When To Start Using Beard Oil? It’s Sooner Than You Think

The chances are that if you are reading this article trying to find out when you should start using beard oil, the answer was yesterday, but the next best time is now.

Here’s why:

If you aren’t already aware, beard oil is a mixture of natural carrier and essential oils that work together to provide several benefits for your beard and skin.

First and foremost, beard oil will help eliminate that annoying dry and itchy feeling and help make your beard incredibly smooth and soft.

We want to cover a few details briefly about why beard oil works,  some suitable alternatives, what to if you only have a light stubble, and much more.

Let’s talk about why you should start using beard oil:

Truly There Is No Magical Date To Start Using Beard Oil, But Most Men Do This

Now, if you just stopped shaving yesterday or even this morning, you probably don’t need to order a beard oil and have it shipped to you overnight.

Instead, most men out often buy beard oil once itching and beard flakes begin to occur.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with applying beard oil once you finished shaving, the chances are that you just simply won’t realize many of the benefits immediately.

But here’s an important caveat and question to consider:

When are you growing a beard?

If it’s to celebrate No Shave November or simply during the cooler winter months, the natural humidity in the air tends to be a bit lower.

This means that not only are dry hands and chapped lips a problem but so too will be the skin beneath your beard.

If you are amping up your beard growth, then applying beard oil from the start will help to eliminate ashy or flaking of the skin.

While you can start the beard oil regimen as soon as you start growing a beard, there is another way that you can achieve the same results (at least during the stubble phase) before you grow a full-blown beard, and it’s by incorporating this into your morning regimen:

Face Cream vs. Beard Oil – More Similar Than You Think

Face cream (or moisturizer) is an effective way to look more youthful.

Whether you are a man in his late 20s, 30s, or 40s (or beyond), regular application of face cream can reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Much like beard oil, face cream is packed full of hydrating ingredients that will not only give your skin a much more youthful look but will also increase comfort and appearance as well.

Now a word of caution:

We would never recommend applying face cream to a beard if you have at least a month of growth.

Why?

Well, it’s probably not going to look that great when you try to rub it in.

Compared to beard oil, the thicker nature of face cream is simply too much to easily dissolve when applied.

So if you are reading this and you decided to grow a beard about a month ago, you will still want to apply face cream – but only to the areas on your face absent of a beard.

For the men who plan on keeping just a stubble growth:

If you prefer a shorter beard growth, then you can get away with just simply applying a thinner face cream daily. 

Face cream carries many of the same base ingredients shared with beard oil.  This means you can still look fantastic with stubble while curing any sort of itch or ashiness on the cheeks.

Is Beard Oil Really Best For You?

While you may have come to read this article because you were interested in beard oil, it’s worth mentioning that other great alternatives beyond just face cream exist in the marketplace, namely beard balms, and beard butter.

While we won’t go into the nuances on how these two products differ, just know this:

They both contain the same core ingredients at different ratios:

1. Carrier oil
2. Essential oil
3. Butter (shea or cocoa)
4. Beeswax

Beard balm has a bit more beeswax and is excellent for delivering a light hold.  On the other hand, beard butter focuses more on the butter aspect and is considered by many to be a superior conditioning agent.

Now you may have heard of beard oil but not too much about beard balm.  It’s likely because of this – money.

Seriously, the markup on beard oil is high and is a leading profit driver for beard care companies.

This is why so many men have taken to creating homemade beard oil because repeatedly buying beard oil can start to add up.

Beard balms and butter ring up at a fraction of the cost and perform on par, if not better than beard oil.

So, if you live in a dry climate, consider beard balm instead.

Caring For Your Beard Is The Set Up For Perfect Beard Growth

Now most men will stop here and just apply beard oil regularly and expect great Instagram-worthy results.

Well, I got bad news for you, that’s not going to happen.

Beard oil, at its very core, is only a conditioning and moisturizing agent.

It will only deliver a slight increase in appearance.

Yes, your beard will feel and smell terrific with regular beard oil application.

But when it comes to appearance, you will want to make sure you do the following:

1. Trim it regularly
2. Style it with a beard brush or comb.

An unkempt beard looks sloppy, and it’s one of the reasons why beards get such a bad rap from the population at large.

To prevent a sloppy looking beard, be sure that the next time you visit the barbershop, have them trim it up for you.

Not only will this make your beard look amazing, but it will offer you guidance to keep it kempt between barbershop visits.

You will want to get a comb or brush and run it through your beard every morning.  Here’s how these two tools differ from one another:

Beard Combs

They give you much better control when it comes to styling your beard—definitely a better option for men with long beard growth (at least a couple of months).

Beard Brushes

Add volume to your beard.  Typically made from boar’s hair bristles, they help to distribute the beard oil throughout your beard.  Also, it can help to train your beard hair to grow in a uniform direction – especially key if you have an unruly beard.

Can you use a cheap drugstore comb or brush?

Sure, you can; just don’t expect the same level of results as a proper one designed for your beard.

Where Can You Buy A Beard Oil?

There are A METRIC TON of beard care companies out there.

Seriously, a simple Google search of beard care companies will yield over 2 million results:

…talk about market saturation!

It contains all the critical carrier and essential oils (apricot, jojoba, argan, clary sage, and vetiver oils) and the addition of Vitamin E oil, which may help the appearance of your skin and beard. Just be sure that once you open up a bottle of beard oil, it must be fully used within six month to a year, otherwise it will go bad.

So Where Does This Leave Us?

Gentlemen, there is no official start time for beard oil.

However, if your beard is itching terribly and feels dry, you should start applying this stuff immediately to increase comfort.

Just don’t forget to style your beard accordingly.

Beard oil is just a conditioning agent and doesn’t have any styling properties to it.

Therefore, be sure that you visit the barbershop to clean up your neckline and beard and comb/brush every day to look your absolute best.