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We talked about shaving. We talked about trimming. We talked about cutting your beard with scissors. One final piece of the puzzle remains. Combing.
Yes, you read that right. Combing. While underestimated by a great many, one wouldn’t potentially do such if they knew the benefits of it. Many think combing your beard is like combing your heard. We beg to differ. Just like you need separate oil and cream for your beard, you also need separate combing techniques and a separate comb itself for your beard
The hair on your scalp and hair on your face is fundamentally different. We have talked about it and covered it various times. We’ll save you the jibber-jabber and cut right to the chase. Today we are gonna cover an important part in men’s grooming, one that’s easily overlooked.
Today we are gonna talk not just about how to comb your beard but also the type of comb you should use for the type of beard you have? Surprised? We are not kidding. We are planning to take a scientific approach towards this and help to make you make the most of it. So let’s dive in kings.
Benefits of Combing Your Hair
There are many ways you can look good with your beard. Combining your hair products and supplements with combing, you can achieve the desired look. THere are several benefits of combing your hair. Following are some of them:
- Prevent Ingrown Hairs
If you’re like most people then you must have noticed lumps and bumps popping up around your neck and chin. It’s mainly due to the fact that those hairs curled up inside your skin. However, combing your hair daily can help to prevent that. Combing straightens the hair and helps it grow to your desired direction.
- Keeps Your Beard Clean
Combing can help to keep your beard clean. “ Wait what? How?” something you might be asking yourself after reading that sentence. Well truth to be told, combing It will get rid of the trace amount of food substances that get stuck in your beard while eating. We don’t need to say how it ruins your style. Combing it helps to prevent and ensure a clean slick-looking beard.
- Moisturises it
We think you by now you possibly already know about the advantages of beard oil and beard balm. So if you use these essential products on a daily basis, combing your beard can help you to moisturize your facial hair and the skin below even more.
There’s only so much you can do by adding the gel to your hands and running through your hair. When you comb your beard after moisturising it daily, it helps spread the product uniformly and distribute it to all the parts that need it
- Makes Your Beard Look Fuller
Combing your beard every day makes it neat and helps provide the impression of an overall well maintained beard. It also helps in making your beard look fuller when you comb it.It helps fill up the patches better since you’re brushing it in the direction it grows.
- Trains Your Moustache to Stay off Your Lips
Not everyone has that natural looking amazing handlebar moustache or a chevron moustache. Moustache itself is a fashion statement these days. Combing your moustache will help you to keep it off your lips instead of falling on it thus leading you to experiment with different styles.
Steps Before Combing Your Beard
Just like there’s a pre, during and post-shaving phase; there’s also a pre, during and post combing phase. Let’s look at the things you need to be doing before you let that comb come in contact with your skin:
Step 1: Wash your beard
Just like you need to wash before applying beard balm and oil, we recommend you wash your beard before combing it too as it will help soften and moisten the beard. Apply lukewarm water if possible.
Step 2: Towel dry
Of course, you don’t want to comb your beard when it’s damp and wet. Just like combing hair causes individual hair strands to be damaged when it is wet, likewise scenario also applies for beard. So in order to prevent damage, towel dry your beard.
Step 3: Choose the Right Comb/Brush
Don’t just go and grab any comb right off the counter that you may find. It’s important to find a high-quality beard comb speci. Moreover, don’t use the same comb you use to brush your hair. Opt for combs or brushes solely designed for your beard. Beard combs and hair combs are different. So make sure to purchase carefully.
There are a number of things to bear in mind when purchasing a standard beard comb. First, you need to check if your beard is short or long. If you have a short beard you are better off with a beard brush. If you’re on the long end we recommend using a comb with its teeth spaced out wide on one side and narrow the other.
So the question arises which one? Wooden or Plastic? Plastic combs are cheaper, however, it generates static that electrifies your hair, leaving it unmanageable with flyaways and leaving your beard with what we like to call beard frizz. Not a sweet look. So opt for a high-quality wooden comb for your beard
How to Comb Your Beard
The Combing technique varies from beard to beard. Not all beards are made the same. Some are curly, some are straight, some are fine, some are tangled. But we can all agree that it’s easier to spot if it’s short or long. Here we’ll teach how to comb both:
Short Beard
If you have a shorter beard then combing is rather easy for you and requires fewer steps. Following are the ways you can comb if you have a short beard:
- Use a Beard Brush
A beard brush is best for combing a short beard. It helps to uniformly spread the oil naturally produced by your skin called sebum helping you keep a healthy and soft facial hair. The bristles can also help clear up dead skin so beard dandruff doesn’t develop. So get a beard brush made of natural bristles for use on your beard
- Put a Few Drops of Beard Oil on the Brush Bristles
We all know the benefits of beard oil. Using it with a beard brush helps to spread and uniformly distribute it. So keeping your beard brush bristles facing up, put a few drops (preferably 2 or 3) beard oil.
- Follow the Grain
Following the direction of the hair growth, brush down. Using gentle pressure on the brush, brush till the chin. Drag the brush gently down the sides of your cheeks so you can brush your beard in the way you want the hair to grow. Function in quick motions, going down from your cheek and running down your face shape to spread the beard oil equally.
Long Beards
The combing technique for longer beards is different than that of its short counterpart. Here’s how you can:
- Use a Comb that has Both Wide and Narrow Gaps
As the headline suggests look for a beard comb that has both wide and narrow gaps between the teeth. Opt for a beard comb made of wood while you are at it and avoid plastic ones.
- Put a Few Drops of Beard Oil on Your Palms
Unlike the beard brush, the gaps here are wide and don’t have bristles. So apply a few drops of beard oil 4-5 on your palms and rub it together. Rub it till your hand has a warm feeling and you feel like it has spread through your hand. Then start massaging your bear with your hands.
- Comb your beard up and away from your face
Start to comb your beard up and away from your face to give yourself a fluff-like appearance. Yes, it looks very messy and unmaintained but this only gets better from here. This step is important since you’re dealing with a long beard.
- Comb it back down
Start with the top of your cheeks as you begin to shape your beard. Work in slow, short strokes to straighten out your beard in the direction you want it to grow. Keep combing down the length of your beard until it’s the design you want it to be. This helps to shape and style your beard according to your preference
- Comb Your Moustache Away from the Centre
Start from the centre of your moustache and work your way around it with the comb such that the moustache has a pointy appearance at the corner. Work it steadily out the corners with soft, steady strokes. Direct the comb so your top lip doesn’t cover the hair if you don’t want the moustache to grow over it. Keep it combing till you’re satisfied with the look
Steps After Combing your Beard
Of course, this just doesn’t end here. We like to credit ourselves in giving you a full complete grooming routine. Like there is a post-shaving phase there are also a few steps we recommend taking after combing.
- Clean the Bristles of the Brush
Granted that you are using it on a short beard, some hairs will still get stuck in it. So just like you turned it up during applying beard oil, this time hold it down with bristles facing downwards and tap the back of it to shake off any hair or dead skin
- Clean the Comb and Wash it
Unlike a brush, the cleaning process is a bit different from a comb. Put a paper towel or a cleaning rag between the teeth of the comb and start cleaning. You might collect oil residue on the paper. After doing this wash the comb and leave it out to dry.
So, in the end, it’s not only how you comb your hair but also with what you comb it that matters. Don’t settle for anything cheap because remember you are a King! We are not telling you to be super high maintenance however your beard has different demands and its just that stubborn.
We hope now you have a pretty rough idea about combing your beard and aware of the processes. We hope you follow all the above and have the look you desire. Did you find this useful? Would you recommend a friend to try it out? As always we love hearing from you. So leave a comment down below.