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How to Soften Your Beard and Say Goodbye to Itchiness
We’ve all been there. You’ve spent who knows how long cultivating the perfect beard — trimming it now and again, looking up thebest kinds of beard oil online. You’ve probably figured out what your face shape is and you’ve decided on the best style to fit you (if you haven’t, check outthis post that’ll walk you through the entire process). You may even have been to a barber to get some expert advice on how to maintain the perfect line, and you walked away from the encounter more sure than ever that your beard troubles are finally over.
Except, well, they aren’t. There’s one problem: your beard is incredibly scratchy. It can be a demoralizing thing to realize, particularly if you’re into your beard and you’ve been working on it for a long time, but it’s a reality that more than a few of us have faced from time to time. No matter how good it looks, having a beard that scratches your face can ruin all the fun involved in maintaining the perfect facial hair. Not to mention the fact that your girlfriend or boyfriend probably won’t thank you for the way it feels. So what’s to be done?
Fortunately, there are a few straightforward, easily applicable techniques for softening your beard that can save you from the uncomfortable urge to scratch and itch all day long. No matter who you are, if you want to sport a proper amount of growth, it’s vital to understand how to soften your beard. The Internet is full of tips on the subject, to the extent that it can often be hard to figure out who even knows what they’re talking about and who doesn’t. That’s why here at Urban Beard we’ve decided to put in the time doing research in order to present you with the perfect guide to softening your beard.
All of the tips in the below article have been tried and tested, and are designed in order to be immediately actionable, meaning that you can begin softening your beard as soon as you’ve finished the article. Not only will a softer beard feel better for you and for anybody else who happens to come into contact with it, it’ll also be easier to maintain, and the overall look will be a lot more consistent. You can say goodbye to scraggly hairs throwing off the delicate equilibrium you’re trying to maintain, and say hello to a newer, softer beard that’ll catch everyone's eye, no matter where you are. Without further ado, let’s get straight into it. Here’s how to soften your beard, made simple.
Washing your beard is an important part of establishing maintaining the kind of softness you’ve been longing for, but it’s not something that needs to happen on a daily basis. Similar to the hair on the tops of our heads, by over-washing your facial hair you’re opening yourself up to drying it out and depleting its own natural oils. The ideal amount of times to wash your beard is about twice a week, but if you hit the gym regularly you might want to consider upping that figure to three or four times a week in order to account for the added sweat and grime that will accumulate.
Washing your beard achieves a number of different goals at the same time. First of all, moisture will be added to every single strand of hair, which in turn will contribute to the overall volume of your facial hair. By using a hydrating cleanser, you’ll be able to add moisture to the strands while at the same time cleaning away unnecessary grease, giving your beard a softer, more well looked-after look. If you’re wondering how to soften your beard and don’t wash it at least once per week, you’ve been barking up the wrong tree.
In addition to adding volume, washing your beard will get rid of the kind of dirt and grime that can accumulate over time. These small issues can add up to large problems, as the health of each strand will be compromised. In general, the kinds of excess oil and bits of grime you want to get rid of tend to build up along the base of the follicles, so by scrubbing you beard with hydrating cleanser into your, you’ll be getting rid of everything that doesn't belong there.
It’s important to select a hydrating soap that is designed for beards. It’s great to know in theory how to soften a beard, but if you’re using the wrong kind of wash you’re more likely to dry it out than anything, which is counterproductive to your goals.
If you don’t already have a dedicatedbeard comb and brush, now is the time to invest in one. The combing and brushing procedure should be carried out at least once a day. We recommend doing it in the morning after your shower, since it’ll give you the chance to examine your beard for any hairs that are too long or too stiff.
When you’re combing your beard, make sure to do it slowly and steadily. The last thing you want is to be raking through it so vigorously that you cause some follicles to be ripped out of their pores. This will only contribute excessive and uneven bushiness to your beard, and it’ll result in exactly what you’re trying to avoid: excessive itchiness. The other advantage of combining through your beard in an even, steady way is that it’ll evenly distribute any cleanser or wash you’re using throughout the entire beard. For that reason, it’s a good idea to do it immediately after you’ve given your product a chance to sink in.
You’ve probably heard all about beard oil, but you might not be aware of just how important a part it can play in your quest to learn how to soften your beard. The main advantage provided by beard oils is the fact that thenutrients and vitamins they provide penetrates the hairs themselves, assuming you’ve managed to distribute the oil evenly throughout, without too much force. Once the hair strands have been penetrated by the nutrients, they’ll relax, given that they’re sufficiently nourished.
Relaxation isn’t the only benefit, however. You’ll also be giving your beard a healthy shine, which can make all the difference in transforming a dull, dry, and scratchy beard into a beautifully soft cloud worthy of any GQ photoshoot. Once you’ve applied the oil to your beard it’ll become easier to style instantly, because the hairs will be moving more gently against your skin given their newfound flexibility. This goes a long way to cutting out the itchy feeling, which is a result of the beard hairs, which are too stiff, scraping against the skin rather than bending to accommodate the natural hills and furrows in your face.
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It’s possible to use a conditioning cream or lotion instead of an oil, but here at Urban Beard we much prefer using beard oils because of how much easier it is to spread the product evenly throughout the whole beard. After all, there’s not much use in having a beard that’s wonderfully soft around your upper lip and downright abrasive everywhere else.
If you really want to figure out how to soften your beard, you’ll want to apply the oil twice a day: once in the morning and once at night. This gives it the chance to stay moist and supple both while you’re asleep, and while you’re going about your daily business.
Application itself is a breeze. All you need to do is dab a few pea-sized drops onto your fingertips and massage it into your beard, taking care to rub right the way down to the skin. That way, you’ll be ensuring that the base of the follicle is every bit as nourished as the strand of hair itself — it’s this combination that softens the overall beard, rather than just the outer strands. Once it’s all in and spread around evenly, you’ll need to take a comb and carefully go through every part of the beard, ensuring that the oil is spread over the entire shaft of each individual hair.
Another big advantage of using oils over conditioners or other lotions is that you can leave oils in, whereas conditioners often need to be rinsed out, unless it’s a particular leave-in brand of conditioner. Whatever about trying to get the product into your beard evenly in the first place, getting it all out again can be a pain as well, and if you don’t manage to get every drop of a product that can’t be left in, you’ll be opening your pores up to excessive oiliness and flakiness, effectively undoing all the good work you’d achieved by using the product in the first place. Beard oil is just a lot less to worry about than lotions and conditioners — for us it’s an easy decision.
The last thing you need to add to your beard-softening routine is a few minutes spent with scissors,trimming any unwanted hairs. The scissors you want to use for this job are the small, nail-clipping kind, as opposed to arts-and-crafts or kitchen scissors. It’s important to have as much precision in your trimming as possible, as this will give you the best chance of maintaining a consistent look day-in, day-out. However, trimming isn’t quite as simple as grabbing the scissors and snipping off pieces here and there.
The first thing you’ll want to do is comb your beard against the grain, so that it fans out and stands away from the skin. While this can be a bit unsightly, it’s a vital way to offset as much of the natural inconsistency in the length of your beard hairs as possible. When the hair all stands straight up from the skin, you’ll get a much better idea of the actual length involved than if you were working with beard hairs that lay close to your face.
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Once you’ve got a good idea of which hairs look the longest and least flexible, it’s time to gently chip away at them with the scissors. Try to get them to be as close to the length as the other hairs as possible. Don’t worry about being super precise — this just needs to be a rough estimate, and since you’ll be doing this every day you’ll have plenty of chances to rectify any errors you might make.
You should also avoid over-trimming, which isn’t the point. You don’t want to actually significantly change the look of the beard, but rather try and keep it all as even as possible. When it comes to how to soften your beard, trimming might not immediately spring to mind since it doesn’t do any softening on its own. The idea, though, is that by keeping things managed you’ll be giving your other softening techniques the foundation they need to really work. It’s a vital part of the beard softening routine, and should be made a priority.
Now that you hopefully have a better idea of how to soften your beard, it’s time to go out and make sure you’ve got all the supplies you need. Beard softening doesn’t have to be a colossal, time-consuming process. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as the saying goes — the most important thing is consistency. If you can integrate the above techniques into your daily routine and make the entire job a habit, your beard will practically end up taking care of itself, and you can look forward to having the soft, pliant, radiant beard of your dreams sooner rather than later.
If you’ve got any other questions about how to soften your beard, or if you’d like some personal advice on which products to consider purchasing, feel free tosend them in to the team here at Urban Beard. We’d love to help you figure out the ideal solution for your own personal situation.
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