Beard balm...is it for you?

If you have a beard, you’ve probably heard of beard balm and probably use it alongside beard oil. While beard balm shares some similarities with beard oil, the main difference is that balm conditions and softens the hair and beard, as well as adding styling as a sort of ‘beard gel’. With so many products on the market, how do you choose the right balm?

Some important things to think about when deciding which beard product to use;

- The style of beard (stubble, short, medium or long)
- Your skin type
- The environment in which you live every day
- The result you hope to achieve with regard to shape and finish

The first piece of advice; choose a balm with a formula that does not become shiny and greasy. Many balms have a lot of heavy waxes and butters, which remain greasy for too long and do not absorb well. Many beard balms use beeswax, mainly as a heavy styling agent, which keeps the hair covered and therefore waterproof. However, these types of balms dry out hair and skin in the long run. This does not mean that these types of balms are bad for you, it is just something to keep in mind.

The ingredient lists for beard balms follow a similar pattern. Most contain beeswax, shea butter, a few carrier oils (jojoba, argan, sweet almond), and then fragrance or essential oils.

If you want something different, thenThe Groomed Man vegan beard balms might be more your thing. They contain floraspheres, among other things, which you will only find in The Groomed Man beard balms. Floraspheres are small balls with a natural wax coating that contain vitamin E and jojoba esters. They dissolve on contact when distributed over skin and hair, leaving no sticky residue. They also contain Ucuuba butter; this unique butter, originating from South and Central America, has multiple uses and benefits and is also not used in other beard balms on the market. This highly anti-inflammatory and antiseptic ingredient is rich in lauric acid, myristic acid and palmitic acid, vitamin A, vitamin C and unsaturated fatty acids. This makes it ideal for protecting hair from damage while treating dry, irritated or problematic skin!

When deciding which beard balm to choose, you’ll need to decide whether you want to go more of a styling balm or a conditioning balm. A styling balm uses heavier waxes (like beeswax) to act more like a hair styling product, while a conditioning balm provides a medium hold with a focus on softening and moisturizing the hair and skin.

Beard balm is a great product for the bearded man, but as you now know, there are quite a few differences between the different beard balms. So... which balm do you choose?