Everyone knows how great beard oil can be, but what about its little brother; the beard balm?
Sitting there at the corner of your toilet shelf, the lonely beard balsam must feel neglected…
But it shouldn’t be, because sometimes the benefits it offers can outweigh the ones you get from oils and other beard care tools, and many opt for using the beard balm as a substitute replacement for the beard oil.
And in this article, we will finally do some justice to the balm. You will learn exactly what does beard balm do and how to properly utilize its benefits.
What’s Inside a Beard Balm Tin
The best beard balms are most commonly made from natural ingredients (with the exception of some brands using synthetic fragrance).
If you breakdown the contents of an average 2 oz beard balsam tin, you will find the following types of ingredients…
- Solid Fats – Usually coconut oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter.
- Carrier Oils – Like jojoba oil, castor oil, argan oil, etc.
- A little bit of Wax – Usually beeswax or carnauba wax.
- Essential Oils – Peppermint Oil, Cedarwood, etc for scent.
What makes it different from beard oil is that it’s solid in room temperature, whereas beard oil will always stay liquidy.
Once you apply the balm to your beard, you will need to first melt it in-between your fingers.
But then once you apply it, it quickly cools down and hardens a bit again, creating an ultra-thin protective layer on top of your beard hairs.
Do you have any beard balm recommendations?
I certainly do, I even wrote a big article about the greatest beard balms the other day (linked it above), which lists all my favorite brands and what makes them great.
The Many Benefits of Beard Balm
1. Prevents Beard Dandruff
One of the most pervasive beard problems is called beard dandruff or beardruff.
It’s not much different from dandruff on top of your head, in fact, it’s the exact same stuff, caused by dry beard skin that flakes off as dead skin cells.
(but don’t just rush off to buy Head&Shoulders, there’s a better way)
One of the easiest ways to prevent the flakes from ever forming is to not let the skin cells die at such high-rate in the first place.
And the best way to maintain their lifespan is to keep the moisture balance of the deep skin layers well hydrated.
You can do this from the inside by making sure you drink enough water on a daily basis, but you can also help reduce dandruff from the outside by using beard balm.
You see, beard balm produces that thin protective layer on top of your facial hair area, which is largely thanks to the beeswax in the formulation.
This layer not only protects the beard and the skin underneath, but it also prevents moisture from escaping, effectively reducing beardruff and hydrating the skin.
2. Prevents Itchy Beard
Everyone who has ever grown a beard knows that it gets really itchy from time to time.
This beard itch is especially heinous during the first 2-4 weeks of beard growth, so much so that it’s often called “the itchy beard stage“.
Beard oil is usually the first line of defense against the horrible itching, but did you know that you can fortify that defense by adding beard balm into your beard care routine.
That’s right. I mentioned above how the beeswax in the balm creates this ultra-thin lipid layer on top of your beard that retains moisture…
That exact same layer, when you apply balm soon after applying the oil, can help in sealing the oil into your beard and gives you even better results in terms of moisturization and itchiness relief.
3. Protects the Beard from the Elements
Just like the hair on your head, the hair on your face is also vulnerable to the elements.
I’m talking about humidity, cold, excessive sun exposure, and all of those things that can lead to protein-loss damage of the beard hair fibers.
Luckily, beard balm can help protect your beard from all of them, but especially from the harsh effects of winter and cold air.
Why?
Well, it’s again thanks to the thin protective layer created by the beeswax, and also the carrier oils which nourish the skin underneath that layer.
(this is one of the biggest differences between beard oils and beard balms).
Beard balm shields your facial hair from wind, cold, and the UV-rays. Plus, when it gets stupidly humid, it helps to lock the moisture in and prevents frizz and fly-away hairs.
4. Gives Some Volume to your Facial Hair
We get it. It’s hard to grow a thicker beard and it’s embarrassing when someone says that your thin beard growth looks like pubic hair.
Beard balm to the rescue…
Again.
I’m not going to claim that it would magically make your beard thick and full (like some shady beard companies do).
But since the balms that contain high amounts of beeswax and tropical hard fats like shea butter and cocoa butter are really thick, they can add a bit volume and weight to your beard hairs.
This is especially true if you apply the beard balm soon after washing your beard, as it seals in the moisture and makes your beard appear extra heavy and thick.
5. Helps a Bit in Styling and Taming the Mane
The go-to beard styling product will always be beard wax (it has much more hold than balms do).
But still, there’s plenty of beeswax in a quality beard balm product as well, and it can certainly aid in your beard styling routine.
If you don’t use beard wax and you need to get your messy beard back into mint condition, an easy way would be to apply some beard balm on your facial hair and brush it back into shape with a boar bristle beard brush.
You’d be surprised about the hold and styling help that some of the better beard balms provide (even though I still have to mention that they don’t compare to beard waxes).
6. Makes your Beard Look Healthier
Okay last but not least.
On top of all the amazing beard balm benefits, I already mentioned, the use of facial hair balsam can also make your beard look more…
- Healthier
- Colorful
- And vibrant
The natural beeswax and the carrier oils all have different light reflecting properties, which makes your beard go from boring to well, not boring.
Conclusion
Beard balm is wonderful stuff, and most people shrug it off as just another beard product.
They shouldn’t, because it offers some insanely useful benefits, perhaps even more so that the beard oils that everyone and their dogs are raving about.
Did we miss a benefit? Drop a line below in the comments if you think so.
