What are the benefits of Beard Oil and Balm?
Let’s hear it from the experts:
Table of Contents
- Hair health
- Styling
- Scent
- From stubble to full beards, beard oil is a must for a healthy, strong beard
- Beard oil is designed to penetrate deeply into the skin, thus nourishing the skin as well as the hair shaft
- Beard balm, in contrast to the oil, is much more about styling your beard
- First of all, it makes the beard looks better and easy to take care of
- Other than benefits to the hair itself, the oil and the balm also helps the skin
- It helps avoid “Beardruff”
- Taming
- Itch
- Beard Oil and Beard Balms are essential to soften facial hair and promote optimal beard health
- A high-quality beard oil won’t just make your beard shine, it should also be lightweight
- Beard balm is used for styling and taming stray hair
- Oils are a great light-weight option to soften and manage even the coarsest beards
The benefits of beard oil and beard balm can be anything from keeping the 5 o’clock shadow a bit less scratchy to helping the big bearded fellow protected as he rides his Harley off into the sunset, beard flapping in the wind.
Hair health
Depending on the specific ingredients and essential oils used in the product, we have seen reduced dandruff, less itchiness, training unruly beards into manageable and healthy facial hair, all while noticing the natural oils around the beard start to balance out.
Styling
With our beard balm, customers have said it has helped them reduce the number of split ends and provided them protection against the harsh elements. It also helps them with daily shaping and styling, as beard balm should have a slight amount of hold.
Scent
On the scent side of things, it can range from the essential oils themselves, the feeling you get stepping out of the shower and putting on a scent that when you close your eyes can transport you somewhere nostalgic.
Chad Beightol

Founder, The Man Shop, Consigliere
If a guy doesn’t have to shave, he won’t. One of the upsides of the casualization of the workplace and more remote work is that men have more latitude with their clothing and grooming than they used to. Because of this, guys are really into facial hair, including beards. But beards need help and here’s why:
- Things get caught in the beard – dead skin cells, food crumbs, environmental pollution, toothpaste.
- Beards can get really dry. The skin’s sebum has to travel further to keep facial hair moisturized. Generally, the longer the beard, the more likely the beard is to be dry.
- The hair on the head needs styling, so do beards.
- Beards don’t always grow in evenly, sometimes they are patchy and some areas grow thicker than others.
- The single biggest complaint is the beard itch, usually caused by dry skin and irritated skin.
Beard oils and balms are designed to help with these things. They’re great at:
- Adding moisture and hydration back into the skin and beard hair.
- Aiding in styling the beard so that it doesn’t look super frizzy.
- Softening the beard and mustache hair. This benefits everyone, including significant others.
However, please note that they won’t make a beard grow where it won’t naturally grow, i.e. if there aren’t hair follicles, it can’t help with that, contrary to many brands’ claims.
When searching for a beard oil or balm, you’ll want to look for low-comedogenic oils that don’t clog the pores, examples include Jojoba, Squalane, Argan, and Grapeseed oil.
It’s important to know that oils and balms are just one step in beard maintenance- keeping the beard clean requires washing the beard and face daily and using a brush or comb to keep it fresh.
From stubble to full beards, beard oil is a must for a healthy, strong beard
Beard oil is a great conditioner for facial hair and the skin beneath it and helps prevent itchy beards and beard dandruff (yes it’s a real thing). Beard balm is great for those with longer beards that need to keep it in check and prevent flyaways and stray hairs. Think of beard balm as a pomade for your beard. It conditions and keeps it shapely all day long.
Gabrielle Desmarais

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner | Founder, Forever Green Healing
Beard oil and beard balm are essential to the health of your beard. Just like how women will use leave-in conditioners or other hair products to keep their hair healthy, the same concept applies to a man’s facial hair. I will outline the benefits of both below.
Beard oil is much more related to the health of your beard specifically, whereas beard balm or conditioner is more cosmetic.
Beard oil is designed to penetrate deeply into the skin, thus nourishing the skin as well as the hair shaft
Keeping the skin moisturized is what will prevent you from getting an itchy beard, particularly when you first begin to grow it out. Another benefit of beard oil is that it can help relax the hair follicle and make it more manageable through keeping your facial hair adequately moisturized.
Beard oil will also provide an attractive and well-groomed sheen to your beard. Opt for beard oils that use high quality, natural oils as they will provide more nutrients to maintain the health of your skin and facial hair.
Essential oils are also a better choice in terms of scent because they provide their own benefits to the hair. Fragrance oils can be irritating to the skin, especially if you are sensitive.
Beard balm, in contrast to the oil, is much more about styling your beard
The main difference is that beard balm contains more butter/wax type ingredients that are sticky in nature. This stickiness is what causes all your beard hairs to stay in place when you style it.
Beard balm gives you that perfectly well-manicured look without all the effort! There are still benefits to the health of your hair in using it, as the butter and oils in the balm are nourishing to the hair follicle and skin to a lesser extent.
The same quality parameters in searching for a beard oil also apply to the balm. Opting for balms with all-natural ingredients like beeswax and shea butter will be a better choice.
Overall, there are significant benefits to both beard oil and beard balm; it would behoove you to use both if you have a beard.
A great regimen is to apply beard oil in the evenings, coming it through your beard and allowing it to sink in all night long. Then in the morning, you can style your beard as usual with beard balm to provide all-day hold as well as light moisturizing benefits.
A lot of people men or women may question, why do you need beard oil or balm? Doesn’t it sounds too much of a hassle and do men really need beard oil? It’s just a beard!
Well, like the hair on your head, needs trimming, shampoo, color, conditioner and all those things that I don’t list here. So does the hair on your face! It might not need as much care as the hair on the top. But there are definitely a few things that you should do to take care of it.
In Islam, one of the Prophet Muhammad’s sunnah is oiling his beard. Other than Muslims, there are other races and religion emphasized good care of the beard and is also one of pride in some men in some cultures.
First of all, it makes the beard looks better and easy to take care of
Oil or balm gives moisture to the hair and makes them easier to trim, to comb and looks even more appealing. Especially if you stay in a cold or dry climate. These products will help your beard to look healthy throughout the season.
Other than benefits to the hair itself, the oil and the balm also helps the skin
A lot of beard oil or balm contains essential oils like tea tree which is good for your skin. It helps reduce acne and smells good!
It helps avoid “Beardruff”
We all know how embarrassing dandruff can be, but not enough people know that beard dandruff, or “beardruff”, is also treatable. One of the best ways to treat flaky skin on your chin is to use a high-quality balm, or oil, for your beard.
Because your skin tends to lose its oil more quickly as your beard grows out, it is important to frequently moisturize it. Many beard products contain natural oils that can stop your beard from drying out, and therefore prevent dandruff.
Taming
It’s hard to grow thick facial hair, and there’s always that awkward stage in between when your beard isn’t rugged stubble, but it also isn’t full and manly. That’s where beard oil comes in to add volume and shape to your beard.
The main benefit of beard oil is to tame your facial hair and sculpt it so that you achieve the caveman look without looking like an actual caveman.
Itch
Beard oil contains soothing and nourishing ingredients that relieve the itching that often comes with beard growth. This irritation can cause inflammation and dryness which is remedied through the use of beard oils or balms.
If this is your primary reason for use, it’s important to become familiar with ingredient labels to know exactly what’s going to help. Anti-inflammatory and soothing natural ingredients like honey, castor oil, and vitamin E oil are clues that your beard oil will reduce the itch and increase hydration.
Beard Oil and Beard Balms are essential to soften facial hair and promote optimal beard health
Many oils and balms have the benefit of fragrant scents that have similar attractive qualities to colognes. A good, natural beard oil or balm will help to cultivate a soft, shiny, healthy beard, that looks great and isn’t itchy. Oils and beard balms are crucial for taming unruly beards, especially as your beard gets longer.
Look for a beard oil or balm that is handmade with the finest ingredients and essential oils. Avoid oils and balms that contain harmful artificial chemicals that can damage your facial hair and skin.
A high-quality beard oil won’t just make your beard shine, it should also be lightweight
This will allow it to not sit heavily in the beard or make the beard feel greasy. It should also be free of alcohols, silicons, and other ingredients that will cause the oil to simply coat the beard hair. You want the oil to penetrate the hair to truly nourish not only the beard but the skin underneath as well.
Beard balm is used for styling and taming stray hair
For a Beard Balm, it depends on the kind of effect a person is going for. There are tons of different balms on the market nowadays. The most common is a Styling Balm.
This should give a matte to medium finish and tame stray hairs. It should be lightweight as to not weigh the beard down, and ideally would be water-soluble to rinse easily out of the beard.
You’ll also want to look for natural ingredients such as beeswax to give a natural hold and not gunk up the beard with unnecessary additives.
A Utility Balm is another kind of balm seen on the market now. This is similar to a Beard Oil in that it will nourish and condition the beard and skin underneath. It will have a minimal hold, but will still tame flyaway beard hairs in a pinch.
Oils are a great light-weight option to soften and manage even the coarsest beards
Beard oils can be used to grow out the hair if it includes Jamaican Black Castor Oil. Although it has great growth benefits, it quite heavy and leaves a very sticky residue that can be very uncomfortable for you and your partner.
I’ve listened to many men complain that it also ruins their clothes if they do not let it completely dry before getting dressed.
Beard oils without the JBCO are incredibly lightweight and allow the hairs to be malleable and easily groomed into shape, they also absorb quickly and do not leave an annoying residue. This type of oil is great for men who do not need help growing out their beards.
Whether you have stubble or a full beard, with regular use, beard oil or balm can help soften coarse facial hair, reduce irritation and keep the hair and skin underneath looking healthy.
By frequently massaging a beard oil or balm into your beard, you’ll stimulate the hair follicles and promote a ‘healthy environment’. This means that your skin and hair are moisturized, split ends are reduced, and ultimately, the hair is encouraged to grow.