Beard Conditioner vs Hair Conditioner – Differences & Similarities
Alright guys, we all know the market is flooded with all kinds of goop, foam, and oils that seem scientifically designed to extract money from your wallet.
How many different products have you seen on a shelf or website (who has time to go outside?), implying if you use their product, you too can have the facial hair of a Norse God? It’s all a scam, right?
I mean, you’ve got hair conditioner for your lovely locks, why do you need an extra conditioner for your glorious beard? Hair is hair.
WRONG!
Not all hair is created equally, and you could in fact, be doing more damage to your face by rubbing conditioner into your beard than just leaving it alone.
How is Beard Hair different from Scalp Hair?
We could go into the intimate science of how Facial Hair is different from your Scalp hair, but that would take forever.
The basic differences come in the follicles and the actual skin the hair grows from.
Hair that is grown on the body separate from the scalp is known as Androgenic hair and typically sprouts during and after puberty. Much of the hair is coarser and curlier, and it will grow much faster than the hair on your head.
This is why your beard will grow to full thickness faster than a full head of hair.
Facial hair often has less oil or sebum inside the follicles, while Scalp hair often has more oil.
In fact, this lack of oil and moisture is often what causes the itchy stage when growing a beard.
Much of these can vary depending on diet, genetics, the Will of the Gods, etc., but for the most part, they are all much the same.
What exactly does Conditioner do?
Okay, so we know that beard hair is different from scalp hair, but what about conditioners? Aren’t all conditioners the same?
NOPE!
To be hair (insert Letterkenny joke here), they are both called the same thing and pretty much DO the same thing i.e. make your beard/hair more “conditioned” or more healthy and vibrant looking.
However, they go about this in very specific ways.
Hair Conditioner
When you shampoo your hair, you generally do a deep cleanse on the follicles of your scalp and your specific hair strands. In doing so, you remove dead skin, oil, dirt, and anything else that could make your skin dirty.
Conditioner replaces the necessary oil on your hair strands to keep them looking bright and keep them from breaking. In essence, you are replacing the oils on the strand to make them move together better and stronger.
In more manly terms, you are stripping and replacing the oil in your hair with fresh lubricant.
By stripping away the oil and moisture from the skin as many conditioners do, hair conditioners can dry out the skin on the face when used on the beard. This is also why you don’t want to use shampoo on your beard either. It will do more damage than good.
Beard Conditioner
Where Hair conditioner makes the hair more healthy, when we look at the Beard what we should really look at is the skin beneath it.
Healthy skin gives you healthy beard hair. The facial hair itself is thick and curly and doesn’t really need to be strengthened all that much. What does need treatment is your skin beneath it.
We wash our faces more often than we really wash our hair (or at least we should), and the skin on your face can take a real beating. This can hurt your facial hair as well, making it patchy, itchy or causing more ingrown hairs.
Beard conditioner adds back the skin moisture you need to ensure your beard grows nice and even. It keeps beardruff at bay, fights against itchy skin, and helps prevent ingrown hairs by ensuring the skin is nice and soft.
Combining this with beard oil and/or beard balm, you’ll get a really luscious and thick beard to make Thor jealous.
What to look for in a good Beard Conditioner?
All-natural ingredients are the best for your skin. As we have looked at in multiple shaving soap and pre-shave articles, you want to steer away from harsh chemicals that dry out your skin.
Things to look for:
- Coconut Oil
- Argan Oil
- Jojoba Oil
- Aloe
- Tea Tree Oil
All of the above ingredients are great at repairing and nourishing skin, as well as keeping moisture in to make your skin nice and soft.
Often, these above ingredients are paired with things like rosemary, eucalyptus, and Vitamin E to allow the beard to shine and look fuller.
They can also come scented with citrus, sandalwood, or lavender to promote a good, clean feeling when using them. Just be careful if you want to combine them with any other scents. Nothing is worse than a beard that clashes with its own scents.
Also, strong scents come with complex ingredients that might irritate you if you have sensitive skin.
How Do I Use Beard Conditioner?
The best time to use beard conditioners is the same time you are doing your normal beard care routine. By that, I mean after your normal shower and shampoo.
Some conditioners may have different steps, but they mostly come down to the same process.
After washing your face, apply a small amount of conditioner to your hands. You’ll have to dial in exactly how much you want to use depending on your own jaw size and how much of a beard you have. Over time you can get better used to how much you actually need.
Massage the conditioner into your beard slowly and carefully, making sure to get it into the skin and onto the beard itself.
Let the conditioner sit for about two or three minutes to really let it soak in. Then rinse it off thoroughly with warm or cool water.
You can do this full process in the shower or right after, but this should prime your beard for any additional balms or oils you would like to add.
Run a nice comb or brush through the beard to style it as you want, and you are good to go.
If you happen to be in a situation where you are getting dirty more often than not, you should do this whenever your wash your face.
Final Thoughts
Fun historical fact: when the Viking Danes invaded and started to settle in Britain during the 11th Century A.D., the Anglo-Saxons were in somewhat of a pickle. Anglo-Saxon women often ran away from their families and husbands to join Danish men because…they cared for their beards!
Also because they bathed regularly and changed their clothing, but that is beside the point.
Times may have changed ever so slightly, but never forget that keeping your beard nice and clean will always make a great impression.
One extra step in your grooming process could make all the difference on your next date. Beard conditioner is the gateway to making sure you look more like Marvel’s Thor and less like Vermin Supreme.
