How To Pick The Best Beard Wash (And What To Avoid)

September 6, 2017

How To Pick The Best Beard Wash (And What To Avoid)

By John, founder of Braw Beard Oils

How to pick the best beard shampoo? Really? You get shampoo specifically for your beard? Yep! I'll explain why we have formulated a beard specific shampoo and why it's really needed.

It’s time to stop using your partner’s expensive shampoo. And use a beard shampoo especially designed for the facial area (normal shampoo definitely isn’t).

So what beard shampoo should you be using instead? Not all beard washes are created equal, and a bad one can cause the same problems as regular shampoo. Here's what to look for, what to avoid, and why we formulated Braw Beard Wash the way we did.

What makes a good beard wash?

A great beard wash does two things: it cleans the beard and the skin underneath without stripping the natural oils your face needs to stay healthy. If your skin becomes unbalanced it can cause a whole host of beard issues.

What to look for in a good beard wash:

• Natural, gentle cleansers: ingredients like decyl glucoside, derived from corn and coconut, clean effectively without harsh detergents. Biodegradable, skin-friendly, and nothing your face can't handle.

• Soothing and moisturising ingredients: aloe vera is one of the best. It repairs dry skin, reduces flaking, promotes healthy hair growth, and leaves the beard feeling soft without any artificial coating.

• Fragrance-free or lightly scented: especially if you're using beard oil. A heavily scented wash will fight with your oil and you'll end up with a confusing combination of both. Unscented gives you a clean base.

• No sulfates, parabens, or silicones: more on these below.

What to avoid in a beard shampoo and why it matters

Most high street shampoos contain compounds that actively work against beard health.

What to avoid in a beard shampoo:

Sulfates (sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate) are the chemicals that create that satisfying lather. They're powerful degreasers, great for an oily scalp, brutal on the more sensitive skin of your face. They strip the natural sebum oils your beard needs, leaving it dry, brittle, and prone to breakage.

Silicones create the illusion of smooth, healthy hair by coating the hair shaft. The problem is that coating also blocks nutrients from penetrating, so your beard oil can't do its job. Over time the hair gets suffocated, weakens, and breaks.

Parabens are preservatives added to extend shelf life. They're common, they're cheap, and they're not something you want sitting on your facial skin day after day.

Alcohol-based products dry out both the hair and the skin underneath. It's a short-term fix that creates a long-term problem, the more you use it, the drier things get, and the more you reach for it.

Cheap shampoo in general, if it costs next to nothing, it's almost certainly mass-produced and packed with chemicals to extend shelf life. Your beard deserves better than the bottom shelf.

Why we formulated Braw Beard Wash the way we did

Back in 2014, we developed Braw Beard Wash because we couldn't find a wash that did what we actually wanted: clean the beard properly without undoing all the work the beard oil was doing.

We chose aloe vera as a key ingredient because it genuinely earns its place. It soothes and repairs dry skin, tackles the flakiness that leads to beardruff, and promotes healthy hair growth, all while leaving the beard feeling smooth and soft. No synthetic coating required.

We chose decyl glucoside as our cleanser because it's natural, biodegradable, and derived from 100% renewable raw materials: corn and coconuts. It cleans thoroughly, retains moisture in the hair and skin, and has none of the harshness of sulfate-based alternatives.

We made it unscented deliberately. We wanted you to choose your own scent through your beard oil, whether that's Grand Eckson 1918 on Monday or Jarls Northman by the weekend. A scented wash would get in the way of that. Braw Beard Wash sets a clean, neutral base and lets the oil do the talking.

It won't lather up like a conventional shampoo. The lather you're used to comes from sulfates. Without them, the wash still cleans just as effectively, without the harshness.

How to use Braw Beard Wash- tips for washing your beard

1. Wet your beard thoroughly in the shower

2. Apply a small amount of Braw Beard Wash and massage in for around 30 seconds, working it into the skin underneath as well as the hair

3. Rinse thoroughly, any residue left on the skin can cause irritation

4. Towel dry gently, pat rather than rub

5. Apply your Braw Beard Oil or Beard Butter while the beard is still slightly damp

How often should you wash your beard?

Two to three times a week is the sweet spot for most men. Daily washing, even with a gentle beard wash, strips more oil than your skin can replace. Every two to three days keeps the beard clean without drying it out.

For a more in depth look at how often you should wash your beard see here.

Ready to make the switch?

If you're still washing your beard with regular shampoo, your beard is working against you. Switch to something formulated for the job and you'll notice the difference within a week, softer hair, less itch, healthier skin underneath.

Sound good? Shop our Braw Beard Wash here.

John, founder of Braw Beard Oils