Are you tired of touching your beard and a snowstorm comes about?
This is what we call Beard Dandruff, or better known as Beardruff.
What Causes Beardruff?
There are a few factors that can cause Beardruff, however we find these to be the most common ones:
- Dry Skin
- Skin's Too Oily
- Eczema
- Seborrheic Dermatitis
Dry Skin
If you're dealing with your skin peeling and flaking, this could be an issue of dry skin. It mostly happens in the cold or a dry, arid climate. When your skin is dry, your beard tends to dry out as well because it feeds on the oils on your face, and when it's all dried up, well your beard and skin will dry out, causing it to look and feel dry. How you can fix that is add a more gentle Beard Wash and get some Beard Oil or Beard Balm to your beard routine.
Too Oily Skin
On oily parts of your scalp and face there are m. globosa microbes that grow. What this does is help break down the natural oils produced by your body, known as sebum. When the m. globosa eats up the sebum, it leaves behind oleic acid, which then can irritate your skin causing it to flake. This happens if your skin produces more oils than the average, causing this issue. How you can fix this is by washing your face/beard and exfoliating which will get rid of the excess dead skin and oils.
Eczema
Eczema is caused by a few reasons, as in stress, immune system, and small irritants or allergens. This overreaction then causes your skin to inflame. What you can do is to get a Beard Wash, and wash your beard with warm water, then afterwards put some Beard Oil in it to keep it moisturized.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
This is a common issue that a lot of people deal with, it's where you have an excessive amounts of flaking and itching that you can't keep under control. A doctor can provide you with some type of cream or lotion to get it under control.
Note: We aren't medical professionals, we are beardsmen who make men's grooming products. If you are suffering from painful flaking and itching that disrupts your day/sleep, please seek medical attention for a cream.
How To Get Rid of Beardruff
If you don't have a grooming routine in the morning or at night, it would be best to build one, so that way we can tackle the Beardruff and have your beard feeling and smelling healthy. Here is a basic 4-step guide on what you can follow, then can add or remove as you go to make it your own!
- Exfoliate
- Washing Your Beard
- After-Shower Hydration
- Sunblock
Exfoliating Your Beard
Exfoliating is a big key to getting rid of beardruff and keeping your beard healthy.
Using a good, boar's hair Beard Brush can really help shake loose the extra, dead skin from your beard. The stiffness of the bristles can dig through your beard if it's long and gives a better exfoliation.
Keeping the Beard Clean
Washing your beard is a crucial step to keeping it healthy. Though, some wash it too much and that can be a cause of beardruff, or aren't using the right type of wash. A lot of men tend to use the same wash they use on their head hair, for their beard hair, which can dry it out and be very harsh on your beard.
In order to keep your hair healthy, and dandruff-free, you need proper sebum maintenance. Shampoo is key for this being that it helps break down excess sebum, and of course dirt and debris that have accumulated.
Regular shampoo that you use for your hair tends to be a bit more harsher because it's intended for your head hair due to the oilier skin on your scalp. If you're using that on your beard hair, those harsher detergents in the shampoo will strip away too much sebum from your face leaving it to be dry which could lead into beardruff.
Getting a Beard Wash that's meant for your beard will do wonders and help you keep everything under control, it is gentle and meant to keep it clean without doing any harm. When you start washing it with the proper beard wash, really focus on massaging the skin under your beard to where it foams, when it foams that means it's working on dislodging anything in the hair shafts.
How Often Should I Wash My Beard?
How often you should wash your beard is ultimately what you feel is best for you and your body, however it reacts. If you wash it too much, it can dry out. If you wash it too little and just have the warm water rinse everything, that can also dry it out.
You will have to build a routine that works for you, most typically wash it about 2-3 times a week.
Keeping it Moisturized After-Shower
Another big key is keeping it moisturized after you shower, whether you washed your beard or not. If you don't, it will just continue to dry out.
Head over and pick up some all-natural Beard Oil or even Beard Balm. Putting Oil or Balm is the best thing you can do for your beard and skin underneath, it's essential.
Beard Oil and Beard Balm acts as a leave-in conditioner, and replicates any lost sebum when you washed it. It will hydrate and soften up your beard, keeping it healthy, and on top of that it will smell great!
Protecting Your Beard From the Sun
Putting sunblock on your beard is something that is totally up to you, it isn't necessary like the above, to add in your routine. Though, some beardsmen like to say it does help protect their beard and skin from the UV rays. We all know what the sun can do to our skin, and some like to put it on as an extra layer to keep it from getting burnt and therefore flaking and red. A nice SPF 30 should do the job just fine.
Final Say
We hope you can take something from this and get your beardruff under control if you're suffering from it. A healthy beard, is of course a happy beard!
Let's get to it and get your beard feeling good and smelling good!