Is Beard Wash Worth It?
We hear a lot of different advice from many different people on what to use when we wash our beard. What about beard wash, is it worth it? Or is it a gimmick?
Before we get into if it’s worth it or not, let’s talk about some differences between common shampoos and beard wash.
Commercial Shampoo & Conditioner
Far too often I hear phrases like “just use Head and Shoulders” or “I use Mane N’ Tail” when speaking about washing beards. What is important to realize is that these products were not designed for beards. Heck, Mane N’ Tail wasn’t even originally designed for humans. Most commercial shampoos contain what are known as chemical surfactants. The term “Surfactant” is short for Surface Active Agent, which is a group of chemicals designed to break down surface tension. They’re commonly used in degreasers and household cleaning products due to their powerful ability to break down and cut through oils. The interesting fact about surfactants is that the FDA has classifies them as SKIN IRRITANTS. Some of these chemicals include but are not limited to:
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- Lauramidopropyl Betaine
Hmm… those do not sound like ingredients I want to be putting in my beard.
Now I know what you might be thinking, “I’ve been using this in my beard for a while now with no issues”. Well, many issues can turn up after prolonged use of these products. I’m talking 10-20 years. In some cases, prolonged use has been shown to sensitize skin, making it more susceptible to complications such as dermatitis. Not only that, but it can cause dermatitis immediately by drying out the hair and skin underneath by stripping it of all of its natural oils.
Why We Think These Shampoos Work
Commercial shampoo companies have conditioned us to believe that in order to “get clean” there has to be a ton of foaming action or lather, which is absolutely false. Some natural alternatives do not foam much at all, but actually clean far better than those chemicals. Oh guess what, the FDA also classifies those same chemical surfactants as “foaming agents”. So after your nice foamy shampooing your beard feels “squeaky clean” right? That’s because the chemical surfactants have stripped all of the natural oils from your beard hair and the skin which is COMPLETELY unnatural and unhealthy. A lot of times this “squeaky clean” feeling is exactly what's causing beard itch and beard dandruff. Some all natural and gentle beard washes do lather quite well actually, but I’ll get to those.
Natural and Gentle Alternatives
When looking for a great beard wash, I always recommend looking for something all natural and made up of saponified oils. For example, here’s a look at the ingredients of our Conditioning Beard Wash:
Water, saponified organic oils of coconut, palm kernel, olive, hemp, and jojoba, citric acid, tocopherol (Vitamin E), grape seed oil, glycerin, xanthan gum and essential oils.
If you’re absolutely against using “Beard Wash” some great alternatives are Dr. Bronner’s Bar Soap and Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap, both of which can be found at your local Walgreen, GNC, Target, etc. These types of natural and gentle alternatives clean your beard very well and actually work up a nice lather WITHOUT stripping and depleting all of your natural oils.
The Bottom Line
Sure, commercial shampoo is much cheaper. But if you want your beard and the skin underneath it to be as healthy and comfortable as possible, YES, beard wash is more than worth it!
I hope this has helped answer your questions, if you’re still not convinced, click here and use promo code “Booze” to get a free sample of our Conditioning Beard Wash as well as a sample of Beard Oil, just pay $2.50 shipping!
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Until next time, you bring the Beard, I'll bring the Booze!