Black Men Beard Care: Tips, Tricks, and 5 Best Products

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Before you dive in… I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss my epic guide to 77 best black men beard styles! – Dennis Walker

When it comes to black men’s facial hair, many will run into a common set of difficulties. African American men’s hair is naturally coarse and curly so newly grown beard hairs after a shave will grow inward, leaving unsightly and painful razor bumps. One of the most effective solutions to this grooming problem is to just let your beard grow.

Read this Article: Best Razor Bump Cream for African Americans [Razor Bump Treatment Guide 2019]

However:

For many black men, growing a beard poses a completely different array of issues. Initial chin and cheek fuzz might grow in patches rather than in a rich, full-bodied bundle.

For black men looking for a way on how to grow a beard and maintain it, take a look at the list of tips I’ve compiled!

The Quick Guide to Black Men Beard Care: Step by Step

1. Apply the Correct Beard Care Products

Without the help of the right products, most black men will end up with dry, crackly beards. The problem with most black men beard grooming products on the market is that they eliminate naturally occurring oils that hydrate your skin and beard. If possible, avoid such commercial products and, instead, be on the search for hot-processed soaps specifically made for beard maintenance. In addition, avoid using hair shampoo on your beard since it can cause irritation on your face.

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2. Stay Away from Harsh Chemicals

The creams and liquids you put on your face can either enhance stunt beard growth. Ingredients like isopropyl alcohol have been found to strip natural-forming oils from black men facial hair, leaving it dehydrated and increasing the risk of split ends. Especially for black men, you’ll want to do anything possible to maintain proper moisture levels on your face and neck.

3. Apply Beard Oil Regularly

After shampooing and conditioning your beard, apply oil that moisturizes both your beard and the skin underneath. Coincidentally, beard oil can reduce the risk of the occurrence of ingrown hairs and ultimately razor burn. Use natural oils such as grapeseed, jojoba, or apricot oil that won’t harm your skin – or use an organic mix (this one is hard to beat) hand-crafted by professionals.

4. Trap Moisture with a Beard Balm

Beard balm acts as extra insurance to keep your beard extra moist. Try to find a balm (Seven Potions is my current favorite) that’s made of natural ingredients such as beeswax that won’t irritate your skin and make your beard too greasy. One common problem that any man faces when growing a beard is the incessant itching. This is mainly caused by excessive dryness by either harsh chemicals or ingrown hair. A natural ingredient-based beard balm can help soothe the itch and get you past the initial stages of developing a healthy beard. Additionally, balm can be used to shape and model your beard however you like.

5. Exercise Patience

If you’re thinking about growing a beard, then you should know that the beginning stages might not be what you’d expect. You will notice a sudden appearance of razor bumps, and your beard might grow in little patches around your cheeks. For the first month, resist the urge to cut or style your beard. As it grows to its fuller state, you can decide on what sort of style you’d like.

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(via GIPHY)

6. Modify Your Diet and Exercise Routine

You’ve probably heard of this before, but what you eat plays a significant role on how your body and beard grow. A poor diet of processed foods can stunt beard growth and leave it dry and brittle. Your facial hair’s condition has a direct relation to your body’s health, so it’s important to eat a balanced and nutritious diet to enhance facial hair growth. Additionally, exercising also has an impact on hair growth. A regular workout routine increases testosterone levels which reduces stress and boosts the metabolism – two factors that affect facial hair development.

7. Invest in a Styling Beard Comb

Black men with curly beards definitely need a handy comb like this one to help with maintenance and daily styling. A comb can help combat split ends which can prevent proper beard growth. When searching for a beard comb, ensure that you find one with rounded teeth since sharp teeth can break when used to stroke your thick, bushy beard. Your comb should be used to spread oil and balm evenly throughout your beard.

8. Keep a Beard Care Checklist

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It might sound excessive, but sticking to a beard care checklist can really help improve the quality of your beard. There might be certain moments in your life where you forget to take must-have items with you, so if you tick off the items on your checklist, you’ll know you’ve got everything covered. These items should help you get on the right track to growing and maintaining the perfect beard.

  • Beard Soap and Shampoo – ensure that your soap is all-natural with its original glycerin content intact. Glycerin helps your hair and beard retain moisture for longer.
  • Beard Oil – stick to natural oils like grapeseed, jojoba, apricot, or argan oil. Stay away from synthetic oils that can disrupt the pH balance of your hair, leaving it dry prone to tearing.
  • Beard Brush – your brush should help distribute your beard oil evenly. Make sure the bristles of your brush aren’t too rough.
  • Beard Comb – a comb helps style your beard on the go. Find a comb with curved edges as opposed to sharp teeth that can break when combing thick beards.
  • Mustache Comb – a mustache comb comes with thinner, finer teeth for fine-tuning your mustache for a more stylish appearance.

9. Use Beard leave-in Conditioner

Another essential item to your beard grooming kit is the beard conditioner. Like any other hair conditioner, beard conditioners moisturize and nourish your hair strands to give you a soft and strong beard. In addition, it hydrates and nourishes your dry skin, which helps to provide you with supple and healthy skin void of beard dandruff.

Ideally, it would be best to use a conditioner after every beard wash to help restore the essential oils needed to keep your beard moist. As a black man, you want to condition your beard at least three times a week to give it the extra moisture necessary to prevent it from becoming dry and brittle. While most beard butter has moisturizing properties, investing in a leave-in conditioner is better. Not only does it keep your beard soft, but it is also formulated to give you a fuller beard.

Dealing With Patchy Beards

Every man desires to have a thick and fuller beard. However, this can be difficult to achieve, especially with a patchy beard that refuses to thicken. While most believe patchy beards are hereditary, some result from a poor diet devoid of essential nutrients and vitamins. So you want to adopt a healthy diet full of nutrients such as vitamin E that will promote facial hair growth. In addition, you want to go for a natural beard oil rich in castor and jojoba oil, as they are known to promote healthy beard growth.

Best beard products for black men

Now that we know the essentials, it’s important to have the proper equipment and black men beard care products. In truth, there are more than five high-quality beard care products for black men – such as ArtNaturals, Wisdom, and Billy Jealousy – but they all follow one common rule: organic-based ingredients only. In the following segment, we’ll give you our picks of some of the best products for black men beard care.

Comparison Chart

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Professor Fuzzworthy’s Apple Tonic BEARD SHAMPOO BAR – Light Fresh Scent | 100% Natural Premium Ingredients Promote Beard Growth Anti Itch | 4.2 oz bar – 27 fl oz liquid shampoo
41MzZ0cMLwL. SL500
Honest Amish – Classic Beard Oil – 2 Ounce
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Seven Potions Beard Balm 2 oz. 100% Natural Beard Softener with Jojoba Oil. Makes Your Beard Soft, Stops Beard Itch, Leaves it Nourished, Naturally Shiny & Healthy (Woodland Harmony)
51WPvEhMZoL. SL500
BEARD comb MENS beard comb POCKET comb Perfect teeth WOOD NATURAL beard care GROOMING comb HAIR comb Twice POLISHED Durable wood Anti-Static Perfect for Balms Oils Perfect GIFT Set KIT For MEN

1. Best Beard Wash: Professor Fuzzworthy’s Beard Shampoo

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  • Organic ingredients
  • Woodsy fragrance
  • Versatile product

This Australian-made beard wash made of all-natural ingredients such as beeswax, honey, and a selection of paraben-free essential oils that preserve. This versatile shampoo can be used on all parts of the body without risk of dehydrating body hair and skin. What’s unique about this shampoo is that it’s in bar form, so there’s hardly any risk of overusing it per application. Although it does contain fragrance, it’s not overpowering, nor is it made of skin irritation-inducing essences. However, the lack of synthetic ingredients means this bar of soap will dissolve quickly when exposed to running water. To overcome this issue, users are recommended to apply this shampoo outside of the shower.

Pros

  • Made of organic ingredients
  • Contains a woodsy fragrance that’s not overbearing
  • Can be used all over the body

Cons

  • Dissolves quickly in running water
  • Limited quantity per bar (125 grams or 4.4 ounces)

2. Best Beard Oil: Honest Amish Classic Beard Oil

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  • Long-lasting
  • Multi-purpose
  • Hand-crafted

Honest Amish’s most popular beard oil is made of all-natural and organic scents and oils that both moisturizes and smoothens beards, making it one of the best beard oils for African American men. This hand-crafted beard oil gives off an amazing scent without downplaying the benefits of its avocado, pumpkinseed, jojoba, and argan oils. The smell dissipates rather quickly, but users can still enjoy the benefits that this beard oil has to offer. This multi-purpose oil doesn’t just give your beard sheen and promote growth, but it can also be used to relieve itching and beard dandruff. One problem with this product is, because it’s hand-made, there appears to be a lack of quality standard, making each bottle completely unique in fragrance and performance.

Pros

  • Organic-based ingredients
  • Long-lasting, so a few drops can go a long way
  • Multi-purpose oil for taming wild beard and head hair

Cons

  • Every purchase is a gamble in terms of quality
  • Might leave a greasy film on your beard for several hours

3. Best Beard Balm: Seven Potions Woodland Harmony Beard Balm

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  • Premium blend of oils
  • Vegan-friendly
  • Great, long-lasting scent

This Seven Potions-produced beard balm is a premium blend of organic ingredients including coconut oil, jojoba wax, cocoa butter, and essential oils. In terms of aroma, this balm gives off a woodland-like smell that sticks to your beard without eliminating moisture. To improve its moisturizing effect, this balm is laced with vegan-friendly glycerin – an ingredient that is commonly reduced or eliminated from store-bought brands. An issue that some customers have is that this balm doesn’t melt well, leaving visible traces of the waxy substance in your beard. Users are recommended to give their beards a thorough brushing after applying this balm to avoid visible residue. Essentially, with careful handling and proper cleanup, Seven Potions Woodland can be one of the best beard balms for black men.

Pros

  • Organic ingredients and vegan-friendly
  • Can soothe beard itchiness and dryness
  • Amazing, long-lasting scent

Cons

  • Requires a patient hand to apply into the beard
  • Works more effectively on straight beards

4. Best Beard Comb: Loffect Anti-Static Beard Comb

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  • Anti-static
  • Soft-edged teeth
  • For all types of beards

Oftentimes, a beard comb will leave patches of your beard sticking outward, but with this anti-static beard comb, your beard style troubles are over. This comb is made of natural wood and features soft-edged teeth that won’t break off and get lost in the abyss of your beard. This comb is suitable for all types of beards, from tightly curled to long and straight. Handle this comb carefully, and consider purchasing a cushiony comb case: because it’s made of wood, the teeth can snap off easily due to even the slightest of falls.

Pros

  • Anti-static properties to keep your beard in check
  • Wide gaps between soft-edged teeth to prevent tearing and tugging

Cons

  • A little too small (pocket size)
  • Can’t withstand drops

5. Best Beard Straightener: Entil Cordless Hair Straightener

  • Energy-efficient
  • Portable
  • For beards of any texture

The most unique thing about this beard and hair straightener is that it’s cordless and can be charged by connecting it with anything – laptop, car charger or power bank – using a USB cable. Its 3/4 ceramic plates are quicker to heat up and retain heat for longer, reducing energy usage while simultaneously improving straightening quality. This device is small, but it’s the perfect solution to style your beard on the fly!

However, this device does come with its own set of drawbacks. For instance, it is not a plug-in flat iron, so it may not stay hot consistently, and might not get as hot as corded devices. On the bright side, this is definitely a safer tool for less experienced hair straightener users: it’s a lot harder to burn yourself (or your beard) with this device!

Pros

  • Compact size
  • 30-minute auto shut-off feature for extra safety
  • Excellent performance on beards of any texture (3 temperature settings)

Cons

  • Possibly inconsistent temperature
  • Needs charging

6. Best Beard Growth Kit: FULLIGHT TECH Beard Growth Kit

If you are on a beard growth journey and do not know where to start, this beard care kit would be a great addition to your routine. At the lowest price, you get all the essential items for your beard growth: Shampoo Wash, Beard Care Growth Oil, Balm, Brush, Comb, Scissors & Storage Bag. This kit’s beard oil and balm are formulated to promote growth and keep your beard shiny and soft. In addition, they contain argan oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter that work to give you a full and nice beard.

Another good feature is that this beard grooming kit comes with a beard wash shampoo formulated to clean your beard while keeping it moist and soft. However, before purchasing this kit, you should note that the oil has a smell that can be unpleasant to you. So, if you are one for scent-free products, this one might not be for you.

Pros

  • All in one beard kit
  • Rich in essential oils and nutrients that promote beard growth
  • Moisturizing beard wash shampoo

Cons

  • Strong smell

Read also: The Ultimate Shaving Guide (+5 Best Razors) for Black Men

The Bottom Line

I hope this post taught you a thing or two about proper beard care for black men.

The most important advice of all is this:

When it comes to hair and beard grooming for African Americans, it’s important to find a product that won’t strip your hairs and skin of its naturally forming oils. The only sort of shampoos, balms, and oils you should ever apply on your beard are ones with natural beard care ingredients that won’t cause skin irritation and add plenty of moisture on and around the beards of black men.

For African Americans, growing and maintaining a full-bodied beard is a challenge… but the results are definitely worth the trouble!

I hope this guide will help you grow a healthy, trendy, and all around epic beard.

Thoughts? Comments? Crazy beard style ideas? Share with me in the comment section below!

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Black Men Beard Care Tips Tricks and 5 Best Products

 About the author Dennis Walker

author 1

A Dallas-based freelance writer and blogger, Dennis creates the go-to resources for  men who are embracing style, grooming and skin care in an open-minded and forward-thinking way.