Growing out your beard can be a great choice for enhancing your style and overall look. But if you have sensitive skin that breaks out during growth, shows red blemishes, or itches because of your beard, it’s not an easy tradeoff to make.
Skin irritation can be mild, and sometimes you may not even notice it. Other times, you may not be able to stop your skin from feeling irritated – the uncertainty is part of the issue. It can impede your sleep or even distract you from accomplishing your goals with recurring discomfort.
To get a better understanding of how to treat irritated skin while growing your beard, it’s important to understand how your beard hair differs from the hair on top of your head. Beard hair is called androgenic hair, which just means that its growth is primarily determined by your testosterone levels. Its growth is also affected by a testosterone by-product called dihydrotestosterone.
Simply put, more testosterone can cause more growth and thickness of beard hairs. Because of this, you should make it a priority to take care of your beard differently than other hair on your body while also treating the skin underneath it.
Remember to Moisturize
Be sure to moisturize! Ensuring that both your beard and skin underneath have plenty of moisture helps your beard stay healthy and your skin undisturbed. You can apply beard oil or butter, or even one of our great beard balms. For those with sensitivities to fragrance, we recommend our Classic blend, which is unscented.
First, put the product you prefer in your hands and apply it evenly between your palms and fingers. After that, slowly run your hands down the sides of your beard to cover all areas. Then you should do the same thing to the front of the beard. Lastly, bring both hands up through the bottom of your beard to make sure that all the skin and hair gets moisturized. You should do these twice every day, and be sure you aren't using any bar soaps or facial cleansers because their ingredients increase the risk of drying your face!
Eat a Balanced Diet
Believe it or not, eating a healthier diet can make your skin less prone to irritation from beard growth. One of the best ingredients that encourages hair growth is folic acid. Getting daily folic acid intake from eating right helps your beard improve. Foods high in folic acid include citrus fruit, fresh beans, and classic leafy vegetables. Biotin is another food ingredient that is great for hair growth. Foods with plenty of biotin include cauliflower, bananas, and even liver. Potatoes, raisins, and beef also contain great hair growth ingredients, and if you can't get any of these vitamins and nutrients naturally, you could consider taking a daily supplement to help boost your intake. Try to stay away from foods that promote hair loss too, like dairy, carbonated beverages, lots of sugar, greasy fried foods. Limiting your intake can also help instead of removing these riskier foods altogether.
Scrub Under Your Beard
Scrubbing the skin under your beard helps remove and reduce dirt and dead skin buildup, which can help hair growth. This can also help get rid of ingrown hairs, which can even prevent scarring by preventing repeated inflammation of the hair follicle and surrounding pores. Remember, you don't want to use bar soap or facial cleansers because of the chemicals – instead you can use a quality beard wash that is specifically designed for the hair on your face.
With these tips, you’ll comfortably grow your beard out in no time! And in case you’d rather not risk sensitive skin with more intense fragrances, our “Classic” unscented oil blend is perfect for a mild product that nourishes your beard.
