Why does my beard itch? Finally the answers and the solutions
Remember when your beard used to itch? It was a somewhat annoying sensation that made you scratch it all day long.
Surely all or almost all of you have gone through this at some point in your life, possibly scratching your chin, cheeks, or neck trying to soothe the itch.
But… Why does your beard itch? This is the key question, And there is multiple answers to it.
First of all, if you’re starting to grow a beard it means you’ve been shaving it consistently. Beard hairs are thick and have more strength than scalp hairs, so when you shave them what you are doing is “sharpening” them because the tips are still alive when they grow and this is what makes them itchy.
To this, we can add the dryness that we will experience if we do not treat our new beard. Dryness in the beard area causes itching, even dandruff, but we will talk about that in another article.
The last of the reasons why your beard is itching is the possible dirt that you are going to accumulate between your beard hairs.
When we eat, drink, or even just because of pollution or dead skin, our beard is picking up gunk, that’s just the way it is. If all this is not cleaned properly, it can lead to irritation and that also itches.
How Can I Stop Beard Itch?
It’s extremely common for men to experience an itchy phase while starting to grow out a glorious beard or mustache while some may experience itchiness throughout the growing process. There are a few reasons why the itch happens.
At the very beginning, hair that has been shaved has a sharp little edge that has been cultivated by the angle of your razor. (Shaving in the direction of beard growth can help to make this less sharp). When the hair starts to grow out, the sharp little ends curl back around and poke the skin creating an irritating itchy effect. A great way to alleviate this type of itch is to make sure to condition your beard hair to create a softer tip that won’t poke at your skin in the same way. Of course, daily use of a high quality beard oil (like our Nomad Beard Oil made with Almond and Jojoba oil bases) will help with this type of irritation by smoothing and softening the hair.
Ingrown hairs are another cause for beard irritation. Ingrown hairs get caught below the skin and can cause red bumps (or even larger boil looking bumps). They aren’t the most attractive feature, and can cause quite a bit of itchiness and irritation. The best way to battle ingrown hairs is to make sure to exfoliate dead skin so that hairs don’t get stuck below that top layer of dermis. Exfoliating while your skin has been softened by warm water will help to gently let loose those trapped hairs before they cause irritation. Our coffee based Beard Scrub is made to use in the shower and both scrapes away dead skin but also moisturizes at the same time to help reduce the risk of ingrown hairs.
The final cause of itchiness in a beard or mustache at any stage is overall health of the skin beneath the hair. Skin that is hidden beneath facial hair is often deprived of moisture, bombarded with bacteria (from leftover food bits perhaps), and is just generally neglected. Regular moisturizing with beard oil that contains some antibacterial and fungal properties (like our Nomad The One Beard Oil) is key to reducing beard-druff and itch from dry skin. Making sure to keep your beard clean with the use of a beard wash is always a great way to keep up hygiene and reduce any danger of irritating bacteria getting in contact with your skin from daily beard adventures.
Having seen the possibilities, let’s start with the solutions.
How to get rid of beard itching
If what you need are solutions to relieve itching, here are a few examples so you can start living without scratching constantly.
1- Wash your beard
This is undoubtedly the first recommendation we want to make. Hygiene prevents a multitude of beard problems and one of them is itching.
Beard hair is much more porous and tends to retain all kinds of environmental particles. Besides, as I told you before, every day we get rid of thousands of dead skin cells, we are very good at these things. These dead cells accumulate in the beard and will eventually irritate.
How to clean your beard and how often?
Every beard and every skin is different, same as the environments where we move daily.
If we have oily skin and we work outdoors or in dusty spaces, we will have to wash it more than if we work in an office and have less oily skin.
Our recommendation is to wash it thoroughly every 2-3 days with soap or shampoo specific for beards and if you need to clean it more, do it only with water to not alter the natural secretions of the skin and the PH.
2- Condition it and you will notice it
Softening the beard is another thing we can do to reduce itching. Using beard conditioners allows the hair to be less itchy and adds hydration and perfume to your beard.
3- Moisturizing your beard and hair
Another important point that we have already mentioned. is preventing the hair and facial skin from drying out, this is essential. A tight skin or a frizzy beard generates itching and we want to avoid this at all costs.
For this, we have different products that will help us.
Beard oils: this will be your faithful ally in moisturizing your beard. With a few drops, you will get complete hydration and an incredible shine. Regardless of the size of your beard, oil is what you need.
Beard balms: just like oils, beard balms provide the nourishment your beard needs, however, they are more recommended for thick beards and beards of a certain size. With the balm, you can also mold and shape your beard.
4- Trimming and brushing
Last but not least, we recommend that you go to your trusted barber to get your hairs in order. If you let your beard grow wildly, it may be one of the reasons that are making you itch all over. Also, we recommend that you brush your beard regularly. It’s a way to remove gunk and get your hair in order
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