Beard Care • An Epic Guide

For a primer on beard basics, check out Beard Care | A Beginner’s Guide

When your beard is on the shorter side, the basics are all you need. Wash, condition, brush, done. When it starts getting full and, dare we say, EPIC, it needs a little extra love and care to look like the majestic beast it is inside.

The further you get into the adventure that is growing a beard, the easier the trimming maintenance gets. It is also around this time that you have to step up the daily grooming maintenance. Long hair or long beard, the more length hair strands get, the more damage they take from daily wear and tear, and the more care they require.

This is the routine Tyler uses to keep his beard full, healthy, well groomed and worthy of being likened to wearing a puppy on on his face by the kiddo.

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Prep

Before you dry your beard, give it a little boost. Emollient-rich products like our Deepwell beard butter (just oils and butters, no waxes) don’t exactly moisturize in and of themselves, but if added to a damp beard, it really helps the moisture penetrate the hair, and locks it in. The butters themselves hang on to your beard all day long, relaxing and softening those rigid tissues.

Beard oil (we obviously like our River Peak Apothecary oils, because we made them just to our needs) also works well for this purpose.

The main difference between oils and butters is bendiness. For super stiff beards, oils aren’t going to cut it, but if your beard is already relatively movable, butters may be too much.

Apply into a damp beard upward and then back downward, working all the way through the hair down to the skin. Don’t forget the mustache if you’re planning on doing any smoochin’.

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Dry

This is the part of beard grooming where we tend to get some pushback from dudes.

“You want me to blow dry my beard? What do you think I am, a woman?” Well, no, we don’t know too many women blow drying their beards.

And no, you don’t have to do it. But if you are having trouble getting and keeping it smooth, detangled, and getting it to sit the way you want it to, a little hot air and purposeful brushing sure as hell helps.

If you have a big, gnarly beard and need to look like a respectable human in a hurry (job interview, meeting of S/O parents, court date, whatever), if you can only do one thing to make your beard look pulled together, this is it.

Using a vent brush (for thick beards) or a thermal brush (for fine to average beards) and a blow dryer set to high heat and low speed dry your beard upward, flat against your face. What you are doing here is using the heat, as well as the curve of your face to wrap any wonkyness out of your beard and flatten it out (oh my Zeus, you guys, NEVER use a flat iron on your beard, you will destroy it).

Next step, brush and dry down your neck and under chin-area, pulling it straight with the brush. Then pull down your lower jaw-area, then the cheeks and any other hairs. If you have a large mustache area, hit that with the heat a little too.

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Finish

Whether or not you used oil and/or butter pre-drying, if you’re using anything wax-based, now is the time to do it. These types of products are more for finishing than simply beard care. Butters and oils=moisture, waxes=control.

Beard balms and waxes are usually relatively soft – sometimes not initially, but they should melt down to liquid when rubbed between your hands. Apply over the top of the beard, you don’t need to get it all up in there as in the first step.

While the oil by itself can keep your mustache nice and naturally groomed, if you like a little extra hold, one of the best mustache waxes on the market comes courtesy of Captain Fawcett, in a variety of delightful old world smells, as well as a stronger Expedition Strength wax.

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These steps are just the basics of beard grooming but for those truly dedicated gents, there is even more to learn in Beard Care | A Beginner’s Guide.

Do you have an epic beard? Do you give it the love it deserves? Tell us about your beard care routine in the comments below, and be sure to share this post with any beardo who needs it!