A beard is life! It’s awesome. It’s invigorating. It’s confidence-boosting.
But wait, your beard has been looking dry and frizzy lately, so you take a closer look and see …split ends! AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!
Man, we hear you. Beard split ends can be massively frustrating, even devastating. You’ve spent months or even years getting your beard into the shape you’ve always wanted, only for those split ends to come along uninvited and wreak havoc.
Don’t worry, my man. We know exactly what to do about beard split ends, especially preventing the little buggers from coming back.
In a nutshell, split ends develop in hairs that are too dry. To get rid of them, you’re going to need to make a few changes. These changes are super simple, easy and very effective.
Let’s dig in…
The name says it all… the ends of your beard hairs split and divide themselves into smaller mini-strands, like frayed strings. When you look closely at individual hairs, that’s when you can see the separated ends.
When you have split ends, your beard looks dry, messy and tired. Plus it feels dry, rough and itchy – especially on your partner.
Hairs prone to split ends are also going to break easily. And too many breakages can cause gaps in your beard, which believe us, you don’t want!
Simple… dryness. When whiskers lack moisture, the shafts and cuticles break down, leaving them primed to split.
And just what causes the damage to make beard hairs too dry? Any number of these things:
When you have a long beard, you need to be extra vigilant in preventing split ends. That’s because you produce a limited amount of natural sebum oil to condition and moisturize your facial hairs. Once those hairs reach a certain length, there’s not enough sebum to go around to nourish the entire length of every hair. This makes your beard dry, coarse and brittle. Split ends are bound to follow.
You’ll need some specialized beard care products. More about these below.
Nope. Once hair ends are split, they’re split.
You have to trim those split ends away. That’s the only way to be rid of them after they develop.
Use sharp scissors to do this work and trim to the part of the hair that isn’t broken. If you want to shorten your beard all around, you can use trimmers.
Sounds easy, but it has some challenges. When in any doubt, see your barber.
If you have lush, healthy, strong beard hairs, you wanna keep ‘em that way! Hairs that are properly nourished, hydrated and groomed won’t split.
And to get your beard hairs into that tip-top shape and prevent split ends, you’ve got to have an ace grooming routine using beard care products made with natural ingredients and without harsh, drying chemical additives.
Here are some dos and don’ts that will help you kick split ends to the curb.
Avoid using hair shampoo on your beard at all costs. And don’t use soap, either! Beard hairs simply are not the same as scalp hairs.
A beard wash made with gentle, natural ingredients is exactly what your beard needs. It will not only clean without stripping moisture away, but will also help condition your skin, follicles and hair shafts.
When you choose a beard wash, look for premium-quality ingredients like organic aloe vera leaf juice and essential oils. These are the kinds of ingredients that will refresh and rejuvenate your beard.
Avoid like the plague any product that contains sulfates, phosphate, mineral oils, silicone, parabens or artificial colors because these will denude your beard of essential nourishment and moisture.
Don’t overdo the washing. Three times a week should be plenty, unless you’re in a particularly tough, harsh environment.
And when you wash, use warm water. Hot water contributes to dryness and split ends.
Not with regular face moisturizer though. Facial moisturizers are designed for skin, not beard hairs. So, after washing, add some gentle, non-greasy beard moisturizer as an all-day hydration base layer.
Whether your beard is long or short, use beard oil - everyday. It’s a potent weapon against split ends.
Beard oil simulates and supplements the natural sebum oil your skin produces, so your beard can be nourished and hydrated from the follicles to the tips. Plus it adds sensational softness and shine.
Oiling becomes doubly important when your beard is long, because there’s only so much sebum to go around. A long beard gets dry easily, becomes coarse and frizzy, and it has a higher risk of developing split ends.
Just make sure you brush with a high-quality beard brush. One made with wild boar hair bristles and a wood handle is what you want. It’s gentle yet firm enough to do everything you need to help prevent those dreaded split ends.
Here's why a wild boar bristle beard brush is the badass best.
Lock in that glorious moisture from the beard oil by adding a little beard balm. It helps you style, shape and hold your beard in place while adding extra nourishment and smoothing the outer layer of each strand.
This crucial step in conditioning a beard is often overlooked by beardsmen. That extra conditioning can make the difference between split ends and silky softness.
A healthy beard begins on the inside. Poor nutrition can adversely affect the health of the hairs sprouting out of your face and encourage split ends. So eat your veggies and ensure you get plenty of protein, vitamin B and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Plastic is definitely not fantastic. If possible, never use a plastic comb on your beard. It will tug and snag hairs, weakening them and breaking them. Worse, a plastic comb doesn’t distribute oil properly.
The same goes for a metal comb. It just doesn’t have the flexibility like a boar hair brush.
The thicker your beard gets, the worse plastic and metal become for it.
A huge no to the blow! It’s like sticking your beard in an oven. The hairs become completely dehydrated and weakened by the excessive heat. Once that happens, split ends are pretty much inevitable.
Blow drying your beard also dries out and damages your follicles. Damaged follicles mean weaker hair shafts. Here's more info on the damage blow drying your beard can do: Should You Blow Dry Your Beard?
The beard is often the first place gray hairs appear on a dude. But as tempting as it can be to try to turn back the clock with a little dye, we have to advise you to go easy. The chemicals in hair dye are harsh and dehydrating, which can undo all the grooming work you’ve done and allow split ends to creep back in.
An occasional dose of dye isn’t a big deal, but adding it regularly is going to dry your beard out like a bag of hay.
Follow these tips and you should keep those awful beard split ends at bay. Look after yourself, look after your beard, and use the best beard products to ensure that the only thing that splits is your attention – between all the chicks throwing themselves at your super dope beard.
Bring back your beard wash & conditioner combo. It was great! Don’t like having to use 2 different items.
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The Rugged Bros
August 26, 2022
@JK Hey, man. I definitely get wanting to condense the routine. Our new Beard Wash has awesome conditioning properties though – we wouldn’t have it any other way. Organic aloe vera is actually the first ingredient, so I think you’ll be happily surprised.
If you want to give it a try, here’s a code for 15% off: Rugged15
Let us know what you think if you try it!
P.S. All feedback is important to us, so I also sent your request to our product development team to let them know the old Conditioner/Shampoo is missed.
Thanks again!