Post date: January 22, 2021 | Blog
How To Get Rid Of Beard Dandruff
Beard Dandruff or “beardruff” is an issue that is currently magnified by the increasing population of bearded men. Data by Google’s interest charts have shown that in the last ten years alone, interests in beards have exploded by almost 300%. This should be no surprise. Chances are if you are reading this, YOU have a beard too.
You can spot a bearded man virtually anywhere you go. If you threw a rock into a group of people, chances are pretty good that you’d hit a male with facial hair of some kind. But this all leads to one common, and treatable, issue that many bearded men struggle with; The dreaded beard dandruff or “beardruff” that diminishes all the joy that a beard can bring.
What is Beard Dandruff?
Beard Dandruff is exactly what it sounds like. Most people are familiar with dandruff of the scalp, which is often paired with flakiness, red skin, and or itchiness as side effects. And many bearded men face the same exact issue within their facial hair. In fact, this is a very common issue among the bearded community. It’s estimated that up to 50% of bearded men have, at one time, experienced this condition. Fortunately, it’s an easy fix!
What Causes “Beardruff”?
Almost everyone has a microbe in their skin called Malassezia Globosa. This is a type of fungus that breaks down oils developed by your skin glands and leaves behind oleic acid, a skin irritant that causes redness, itchiness, and flaking. This effect seems to be amplified in people with naturally oily skin due to the increase in the microbe count.
Put simply, uncontrolled oily skin leads to an increase in the microbe which then creates more oleic acid that irritates your skin. It’s an unfortunate cycle, but not untreatable!
Another thing to consider is that some people also have a much faster skin cell regeneration period. This can affect how many skin cells you shed and re-generate and, therefore, increase the buildup of dead skin cells that flake away like dandruff.
The main consideration is whether your skin is red and irritated, if not, then you likely only have dry skin. For example, if you suffer from beard dandruff but your skin is not red or irritated, it is likely that you only need to hydrate or moisturize your skin to clear away dead skin cells and end flaking.
Regardless of the cause of your “beardruff,” you may notice an increase in flakiness or irritation in cold-dry weather or in warm-humid weather.
How To Get Rid of Beard Dandruff?
There is a very simple strategy that you can use to get rid of this dreaded “beardruff” once and for all! And it works on almost every beard because it does two key things: 1) Clears away dead skin cell buildup and 2) Moisturizes and controls oils to prevent new buildups of skin cells.
Just Create a routine around the following steps!
1. Exfoliating
Exfoliating is absolutely necessary in your quest for a cleaner, more comfortable beard. This is because exfoliation helps consistently clear away dead skin cells and keep them away to avoid further buildups. There are numerous beard-exfoliating tools that you can use to do just that! Some of which include dedicated beard brushes and combs with softer bristles to allow for exfoliation without irritation. However, if you’d rather not invest in a beard brush, a soft washcloth will work fine in a pinch.
Note: Beard brushes and exfoliators can also help you more evenly distribute the natural oils that your beard produces, leading to a softer, more comfortable beard as well. Here’s a good article on 10 benefits that a beard brush can provide.
2. Cleaning
I don’t believe I have to mention the importance of consistently washing your face, and NOT only in the shower! This is important. Showers are often taken very hot, which has been proven to be damaging to skin as it dries, causing itchiness and flakiness. Washing your face in cold water is more effective because it maintains the natural oils that help moisturize your beard and the skin underneath, but it also gets rid of large buildups of skin and oils that cause beard dandruff.
Believe it or not, you can use the same shampoo to wash your beard as you use on your scalp, but keep in mind that shampoo is designed to strip away oils that must be replaced later (usually by conditioner). But, instead of using scalp conditioner, we recommend a different set of oils that is designed specifically for your beard to enhance the look, feel, and reduce itchiness and flakiness of “beardruff.”
3. Moisturizing
Moisturizing is probably the most important (and enjoyable) step of the whole process. After all, you should never use a shampoo that strips away oils without a means of moderating and re-introducing healthy oils back to your beard. Doing so is a recipe for dry skin and dandruff.
Moisturizing your beard is best done with dedicated beard oil. Beard oil often contains amazingly healthy and natural ingredients, but also provides a light hold and softens your beard to make it more manageable and comfortable.
The only Beard oil we recommend is Volt Lube Beard Oil because we’ve designed it specifically with your beard AND skin in mind. Many other beard oils emphasize ingredients that are great for your beard but do not blend well with your skin, making them irritating, slimy, or greasy. These oils often make matters worse because flakiness and irritation is a skin issue, not exactly a beard issue. With ingredients like Argan Oil, Jojoba Oil, Abyssinian Oil, and more, Volt Lube is light, quick-drying, and will not weigh your beard down as many other beard oils do.
Summary: How to Get Rid of Beard Dandruff
Step 1: Exfoliate your beard.
Use soft-bristled brushes or cloths to gently scrub away the buildup of dead skin cells in your beard and on your skin. This ensures that the flakiness is removed, and encourages natural skin-regeneration and a healthy complexion.
Step 2: Cleaning
Using shampoo to clean your beard is perfectly fine, but only as long as you have the products and plan to re-implement some natural oils to your beard. Stripping away oils from your beard and face will NOT stop beard dandruff, but managing the oils will. This is why it is important to Moisturize.
Note: For extra cleansing, we also recommend Volt Prep + Clean, a dedicated beard cleaner enriched with vitamin E and aloe to ensure your beard and skin remain soft and ready to be moisturized with beard oil!
Step 3: Moisturize
After cleaning, moisturize with a beard oil that is optimized for both your beard AND skin to ensure that you reduce the likeliness of further itchiness or irritation. Light, quick-absorbing, non-greasy oils are best for this. As always, we recommend Volt Lube Beard Oil because we created it with those characteristics in mind!
With these tips, and a little help from VOLT, you can have a more comfortable and healthy beard in NO time!
Click the button below to discover which Volt product is perfect for you!
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