As you grow your beard, you may notice that it becomes frizzy. It is hard to work out exactly what is causing this frizzy appearance. Many different types of frizzy can happen in your beard. There are also terms including kinky, crimped, wiry, woolly – all of these have been used to describe hard to manage and unruly beard hair.
Taming a frizzy beard relies on tackling dryness, even hair length, and hair breakage and getting into the frizzy appearance’s root cause. Taming your beard with scissors and regularly including a nourishing treatment in your beard routine is the number one way to tackle the wild frizzy beard.
Healthy hair is defined by science as shiny hair with a smooth texture and clean-cut or tapered ends. Sometimes your beard can be the opposite of each of these.
Tackling a frizzy beard means that you have to understand the root cause of your wild and frizzy beard.
This article will go over the simple fixes for all of the reasons your beard may be frizzy and look at the best solutions for making your beard look awesome.
Tackle the root causes
The first step in tackling your frizz is to note when your beard is frizzy and when it is less frizzy.
This observation will give you the first indication of whether or not you need a lifestyle change or you can rely on products to make your beard look better.
In this section, we will have a look at some of the most common causes of a frizzy beard and the simple actions you can take to combat their effects.
Sometimes it’s as easy as buying a new product, whereas other times, you will have to build a new skill or undo a habit you have acquired along your beard growing journey – not easy but not impossible.
Is there an activity that dries out your beard?
The first place I would look at to tackle frizzy beards is to try and discover when your beard is the driest.
When is your beard the most frizzy?
If you are serious about getting your beard looking great you should consider starting a beard diary and keeping it for about two weeks. All you have to do is record what you do during the day and how your beard looks at the end of the day.
Making sure that your beard is not put through some hard-core stress throughout the day is the number one way to stop your beard from looking frizzy.
For example, your workplace may have air-conditioning blasting all day. Or, you may be working outside in harsh UV sunrays and exposing your beard to the elements. Whatever it is, you need to protect your beard from it.
Protect your beard from activities
There are a couple of options to protect your beard while doing activities. The first one is to be proactive and use a small amount of sunscreen or UV product on your beard. This will protect your beard while you are out in the elements. Also, it would help if you protected your beard by having a solid beard routine that involves a good beard oil, butter, or conditioner before you head out. You need to do this every day if your activity is particularly stressful for your beard.
Secondly, you should consider covering your beard with a beard sling/wrap if you work in particularly dusty, dry, or intense environments. Check out my other article – the best beard wrap the sleeping – click here for the full article.
This article will give you an insight into the sorts of beard wraps available, and you don’t have to use them for sleeping.
You can use them out in the real world too!
Dryness
Dryness is the number one thing that will stop your beard from looking as healthy as possible. There are plenty of ways to dry out your beard – the most obvious and most commonly used is using heat treatment such as a hairdryer or beard straightener on your hair.
A dry beard looks rough, dull, and is wiry and frizzy.
Tackling a dry beard
The best ways to stop your beard from looking dry are to:
- Lock in the moisture – giving the moisture in your hair will be the number one thing you can do to make your hair not as dry. You must use products to keep the moisture in your beard if you are a fan of using a hair straightener. I recently found that if I apply oil during blow drying, my hair ends up much less frizzy than if I was to put my Beard oil on after the heat treatment.
- Use a Beard conditioner – later on, in the article, we will discover some other products useful for keeping a Beard moisturised, but a Beard conditioner (not a Beard balm or butter – but a dedicated beard conditioner) is an incredible product. Using a conditioner as part of your daily routine will certainly help reduce the frizzy look of your beard.
- Don’t shampoo every day – sometimes we get overzealous with our Beard maintenance and can easily overdo something. Shampoo can very quickly dry out your beard and cause it to become frizzy. I recommend shampooing your beard with a dedicated beard shampoo every three days to avoid drying it out by stripping it of its natural oils.
Working out the best products to keep your beard looking smooth and shiny will be a trial and error situation.
I am slowly working on the best combination of products for my beard, and I have been growing it for several years.
I enjoy the challenge and like the scientific nature of changing something and observing its effects on my beard.
Uneven hair length
Another thing that can make a beard look frizzy is not its condition but rather the uneven hair length of the hairs in the beard.
Sometimes I notice that my beard is particularly frizzy as I get closer to my regular trim.
This frizziness is because some of the hairs have grown longer than the others (or I have missed them during some trimming sessions), which means they protrude more than the others. Because they protrude from the mainline I beard, it gives my beard this fluffy/frizzy look.
Tackling uneven hair length
Tackling an uneven hair length is surprisingly easy, but you can overdo it to the point where you lose the beard’s shape and style. If you want some inspiration on how to trim up your beard at home, check out my YouTube video below.
I recommend trimming up your beard every couple of weeks to stop it from looking frizzy.
Trimming gives your beard enough time to grow whilst also exposing the areas that need more attention. Investing in a pair of scissors and great quality, corded beard trimmer will be one of the best investments for your beard’s ongoing styling.
Are you combing when wet?
Another issue that I think bearded men tackle every day is hair fall and breakage. Week hair can very easily be broken during brushing and grooming. I have noticed a significant reduction in hair breakage since I have been nourishing my hair with beard farm and using a dedicated beard shampoo.
However, no matter how well-nourished and conditioned your beard is, you need to pay extra attention to it when it is wet.
It is well known that hair is porous – and damaged hair is more porous than healthy hair. Water absorption causes the hair shaft to swell, and the weight of the hair increases by anywhere between 12 to 18%. Wetting your beard and drying your beard is a basic hair styling technique, but you have to be aware that wet hair has higher combing friction and dry hair stop.
This means that wet hair is far more likely to break if you already have an underlying issue with brittle hair.
When wet, hair can be stretched by up to 30% of its original length without damage. However, irreversible changes happen when the beard hair is stretched between 30 and 70%.
Anything over 80% stretch causes a fracture and death or breakage of the hair shaft.
Simply understanding these numbers means that you will be extra careful when grooming your hair when it is wet. Go easy, do not pull through snacks, and use a machined comb without sharp edges to minimise the amount of stress that you’re placing on your hair to cause stretching and breaking.
What is really causing the fizziness?
Lastly, if you do not relate to any of these, you should pay extra attention to the root cause of your frizzy beard.
It is easy to reach for a product in the hope that it will fix your beard but getting to know your routine and how your beard reacts to your daily life will tackle the problem at the root cause instead of simply covering up the issue with more products.
Here are some of the best products that you can use that can help solve your frizzy beard problem – quickly.
Products that can help a frizzy beard
Embracing the number of beard products available will help you tackle your frizzy beard.
A pair of scissors
I am in no doubt that tackling a frizzy beard sometimes requires a good pair of scissors to cut off the offending hairs.
I think that for most people trimming up your beard, or getting it done by a professional, will be the number one thing that will stop you from getting a frizzy beard.
Investing in a sharp pair of scissors that will accurately cut the hair instead of breaking it will mean that your hair remains in tip-top form irrespective of how often you decide to trim it.
The usual scissors brush your beard with a fine-tooth comb and remove any of the hairs that escape your beard’s maximum density. I do this regularly, and as long as you are not removing the main bulk of your hair, I have found that this is an effective way of combating a frizzy beard.
A trimmer
The second product which will help keep your beard frizzy free is a good quality beard trimmer. There are whole blogs dedicated to beard trimmers, and I recommend that you read my other articles:
- Best beard trimmer for sensitive skin
- best beard trimmer for detailing
- best beard trimmer for that course hair
- best beard trimmer for a close shave
I go through the best beard trimmers for different beard types in these articles.
You’ll be able to choose a trimmer that is best for you, and they can be found at relatively inexpensive price points for good quality and powerful beard trimmers that will easily cut through your fuzzy beard edges.
Beard oil
Beard oil is fantastic for locking in moisture before heat treatment and using it throughout the day to impart some moisture and conditioning to your beard.
Unlike other beard products, beard oil does not contain any wax to provide any hold. If your beard is relatively short, your beard will only need one or two drops of beard oil, and it becomes an incredibly cost-effective way to stop your beard from being frizzy.
I like to add 3 to 4 drops daily to impart some awesome beard oil benefits to my beard, even on a long beard. I then back this up with a DIY beard farm which I have made and perfected the ingredients over the past few years.
Beard conditioner
It can be confusing with beard oils, butters, balms and waxes. Why would you need a product that specifically conditions the beard? Unlike other products that also provide styling and hold components – beard conditioners are formulated for maximum nourishment for your beard.
Here are some of the best reasons that you should consider using a dedicated beard conditioner:
- It nourishes and moisturises the beard – one of the biggest benefits to your beard – it makes it lovely and soft and will make your wirey hair much easier to manage.
- It softens the stubble on the face – If you are not one for growing a long beard but prefer to keep it close to the skin, it’ll help soften the ends of the hairs and make it way less spikey!
- Imparts a healthy shine – A well-conditioned beard is one with a nice healthy shine to it. If you want to find out more tips and tricks to making your beard shine – check out my other article.
- It makes combing and styling easier – having hair that doesn’t grip the comb and sits well after it is brushed into place is achievable if you use a beard conditioner regularly.
- It reduces irritation and dry skin – the skin under a beard is not easy to look after. However, the regular use of a conditioner will leave the skin nourished and irritation-free. If you are worried about bacteria and a smelly beard, you can also use a beard conditioner with essential oil with antibacterial properties.
- They leave a nice fragrance The last, and maybe one of the strongest effects noticed by others, is that a good beard conditioner will leave your beard smelling lovely! Choose a beard conditioner that has a smell that you like and if you have a significant other, make sure that they also like the smell! There is nothing quite like a lovely smelling product!
So, there are the main benefits of using beard conditioner on your beard, but each one relates to cutting down on the frizzy nature of your beard.
Beard butter
Beard butter is an incredible product that contains natural butter that can hydrate, condition, and repair your beard hair. Beard butter is fantastic for your hair, but it also really helps the skin under your beard and will create a softness, smell, and cut down the frizzy notes, which will make people envious of your beard.
Beard butter is made from shea butter or other organic butter, which you can use after showering in the morning and as a leave-in conditioner.
Apply a thumbnail-sized amount to your palms and distribute evenly through your beard to get the maximum benefit for your beard.
Beard balm
Beard balm is a fantastic product because it is like beard butter and contains a good portion of beeswax which will help cut down the frizzy nature of your beard by literally holding it in place.
I genuinely think that most style is due to the trimming and cutting of your beard hair, but the extra 10% that separates good beards from bad beards comes down to the products you use.
Using a beard balm is that extra boost your beard needs to stay in place and become less frizzy.
A beard straightener – use with caution
Lastly, I recommend that you invest in a straightener, but you should use it with caution. Beard straighteners are a fantastic way to quickly tuck in hairs and maintain your beard shape so that it does not look frizzy.
With all this power comes great responsibility – you don’t want to use it too much. Otherwise, you will be causing the problem you bought your beard straightener to solve. That is, drying out your beard.
Use a straightener wisely, and it could be that little extra boost your beard needs to look congruent and not frizzy around the edges.
Summary
Taming a frizzy beard relies on you looking at the foundational reasons why your beard is frizzy in the first place. You can try to solve this problem with products, but you will be tackling the symptoms rather than the root cause of your issues.
After discovering the root causes of your frizzy beard, you should consider using a combination of products to combat your frizzy edges and lines. Trimming them up with a good pair of scissors and a well-manufactured beard trimmer should be the first port of call, but adding the pizzazz to your beard will rely on using beard products to boost it up to the next level beard.
Good luck with your beard growing, and I hope you can tame your frizzy beard with ease after reading this article!
