While we may spend time nourishing and treating our scalp and hair, we cannot overlook that facial hair needs to be taken care of as well. Whether you have a long, thick beard, or a short trim mustache, ensuring your facial hair is hydrated will help to enhance its overall look and feel.
Beard oils are a product that can be used to not only nourish your facial hair, but as a way to further moisturize the skin around your beard as well. The oils work to strengthen and tame your beard hairs, while also providing a healthy sheen and darkened color to its general appearance.
How can you find the best beard oil for your needs? When looking for a beard oil to incorporate into your routine, you want to take into account your beard hair type and length, as well as you skin type and what ingredients are being used in the oil. Based on the texture and length of your beard, some oil extracts will work better to suit your needs.
Below we discuss what to look for in a beard oil, how to darken your beard, and provide a product guide of the best beard oils for every hair type!
What To Look For In Beard Oils – Buyer’s Guide
When looking to add a beard oil into your grooming routine, there are a few elements you want to consider in order to find the best product for your needs.
Beard oils can be paired with other hair and skin care products to keep your beard looking tidy, healthy, and well-groomed. Below are a few factors to keep in mind when looking for a new beard oil!
Hair Texture
Based on the texture and thickness of your beard hair, it will determine the type of oil that works best for you. The thickness and texture of facial hair is different for each person, and some beards respond better to certain types of oils over the other.
Beard hair can range from thin and sparse, to thick and coarse, and will require specific products to address the varying types accordingly.
Thinner beards work best with lighter oils, as the oil can absorb quickly into the hair without needing to work harder to provide the needed moisture. Coarse beard hair will require a thicker oil, as the product needs to penetrate deeply into the hair shaft in order to deliver adequate hydration to nourish the hair.
If your beard hair is more sparse, a thinner oil is ideal as it does not need to coat as much hair. Beard hair that is thicker will benefit from a richer oil as it will be able to coat all of the hair thoroughly.
Beard Length
Just like the beard texture, the length of your beard hair also comes into consideration when finding the products that work best.
The hair length of your beard will determine how much product, especially an oil, will be needed to adequately hydrate the hair. Medium to long beards will need at least twice the amount of product than a shorter beard or goatee.
Taking the beard length and the texture of the hair into account when looking for a beard oil will help to find which ones give you the results your are looking for.
Ingredients
As with any skin or hair care product, the ingredients it is formulated with are an important factor to consider when incorporating a new item into your routine.
With so many beard oils available, each one will be formulated with different hydrating and nourishing ingredients that can work better for some beard types over the others.
Most beard oils are created with a combination of essential oils to soften and moisturize the hairs. Based on the hair texture, thickness, and length, will contribute to which oils work the best for your beard as well as skin type. The ingredients can also include a fragrance, and whether the product will be scented or unscented.
Skin Type
Although beard oils are meant to hydrate the beard hairs, the oil will also work to soften your skin around your beard as well.
If you have more oily skin, the lightweight oils may be a good option for you, while dry skin will benefit from richer oils. Also, the combination of essential oils formulated within the product can also contribute to any skin care results.
Best Beard Darkening Oils – Product Guide
Below is a product guide to some of the best beard oils that can be paired with tinting or darkening products to keep your beard looking fresh and healthy.
While adding oil to the beard on its own will add a sheen and deepen the color, if you are looking to tint or dye the beard hairs using a product like this darkening pomade or this coloring kit will be your best option. You can then follow up with one of the nourishing beard oils below for the best results.
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ELEMIS Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil | Multi-tasking product to help shave or maintain beard; formulated with grapeseed, jojoba, and hazelnut oils to nourish; for all skin types |
| 2. | Jack Black Beard Oil | Mixture of botanicals and essential oils to create a nourishing product; helps to soften brittle or coarse hair; contains antioxidants and vitamin E |
| 3. | Scotch Porter Smoothing Beard Serum | Formulated with avocado and jojoba seed oils to hydrate the beard; locks in moisture while eliminating frizz; ideal for dry or thick beards |
| 4. | Gibs Beard Hair And Tattoo Oil | Multi-tasking oil that can work in various ways to tame the hair and beard; revives and hydrates tattoos; formulated with antioxidants to help replenish collagen production in the skin |
| 5. | Billy Jealousy Devil’s Delight Beard Oil | Ideal for all beard types; can help to reduce any dryness or flakiness on the skin; helps to seal the hair shaft for smoother appearance; created with avocado, jojoba, and sunflower oils |
1. ELEMIS Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil
The Elemis Shave and Beard Oil is a multi-tasking product that can work on the beard and face to give you nourished and hydrated hair and skin.
It can be used as a pre-shave product to prepare your skin for a close shave, or can be used on the beard to maintain and hydrate the hairs.
It is created with a combination of oils, including jojoba, hazelnut, and grapeseed oils to provide rich hydration for however your choose to use it. The combination of ingredients is ideal for all skin and beard types.
2. Jack Black Beard Oil
Jack Black beard and grooming products is a leader in the men’s skin care market.
This beard oil is made of a potent combination of essential oils and botanicals to create a product that can deeply nourish brittle and coarse hair, while still leaving a healthy shine.
The Beard Oil contains antioxidants and vitamin E to strengthen the hair, along with extracts like marula fruit oil and brown algae extract to hydrate and soothe the hair and skin.
This is a product that can work for all beard types, but is especially beneficial to thicker or coarser beards.
3. Scotch Porter Smoothing Beard Serum
The Scotch Porter Smoothing Beard Serum is an ideal product for dry, coarse, or thick beards, as it focuses on moisturizing and smoothing the hairs to eliminate frizz or any unruliness.
The combination of avocado seed and jojoba seed oils are a rich combination that can deeply penetrate the hair shaft to provide intense moisture.
The serum works to also add shine to the beard hair, while softening the texture. It is formulated with a light vanilla, amber, and musk scent.
4. Gibs Beard Hair And Tattoo Oil
This is a multi-tasking oil that can be used on the hair, beard, and tattoos to nourish, tame, and revive. The combination of antioxidants, plus vitamins C, help to moisturize any beard, hair, or skin types.
The product is also formulated with argan, sunflower seed, and olive oils which can help to replenish the skin and encourage collagen production.
The oil can also work on tattoos to rehydrate and revive their appearance. It is available in five scents, each offering the same level of hydration for your beard.
5. Billy Jealousy Devil’s Delight Beard Oil
The Billy Jealousy Beard Oil is formulated for all beard types with a strong combination of avocado, sunflower, and jojoba oils to deeply penetrate the hair shaft to provide immediate hydration.
The formulation also works to strengthen and seal the hair shaft, allowing the beard hairs to appear smoother and frizz-free.
The combination of oils also works to hydrate and nourish the skin.
If you suffer from dryness, flakiness, or itchiness on or around your beard, this would be an ideal oil to help alleviate those concerns.
This oil has a rich, smoky scent, but is also available in a variety of other fragrances.
Conclusion
Finding the right beard oil for your facial hair texture, length, and skin type will come down to finding the best ingredients that deliver the results you are looking for.
With all the beard care products on the market, you can have a variety of beard oils that serve different purposes or provide different finishes and scents.
Pairing the beard oils with facial hair darkening treatments is also a way to ensure your beard look healthy, full, and shiny no matter what.