When you are growing a beard there are a number of challenges that it can throw up for you. It can be itchy, patchy, and grow unevenly – but there’s one aspect that can really get annoying and it can be hard to know where to start with it! The dreaded beard dandruff. Because the flakes land on your shirt and they are super visible on dark-colored clothing – it is really obvious to others when you are suffering from a bad case of beard dandruff. Here I want to share with you all of the awesome beard dandruff home remedies that I’ve come across by scouring the internet and also some that I have tried during my time growing a beard over the last 2 years.
Beard dandruff is characterized by dry, white flakes of dead skin. Consider using tea tree oil, coconut oil, aloe vera, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, and combinations of these home remedies to combat beard dandruff.
It’s not just that your skin under the beard is flaky and irritated and dry it could also mean you’ve got an overly oily face.
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Single-ingredient beard dandruff home remedies
When you first notice beard dandruff it can be really concerning. You feel like you need to try all of these different products and maybe you want to buy beard oil, maybe you want to buy beard balm, maybe you even want to try a beard butter but the thing is that these can get pretty expensive and you’re not really sure whether or not they will work for you.
The good news is that you may have some home-made beard dandruff remedies right in your cupboard without even realizing it. Here are my 8 awesome single ingredient beard dandruff remedies and the thing is they super inexpensive and you probably have one in your cupboard right now!
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil comes from a native Australian plant it is known to have many antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties but is it good for dandruff? Tea tree oil is available in a wide variety of formulations it can be strong, it can be weak, but you probably best know it as a strong essential oil. In the case of beards, you can find it in beard oil in beard barn and in beard wax. But the thing is it is also incredibly powerful as a beard dandruff remover.
Because of tea tree oil’s antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, it can reduce the yeast that grows on the skin under the beard.
If your beard dandruff is due to poor hygiene, it may be that the tea tree oil will reduce the amount of yeast that grows on your skin. Tea tree oil also helps reduce the itchiness, greasiness, and scratchiness associated with dandruff. In 2006, a study found that shampoo with about 5% tea tree oil showed positive results.
How to use tea tree oil
There are a few ways that you can use tea tree oil to treat your beard dandruff so you can first of all purchase a product that contains more than about 5% of tea tree oil the high percentage means that there’s enough to be therapeutic whilst also not completely overpowering your product and making you stink like tea tree oil all week!
If you want to use tea tree oil with your current product then you can add about 5 to 10 drops of tea tree essential oil to your shampoo or your beard oil or your beard butter or your beard balm it’s easy enough to do and it means that you can use your current favorite products with the therapeutic benefits of tea tree oil.
Tea tree oil can be pretty horrible if you get it in your eyes or swallowed so make sure that you keep it out of the reach of any little ones in your house and also that when you use it you dilute it using the product that you want it to be in. Keeping to those rules and tea tree oil may be your best friend when it comes to treating beard dandruff.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is extracted from the the flesh of mature coconuts it’s squeeze date and is full of vitamins and fatty acids. Coconut oil Nourish is this the skin under the beard and remove sebum buildup. Sebum is the oil that is naturally produced by your skin, so if you have a particularly oily beard coconut oil may be your best option of keeping your beard dandruff free.
Coconut oil is full of really awesome vitamins. It is full of vitamin E and K, it contains proteins, lauric acid, capric acid many other awesome ingredients. Like tea tree oil, coconut oil has antimicrobial and antifungal properties and this all helps in reducing beard dandruff.
You can use coconut oil in a number of different ways but these are the most popular:
Coconut oil deep conditioning
Because coconut oil is particularly good at penetrating the hair it is one of the best remedies for treating dry and damaged hair. As well as hair that has been damaged by heat from beard straighteners and overly aggressive hair drying.
This process is simple and effective and you can do this more than once a week if you really want to deep condition your beard with coconut oil. All you need is:
- Some coconut oil (which may be virgin coconut oil if you want)
- A shower cap – to cover the beard for a
- A wide-tooth comb – to comb in the coconut oil
The processes to use coconut oil is really simple:
- You simply have to wash your hair with shampoo.
- Then you have to use a wide-tooth comb to distribute the coconut oil deeply from your skin to the tips of your hair.
- Make sure that the coconut oil is distributed evenly throughout your beard
- Then wrap up your beard in a beard cap or a shower cap. You can find a great beard cap in my other article – click here
- Let it sit for about 30 minutes and, if you want extra impact from the coconut oil, you can go out into the sun and let the heat from the sun do some extra intense conditioning for you
- After you have let it sit for at least 30 minutes you can wash it out well with shampoo and make sure there’s no residue left behind in your beard. You can then use your beard oil conditioners, Butters and Balms – your hair and your beard dandruff should be better than ever!
Coconut oil can also be used with lemon juice, Jojoba oil, Rosemary oil, and other ingredients in this list for a super effective treatment for beard dandruff.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is commonly used for burns and minor wounds. Maybe you’ve got some in your fridge from that boats of sunburn that you had in the summer. You can use both aloe vera extract and aloe vera gel to treat your beard dandruff.
The aloe vera gel is incredibly powerful and easy to extract the gel exist inside the long, spiky leaves of this succulent. It is used on burns because it helps soothe inflammation and the cooling action can also remove heat from burns and wounds.
Aloe vera gel contains vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other things that can help your beard dandruff resolve itself by attacking the dryness, oiliness, or fungus that is growing on your skin.
Aloe Vera might help dandruff in a variety of ways:
- it has a moisturizing effect
- it also contains enzymes that help reduce inflammation when applied to the skin under the beard
- it has antioxidant properties that can help prevent cell damage by mopping up free radicals that are in the body
- and importantly, it has an anti-inflammatory action that will definitely help reduce the irritation and stop you from scratching the skin under your beard.
How to use Aloe Vera
If you are incredibly keen you can even grow aloe vera plants in pots and plants in your house and extract the gel yourself. Alternatively, it is very cheap and easy to come by in chemists and pharmacies.
Instructions for applying aloe vera gel
- Take the gel and apply it to your beard evenly – you can use a comb to distribute the aloe vera gel throughout the beard from the skin to the hair tips.
- You must let the gel sit for at least 30 minutes (ideally up to an hour) if you want the full effects of using aloe vera.
- After letting it sit, you should use a mild shampoo to rinse the gel out of your beard.
- You can repeat this process as many times as you like some people use it up to three times a week
Aloe Vera gel is incredibly safe so you can use it as much as you need to. The good thing is is that it last for a very long time in your fridge so buy some and use regularly for a simple beard dandruff home remedy.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apple juice.
Apple cider vinegar is said to relieve dandruff symptoms by using the acidic nature to balance the pH levels on the skin. It can also kill the growth of fungi and microbes that can help contribute to beard dandruff. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that apple cider vinegar really works as well as people claim it does. However, there are lots of great anecdotes that it does work incredibly well for relieving beard dandruff symptoms.
it is said to work by balancing the pH levels of the skin skin is slightly acidic at a pH level of 5.5. There are many reasons why the skin under your beard may be changing its pH levels. That includes:
- sweat
- air pollution
- access sun exposure
- any detergent that you use on your laundry
- alkaline products
Using apple cider vinegar is also incredibly easy.
All you have to do is dilute 1 to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in warm water. After your regular shampooing session, all you have to do is pour the apple cider vinegar mixture over the beard and massage it to the skin. Let the mixture sit for it only a couple of minutes before rinsing at out.
If you’re not sure whether or not apple cider vinegar will work for your beard dandruff. We recommend that you actually take a while to test it on a small patch of your beard and skin. That way if there’s any adverse reactions or you have particularly sensitive skin your find out before applying it to your entire beard.
Lime juice
Lime juice is one of the most commonly available citrus fruits in supermarkets and shops. Just like other citrus fruits, lime is also considered a nutritional power packet for its high contents of antioxidants, vitamins B and C, minerals, and citric acid. Lime juice is also commonly used in a wide variety of food and recipe so it is likely that you already have some limes or lime juice sat on your kitchen countertop or in the fridge.
According to a study conducted in 2015, the citric acid, which is like a form of vitamin C, in lime juice acts as a natural pH adjuster.
The great thing about lime juice is that super easy-to-use, all you have to do is apply to your beard after you’ve had a shampoo. The great thing about lime juice is that super easy-to-use, all you have to do is apply to your beard after you’ve had a shampoo. You can also use lime juice in combination with coconut oil, olive oil, hazelnut oil, apple cider vinegar, and a range of other ingredients so that you can combine the power of lime juice with a range of other beard dandruff home remedies.
Fenugreek seeds
Fenugreek seeds have been used for many years to combat dandruff on the head and in the beard. It has antibacterial properties and antifungal properties that help get rid of the fungicide that caused beard dandruff. Not only that, but it is also rich in protein, vitamin C, iron, potassium, and a range of other awesome things for your beard.
Fenugreek seeds are relatively easy to come by and all you need is 2 tablespoons of fenugreek seeds to get started with this treatment. All you have to do is the following process:
- Soak the fenugreek seeds and a bowl of water and leave overnight.
- In the morning. Grind the seeds to form a smooth paste
- Evenly apply this paste to your hair and skin underneath the beard.
- Lever on your skin for 30 minutes
- Wash your hair with a mild shampoo
- Condition your beard with your normal beard conditioning routine and allow it to air dry
You can repeat this process up to 2 times a week and, like the other things in this list, you can also combine it with a range of other single ingredients so you can combine the power for combating quite severe beard dandruff.
Neem leaves
Neem leaves are incredibly convenient to use for beard dandruff and itchy flaky skin. They work so well because they have a really high antibacterial activity as well as an anti fungal action. The way you use neem leaves is by creating neem water, which offers an instant relief from itchiness and discomfort that comes along with having beard dandruff and itchy, flaky skin.
Creating neem water requires 14 neem leaves and about 1 L of water. Boil the neem leaves in water for about 10 minutes and then let it rest and cool down for a few hours. Then use the neem tea as part of your normal shower routine making sure that you get the kneeing tea to the roots of their hair and to the tips of the hair using a comb if you must.
You can also create neem oil
All you have to do is take 1 cup of coconut oil and add around 20 neem leaves to it. Heat the coconut oil and the neem leaves for about 15 minutes and then take it off the heat and allow the oil to cool. Simply strain out the neem leaves and add your favorite oil and lemon juice to the mixture. Massage this into your beard and the skin underneath about twice a week and your beard dandruff should be better than ever.
That concludes all of our favorite single ingredient beard dandruff home remedies know let’s have a look at how I create my home-made, DIY, beard conditioner, home remedy.
Beard conditioner home remedy
Creating a beard conditioner is really simple and just involves some simple high school chemistry. You probably have the ingredients for these recipes in your fridge or pantry already. So let’s start with one of my favorites, which is the combination of coconut milk and lemon juice.
Coconut milk and lemon juice
This is a really simple recipe:
- One glass of coconut milk
- Juice of one lemon
Mix the coconut milk with the lemon and allow to sit in the fridge for about one hour. Then apply the mixture to your beard hair and allow it to sit in it for about 20 minutes. You can cover your beard with a beard shower cap – look at this one on Amazon – to keep as much product in the hair as possible.
Once you have allowed it to sit in the hair for about 20 minutes you can wash it out with a mild product or just use water. Repeat this process about once every couple of weeks and your beard will look fabulous.
Use an egg
As strange as it may sound the yolk of an egg may be the perfect solution to your dull beard. The white can also be used to help cleanse your beard hair. Eggs are found in nearly every home and the effects can be seen after one treatement. Here’s how it works:
- Crack one egg into a small bowl and beat it until it runs smooth ant it in not lumpy
- Wet your beard fully
- Dip your beard in the egg yolk and use a wide-tooth comb to distribute the egg
- Let it sit in your beard hair for at least 20 minutes
- Wash your beard with shampoo and conditioner as usual – however, don’t use too high a heat as you could end up with scrambled egg in your beard!
Use an avocado mask
Avocado has natural fats that nourish your hair. They contain natural oils and the good fats that are good to eat too! Avocado is a great source of biotin which can help hair and nails grow. A 2015 study found that the minerals found in avocado oil may help seal certain hair cells causing it to look shiny. Here’s how it works:
- Mash an avocado until it is smooth
- Wet your beard fully
- Spread the avocado oil on your beard hair and use a wide-tooth comb to distribute it.
- Let it sit in your beard hair for at least 20 minutes
- Wash your beard with shampoo and conditioner as usual.
You can also add other ingredients to this beard mask such as coconut oil, olive oil, egg, Aloe, banana, honey, and oatmeal. Each of these additions has it’s own benefits – so feel free to play about with a mask that helps your beard!
In conclusion
There are a range of awesome beard dandruff home remedies that you can use. It could be and is most probable that you have got a range of these ingredients already in your pantry or in your fridge. If you are still struggling with beard dandruff. After using some of these home remedies, go and make an appointment with your doctor or skin care professional. They will be your best port of call if you need extra advice or your issue requires medical intervention.
If you continue to have issues, feel free to play about with different ingredients and remember to try it on a small spot on your face before using it over your entire beard and skin.
Happy beard growing my beautiful bearded friends!
