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If you’re here, reading this, it means that you’re in the process of growing a beard or you already grew it and found out that it takes a lot of care to make it right.
You see, you cannot just decide that you’ll grow your beard and look awesome, not.so.fast. It takes plenty of patience, time and continuous care to look like those models that gave you the idea in the first place. However, once you have it, and master the process of care, you’ll see it was all worth it.
Before continuing to our little DIY beeswax beard balm, let’s clear a few things out of the picture.
What Is Beard Balm and Why You Should Use It
Beard Balm is a product that acts as a leave-in conditioner. You apply it on dry after washing your beard, and you should notice an immediate change.
Beard balm helps to moisturize and soften your beard. It also helps your beard look shiny and taken care of. It can be used to help keep your beard hair in one place and make your beard look tidy.
Ingredients in Beard Balm
Most store-bought beard balms contain plant butters such as shea butter for softening and moisturizing, plant oils such as sweet almond oil for conditioning and enhancing hair growth, and a protectant such as beeswax or lanolin for sealing in moisture and providing hold. These ingredients are aimed at facilitating proper beard grooming and when naturally based, should not have adverse side effects on your skin or beard.
Many conventional beard balms will contain synthetic fragrances rather than scents from natural essential oils. Synthetic fragrance oils often contain toxic chemicals that can irritate your skin. Also if your beard balm contains alcohol, it can make your beard more dry and brittle.
Another ingredient seen in beard balms is silicones, these are meant to give the feel of a moisturizing ingredient such as shea butter, but they are not nourishing at all. Silicones lack the vitamins and antioxidants that plant-based ingredients will contain.
A good beard balm will contain both natural sealants such as beeswax, along with moisturizing plant oils such as jojoba or argan oil. Without the moisturizers, the sealants would just seal in dryness and make your beard more prone to breakage. That is why DIY is so great because you know exactly what is going on your skin and facial hair.
Later in this post, you will find a simple recipe to make beard balm at home, without the use of unknown, harmful ingredients.
Where to Source Essential Oils
I recommend purchasing essential oils from a reputable dealer that specializes in high-quality essential oils. My top choice is Rocky Mountain Oils.
How to use Beard Balm
Now that you know the Why, it’s time to discuss the How. Let’s assume that you took a shower, washed your beard, used a good-quality shampoo and conditioner for it, and now what? Now it’s time to air dry it (or blow dry if you’re running late) and apply the leave-in beard balm and style it as you wish.
You have the option to use beard balm every time you wash your beard or whenever you want it styled more than usual.
PRO TIP:
Do not use a lot because it will make your beard greasy and weigh it down too much. Just take a small quantity to start with, and increase by need.
If applied correctly and regularly, beard balm will keep your beard healthy, strong and shiny and help you grow it full and long as you’ve always wanted.
Beard Balm Vs. Beard Oil
Now that you know what beard balm is and how to use it, it’s time to see the difference between that and beard oil. This is essential to picking the right products for growing your thick and full beard.
Beard Oil
Beard oil is used as a moisturizer to soften the beard and the skin underneath it. It reduces itching and flaking and helps create the conditions for healthy beard growth.
In addition to softening and moisturizing, beard oil also acts as a deodorizer and cologne, as they are often heavily scented.
Read the ingredients when buying, or make one of your own at home because many products use synthetic fragrances that can irritate your skin.
[Read: How to Make Your Own Beard Oil]
Beard Balm
Beard balms also soften and moisturize your facial hair, with the addition of being a styling and shaping aid. Beard balms can also help make your beard look thicker.
DIY Simple Beard Balm Recipe
To get about 2 to 3oz of beard balm you will need:
- 1 tablespoon of beeswax
- 1.5 teaspoon of shea butter
- 1 teaspoon of sweet almond oil
- 1 teaspoon of argan oil
- 4 drops of tea tree oil
HOW TO:
Place the beeswax and butter in a pot and start warming them up until they melt. Keep them on low because if they start boiling, you will burn them and make them unusable. So boiling is a big no-no. Keep on stirring until it’s all melted and homogeneous.
Once you get the solid ingredients melted, take the pot away from heat and add your preferred carrier oils and essential oils and stir until everything gets evenly distributed. Make sure that your mix isn’t solid when you add your oils.
When done with mixing pour the liquid mix into tins or a plastic container that you know won’t melt. Leave it overnight to thicken, and in the morning you have your very own, natural, beard balm.
DIY Beard Balm Recipe without Shea Butter
For those of you looking for a shea butter free recipe.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon lanolin moisturizer (I like Weleda Skin Food)
- 2 tablespoons beeswax
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 2 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 1 drop lemon essential oil
- 1 drop geranium essential oil
This recipe makes about 1.75 ounces.
HOW TO:
Like the above recipe, put the beeswax and coconut oil into a pot or double boiler and melt on low heat. Add the lanolin moisturizer and mix until blended.
Remove from heat and add the grapeseed oil and essential oils. Mix everything together and then pour into your preferred container.
Let cool overnight and then your beard balm is ready!
A DIY Beard Balm Vid
Other Carrier Oils you can use in Beard Balm:
- Sweet almond oil
- Avocado oil
- Argan oil
- Black Cumin seed oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Hazelnut oil
- Hemp seed oil
- Jojoba oil
- Macadamia nut oil
- Mango oil
- Olive oil
- Papaya Seed Oil
- Watermelon seed oil
Essential Oils you can use in Beard Balm:
- Tea Tree
- Bergamot
- Cedarwood
- Spruce
- Fir
- Pine
- Eucalyptus
- Rosemary
- Clary Sage
- Sandalwood
[Read: The Best Essential Oils for Men]
Conclusion
We hope you liked this article! As you can see, making your own beard balm isn’t difficult and requires little skill. You can customize the scent and the ingredients to suit your skin type and individual preferences.
How do you use beard balm? If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below so that everyone can benefit from our answers. And make sure to share this article with your bearded friends!
To Your Stylish Beard,
Monika
I always wanted to make my own beard balm and this one seems like an easy.
By the way I am a total beginner and in future I want to change tree oil with some other oil like Euculyptus. Can I do that? Or if I can’t can you recommend me one?
Hi Furkan, you can for sure swap out tea tree oil with eucalyptus oil. We have a whole article about essential oils for men you can check out for more essential oil ideas.
My boyfriend has the most excellent beard ever! He buys so many different beard balms and they all work great. He particularly likes the ones that smell like leather which is weird but funny.
I was curious about your article because it would be cool to make him one from me for his birthday coming up. Thanks for providing all this info and hopefully I make a good one!
That sounds like a wonderful birthday gift Traci! Let us know how it turns out 🙂
If you’re looking to make your own homemade, Marvelous VIP Beard Oil, Heavenly Beard Oil is one of the best carriers that you can choose. Thanks for sharing this article.