If you’re growing facial hair and are in the itchy beard stage, you might benefit from an itchy beard home remedy to help you get through it.
Having experienced this myself, I can speak from experience that the itchy beard stage is a real thing and was frustrating and annoying. I’ve had a goatee since 1995 but several times before and once after this date, I grew a full beard.
In total I had a full beard for probably 4 months and went through the itchy beard stage each time I grew one.
It wasn’t the worst feeling in the world but it was uncomfortable enough at times that I remember it happened. Not all guys experience beard itch but it’s common enough that people ask about it and write about it online. Just like you and I are doing right now.
As an side, I don’t recall ever experiencing the itchy beard stage with a goatee. So if you’re growing a beard and can’t get past the itchiness, perhaps a goatee might be in the cards. Just a thought.
Itchy Beard Stage
Itchy beard stage occurs for a number of reasons including uncleanliness, dry skin, ingrown hairs, soap use and other reasons. You’ll probably find it starts around 1 week into beard growth and continues up to week 3 or thereabouts. By the three week mark chances are it has either passed on its own or you’ve done something to fix it already.
Or it’s still a problem and that’s why you’re here now. Let’s look at the common reasons for an itchy beard and an itchy beard home remedy you can do to rectify it.
Uncleanliness
When you shave your face and assuming your wash your face regularly, shaving not only cuts your facial hair but helps to exfoliate your skin. It removes dead skin. When you stop shaving and grow a beard, you stop shaving and further might not wash that area of your wash well enough (or at all!) so it’s a double whammy.
Your beard collects stuff
As above you might simply be doing a poor job of washing it. Or you you may be doing a fine job of washing your beard but during the course of the day, it collects enough dust, pollens (do you have allergies?) and other pollutants that make it itchy.
You itch it
You know how you itch a mosquito bite…and that makes it worse? If you itch your face enough, you will irritate the skin and probably make it worse which leads to more itching.
Dry Skin
As mentioned above, growing a beard may lead to a build up of dead skin cells which can flake and lead to itchy, dry skin. If you already suffer from dry skin and even if you moisturize, chances are you will skip moisturizing the skin covered by your new facial hair. Who rubs a common white skin cream into their hair? You probably don’t own beard oil because up until recently you didn’t even have a beard.
Ingrown Hairs
Normally you shave your facial hairs off. You can see ingrown hairs because your face is clean shaven. When you allow your beard to grown and stop cutting the hair, you run the risk of ingrown hairs while now covering your face with hair so that you can’t actually see the blemishes as easily.
Soap use
The opposite end of uncleanliness and not washing your beard enough is washing it too much. In this case you might leave soap residue on your beard which can dry out your skin. And if you’re going overboard and washing your beard too much, that can have a drying effect too. Some soaps may also just be irritating to your specific skin type.
Fungus or Infection
Tinea barbae (beard ringworm) is a fungus that tends to occur in adult males with facial hair and is caused by direct exposure to infected farm animals such as horse and cattle or by infected humans. It appears as red, crusty sores that may be itchy.
Seborrheic eczema (dandruff) tends to be something experienced by men with particularly oily skin. It appears as red skin and flakes in your facial hair and can also cause itchiness. It can also appear on your scalp and other areas with oily skin.
An Itchy Beard Home Remedy That Works
Since you’re growing a beard, let’s treat it like a beard. So ditch the body washes and use a few products that are beard-specific.
Wash your beard with a beard wash. Wash your face with a beard-specific wash rather than soap which can dry skin. Beard washes are not all expensive are will not dry your skin. Short of that, use a regular face wash specific for washing your face. Avoid soap. Washing your beard daily with some light scrubbing will keep it clean and help to give your skin the exfoliation you’re missing out on with the lack of shaving.
Consider an exfoliating face scrub. On top of the beard wash, an exfoliating scrub used several times per week will help to give you the exfoliation that your lack of shaving has taken from you. You may decide to exfoliate more frequently if your skin is oily.
Dry it properly. You dry your body after showering. Make sure you properly dry your beard too by pat drying after it gets washed. Damp hair can have a drying effect on your face especially if you have hard, unconditioned water to shower with.
Groom it. Part of hair care involves brushing your hair. Your facial hair is no different. By brushing your beard hair with a beard brush, you’re not only keeping it groomed nicely but you’ll help to loosen debris that gets caught in it during the course of the day. Light brushing with a beard brush also helps to loosen dead skin which should rinse away when you wash your beard as mentioned above.
Use a beard oil. Or a beard conditioner. Something for the post wash that conditions your beard and skin, prevents your skin from dying but also keeps it smelling nice.
Next Steps To Fight Beard Itch
Once you’ve gone through the list above, you may find your beard itch has subsided. You may be ready to to ditch some or more of the steps and if you do and the beard itch comes back, you know what step(s) you can’t eliminate.
If these steps don’t help eliminate beard itch, you may also consider increasing the frequency of washing and conditioning to see if that works.
Think about your personal situation to figure out what could be wrong. If you have oily skin, more frequent washing might be in order. If you get dry skin, less frequent washing and more frequent conditioning is probably what you need.
Also don’t forget to trim your beard. Some guys grow great looking beard hair that is very long but it’s not a great look for every guy. You don’t want a ratty look that makes it appear like you’re just lazy. A nicely trimmed beard may also go a long way to eliminating itchiness.
Conclusion
- Itchy beard tends to occur in men early in the beard growing process, between weeks 1 and 3.
- Beard itch often goes away on its own. If not, use of beard-specific or face-specific washes and conditioners may help.
- Think about your own personal situation: Do you have oily skin that might require more frequent washing? Do you have dry skin that increased washing may make worse?
- Don’t forgot to brush, groom and trim your beard. Not only does it make your beard look nicer but it can help to reduce itchiness.
- Ever tried coconut oil for beard itch? Some guys swear by it.
What have you used to fight beard itch? Let us know in the comments below!