when you’re first starting out on your beard journey it can be confusing when people recommend using beard oil. A load of questions pop into people’s heads. What on earth is beard oil? Why would I want to be putting oil in my beard? Why does everyone keep telling me to buy some? And then after you have been convinced that beard oil is the right thing for your beard how do you make sure that you’re not applying it in the wrong way? How often should you apply it? So many questions! A recent marketing trend analysis shows that beard oil is becoming an increasingly used part of male grooming. So, let’s make sure we understand the best ways to use beard oil!
You should apply a beard oil at least once a day in the morning after having a shower. Some people also choose to apply beard oil in the afternoon or early evening if they notice that their beard is particularly dry.
Beard oil has a load of different advantageous properties for your hair that you’d be silly not to use beard oil at some point during your beard care maintenance routine. In this article we are going to go over everything you need to know about how often to apply beard oil and whether or not you can apply to much of a good thing…
Article Contents
How often to apply beard oil – different lengths
As a general rule of thumb most people with a beard should be applying beard oil at least once a day. That is because the general daily life of the modern person involves a lot of time sitting in air-conditioning which can easily dry out a beard.
I have found that applying my beard oil in the morning after having a shower is the best time. This is because the oil sits on top of the moisture that has been absorbed into my hair and helps lock it in during heat treatment such as blow drying and beard straightening.
Some people like to also apply beard oil at the end of a day where their beard has been exposed to a lot of harsh environmental conditions such as air-conditioning or UV rays. Essentially, each person’s usage of beard oil will depend on how dry their hair is and the sorts of conditions they put their beard through.
I have found that as my beard gets longer I do have to apply more beard oil more often. Here is a rundown of what I think you should do for each length of beard.
Short beard
For a short beard i.e. under 1 inch you should use beard oil every day and only about one or two drops. You need to make sure that it gets to the base of the hair and is completely distributed across the entire surface of your face where beard hair grows.
You may want to remove a little bit of the beard oil after about 30 minutes of it sitting against your skin with a clean and dry towel. I found that that was enough to moisturise my beard hair and skin whilst also not making my hair look too shiny or my skin too greasy.
You probably don’t need to use too much beard oil if you are only in the stubble stage. The stubble stage is short enough that your skin can naturally produce enough see them that you require to keep your beard hair is moisturised. However, using a little bit of beard oil every day means you get the benefits of the natural oils and carrier oils to help maintain a healthy face.
Medium beard
Medium length beards require you to decide how often to apply your beard oil. You definitely should apply it once in the morning after shower and before any heat treatment but this is the time when you need to decide whether or not you need a double dose of beard oil every day.
There will come a tipping point during your growth journey where you need to go from one to 2 applications of beard oil a day. I don’t recommend that you apply the second application just before bed (you have to wait at least 30 minutes) because you will end up just wiping it onto your pillow.
A medium beard should not be too wiry to the touch. If you find that your beard is particularly wiry and dry then you can opt for extra applications of beard oil. Do not exceed more than three applications a day and if you find that beard oil is not conditioning your beard as well as you think it should look for a leave in conditioner. For a full run down of the best beard conditioner check out my other article – 10 best beard conditioners [beyond oil and balm] – click here. This will be one of the best things that you can read if you find that your beard is too dry too often.
Long beard
If you have a long beard (more than 6 inches long) you should be considering applying beard oil up to 3 times a day. It is better to apply smaller amounts of beard oil more often than it is to use more beard oil in fewer applications.
As my beard has been growing longer and longer I find that using too much beard oil in one application means my hair just looks greasy and wet for longer. I have taken to applying the beard oil into steps one in the morning and then waiting a couple of hours before a second application.
I find that this gives me a much better and well-conditioned beard then if I was to put it all on in one go.
One of the most embarrassing moments of my beard growing time was when someone asked if my beard was wet. I sometimes still overdo the beard oil and when people start to comment on how shiny or wet my beard looks I have to remind myself to go easy on the beard oil. Normally this resolves itself within a couple of hours as the beard oil gets absorbed into the hair and skin. Still not a very good look!
If your beard is particularly long (Wizard length) you can consider putting on beard oil three times a day. With an emphasis on the morning application. If your beard is particularly long you may need to do a deep hydration treatment once every few weeks to keep your beard hairs from becoming too dry and scraggly.
The only time that you do not leave a beard oil in is if you are going for dehydration treatment where you put a lot of beard oil in and leave it for 20 minutes. Doing this deep hydration treatment is a process that you can use every couple of months. This is the process that I recommend you follow:
- Get a hot towel (as hot as you can stand) and wrap it around your face and beard – leave it for two to five minutes.
- Buy a good beard oil and use a thumb tip amount and liberally apply to every area on your beard – work it deep with your fingertips
- Use a wide-toothed comb to word the conditioner deep into your beard and to the surface of your skin.
- Place a shower cap over your beard and leave it for 20 minutes – this will ensure maximum absorption
- Rinse your beard with water and towel dry your beard
- Add 5 drops of beard oil to your palm and work it through your beard
- Follow up with a beard balm or butter if you want to
You can also apply beard oil to excess and leave it in your beard overnight by using a beard wrap which will keep the oil close to your skin and hair while you sleep. For a full run down on the best beard about sleeping check out my full comparison guide – click here. Even though it is a little bit of taboos to be using a beard wrap it doesn’t have to leave your bedroom! Your secret is safe with me.
Having a really long beard is a bit of a commitment. But as your hair gets longer you should spend more and more time looking after the health of your hair and skin and I guarantee that your beard will thank you for it and it will look better than ever.
Should I use beard oil every day?
There is no reason why you cannot use beard oil every single day. I like to recommend to beard growers that they should give their beard a day off every couple of months. And by a day off I mean you do not apply any products or heat for a full day to give your beard hair a little bit of a chance to relax. On the days off you can apply a sneaky bit of oil if that makes you feel better. The days off also give you an opportunity to know what your beard would look like if you were to let it go natural. It’s kind of like setting your default baseline.
If you are using beard oil every day other any ingredients which could harm you?
Is it safe to use beard oil every day?
Beard oil should only contain organic and natural ingredients which will not harm you. However, there are some ingredients that if you use them to excess can hurt your skin namely the essential oils. Essential oils have to be diluted down to be safe for your beard hair and skin.
Beard oils are made up from a carrier oil which is normally jojoba oil, Argan oil, or sweet almond oil and essential oils. The carrier oil will not harm your skin in any way and the essential oils should be diluted down so that they are safe to use every single day.
In short, yes it is safe to use beard oil every single day! I recommend that you apply beard oil in the morning after a hot shower every single day to keep your beard looking great.
How much beard or should I use?
As your beard gets longer you should be applying more and more beard oil.
In the early days of my beard growing adventure, I have committed a great sin…I used far too much beard oil! One of my colleagues actually asked me “is your beard wet?”. That was mildly embarrassing for me but nonetheless it reminds me daily about not using too much beard oil!
So, how much should you use?
The average beard requires about 6 drops of beard oil applied every day. That means that the average bottle will last you about 100 days or about three months.
This is a general rule of thumb for beard growers but there are a couple of environmental and growth factors that can change the amount you need to apply to your beard.
Dry climate
If you live in a particularly dry climate you need to use more beard oil. I have been living in Adelaide, South Australia for a few years now and it is one of the driest places to live! In the summer I have to apply a little bit more beard oil. I will often opt for a beard balm as I find that the shea butter hydrates my beard better in the dry climate.
If you don’t want to purchase or make beard balm for yourself an extra dose of beard oil is all you need. Just make sure that you rub it in completely and thoroughly. Getting to the skim and working it (gently) into the skin is how you can ensure that the beard oil will do good stuff!
Length of your beard
The longer your beard gets the more beard oil you need to use. Initially, you may only need one or two drops to cover your face and short stubble. As your beard grows, however, you will need more.
Use this table to estimate exactly how much beard oil you will need to use depending on the length of your beard:
| Length | Number of drops |
| Stubble | 1 – 2 |
| 4 weeks growth | 2 – 3 drops |
| 10 weeks growth | 3 – 4 drops |
| Off chin length | 5 – 6 drops |
| Wizard | Two applications of 4 drops |
If you have gotten to a wizard length beard you need to apply beard oil in two stages. First, you need to work towards the roots of the hair. Second, you need to rub beard oil into the ends of the hair.
Take the time to play about with the amount of beard oil that you need to use. You want enough so that over about one hour it absorbs into the beard with very little remaining. If you have some still on your beard after one hour consider reducing the amount that you apply to your beard.
Can you use too much beard oil?
Yes, you can use too much beard oil. But it doesn’t mean that your beard oil will hurt you it just makes your beard look oily and wet.
If you find that your beard oil is dripping off of your beard or your beard stays shiny and wet looking for more than a few hours I recommend backing off the amount of beard oil that you are using.
In the early days, like I talked about above, I used far too much beard oil which caused people to ask me if my beard was wet. What I find is best are 3 to 4 drops applied after my shower and before heat treatment and then one or two more dropped after I have blow dried or straightened my beard. This seems to be like the best application of beard oil that I have been able to develop.
After application of beard oil and is soaked in (it normally takes a couple of hours) I like to provide hold to my beard by using my DIY beard balm.
How long does beard oil take to work?
The last thing I want to cover in this article is how quickly you can expect beard oil to give your beard and awesome shine and nourished look.
There are some aspects of using beard oil that will give your beard and a lovely shine straightaway. As soon as you apply beard oil it should look more controlled and healthy.
However, it will take a few days (up to a week) for the full effects of beard oil to be apparent on your skin and beard. Its regular application which will provide the internal parts of your hair with enough nourishment to grow and look healthy. Stick with it and over the course of a couple of weeks you should see remarkable improvement in the quality and condition of your beard. Back up the application of beard oil with a good beard balm or conditioner and I guarantee that your beard will look better than ever.
Summary
Applying your beard oil every day is a fantastic way to look after your beard. As your beard gets longer you may want to apply more beard oil more often but stopping at the point where your beard looks continuously wet for more than two hours after application. If your beard gets particularly long I recommend that you smaller amounts applied more often rather than putting on too much in one go.
If you are going to apply beard oil just before bed I recommend that you weigh at least an hour before putting your head on the pillow to make sure the majority of the oil has been absorbed into your hair and skin stop otherwise is just a complete waste of money!
Beard oil is safe to use every day and 2 to 6 drops is all you need for beards of a medium length. This makes beard oil cost effective as well!
Happy beard growing and I hope your beard makes you as proud as possible to wear it out in public with pride!
