What is beard dandruff and what causes it?
Beard dandruff is a common condition that has affected most people at some point throughout their beard journey. It is most often the result of something simple, such as dry or irritated skin, not cleaning your beard/skin often enough or a fungus on the skin (Malassezia globosa). While tackling beard dandruff seems like a daunting task, if you follow these 3 simple steps, you will have a dandruff-free beard in no time!
Get Moisturised with Beard Oil
In my opinion, beard oil is one of the easiest and most important steps in controlling your beard dandruff. Beard oil, when used correctly will moisturise your beard and skin at the same time. Whether you have a full beard, stubble or anything in between, you should be using beard oil every day. After you shower and dry your beard, simply rub some beard oil (anywhere between 2-10 drops depending on beard length) into your hands and fingers, then work it into your beard and skin. For most effective application start from your skin and work it through to the tip of your beard.
I strongly recommend buying a high quality beard oil without any perfumes or nasty chemicals, such as the beard oil we make at Urban Pirate (Click here to see our beard oil range). Our beard oils come in several different scents and are made right here in Australia with the highest quality natural oils, so you know that your skin and beard are only getting the best.
Brush that Beard
A good beard brush should be an integral part of your beard-care routine. A couple of times a week you should take a high quality boar bristle brush (we are getting some made soon!) to your beard before your shower. A quality boar bristle beard brush (that’s certainly a mouthful!) will detangle knots, distribute oils and best of all, exfoliate the skin underneath your beard. You won’t believe the difference a high quality boar bristle brush can make to the health and feel of your beard.
Shampoo & Condition your beard
A pretty straight forward step, but very important nonetheless. I assume most people with a full beard are already doing this, but I also recommend using shampoo and conditioner with anything more than stubble. I just use normal shampoo and conditioner, but you can get some that are made specifically for beards that some of you might want to check out. After some testing, I have found that using shampoo and conditioner twice a week is the sweet spot for me, but some guys prefer once a week and some prefer 3 times per week, so test it out and see what works best for your beard.
If you have really bad itching and flaking, you may want to switch out your regular shampoo for a medicated one that is specially made to fight dandruff. There are many on the market that will be suitable, but I would suggest consulting a doctor or chemist and see what they recommend for your specific case.
Well that’s it guys! I did say it was simple. If you follow these 3 easy steps, your beard will be dandruff-free in no time!
Happy growing pirates!