There are many men in the world who use Beard straightening comb is to add the extra level of style and perfection to their beard. Once your beard reaches a certain length it is very tempting to buy beard straighteners or use other sorts of heat treatment to tame the wild and unruly hair on your face. For some people this isn’t an inexpensive exercise. There are beard straightening combs that are upwards of US$100. In this article we are now look at whether or not beard straightening combs work and whether or not they are worth it for the average beard grower.
Yes, the average beard straightening comb works amazingly well or taming the outer layer of hairs on your beard. By using a hot metal element the comb easily tames the thickest of beards.
However, you must realise that a beard straightening comb does not replace certain best practices for keeping your beard looking awesome. A beard straightening comb does not replace using products like beard oil or beard balm to replenish the nutrients and moisture which is lost during heat treatments. Also, the overreliance of beard straighteners for style will quickly dry out your beard and cause it to become dull and brittle.
In this article, we are going to go over everything you need to know about the way beard straightening combs work and what you can do to make sure that your beard straightening comb provides you with the best outcome for your beard.
Article Contents
What a beard straightening comb does
A beard straightening comb is made up of a number of plastic teeth which surround, or are interlaced between, metal bumps or teeth which heat up and do the straightening action on your beard.
The reason that there is a number of plastic teeth around the hot elements is that it protects your skin from coming into contact with an element which can reach upwards of 200°C.
Once you plug a beard straightening comb into a source of power the heating elements will slowly heat up and it typically takes between one and two minutes for the rush to get to the maximum temperature for straightening your beard.
How to straighten your beard with a straightening comb
Straightening your beard with a straightening comb is incredibly simple. If you can brush your beard you can use a beard straightening comb. Here are all of the steps that I go through while straightening my beard with a heated brush:
- towel dry your beard hair – make sure that your beard still has a little bit of moisture left over from the shower but you do not want it dripping wet.
- Apply a little bit of beard oil – I apply about three drops of beard oil to the entire surface of my beard or using a heated treatments.
- Blowdry and comb straight – now you may be wondering – why are you using a blow dryer? Well, I have found that using a beard straightening comb on its own does not give me the desired straightening effect. So first of all I blowdry my beard so that is dry throughout and I use the heat to start to tame my beard in the right direction.
- Use the straightening comb – after my beard has been blow dried and it is dry throughout my beard I use the beard straightening comb by firstly sweeping slowly over the entire surface of my beard in the direction I wanted to lay.
- Going slowly I then finish off the moustache area.
The trick seems to be to move the comb slowly over the top surface of the hairs to get the maximum amount of heat penetration and straightening effect. Remember that this is not a deep treatment for your beard but rather that it only tames the outside surface of the hairs and makes them straighter.
After I have finished my straightening I follow-up with a good amount of beard balm all beard butter to provide a little bit of hydration and nourishment for my beard throughout the day.
Beard straightener before and after
If you want to see what a beard straightener does before and after use check out my YouTube video where I compare a cheap beard straightener with an expensive beard straightener and do a 50:50 experiment on my beard.
I use a cheap (US$6) beard straightener on one side of my face and then a much more expensive (US$64) beard straightener and compare the difference. This video will give you the best way to see what the effect is of using a beard straightener on a relatively thick and dense beard.
You’ll notice that the beard is much straighter after using the beard straightener but it still is a little bit frizzy around the edges. This is because for the video I did not use any other balms or products of the pair the beard straighteners directly without any external all other influences.
To finish off my beard I typically use beard balm and a natural bristle brush to tuck in the last little bit of hairs and provide a little bit of hold. The beard barn I use is made up from about 50% organic beeswax which is perfect for providing hold for the majority of the day.
Does it work?
Yes, in short – beard straighteners work. They straighten beard hair.
But, it’s very important to understand the limitations of beard straighteners and not rely on them too heavily to control or maintain your beard.
What it does not do!
Beard straightening combs work really well for one very important aspect of maintaining your beard – straightening the A-side sections of your beard so that they sit in the style that you want. However, they do not just do this on their own. This, like any other beard tool, works together with your other products and tools to maintain and style your beard.
Here are the things that a beard straightening comb cannot do for your beard.
Dry out the beard fully
A beard straightening comb cannot dry out your beard clearly after a shower. One thing that you will notice from my section, above, is that I actually blowdry my beard for using a beard straightener. That is because if I only use the beard straightening comb on its own my beard remains damp at the base of the hair.
A beard straightening comb cannot dry out your beard fully because the teeth do not extend far enough to touch the base of the beard in every location.
Therefore, I recommend that you blow dry your hair to almost completely dry before using a beard straightener so that you do not suffer from any musty or damp smells which may emanate from your beard if you leave it to dry naturally. This is particularly true for people with really thick beard hair as it is not much air circulation next to the skin.
Replace your hairdryer
I used my hairdryer for many years before buying a beard straightener. My beard was relatively long and I was always wondering if I was missing out on some of the benefits of using a beard straightening comb. Many YouTube stars were raving about the latest types of beard straightening combs and I was still using my hairdryer.
After purchasing my beard straightener, I realise that it was a tool for straightening the outside hairs of my beard and would not replace my beard hairdryer during my morning routine.
Work miracles
For some reason beard straighteners are heralded as miracle workers for beards. Yes, they do a range of really awesome things and can provide that extra little boost of styling control that you really want but they do not fix some very fundamental problems of growing a beard.
You have to recognise that your beard straightening comb is designed to do one thing really well and that is to tame the outside edge of your beard so that the lines are as defined as they could possibly be given the condition of your beard and its current cut.
I am a big believer that the majority of the style of your beard will come from maintaining it every single day with a good beard team but also getting a well-respected and barber that you trust to cut in the style so that the beard straighteners only add about 10% of the perfection on top and you are not relying on them to hold your beard in place.
Beard straighteners can add that extra 5% of style on top of your typical cut but they will not work miracles if you have not laid the foundations of good beard maintenance.
Replace the need for products
There are a range of beard products which can be used to make your beard look great. You can use beard balm, butter, oil, conditioner, and other sprays and oils. Each one of these products has been designed specifically for a function which your beard may need.
There can be an overreliance on beard straighteners and this means that instead of using less product you need to use more product to replace the moisture and repair the damage which a regular heat treatment does to your beard.
Always make sure that you are using a good combination of products your beard looking shiny, healthy, and the best it can be!
Now that you know all of the things that a beard straightener can do and its limitations the next best question to ask is a beard straightener worth it?
Is a beard straightener worth it?
It can be hard to work out what it means when you ask is something is work it. When looking at whether something is “worth it” we need to consider two aspects.
- Is the price point proportional (does it scale) to the problem being solved?
- Does the appliance do a good job of solving the problem?
It’s only when we consider these two aspects that the answer to the question of whether beard straighteners are worth it can be truly answered. In other words, what do you want the outcome of the beard straightener purchase to achieve? Do you want a more consistent beard style, extra length, or maybe to shave a couple of minutes of off your beard growing routine every morning? That may indeed be worth it for you!
On my YouTube channel I did a very short video which highlights some of the best advice around whether or not a beard straightener is worth buying.
The bottom line is that beard straighteners provide an awesome way to those finishing touches to your beard but they do not solve a majority of the problems which can be solved with simply looking after your beard with a great daily maintenance routine and using other heat treatments such as a hairdryer.
If you really want to purchase a beard straightening comb I would recommend that you don’t spend too much on it to start with. There are some great options available to youth away less than you expect. Also, there are a variety of different beard combs with different heating elements and different temperatures as well as a variety of different ergonomic designs for ease of use.
If you are purchasing a beard comb I would recommend comparing and contrasting a number of different beard comes within your budget so that you can make the right choice for you. The last thing we want is for you to have buyers remorse because your beard comb doesn’t quite do what you wanted it to do.
Beard straightening comb buyers guide
Here is your beard straightening comb buyers guide if you are at it is certain that buying a beard straightening comb is the best decision for your beard.
Price
Price is one of the most important factors when it comes to deciding which beard straightening comb is the best one for you. There are a range of options from the cheap (six US dollars) to the expensive (US$100) and, to be honest with you, they all kind of do the same thing.
As beard products get more expensive you get better quality materials and hardware. That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that the more expensive one is better for you and your beard. If you are unsure about which beard straightening comb is best for you I recommend that you purchase the least expensive with the features that you want and if it breaks or you find that it does not work you can always upgrade.
Size
The size of the beard straightener also is important as you need to consider the ergonomics of use. Most beard straightening combs are easy to use and have been designed well but if you are going after a larger surface area you could always use a much larger surface area brush and comb.
The length of your beard will also dictate what size beard straightening comb you need.
Voltage
Beard straightening combs are typically rated from between 110 V to 240 V this means that you can use it internationally with no issues. However, some beard combs are only rated for 110 V i.e. the US market. This means that if you were to purchase this beard straightening comb and plug it in to an outlet that was 240 V it would quickly heat up and you would fry the internal components.
If you want to use a beard straightening comb abroad make sure you purchase one which can handle both 110 V and 240 V so that you don’t end up with a dead beard straightening comb.
Travel case
Some beard straightening combs come with accessories like travel cases and can be folded down to make travelling easier. If you are a regular traveller, please consider buying a beard comb which comes with a case so that it can be easily incorporated as part of your luggage.
Temperature settings
Lastly, the best beard straightening combs tend to have a range of temperatures which means that even the most unruly of beards are able to be tamed.
Even the inexpensive range has a variable temperature setting which can allow you to do up to 200°C. Once you purchase a beard straightening comb I would recommend using it initially on the lowest setting to see if you can get the look you like without imparting too much heat into your beard. The lower the setting that you can get away with the better. This will protect your hair in the long run and allow you to use your beard comb more often.
What is the best beard straightening comb?
We would start by recommending the Cayzor Beard Straightener :
The Cayzor Beard Straightener is one of the highest-ranking articles at Amazon and that doesn’t come as a surprise once you look at what it offers you!
Besides having a very appealing price tag for what it offers, it can deliver five different temperature settings that will, as we mentioned before, be perfect to adjust to whatever beard type you have. It won’t take you long to finish the job as it will heat up in 60 seconds and features a really cool and modern LCD screen. You’re granted to be safely protected from burns and this article is actually both a beard comb and a heated beard straightener.
Ideal beard length is 2″ and longer. It is ideal for any length and type, meaning you really will get yourself a great deal that is also an all-rounder.
Summary
so, there are all of the ways that beard straightening combs work and all of the different aspects that you need to consider if you are in the market for purchasing one. The take-home message is that beard straightening combs really do work at the one thing that they are able to do but too many people rely on them for styling their beard. It does not do anything that a hairdryer cannot do and with the right amount of products and styling from a professional barber you may not ever need a beard straightening comb.
That said, I love my beard straightening comb as it provides the extra 5% of perfection to my style which I have noticed boosts my confidence and makes my beard style that little bit more professional.
