Beard kit essentials.

How’s your beard doing? Is it coming in nicely? Looking sharp? Is it itchy?

We’re excited that you’re into your beard these days, and as body hair experts, we want to help. Because of that, MANSCAPED™ is developing a lineup of beard care essentials. We’re pretty excited about all of them, but before we go too heavy on the promotions, we want to talk about beard care in general.

Today, we’re going to help you think about the necessities that should be in every beard kit.

What should be in a beard kit?

Here’s the thing. There are a lot of different beards in the world. In fact, no two beards are the same. So, if we’re going to design a perfect list of beard kit essentials, we have to be thorough. Grizzly Adams beards and Keanu Reeves beards don’t look the same, and they don’t require the same maintenance.

That means that the list of essential items below is exhaustive. No matter what kind of beard you grow, long or short, bushy or fine, you’ll see what you need for proper maintenance. It also means that, depending on your beard style, you’ll prefer some products over others. That’s all fine.

We’re trying to give you the master list. You can make informed decisions from there. With that in mind, the list below includes four physical tools and four important formulas.

Trimmer

Every beard kit starts with a good trimmer. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Self, I already have a hair trimmer. Do I really need a beard trimmer, too?”

The fact that you’re even here reading this means that you know the answer. Yes. You need something that can trim your beard, and a general hair trimmer is not ideal. Hair trimmers typically use cutting guards to cut everything to a predetermined length.

The problem with using this type of thing for your beard is that you often want to keep your facial hair longer than the cutting guards allow. You have to freehand this stuff.

So, you want something that is very easy to control and designed to handle wiry facial whiskers without tugging or pulling on anything.

Scissors

You can actually go low-tech with your beard trimming, and a good pair of scissors works great. When you’re doing regular maintenance on a nice, thick mane of beard, scissors are often best for refinement.

Here’s the deal with scissors. When your beard is long and thick, then the real maintenance trimming is all about bringing errant long hairs back under control. To do that, you want to brush all of your beard up and away from your face. Make it easy to see which hairs are getting away from you.

Trim the overachievers down to size, and you’ll keep a nice shape to your beard.

Every once in a while, you’ll also want to deliberately shape your beard, and that’s often easier with scissors than a trimmer.

The real fact of the matter is that most guys will prefer either their scissors or their trimmer. You don’t really need both at all times, but having more options never really hurt anyone.

Brush

We just talked about brushing your beard in order to trim it properly. How exactly do you plan to do that? A beard brush is the obvious answer.

There are a few things you want to know about beard brushes.

First, they are not the same thing your mom always preferred when styling her long hair. Beard brushes are designed specifically for facial hair. The size, bristle density, and stiffness are all engineered to give you an easier, better time grooming your beard.

Second, beard brushes aren’t just for trimming. You want to brush your beard on a regular basis. Doing this will keep the hair in line and avoid bushy, messy, tangled beard situations. It also clears the beard. If you’ve grown your facial hair out before, you know how annoying it is that random fluffy things like to get stuck in there.

Your brush can also serve as a facial exfoliator. This does not mean that you should get super aggressive with your brush. It simply means that regular brushing will help you keep your skin pristine and avoid beard dandruff.

Comb

The last thing you should know about a beard brush is that a lot of those goals can be achieved by using a beard comb. Particularly when it comes to grooming, combs are easier to use and give you more precision in controlling the flow of your facial hair.

This is another case where you don't necessarily need both options. It’s nice to be able to choose, but if you’re building your kit one item at a time, you can start with a brush or a comb, and you’ll be in good shape.

Shampoo

Your beard kit also needs the right formulas to take good care of your hair and skin. There are a lot of different formulations you can choose, and we have a robust lineup. Out of all of the formulas, three matter more than the rest, and your shampoo is on that short list.

Hopefully, we don’t need to convince you to wash your hair. It’s already in your routine. You know that washing your hair helps with hair and scalp health. You know that you’re more attractive when you wash your hair regularly. You even like how it feels to have a healthy head.

Right?

Or, maybe you don’t have much to wash anymore? No worries. All of those truths apply to your beard.

So, whether you still have a jealousy-inspiring hairline or a chrome dome, you need to wash your beard. It’s good for health, attractiveness, and all that other jazz we just mentioned.

What you might overlook is the value of beard shampoo. The reasoning is quite simple. Beard hair is different from scalp hair, so shampoo optimized for a beard will differ from shampoo optimized for your scalp. 

Any questions?

Let’s keep this one light on science and suffice it to say that dedicated beard shampoo will keep your beard hair softer, more obedient for styling, and healthier. It’s also better for the skin on your chinny chin chin.

Serum

Second on the short list of essential formulas is beard serum. It’s basically conditioner for beard hair. Serum has essential minerals and oils mixed together in a blend that helps your hair recover from damage. It helps to moisturize your skin. It helps control excessive oil.

It does all of those things that really make your beard shine, but in the attractive way instead of the greasy 80s movie villain way.

Balm and pomade

Beard balm and pomade are your styling formulas for facial hair. You’ll find some products marketed specifically as one or the other while others come as a balm/pomade.

Before we get into all of those details, allow us to tell you that this is not on the essential list of items. Balm and pomade are super useful and nice to have, but their primary purpose is styling. We’re most interested in the things that promote beard health. Styling is actually secondary, which is why you can add these to your stockpile a little later if you’re slowly working your way into all of this.

Moving on, let’s talk about the primary difference between balm and pomade. Both are made for styling your beard, and when you get them from MANSCAPED™, you can trust that they are infused with ingredients that keep your beard healthy. But, when it comes to a pure balm, it’s usually thicker than a pure pomade. That’s because balms tend to emphasize beeswax more as an ingredient. That wax is great for styling, but it changes the consistency.

A balm/pomade hybrid will exist between the two. It won’t be as creamy as a pure pomade or as waxy as a pure balm.

Oil

The last formula we’re going to talk about today is beard oil. Outside of the MANSCAPED™ lineup, you can find countless other formulas for locking in beard styles, coloring the hairs, and anything else you can imagine.

We like to keep things streamlined.

Beard oil is on the essential list of three, and a lot of facial hair specialists will tell you that it’s the most important of all. That point is a little debatable, but everyone agrees that a thick beard needs oil.

More than anything else, beard oil is a moisturizer. It moisturizes both your hair and skin, and you need both to keep your beard healthy.

You see, washing your beard is important, but it can dry out the skin and hair. Hot water dries you out along with hard or artesian water. It’s just the drawback to how showers work.

So, you don’t actually want to wash your beard every day. One to three times a week is ideal. In order to infuse health into your beard between washes, you can rely on beard oil. You don’t have to use it very aggressively, and it will act a lot like a daily lotion routine for your face. It’s gentle. Ours smells nice (as you have come to expect).

It also keeps the beard soft and easy to style. If you don’t know where to start, go with beard oil first.