7 beard care essentials for luscious and healthy facial hair

For Movember 2024, T3 is giving you tips on how to maintain your beard and moustache so you end the month with healthy and stylish looking facial hair, rather than a patchy and unkempt look. But if you’re new to growing and caring for facial hair, this essentials list has you covered.

Whether you’re simply growing a beard for Movember or you plan to keep this style for longer, it’s important to know how to take care of your beard. Looking after your facial hair means your beard or moustache will grow longer, thicker and healthier, and the skin underneath the hair will stay moisturised and less irritated.

To do this, you need a few go-to products in your grooming routine. Here are T3’s seven beard care essentials to help you grow and care for your facial hair. For more advice, check out these Movember tips on how to grow better facial hair.

1. A beard trimmer

First things first, you need to buy one of the best beard trimmers to trim and care for your beard. The beard trimmer you pick will completely depend on the style you’re going for, as a trimmer for shorter beards has different requirements and settings than a trimmer for longer beards. Once you determine the style you want, picking a beard trimmer is easy, but make sure to choose one that has extra sharp blades, good safety features, a long lasting battery life and multiple attachments.

2. A selection of clipper lengths

Speaking of attachments, a selection of clipper lengths is extremely handy if you like to switch up your look or you’re not sure what length or style of facial hair that you want. Having clipper lengths that vary from 3-10 mm is great for shorter beards, while up to 25 mm in length is suitable for longer beards. Most beard trimmers will come with multiple lengths for you to choose from, but if you have a length missing, it’s good to have a few options to play with if you want to change your look.

3. A comb

Now that we have the trimming out of the way, it’s time to think about essentials that keep your beard looking, smelling and feeling healthy. For both before and after trimming, you’ll need a comb. Using a comb on your beard ensures there are no tangles within your facial hair, and it can also help remove any knots, dirt and leftover food that might be hiding in there – gross, but true.

4. Beard shampoo and conditioner

Never – and I repeat – NEVER use normal shampoo and conditioner on your beard. Instead, use beard shampoo and conditioner that’s specifically formulated for facial hair. Products that are for the hair on your head tend to be much harsher, so using it on your beard can damage the hair and prevent or stilt its growth.

5. Beard oil

Once you’ve washed your beard, it’s time to add beard oil. Beard oil helps lock in your beard’s nutrients so it continues to grow healthily and thickly. It also helps take care of the skin underneath your beard and can stimulate the hair follicles for better hair growth. Aside from all that, beard oil smells great and who doesn’t want a nice smelling beard?! See beard oil: what it is and does it work? for more details.

6. Shaving foam

Whether you’re completely shaving your beard off – in which case, I’d recommend the best electric shaver to do so – or simply trying a new style, you’ll need a good quality shaving foam. When choosing a shaving foam, make sure to choose one that’s suitable for your skin type, so if you have sensitive skin, pick one that isn’t perfumed and has soothing and hydrating ingredients.

7. Beard scissors

Finally, if you want to keep your beard long ala Gandalf, you might not want a trimmer or shaver to avoid accidentally shaving too much off. Instead, I’d recommend some beard scissors so you can snip smaller lengths of hair.

P.S. Rather than buying all these products individually, you can also buy beard trimmer kits, like this one from King C. Gillette.