Wintertime: Winterize the beard

In two weeks it will be that time again: December 1 will herald the meteorological start of winter. In addition to thick jackets, scarves and a warming hat, your beard also serves as the perfect outfit to brave the cold. So that your hairy companion can unleash its full cold-defence power, here are the tips for winter-proofing your beard.

The thing with winter

Basically, you face some challenges as a beard wearer in the winter. Admittedly, the beard is an optimal protection against wind, cold and reflected UV radiation. Still, the harsh air and low humidity will strip your beard of its natural moisture. The consequence: dry beard hair, which threatens to become brittle. But not only your beard, but also your skin suffer from this dryness. We therefore have some tips to make your skin and beard winter-proof.

“Boy, don’t walk out on me with wet hair!”

A regular beard wash is part of your beard care routine — whether you’re a pro or a beginner. Especially at times when there is a lot of feasting (keyword: Christmas), the culinary highlights not only strain your stomach. Sauces, cookie crumbs or chocolate get stuck in your gorgeous beard faster than you can say “Rudolf”. By using a mild beard shampoo, you not only rid your hairy companion of Christmas food, but also provide a pleasant and fragrant scent.

Air drying: Go in summer, no-go in winter

During the warm season it is almost standard to let your beard air dry. Now in winter, however, you should do without it at all costs. At least if you want to get right out in the fresh air. Maybe you remember your mom’s annoying saying, “Don’t go out with wet hair, it will make you sick”? The sniffles may stay away thanks to your good defenses, but your beard will be affected. That’s because your damp beard provides an excellent surface for the cold air to attack. The sensitive facial hair is extremely stressed. This is followed, above all, by a faster breaking of the hair. On top still dries out the skin underneath. Uncool.

Tepid blow drying provides a remedy

To be properly prepared, you need to prepare your beard to fight the cold. To do this, you should gently dry it with a lukewarm blow dryer. By the way: Too much heat is not the best thing either. This is also followed by extreme dryness and itchy and scaly patches on the skin. We find: lukewarm blow-dried you are best prepared against beard frost.

The right oiling

Beard oil is known to be the ‘holy grail’ among beard care disciples — also has a corresponding effect on your ruff. Especially in the cold season the liquid gold is THE essence against dryness. Even during milder weather phases, the beard already tends to dry out. In winter, however, the freezing cold takes it up a notch and dries out the rather thick and hard beard hair. It’s not just your beard that faces increased demands in winter.

Skin changes in winter

But your skin also has to endure a lot. It is thinner in winter than in summer. Fat production is shut down, making them more sensitive to external influences. Frequent changes between cold and damp as well as warm and dry are an additional challenge for your facial skin.

Beard vs. Skin

Your beard, visibly feeling its existence threatened, now grabs the moisture from your skin. This creates a real competition between the two parties for the natural moisture. If you don’t take care of this, you’ll feel the full force of the consequences: itching, dandruff and, in extreme cases, annoying inflammation. You can prevent these problems quite easily with the use of beard oil. Skin and beard hair are optimally supplied with moisture, itching and dandruff are alleviated or can not arise in the first place.

Winterize your beard: try Beard Balm

We’ve already established: Proper oiling is an absolute must-do in winter. But that’s not all. Permanent temperature changes and the tussle with your scarf or zipper quickly cause hair to stick out or itch. So that you do not come at all into the predicament, we want to suggest a caring beard balm to you. Beard balm has a high wax content that acts as a protective and insulating layer on your beard hair. Other moisturizing ingredients can also penetrate to the top layer of skin. Thus, in addition to the dry beard hair, your stressed skin is also cared for. The advantage: You provide a further defusing in the duel beard vs. skin for humidity. Win-win.

Our pro tip to winterize the beard

To end this post, we want to give you our ace-in-the-sleeve: The Handkerchief. You may laugh now, but — If you’re out in the cold weather on a regular basis, your breath condenses. This forms little droplets that settle on your beard. If you’re out in the cold air for any length of time, they can freeze quickly. Back in the warm, these thaw and damage your beard: it becomes frizzy and the hairs break off more quickly. To prevent this, it’s worth having a handkerchief handy. You can use this to periodically dab your beard around your mouth and remove the drips before they freeze. As you can see: small measure, big effect.

And your tip?

What’s your situation? Do you have any tips or measures to winterize your beard? Feel free to write us your top tip in the comments or on social media.