When it comes to beard care, some products and tools can be fairly self-explanatory. Everyone knows what a comb is, for instance. However, some products can be a bit more of a puzzle, especially if you’re new to beard care. 

Beard balm is definitely one of those products. What is it for and what sets it apart from other beard care products you might buy? Whether you’re a newbie who needs to learn the basics or you’re a veteran who wants a refresher course, this is Beard Balm 101. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about adding this product to your routine, and all the good that can come with it.

What is a beard balm?

With beard care, you can mostly classify your products in one of three ways– care products, styling products, or a mix of the two. A beard oil, for example, is a care product, because its main purpose is to add moisture to the hair and skin and keep them healthy. Something like a mustache wax would be a styling product, because it doesn’t directly contribute a lot of health benefits to your facial hair, but it helps you to shape it and style it nicely. 

A beard balm is a product that does both, contributing to the health of your beard overall as well as helping you style it day to day. It’s a moisturizing product with ingredients like shea butter and natural oils for hydration, essential oils for fragrance, and some beeswax for hold.

What are the benefits of using beard balm?

A beard balm is packed full of moisturizing, nourishing ingredients that will give any type of beard the care it craves. It can help you to tame a dry, unruly beard, get through the itching phase, or treat dandruff or flaking. Your facial hair gets put through a lot, so adding in moisture is frequently the name of the game when it comes to beard care. A beard balm is a great product for doing that.

The other great thing about beard balm is that it’s a multitasking product, perfect for busy men without the time or energy for a multi-step routine. It doesn’t just provide hydration and shine, but light hold as well, allowing you to shape and style your beard and make it look thicker and fuller while you take care of it at the same time.

Do I really need to use a beard balm?

Whether your facial hair is long, short, straight, curly, neat, messy, or anything in between, it could benefit from having some moisture added back into it. Any beard can get dry and coarse if it isn’t looked after properly, even if you have an issue with oiliness, and adding a moisturizing product to your routine will not only make your facial hair look great, but the hair and skin will feel much better as well. A beard balm, with its oils and butters that feed your skin and hair, will do this job very well.

Once your beard gets long enough that it can be styled and shaped, you really can never go wrong with a beard balm. The light amount of hold it provides is perfect for helping you keep a style in place all day without feeling shellacked, and its nourishing properties will help your beard become more manageable over time.

Can I use beard balm with other beard products?

Beard balm works great when you use it with other beard products. You can definitely layer it with other products if needed– for example, if your facial hair is seriously dry, you could start with a beard oil and then finish off with a beard balm for deep hydration. 

You could also use different products at different points in the day, like a balm in the morning and then a beard oil or butter at night, or you could have different products in your arsenal for different days– maybe on a day where your facial hair feels extra dry or you’re not really going anywhere, you would benefit from just using a beard butter that provides hydration but no hold. 

Because beard balm is a uniquely multitasking product, however, if you like to keep it simple and use one thing that checks all of the boxes you need, you can also have a great looking beard with just a comb, a wash, and a beard balm. Experiment with your routine and find out what you like. Some men enjoy detailed beard care regimens with lots of different products, or they need different products to help with different issues with their facial hair, while others prefer to keep it streamlined and minimize fuss. It’s all up to the individual.