The Top 3 Mistakes That Damage Your Beard

When your beard looks amazing, you can’t help but want to touch it. Whether you’re stroking it wisely or simply luxuriating in its fullness, your beard demands to be appreciated. And chances are pretty good the people around you feel drawn to it as well.

It’s a good problem to have! But not all beard problems are so benign. You know all about the importance of proper beard maintenance by now, but if you intend to make your whiskers a part of your life for the long term (and you should), you’ll want to be mindful of some dangerous habits that might damage your beard over time. After sinking weeks and months into growing your facial hair to the point of perfection, the last thing you want is to mess it up and have to undertake a beard reset to fix your mistakes.

The Overwash

One of the weirder, more unexpected things about growing hair is that the longer it gets, the less you should wash it. “But Beard Club!” you say. “If I have more beard, why do I need to care for it less?” And that’s understandable—the secret is redefining what you think of as “care.”

Sometimes, care means knowing when not to fuss with something. Ask any man or woman with glorious tresses, and they’ll tell you that the key to their luxuriant locks is smart hair care—which is to say, laying off the shampoo. Now, shampoo is an essential tool in beard (and hair) grooming, washing away grime and helping to make your whiskers fragrant and appealing. But using shampoo too often can lead to unhealthy hair. Your beard, like the rest of your hair, is naturally protected from the elements by your body’s oils. When you keep your hair short, that oil builds up quickly and requires frequent washing. But once you let your hair grow out a bit, it takes longer for those nourishing oils to make their way along the length of your hair. Washing too frequently strips away the oils before they have a chance to do their work properly, leading to split ends, frayed hair, brittle whiskers, and worse.

Improper Grooming Habits 

Of course, you don’t want to walk around with a filthy beard all the time, and neither do the people around you. You need to adopt a grooming routine of some sort, you just need to exercise some restraint.

Even taking a cautious approach to beard maintenance can cause issues. Too little grooming will leave your beard filthy and tangled. Too much shampoo will make your beard more vulnerable. Too much combing can damage your hair. And needless to say, using cleansers that contain harsh chemicals is just asking for disaster.

The trick is to get a sense of how frequently your whiskers need to be washed and build a routine around that. This is going to a trial-and-error process because everyone’s needs differ according to the length of their hair and their individual biology. But we can definitely offer you a universal foundation for beard care. Start here and tweak as needed:

• Wash your beard every two to three days. 
• If you shower daily, take care to keep your beard from getting scrubbed on “off” days.
• Use our Beard Brush or Sandalwood Beard Comb a few times a day to prevent dirt and grime from building up, and to help work your natural oils along the length of your whiskers.
• Apply Beard Club Beard Oil once a day regardless of whether or not you’ve washed your whiskers.
• When you do shampoo, use the Beard Club’s all-natural Beard Shampoo, which has been specially formulated to strengthen your whiskers, not harm them.

Philosopher’s Beard

Remember what we said about your beard being irresistible? How much you love to stroke it, and how others are invariably compelled to touch it, too? Well, we have a little bad news: This is something else that can turn into a beard problem. A little hands-on appreciation of your chin hairs is fine every once in a while. But do it too much and it becomes just another source of trauma for your whiskers.

Rubbing, picking, and tugging at your beard is rough on the hair and causes strain on the underlying skin. Even worse, your habitual hands-on habits tend to be concentrated on certain areas of your beard. Before long, all that strain and friction will leave you with a damaged or even bare patch of beard. And no one wants that.

One way to help fight against this wear is to make regular use of the Beard Club’s Beard Wax. By gently working a little bit of wax into your beard, you’ll create a protective coating that not only strengthens your beard but also keeps it looking smooth and feeling soft. Of course, having such luxurious whiskers only means they’ll be more appealing to run your hands through, but at some point, the ol’ self-control has gotta kick in. As the saying goes: “Moderation in all things.”

Ultimately, all of these hazards come down to overdoing it. Taking care of your beard doesn’t just mean knowing how to groom it, but also when leave it alone. But we’re confident that with our care tips, a healthy dose of Beard Club grooming products or the all-in-one beard growth kit, and an attentive eye, you’ll be perfectly prepared to prevent needless beard wear. If you watch for the signs before they snowball and small adjustments to your routine as needed, you’ll nip these beard-destroyers in the bud… and that means never having to snip your beard.