How to Train Your Beard

You've seen the images of stylish guys with perfectly groomed beards. Not a single hair is out of place. It's in a constant state of just-trimmed precision.

Why can't your beard always look like that?

The truth is that facial hair can be weird and difficult to tame. Your whiskers likely grow quite differently from the hair on your head. They tend to be curlier, coarser, and tougher to get to cooperate while grooming.

That's why you need to know how to train your beard correctly. No, you can't alter your genetics and force your facial hair to grow exactly how you'd like it to. But yes, you definitely can train your beard to stay in place and look top notch. Here's how.

Wash Your Beard Regularly

This is a basic step, yes. But it's incredibly important. A dirty beard coated in excess oil, dust, and debris is never going to be easy to tame. If you want to train your beard to stay in place in your preferred style, you must wash your beard regularly.

Do I Need Beard Wash?

No, you don't need a stand alone need beard wash. Your shampoo, body wash, or face wash will all do fine. The point is to remove excess oil and dirt so you have a clean slate of facial hair to work with.

Of course, you don't want to choose a harsh cleansing product with oil-stripping detergents. They will dry out your beard and leave it rough. So choose a natural product to wash your beard, like one of these options:

• Daily Strengthening Shampoo - with hydrolyzed wheat protein, amino acids, peppermint oil, and tea tree oil
• Invigorating Body Wash - with glycerin, jojoba, and aloe vera
• Clarifying Gel Face Wash - with coconut-based cleansers, geranium, and aloe vera

Hydrate Your Beard with Conditioner

Guys, please don't skip the vital step of conditioning your beard. Hair conditioner moisturizes your facial hair, giving it more volume and shine. That's critical for having a full, healthy beard. It will also ensure that your hairs remain soft and smooth enough to train and style.

You don't need to use conditioner to train your beard every single day. Every other day - or even a little less - will keep your facial hair healthy, hydrated, and handsome. For the best results, use our Revitalizing Hair Conditioner - made with aloe vera, borage oil, and avocado oil.

Soften Facial Hair with Beard Oil

Beard oil is your best friend if you have a tough, tangled beard that's hard to train. Every other day or so, after a shower, apply a few drops of Beard Oil to your facial hair. Run it all throughout your beard to ensure even coverage. The oil will soften, shine, and smooth out your facial hair for a much more manageable texture and feel. Using beard oil regularly prevents knots, combats itch beneath your beard, and adds a natural shine to your facial hair.

Keep in mind that less is more when it comes to beard oil. You only need minimal coverage each time you use it. And daily application is too much for most guys. Keep it to every other day or less so you don't get too much oil built up in your facial hair.

Brush Your Beard

After you've washed, conditioned, or oiled your beard, there's an essential step to training your facial hair that you absolutely cannot skip: brushing.

Brushing your beard - especially after using beard oil - distributes oils from root to tip of each hair. This ensures that they stay strong, moisturized, and even. Brushing also helps you ascertain if you need to trim or balance any part of your beard in order to keep things even.

There are lots of theories as to which kind of brush is ideal for facial hair. The truth is, the one that feels right and you enjoy using is best. Beware of brushes that are too soft to actually tame your hairs or so rigid that they scrape your skin and rip out your hairs instead of gently moving them into place.

Brush Multiple Times Each Day

Brushing your hair throughout the day is the best way to train it to stay in place. Keep a brush or comb with you at the office, in your gym bag, in your car, or wherever else you may need one for a quick beard reset. Regular brushing trains your hairs to lay in position for your style and prevents oil from building up in one part of your beard.

Style with a Hair Dryer (Carefully)

A hair dryer is one of your most powerful tools in your efforts to train your beard. But with great power comes great responsibility - and risk. Here's how to train your beard with a hair dryer without causing unnecessary damage to your hair or skin:

• Use the lowest heat setting. The hot setting can burn your hair and skin, causing irritation, dryness, and damage. It may seem like a faster, better way to train and style your beard, but it will cause problems in the long run. Instead, opt for the cool or low heat setting on your hair dryer. You'll still be able to train your hair to stay in the right style without risking damage.

• Don't get too close. Keep your hair dryer about 5 inches away from your beard while using it. Any closer and the heat and air will cause irritation. Further away isn't great either since drying will be less efficient and the air flow won't move your hairs into place as well.

• Brush/comb while drying. Use a brush or comb to ensure even drying and prevent your facial hair from bunching up. The combination of low heat, air pressure, and brushing is critical to training your beard to stay in the right place.

Trim Your Beard Regularly

While beard trimming is important to training it, too much trimming is not productive. Be balanced and patient when it comes to beard trimming. You most likely do not need to make adjustments to your facial hair more than once a week - at the most. Always trim your hair after brushing and drying it thoroughly since that's the only way to be confident about the length, position, and style of your beard.

When trimming your beard, don't overdo it. Tiny adjustments are all you need to tweak your style and train your beard to stay in place. It's far too easy to get started with a minor trim, only to realize that you've taken too much off of one side and your only option is to chop down the other too.

Be Realistic About Facial Hair

Yes, you can and should train your beard to grow, flow, and style as you like. But be realistic. The growth pattern and texture of facial hair is almost entirely dictated by genetics. There are things you can do - outlined above - to tweak the look and feel of your hair. But don't chase down some unrealistic goal of entirely changing the way your beard looks. That will only lead to frustration.

Instead, practice some gratitude and appreciate the facial hair you have! Genetics, the weather, the length of your beard, and different growth phases will all affect how you look from one day to the next. But by patiently training your beard and embracing a style that works for your facial hair, you can confidently look your best every day.