Bad habits, we all have them. Let’s focus on some of those that can negatively affect that epic beard of yours.
Pulling:
I’m not talking about grabbing a chunk of your beard and yanking it out. No, that’s for bar fights, or other things, if that’s your thing. No judgments here… But anyway, I’m talking about pinching a couple of strands of your beard and pulling on them. It’s kind-of a nervous habit, but eventually those precious strands will start falling out. So, stop it. That’s right, just stop. If you want to play with your beard, and it’s just us here, so let’s be honest, you know you do, then stroke it like you’re petting dog. That kind of motion is great for deep thinking and much less aggressive and damaging to your beard hair.
Chewing:
This may seem odd but I’ve seen it done often enough that thought I should bring it up. If it’s long enough, don’t chew on your beard. That feels weirder than I thought to say, but it’s still true. It may catch morsels of that delicious rack of ribs you’ve been chomping down on but that doesn’t mean it’s edible. Besides, there’s like germs and stuff in there. Seriously, beards are good for lots of things, but eating isn’t one of them.
Over Combing:
I have one of those beards. You know, one where if I don’t take care of it properly, people on the street start randomly dropping coins into my coffee cup thinking I’m in need of a hot meal and a bed for the night. If I go more than two days without the proper application of some beard balm, it’s like I stuck my finger into a light socket and the resulting shock only effected my face. However, there is a line between proper combing and over-combing. I comb my beard immediately after applying my beard balm. This untangles the hairs and shapes my beard for a nice clean look. If you start combing your beard 20 times a day though, you’ll start having hairs break or pull out from the skin. And that’s just not good beard care. Comb when necessary, but only when necessary.
Washing:
Whether you use a shower or a mountain stream, washing is a rarely a bad thing. And washing your beard is a great thing, but only if you do it right. When you wash your beard with regular, top-of-your-head shampoo you’re stripping away the natural oils produced by your skin and hair follicles. Those are there on purpose and are good for your beard. Keeping them washed out of your beard leads to a dry and brittle beard. Find a wash that is meant for beards. They’re designed to get rid of dirt, gunk and old BBQ sauce, but keep the natural oils your beard needs. Here’s one, but there are plenty more out there. Just make sure you follow up after your shower with an application of beard balm, which is designed to compliment a good beard wash by staying in your beard all day and keeping it healthy.
Your beard will be with you for your whole life, unless you shave it (Only joking, we know you wouldn’t do that. You’re not an animal.), so take good care of it.
