Does Your Beard Smell? Here’s Why and What To Do

The way your beard looks is one of the most important aspects in terms of finding a potential partner and feeling your very best. While people will initially be attracted by the look of your beard, they’ll stick around depending on how your beard smells.

It’s easy for a beard to get a tad smelly because of the foods you eat and the beverages you drink. If you don’t do anything about it, you’ll easily repel the people nearby. It’s time to review everything you do to fix a smelly beard and boost your confidence.

Why Does My Beard Smell?

Many things can cause a beard to smell — most of which can be easily fixed. 

If you’re beard stinks, one of these might be the culprit:

1. Bacteria

It might sound gross, but the most common reason for a stinky beard is bacteria. Bacteria is the same reason that other parts of your body start to smell, too. In order for bacteria to grow and start stinking up your facial hair, it needs some moisture.

Moist, dark areas are the most common places for smells to run rampant, and if you hit the gym often or like to go on runs, you’re naturally going to sweat into your beard. If you don’t shower or wash your face in a timely manner, it will start to stink.

The sweat doesn’t necessarily come from your beard itself; it drips from the top of your head and then gets stuck in your beard and mustache. And that’s not “the drip” we want to flex about.

2. Food

The food you eat can be one of the most common reasons why your beard starts to smell. This is especially true of oily foods like sauces and dressings that can get caught in your beard hair without an easy way to remove them.

Liquids like that can get stuck to your beard hair and smell throughout the day. They can even make your beard feel and look a little bit greasy, which can all work together to bring down your self-confidence. Plus, unpleasant mustache smells are the last thing you want when you go to kiss your significant other. 

3. Environment

Your physical location can have a major effect on how your beard smells, especially if your job requires you to be around chemicals and aerosols. If you’re a chef and always in the kitchen, or even if you just like to have a nice backyard BBQ, chances are high that you will start to notice your beard smelling just like your work.

Beards can even pick up subtle smells like pollution or car exhaust, so if you’re in highly polluted cities, your beard might start to get mildly musty. Be aware of your environment and try to avoid polluted areas to keep your beard in top shape. PS: Cigarette smoke can make your hair (and your lungs) yucky — just another reason not to pick up the habit.

4. Bad Products

Using beard products to take care of your beard is important, but using the right products is even more important. In fact, if you’re using cheap, low-quality beard care supplements, you might be doing even more harm than good.

Many beard products use preservatives and unnecessary ingredients that don’t serve much of a purpose other than making it easier to mass produce them. But The Beard Club is different, with products and ingredients you can trust. We’ll talk more about our products later on, as well as how you can use them to cut back on a smelly beard.

5. Allergic Reaction

Finally, it’s possible that your beard smells because of something entirely out of your control: allergies. Certain beard products can elicit an allergic reaction to the skin underneath your beard, which can actually turn your cheeky beard into more of a cheesy beard.

How To Get Rid of Beard Smell

Let’s say goodbye to a poor-odor beard and hello to a beard worth writing an ode to! Here’s our pro tips to keep your beard fresh:

Beard Oil

By far, the best and most effective means of making your beard smell a whole lot better is by putting some top-tier products on it to counteract any nasty smells. And our beard oil is the way to do it.

Our Cedar Beard Oil will leave your beard with a refreshing, woodsy scent that will have you looking and feeling like a true lumberjack (flannels and blue jeans sold separately). Or, if you’re more of an oceanside type of guy, our Sandalwood Beard Oil will take your beard to Malibu shores without ever needing to leave your home.

These oils don’t just take your scent to new heights: They also come with loads of benefits for your facial hair health as a whole. They contain nourishing ingredients such as almond oil, castor seed oil, rice bran oil, and more. These all work in harmony to moisturize your beard and hydrate your hair, making your beard smell as great as it feels.

Some of these oils can stimulate dormant hair follicles to help them grow fuller. Our Beard Growth Oil formula helps nourish your hair follicles and the skin underneath your beard to promote healthy growth while taking away that new beard itch. 

Long story short, add some beard oil to your beard regimen to make it feel silky smooth and smell super swell.

Wash Your Face

If your hands smell a little funky, what do you do? You wash your hands, of course. If your body has taken on the aroma of lacrosse practice, you grab your Loofah and give your body a rub-down. 

If your beard isn’t smelling too hot either, the natural next step is to give it a nice wash. Cleansing your face is a super simple way to remove any nasty scents, but it also comes with a whole slew of benefits outside of relieving you of bad odors.

For one, washing your face can help you reduce the amount of sebum (oil) on your face. Removing this substance is essential; if you leave it on there for long enough, it can turn into pimples and acne. The Beard Club has you covered, whether you’re looking for a face wash or beard shampoo that will leave you feeling and smelling fresh.

Additionally, facial cleanliness can help prevent the spread of some diseases. Some diseases can live on your face, and if you’re on top of your cleansing routine, you can cut back on the risk of acquiring some of these in the first place.

Every man is different, but you can check out our handy dandy beard-washing guide to find out how often you should you wash your beard. 

Shave

If your beard smells like sour milk and nothing you do seems to stop it, the only other option is to give it a shave. But this doesn’t mean you need to completely buzz everything off. All you might need to do is shorten your beard a little bit so that it’s harder for things like food or environmental particles to latch onto your hair in the first place.

Shorter beards are generally easier to maintain and don’t usually act like a catcher’s mitt for everything you put in your mouth. However, you shouldn’t need to switch up your personal preferences just because of some smells. Beard Oils and frequent cleansing should be enough to eradicate any foul odors.

As a last step, use a Beard Brush to distribute the powerful, natural oils throughout your glorious facial hair for a smooth, sleek ‘do. 

How To Prevent Beard Smell

There are a few habits you can practice to prevent beards from smelling in the first place, and this all tends to start with eating right. And we’re not talking about the right foods to eat for your health — we’re talking about the right foods to eat for your smell.

If you’ve got an important date coming up, we’d recommend avoiding potentially stinky foods like fish, mayonnaise, sauces, or oils. If you decide to eat these foods, definitely be sure to use utensils and carry around some wet wipes that you can use to quickly rinse off in the bathroom.

For environmental triggers, you can wear beard covers or beard masks to add a barrier between your beard and the outside elements. 

In Conclusion: The Smell of Success

You wouldn’t go around all day with smelly armpits, so you should also give your beard the same deodorizing treatment. But before you start rubbing some antiperspirant all over your beard, there are better options. 

No matter what’s causing your cheesy beard, whether it be food, the environment, sweat, or even allergies, there are some effective ways to eradicate it. For instance, using a beard oil from The Beard Club can soften your beard while also bringing about a fresh scent for everyone to touch and sniff. You can also be on top of your beard-washing routine and make sure you keep your beard short (if you’re tired of the smell).

Either way, you can join the club to start getting more comfortable and confident in terms of your facial hair. Discover your best beard today.

Sources:

Skin Allergies | AAFA.org

Facial Cleanliness | CDC

Sebaceous Glands: Function, Location & Secretion | Cleveland Clinic

Smelly Scalp: Causes, Shampoos & At-Home Treatments | Cleveland Clinic