Now that you’ve found the beard that matches the shape of your face, and you’ve worked so hard to grow a full beard, you might be wondering how you can tame the beast. After all, the usual image of a man with a beard is that of a barbarian. But you don’t have to look like a barbarian to sport the rugged look. That’s where our trusty beard oil comes in.
Why should you use beard oil?
The hair on your face is coarser than the hair on your head. I’m pretty sure your mother oiled your hair as a child and the soft locks you have (or had) is a result of all that relentless nourishment she gave it. But you’re a big boy now. So you’ll have to provide the hair on your face nourishment yourself.
Besides nourishment to the beard, the beard oil will provide nourishment to the skin underneath. A long beard can lead to skin irritation, flaking and dandruff (aka “beardruff”), and dabbing beard oil will keep all that at bay.
And no, you cannot use the same oil on both your head and your beard. The texture of the hair on your head is very different and hence, you will have to use an oil made for the beard to get best results.
Beard oils are expensive, I know. So let’s make some of our own!
What will you need?
All you’ll need is coconut oil and a few drops of essential oil. Coconut is easily absorbed by the skin and it stimulates hair growth, reduces dryness, skin irritation, and flaking. It also has anti-bacterial properties that help fight infections like ringworm or tinea. And therefore, using coconut oil as the base in our beard oil will make all the difference
The essential oil, on the other hand, will help add aroma to the coconut oil and keep your beard smelling great all day long. You can get a wide variety of essential oils online. Here’s a link to the options available on Amazon.in. We recommend lavender or cedarwood for starters.
Before you start making your beard oil, you’ll need two more things.
- A bottle to store the oil. We recommend using a glass bottle, preferably one that has a glass dropper, as it would preserve the oil better than a plastic bottle would.
- Get a funnel that you can use to pour the oil into the bottle.
How do you make it?
Take 50 ml of coconut oil in a container and add 15 ml of the essential oil of your choice to it. Mix it well. And you’re done!
You can prepare any amount of oil as long as you stick to this 3:1 ratio – 1 part of essential oil for every 3 parts of coconut oil.
How do you use it?
Apply the beard oil to your beard right after a shower. Pat your beard gently with a towel afterwards to remove excess oil.
Want more than just a regular beard oil?
Now that was the basic beard oil. But with a minor tweak, you can customise your beard oil to be either a ‘beard strengthening oil’ or a ‘beard growth oil’.
Add 15 ml of Vitamin E oil to the beard oil (the same amount as the essential oil) and you now have a beard strengthening oil. Vitamin E reduces the oxidative stress that your hair is subjected to and helps tame your frizzy, dry beard. You should apply the beard strengthening oil to your beard in the night, right before you sleep. Alternatively, you can apply it after shampooing your beard; leave it on for a few minutes and rinse the excess oil off.
Add 15 ml of Castor oil to the beard oil (the same amount as the essential oil) and you will turn it into a beard growth oil. Castor oil is high in Vitamin E, Omega 3 and 9, proteins, and minerals. All this nourishes the skin and hair, leading to better hair growth. Apply it to your beard before you go to bed and rinse off the excess oil next morning.
For best results, use the beard oil daily. Your beard will thank you!
