popular just a few years ago and new beard oil brands started popping out of nowhere, many producers researched different carrier oil formulations to see which oils were the best for beard growth and health.
Eventually it was deemed that argan oil would likely be an amazing ingredient for beard products, and this is how argan oil eventually made its way into the core of the beard care industry.
It’s common to find argan oil listed as ingredient in:
- Beard oils, balms, waxes
- Beard shampoos and conditioners
- Beard heat shields (when using beard straighteners)
Benefits of Argan Oil for Beard
Moroccan argan oil has a myriad of benefits that affect your beard health from multiple different angles.
- Moisturizes the beard: The most important thing a carrier oil can do to your beard is to moisturize it well. Argan oil is exceptionally good at this because it contains high amounts of natural squalene – a hydrocarbon identical to the skins own sebum oil.
- Nourishes the beard: Argan oil contains natural tocopherols (vitamin E), carotenes, phenols, antioxidant catechins, and high-quality monounsaturated fatty acids which all help nourish the facial hair, making the beard soft and vibrant.
- Reduces beardruff: There are many causes and remedies for beard dandruff, one of the leading ones is a stressed brittle dry skin where the dead skin cells flake off as white “dandruff”. Argan oil helps prevent this through its moisturizing and nourishing effects.
- Prevents itchiness: The main culprit of beard itch is dry facial hair and increased water-loss from the surface layer of the skin. Like many natural oils, argan oil can help reduce itchiness trough trapping in moisture.
- Reduces inflammation: Thanks to its high amount of natural fat-soluble antioxidant vitamin E and other anti-inflammatory compounds, argan oil can help soothe and prevent in-grown beard hairs.
- Protects against heat-damage: Beard straighteners, flat irons, and blow-drying expose the facial hair to high heat which can damage it. Argan oil offers natural protection against this for up to 450°F.
Can Argan Oil Help with Beard Growth?
It’s a well known fact that even though beard oils help moisturize and nourish the facial hair, they don’t necessarily help with boosting growth (even though the manufacturers often make that claim).
When it comes to argan oil, it’s no different. There’s no conclusive evidence that it would directly boost your beard growth when applied topically on the beard and the skin underneath.
What’s surprising though, is that argan oil might help with beard growth when it’s eaten.
This was seen in a study where young Moroccan men switched to argan oil as their main fat source for two-weeks, and noted that their testosterone levels (the main hormone that triggers facial hair growth) increased by a whopping 19%.
Bottom line: If you want to use argan oil for beard growth, the best option would be to use it not only topically on your beard and skin, but also internally as part of your diet. It’s after all one of the best foods for beard growth.
How to Use Argan Oil on Beard
Use Argan Oil Directly on the Beard
Add a couple of drops argan oil to your fingers and rub it into the skin underneath your beard and directly on the beard hairs from roots to tips. You can use a beard brush to spread the oil into your beard hairs more evenly.
The amount of argan oil you need to use will vary depending on the length of your beard. For stubble styles and short beards 1-3 drops is enough, for short and medium beards use 3-6 drops, for long beards 8-12 drops should be enough.
Make DIY Beard Oil with Argan Oil Carrier
If you’re fond of making your own homemade beard oil blends, then using argan oil as one of the carrier oils should be a no-brainer, it’s after all, one of the best ones you could possibly use.
Here’s one example argan oil beard oil recipe:
- 1/2 oz pure organic Moroccan argan oil
- 1/4 oz meadowfoam seed oil
- 1/4 oz jojoba oil
- 3 drops peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops vitamin E oil
Directions:
- Using a small metal funnel, pour all your carrier oil ingredients into a 1 oz dropper bottle.
- Add in three drops of peppermint essential oil (primarily for scent purposes, but peppermint oil also helps with beard growth).
- Add in 5-10 drops of vitamin E oil. Even though there’s natural vitamin E already in the argan oil, the extra protection from the added tocopherols helps preserve the more volatile compounds.
- Finish off by closing the dropper cap and giving your freshly made argan oil beard oil a nice shake to mix all the ingredients together.
Conclusion
Should you be using organic Moroccan argan oil for the beard? My answer is, yes. Argan oil is one of the safest and most effective beard oil ingredients.
It may even increase your androgenic hormones when eaten and this, in turn, can help with facial hair growth and maintenance.
When applied topically to the beard argan oil helps reduce beard itch, dandruff, and ingrown hairs, and thanks to its natural squalene and vitamin E content, your facial hair will be perfectly moisturized and beard split-ends greatly reduced.
