If you are dealing with dry skin under your beard, trust me, you're not alone. It's an issue that affects a lot of us in the world, and there are many reasons as to why it can occur, and many solutions to tackle it, as well.
Genetic conditions such as eczema, atopic dermatitis, or hypothyroidism can all lead to dry, itchy skin all over, and under your beard is no different. If you deal with any of these, growing a beard may be quite the issue, as the skin underneath the hair may not get a lot of the proper care that it needs.
If you're living with any of these issues, make sure to contact your doctor or dermatologist to seek medical solutions for your condition.
Another reason may be the weather. You see, when the weather gets colder, our skin tends to dry up and needs more supplemental moisture from lotions and moisturizers.
In the hotter months an increase of sweat can lead to potentially more bacteria growth, chafing, and general irritation that you need to be aware of, so be sure to clean often and moisturize to keep the skin healthy.
While we're not experts in skincare, hair growth, treatment, or anything, really, we do like to research all things involved with facial hair and shaving, and this issue comes up quite a bit for those that are growing out their beard. So, here are our tips for mitigating dry, itchy, flaky skin under your beard:
Hot water is not your friend.
There are few things in this world that feel better than a nice, hot shower. However, your skin and hair will disagree. The heat from the shower strips the skin on your face and your scalp of its natural oils, which can be a main contributor to dryness.
You should do your best to wash your face and scalp with warm, not hot, water, and be sure to apply conditioner and/or a leave-in conditioner to both your beard and scalp areas.
Don't wash too much
Washing your face is a good thing. You should do it in the morning, at night before bed, and after you get dirty, etc. However, you want to be sure that you are not washing out the beard too too much, as you want to be careful not to completely strip the beard of its oils, similar to what can happen from shampooing your hair too often.
You should wash your face, but don't dig in and exfoliate the beard more than a couple of times per week.
Use a beard oil
If you have tried it before, you may have noticed that moisturizer doesn't do the best job at getting underneath the beard hair and hitting the skin. This is where beard oil comes in.
The oil is less viscous, allowing it to flow beyond the hair and reach the skin underneath. After you wash your face, please replenish your beard's oils and skin's nutrients with a beard and skin conditioner, which will allow both the beard hair and the dry skin under the beard to soak up and retain the necessary moisture.
An added benefit: having your beard oiled helps it look more sleek and neat, and is great for flattening down those wispy whiskers.
Shave
Shaving your facial hair isn't a bad thing, especially in the summer heat that we're experiencing right now. Having a consistent shaving routine is one sure way to avoid itchy beard skin: just don't grow your beard out.
Shaving consistently allows you to have access to your skin to properly enrich it with moisturizer and any other product that you may need to help with your skin's health.
Make sure to take extra good care of your skin while shaving by using proper techniques, such as the two-pass shaving method, and a great, efficient razor. These are great resources and surely do make all the difference if you're dealing with irritation from shaving!
If you want to learn more about Blackland and our unbeatable safety razors, click here.
