When you’re a bearded man, each season of the year has its own ups and downs. The end of summer can be a beautiful thing, saving you from sweaty facial hair and harsh pool and ocean water. However, the fall and winter often mean the onset of intense dryness for your beard, possibly even leading to uncomfortable itchiness, tightness, and flaking skin.
So why is it that cold weather leads to dryness? The answer is a one-two punch of cold, irritating wind outside and dry, recycled hot air inside. When you put the two together, the natural moisture is sapped right out of your skin and hair, leaving you with that unpleasant parched feeling.
Luckily, with the right beard care routine, you can keep the dryness at bay! You may find that you need to adjust your routine during the seasons to get the results you want, which is normal for many men. Here are some ideas for how to keep your beard from getting dry or flaky this fall and winter!
Limit Washing
For healthy facial hair in the colder months, hydration is the name of the game, and too much washing is definitely not the way to go. Washing is an important part of your beard care routine– it cleans out dirt, debris, and bacteria that could lead to acne, irritation, and funky smells.
However, washing also strips your hair and skin of the natural oils they produce to regulate their own moisture, so you want to limit how often you’re washing to maintain the benefits of that oil. During the winter months, washing your beard once or twice a week is often sufficient.
You can adjust this frequency if you have a particularly dirty or sweaty job or if you feel like it’s just not enough for you, but try to find the minimum amount of beard washing you can do to stay clean and comfortable, and stick to that.
Using a quality beard wash made with gentle cleansing agents also makes a huge difference because it cleans without stripping. Between washes, rely on brushing, spot-cleaning with a damp cloth, and moisturizing instead of reaching for more shampoo.
Incorporate Moisturizing Beard Products
Some lucky men might find that a regular wash and a quick comb-out is enough to keep their facial hair looking fantastic. However, for most men, this just isn’t the case, especially during tricky seasons like winter! Most beards will need a little extra love in the form of moisturizing products to pack in extra hydration and keep frizz at bay.
There are many different kinds of beard products out there that offer different levels of hydration. Starting with the order of a beard care routine, you can use a beard conditioner that quickly locks in moisture after each wash.
From there, opt for a beard oil, which will give your facial hair the most moisture support from day to day. Styling with a beard balm can provide both a light hold and protection from harsh, cold winds.
If you're looking for an evening routine that will restore moisture to a brittle beard, apply a beard butter after your shower and let it do its thing overnight. It's a fantastic way to give facial hair extra love in the winter or whenever it's feeling particularly unruly and dry.
You’ll have many options available to you, but the best beard products use natural butters and oils because your beard can absorb them easily. Ingredients like shea butter, coconut oil, jojoba, grapeseed, sunflower, and beeswax tend to work well for most men. These help soften the hair cuticle, reduce frizz, prevent breakage, and ease that tight, itchy feeling you get when the air turns dry.
Comb and Brush Often
Combing and brushing serve a purpose beyond just detangling your beard. The oils produced by glands in your skin are essential to keeping your beard healthy, hydrated, and manageable.
What's more is that the longer your beard is, the harder it is for oils to make their way down each individual strand of hair where they’re needed. If you find that your facial hair is very dry and brittle but your skin is oily, distribution is probably the root of your issue!
A beard brush and comb help to address this problem by spreading those natural oils down your hair strands, getting them away from your face and into the ends of your beard where they belong.
If you wear your beard any longer than a short crop, you can probably benefit from regular brushing and combing sessions, especially in between washes and especially in the cold, dry winter months.
A daily (or every-other-day) brushing session also helps remove dead skin, loose hairs, and debris like dust or lint that tends to collect in your beard. Think of it as maintenance that keeps everything cleaner between washes, making your beard healthier and easier to style.
Don't Let Winter Ruin Your Beard
Don’t let the fall and winter months bring your beard down! Washing less, brushing more, and keeping hydration at the center of everything — can make a noticeable difference within a week or two.
And no, your beard isn’t “high-maintenance” for needing extra care in the winter. It’s just responding to the environment around it. With these small changes to your routine and a little attention, you can keep a flaky and uncomfortable beard at bay.
