19 Jan Best Beard Grooming Kit? Putting Together Your Beard Care Kit
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Beard care requires a select few tools to get it right. Your beard deserves to be well maintained and that’s where a beard grooming kit comes in. Let’s take a look at what should be in your beard care kit and some of the done-for-you beard grooming kits on the market.
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What’s in a Beard Grooming Kit?
Beard Wash
Beard wash, or beard shampoo, is used to keep your beard clean and free of excess oils. Good beard shampoo can also reduce itchiness and dander, moisturizes and soothes the skin beneath, and helps make your beard hair softer. It can also restore a lustrous shine to your beard, and make it more manageable when trimming and styling.
Beard wash is especially useful for controlling longer beards and helps to keep hairs from appearing straggly. It also makes your beard smell nice, which you and any loved ones will surely appreciate!
Use it just as you would when shampooing your hair: dampen your face and beard with warm water, before applying a small amount of beard wash to your fingertips. Massage gently, avoiding your eyes, until you’ve created a rich lather. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Because beard wash is designed specifically for facial hair, it is not recommended that you try using your regular shampoo.
Zeus Beard Shampoo and Wash for Men comes highly rated for its quality natural ingredients and great scents, including sandalwood, verbena lime, and vanilla rum. Users report that Zeus Beard Shampoo has made their beards appear fuller and cleaner, sometimes reducing the need for other beard products like beard oil and balm.
Beard Conditioner
Similar to beard wash, beard conditioner helps to soften facial hair, returns moisture to the skin, and reduces the dreaded beard itch and skin flaking that naturally occurs with beard growth. Beard conditioner is designed specifically for beard and mustache hair, and usually contains soothing ingredients like aloe vera and pro-vitamin B5. Along with beard wash, it helps to tame wild hairs and makes it easier to comb and trim your facial hair.
Once you’ve rinsed out your beard wash, squeeze a small amount of conditioner onto your fingertips, and massage into your damp beard. Keep away from eye area to avoid irritation. When your facial hair is thoroughly coated in conditioner, wait about a minute, then rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Consistent use of beard wash and conditioner should have your beard feeling softer and cleaner in no time. It’s recommended to wash and condition your beard every other day.
For best results, pair your Zeus brand beard wash with Zeus Beard Conditioner Wash for Men. It comes in the same scents as the wash, and users report that the different aromas are subtle rather than overpowering. Others state that the two products work well to tame facial hair and produce a full, luxuriously soft beard.
Beard Oil
Beard aficionados swear by using beard oil in addition to wash and conditioner. It uses essential and carrier oils like jojoba, argan, sweet almond, and grapefruit oil to moisturize and soothe the skin, reduce dandruff and itching, prevent acne, and softens the beard. The last one is especially appreciated by loved ones, as it reduces the risk of causing beard rash on others.
Beard oil also helps to reduce tangling and split ends, which means less need for trimming and faster growth for those of you who wish to grow out your beard. It also puts moisture back into the beard hairs themselves, preventing that dry or straw-like feeling. To use, drip an appropriate amount of oil for the length of your beard into your palm, then rub into the base of your beard with your fingertips, working it out into the ends. Then, use a beard comb or brush to comb out the excess and style your beard.
Beard Balm
Beard balm is mainly useful for treating “beardruff,” though it can also help to control unruly hairs, soften coarse facial hair, and lock moisture into your beard and skin. It usually contains beeswax, shea or cocoa butter, and essential oils. The beeswax offers mild styling and holds properties, though not as much as beard wax. Plain unscented beard balm smells amazing on its own due to the wax and butters, though there are some brands on the market that offer scented balms.
To apply, scoop out a small amount, no bigger than your thumbnail, and rub it in the palm of your hands until it fully melts. Then, massage the balm into your beard, starting at the roots and working your way out to the ends. Working in the balm at the roots moisturizes your skin in the process, which helps to prevent dandruff and itching. After the balm is applied, you can use a comb or brush to give it shape and style.
A top brand to try is Honest Amish Beard Balm Leave-in Conditioner. It is handcrafted in the USA and made with organic ingredients, including avocado oil and shea butter. The creators of this product stand behind it so thoroughly that they will offer you a refund should you be dissatisfied with their balm.
Beard Brush or Beard Comb
While choosing to use either a beard brush or a beard comb is entirely up to the user’s preference, the application of at least one of them is essential to a smooth, healthy-looking beard. Brushes and combs–especially after using beard oil or balm–can shape, untangle, and smooth a beard, so it has the look that you want. It can also help get rid of any loose hairs that might still be lingering.
Brushes are useful for creating the look of a natural, thick beard, and can also help to train facial hair to grow in a particular direction. However, if you are using a brush, you’ll want to find a quality boar’s hair brush, and you’ll want to use it only once a day.
Over-brushing can cause split hairs and damage to your beard. Combs, on the other hand, you can get away with using 3-5 times a day, so long as you’re using a high-quality beard comb rather than a cheap plastic one. Combs are good for styling purposes and for shorter, thinner beards.
Kent Handmade Combs for Men are an excellent choice for a serious beard-grower. Made from synthetic tortoiseshell effect material, they come in multiple sizes and are sawed, buffed, and polished by hand. The tips of the teeth, in particular, are smoothed, so they won’t catch on your hair and can stimulate natural hair oils.
Beard Trimmer
Beard trimmers are particularly useful for those who like to keep a fairly short beard, between 0.5mm and 10mm in length. They allow you to shape your beard, keep sharp edges, and some can be used to trim your mustache. The best ones are cordless, rechargeable, and have self-sharpening, stainless steel blades. Some blades may require oiling to maintain them, but this can only help to enhance the longevity of your trimmer.
Most beard trimmers offer multiple trimmer heads and length guides to help you achieve a perfect, well-groomed beard. Some trimmers act like a Swiss-army knife of hair management, including ear and nose trimmers, turbo-trimming settings, and include a vacuum element that helps lift hair and prevent a mess of trimmings all over your bathroom sink.
These features can be incredibly handy for your daily hygiene routine, and make it that much easier to achieve the look you’re going for.
One high-quality beard trimmer is the Philips Norelco Multi Groomer MG3750/50. This 13 piece all in one trimmer uses a long-lasting, lithium-ion battery that lasts for 60 minutes and comes with self sharpening blades.
Beard Scissors
For longer facial hair, a good set of sharp beard scissors is a must. Combined with a comb, beard scissors help to maintain the shape of a beard and mustache, cuts away split ends and wild hairs, and is a good tool for keeping your beard looking good and healthy. They also offer more precision than a beard trimmer, allowing you to blend and smooth rough areas quickly and easily.
Your beard should always be completely dry when you trim with scissors, and sharp blades are essential to a good cut. There is nothing more frustrating than when dull blades fail to cut and instead slips right through the hair and forces you to start over. However, with scissors, you do run the risk of over-trimming your beard. Start with small sections, and trim only the edges to create a uniform beard length.
The Equinox Professional Razor Edge Series of barber hair-cutting scissors and shears are a particularly good quality tool to add to your kit. Made of Japanese stainless steel, these scissors are designed to have a lifetime guarantee. They also offer a tension screw, so that you can adjust the scissors for your particular use, and an ergonomic handle design for grip comfort.
Beard Care Kits
The Zeus Deluxe Beard Grooming Kit for Men is a great starter kit for any beard-lover looking to improve the look and feel of their facial hair. It includes all of the essentials to promote beard and skin health, and does so at a decent value:
- Beard shampoo, standalone value of $15
- Beard conditioner, standalone value of $15
- Beard oil, standalone value of $26
- 100% Boar bristle brush, standalone value of $20
Totalled together, you’re getting $76 worth of product for $68, a difference of $8. Not to mention, it also includes a handy burlap gift sack to keep it all in. With the essential wash and conditioner, moisturizing oil, and handy brush, all you need is a pair of scissors or a good trimmer to complete the set.
The Zeus Deluxe Kit is also one of the highest rated on Amazon, with glowing customer reviews ranging from delight at the mild, pleasant scent to how well the products work to improve the overall health of their skin and beard. Reviewers claim to have seen a dramatic reduction in ingrown hairs, beard itch, dandruff, and straggly, uncooperative facial hair. Beards are also reported to be softer and have a healthy shine to them, rather than appearing greasy or dirty.
The Mountaineer Brand Beard Care Kit is another good, all-inclusive kit, though it has slightly different contents from the Zeus kit:
- Beard wash, standalone value of $14
- Beard balm, standalone value of $12.50
- Beard oil, standalone value of $12.50
- 100% Boar bristle brush, standalone value of $12
If you were to purchase the contents of the Mountaineer Brand kit individually, the total would be $51. However, this kit only costs $38.00, saving you $13 altogether. Just like the Zeus kit, you’ll get a rugged burlap bag to keep your tools together, or to give as a gift.
It also comes in a variety of outdoorsy scents, including Original, Citrus & Spice, Coal, Timber, and Pine tar. Reviewers report a stronger scent of Mountaineer Brand beard products compared to Zeus but are overall pleased with how they smell.
While this kit lacks a conditioner, the addition of the beard balm can have similar moisturizing effects. It can be used alongside the beard oil to hydrate your facial hair and skin, which helps to heal ingrown hairs and irritation caused by beard growth. If you’re looking to specifically fight beard itch and dandruff while softening your beard, this kit is a perfect choice.