Is Vaseline good for beard growth? The insider facts!

Vaseline is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products. It is owned by the British-Dutch company Unilever. It is regularly used for skin conditions that are associated by tissue dehydration and smaller pots are used to protect against chapped lips and dryness of the lips. The question is: is Vaseline good for beard growth? You may have heard that some of the biggest issues to do with beards come from the beard becoming too dry. It stands to reason then that Vaseline could be good for beards and beard growth. In this article we are going to go over the details of whether Vaseline is good for a beard and beard growth – we are going to separate fact from fiction.

There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that Vaseline helps promote beard growth. It will protect your beard from dryness and therefore breakage and hair fall but it will not encourage your hair to grow at a rate faster than usual.

Vaseline doesn’t actually have any moisturising properties like creams and conditioners. It only provides a protective layer which is said to lock in moisture from showering and other moisturising products. So, what is Vaseline? Where does it come from? And hasn’t got any benefits for beard growth.

What is Vaseline?

Vaseline is a petroleum-based product and was discovered in 1859. A gentleman called Robert Chesebrough went into the oil fields of Pennsylvania and learned about a residue called “Rod wax” that had to be removed from oil rig pumps. The oil workers used to use this to their advantage and had been using it to heal cuts and burns. Robert took samples of this strange residue back to Brooklyn with him where he was able to extract usable petroleum jelly and therefore isolated the key component of a medicinal product that he called Vaseline.

The name Vaseline is said to come from the German word for water plus the Greek word for olive oil.

What petroleum which is the key ingredient in Vaseline is refined from petroleum which is just a fancy name for crude oil. Petroleum jelly is a semisolid mixture of hydrocarbons. This means that it is only made up of hydrogen and carbon. After petroleum jelly became a staple in peoples medicine chests consumers began to use it for all sorts of purposes. It is recognised by the FDA as an approved over-the-counter skin protectant and remains used in cosmetics skincare where it is referred to as mineral oil.

The key ingredient – petroleum jelly – has lubricating and coating properties. That is key in making it a valuable medicinal product. It can do things like:

  • lubricate – petroleum jelly can be used to reduce friction between skin and clothing during various sporting activities.
  • Preventing moisture loss – it acts like a barrier for water and moisture loss. It can prevent cracked hands and lips and also soften nail cuticles.

Although it may have all of these awesome properties the question remains – does it help beard growth?

Does Vaseline promote beard growth?

The growth rate of facial hair is about 1.25 cm per month (or about half an inch per month) which equates to about 15 cm or 6 inches per year. There is not much that you can do about changing the rate of your hair growth.

Putting Vaseline on your beard does not promote beard growth! There are some other ways that you can help promote beard growth and make sure that you have all of the right conditions for growth potential. And we will talk about those towards the end of this article.

Vaseline can actually help your beard in a couple of ways but it is not as a growth promoter. Vaseline can help lock in moisture and protect against dryness.

If it doesn’t help promote beard growth do you have to worry about any potential side effects of limiting or stopping facial hair growth? You don’t want to do anything to your beard that will hinder the growth and stop it from being as full and thick as it can be.

Does Vaseline stop facial hair growth?

No, Vaseline does not stop facial hair growth. Your facial hair will continue to grow as long as it has the right conditions, such as nutrients and energy, and you maintain your overall health. It may seem like putting an oil based product on the outside of your hair could potentially stop it from absorbing nutrients from beard conditioners etc, but put on in the right order it can help lock the nutrients in your hair.

There are not many downsides to using Vaseline on your beard but the biggest one is that it is relatively hard to get out of hair once it is in it. However, if you use only a little bit of it and you have a good beard shampoo you should be able to remove the majority of it in a single wash.

What other advantages are therefore using Vaseline in your beard?

Is Vaseline good for beard hair?

Even though Vaseline does not help support your hair growth a little bit of Vaseline (about the size of a pea) can help with things like beard dandruff and dry ends. If you put Vaseline into your beard hair about once a week and in small amounts it can help with any dryness issues that you are facing.

Just make sure that you wash out the Vaseline completely after you have applied it to your beard. Making sure that you work it completely to the base of the skin to the tips of the hairs.

Other people like to put Vaseline in their beard after shampooing and getting the beard wet to lock in the moisture throughout the day. Do not overdo it because your beard will end up looking very greasy and heavy.

Can you use Vaseline to style your beard?

There is no reason why you cannot use Vaseline to style your beard. However it can make your beard look heavy and very greasy if used in high quantities. In fact, in the first part of the 20th century Vaseline was also used as a hair gel and styler.

You can mix it in a 50-50 mixture with beeswax which will enable for a full strength and effective stronghold moustache and beard wax. Because the Vaseline can give you a very slick and shiny experience mixing with wax will give a much more texturised and matte finish.

If you’re thinking about using Vaseline to style your beard just be aware that there are now some better, water-based, products that are much easier to wash out.

Can you use Vaseline for an itchy beard?

Beard itch is something that attacks and bothers most beard growers at some point in their beard journey. For most men the itch lasted for up to 3 weeks before the beard became comfortable on their faces. Some men also report that they never have any significant beard itch and for others they have never gone past the three-week stage because it just is so itchy.

Yes, you can use Vaseline for an itchy beard because of its intense moisture lock in powers. You should use Vaseline after applying any moisture imparting products, such as a beard conditioner, in small amounts to lock in the moisture and stop it from escaping from your hair.

If you have a particularly itchy beard check out my other article – what is the best itchy beard home remedy? Our top eight – click here.

If you think that dryness is the main reason why your beard is itchy then Vaseline can be an important tool that will allow you to get over the itchiness. However, there are many more ways that you can reduce the itch such as:

  • exfoliating your face – if you use regular face exfoliation anything trapped again shall skin such as dead skin cells are removed.
  • Shave the beard lines – if you find that your beard is itchy under the neck region, where all the hair bunches up, you may want to shave up the beard lines.
  • Use jojoba oil – jojoba oil is the closest to the natural sebum on your face and it may help alleviate itchiness at the base of the beard.

Vaseline is so highly refined that some people say that it is better to use than other natural products. And it has the added benefit that it doesn’t clog pores so you can use as much of it as you want just make sure that it is getting to your skin and not getting stuck in their hair as you are applying it. The way you can do that is to apply it to the absolute ends of your fingertips and then usual fingertips in a clawlike fashion to massage every aspect of your skin underneath your beard.

Are there any proven ways to speed up your beard growth beyond vaseline?

So, you are probably looking for some ways to speed up your beard growth. One of the best ways to speed up your beard growth is – she looked after your body and health in general. This isn’t as easy as taking a pill or a supplement but it is a long-term investment in your health. By looking after your body you’ll be looking after your beard to. Here are some of the best ways that you can speed up the growth of your beard, naturally.

Eat the right foods

You are what you eat has never been so true. If you want a full rundown on the seven foods that increase beard growth check out my YouTube video which will run you through everything that is important about eating well to support beard growth.

here are the best foods that you should consider eating to support your beard growth:

  • Eggs – eggs contain a lot of protein and biotin. Biotin is a molecule which is commonly recommended for brittle hair. It is an essential part of producing keratin which is a protein that will make your beard hair full and strong.
  • Berries, citrus and other fruits – vitamin C is a strong antioxidant and can be found in berries, oranges, kiwifruit’s, lemons, and many more fruits. Vitamin C helps protect the hair follicles against damage from free radicals in the body.
  • Spinach and kale – spinach and kale also contains vitamin C but also has vitamin A which helps the glands on the face produce sebum. Sebum is the natural oil that is produced by your face to keep your hair well conditioned.
  • Fatty fish – some types of fish contain a huge amount of omega three fatty acids and that has been shown to promote hair growth. They also contain a huge amount of protein.
  • Avocados – avocados are a wonderful source of healthy fats. They contain vitamin E and vitamin A which both combat oxidative stress in the body. One study resulted in people with hair loss seeing a 34.5% more growth after taking vitamin E for eight months.
  • Nuts and seeds – nuts and seeds are one of the best little packets of beard growing power. They contain a massive density of beard growing molecules and almonds are some of the best you can eat for your beard closely followed by sunflower, chia and flaxseeds. They are super easy to mix into most of your meals.
  • Meat – red meat is a fantastic source of protein for your beard. It also contains iron and other vitamins that will help make your bed stronger and thicker.

Eliminate alcohol

Everyone now knows that smoking and alcohol are bad for your health. But did you know that they can significantly impact your testosterone levels which also means your beard growing capacity.

In general, excessive alcohol consumption decreases testosterone. Excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse are associated with decreased testosterone levels. Some specific ways that alcohol affects testosterone levels include:

Alcohol damages the cells in the testicles which produce testosterone.

Drinking alcohol results in the release of certain pleasure chemicals. While these feel awesome and can produce pleasant and relaxing feelings, they can also interfere with testosterone synthesis.

Alcohol can increase a stress hormone, called cortisol, which is known to decrease testosterone synthesis.

Alcohol may increase the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in the body.

Taking good care of yourself is a very important part of how to grow a beard naturally at home. Should you want to supplement an already healthy lifestyle with natural vitamins Here’s what you could consider using.

Look after your health

No one likes to be told they need to do more exercise and sleep for a full eight hours a night. But that is exactly what your beard needs to grow as thick and healthy as possible. There are a number of really awesome ways that you can stay healthy and as fit as possible here are a couple of little tricks that you can use:

  • eat the fruit and don’t drink juice – Juicing fruits causes them to you lose a lot of nutrition. Eating the fruit also comes with the benefit of consuming a lot of fibre and potassium too. It will also restrict and reduce the amount of sugar that you are consuming.
  • Never skip breakfast – having breakfast in the morning jumpstart your metabolism and studies have shown that adults who have a healthy breakfast do better at work and life in general.
  • Drink plenty of water – drinking water can do so many awesome things for your health. Firstly staying hydrated allows the free flow of nutrients and minerals to all the important parts of your face including the hair route.
  • Do micro exercises – if you need to take a break from the computer screen or walk don’t just get up to the coffee machine take a good break and walk for about 30 minutes. You can do this as often as you want.
  • Sleep well – there are so many great effects of a good nights sleep that not only will your beard look great but you will feel great too. A good night sleep helps keep you better focused, improves your mood, and helps you learn new things. Aim to get between 7 to 9 hours a night and do not build up a huge sleep debt.

Looking after your health is a simple and effective way of making sure your beard is growing at a good rate and you are not lacking any important components for beard growth.

Conclusion

So, Vaseline does not help speed up any of your beard growth but we have covered some things that do work.

That doesn’t mean that Vaseline is not in some way beneficial for your beard. It can be used in small amount to protect your beard against drying out. The best way to use Vaseline is as a product that locks in the moisturising products that you put on. One of the worst things about Vaseline is that it is incredibly greasy and can stay in your hair for long periods of time. If you want to use Vaseline as a styling product then you should consider buying a water based version of your favourite styling brand instead of Vaseline so that it’s easier to wash out with normal shampoo.

Vaseline is such a highly purified product that it will not damage your beard in any way. If you want to try it for yourself go ahead and report back!

The Author


Andy Stapleton

Andy is a writer and YouTuber with a PhD in science. He has written and/or produced videos for Science Alert, COSMOS magazine, and Australia's Science Channel among others. He is an avid beard grower and after many years of growing and trialling different beard styles, he started this blog to share the tips, tricks, and science that he has learned along the way!