I want to start off our latest installment with the following disclaimer:

“To the portion of men who work daily jobs that involve dirt, dust, paint, or all things that require immediate cleaning as soon as you walk through your door….this does not apply to you!  For the betterment of everyone involved and around you, clean that beard and wash your ***!!

To the rest of you bearded men, listen up!  Particularly bearded Black men.  

Shampooing your beard more than twice a week may be killing your beard!

Yes…you heard me.  

Bearded Black man….over washing your beard may be the very thing killing your beard!  Over-washing can do the following:

• Further dry out your beard
• Make your beard hairs more brittle and prone to beard breakage
• Can remove the naturally formed oils produced to protect the beard hair strand rather than helping it stay clean.
• Over time can even slow down the growth process

I’ve seen a lot of beard companies (not named NYGC) sell you their beard shampoo or wash.  Sure…many of these shampoos do a great job of cleaning your beard just as advertised (another cheap plug: Not as well as NYGC Beard Shampoo). But what they fail to do is to tell you is….

“How often should I wash my beard?’”

Part of the answer is in why I stressed speaking to the bearded “Black Man.”  Our hair type is different.  But let’s start with the thing that we all carry and move on to those differences.

SEBUM – Nature’s natural protectant

Everyone produces a natural oil called sebum.  Sebum is an oily substance which sits in the middle layers of the skin, near the hair follicles.  Its primary job is to moisturize and protect the skin and hair.  When it comes to Black men’s hair, here’s the rub: Unlike Caucasian and Asian men where sebum travels down to the tip of their straighter hair strands, sebum faces the challenge of navigating its way throughout the curlier hair strands of Black men. In other words, it’s a difficult journey.  As a result, our hair is dryer and is more fragile than other kinds of hair, so washing our hair several times a week can strip the skin beneath our beard of those valuable oils.

So what to do?

There’s no one size fits all answer.  What is a universal and obvious truth is that all beards grow dirty over time.  But where you live plays a role on how you should manage your beard.  What works for your beard in Nigeria may not work for you in Sweden or the U.K.  In a dry climate, your beard would require more moisture as it tends to dry out. In warmer climates it can be that much more challenging as the moisture in our beard which holds more in humid conditions make it easier for our beards to capture grime, pollution, and dirt over time. This is why you should at least rinse your beard every day and night.  When it is time to wash your beard, by now you should know why it’s important to use a specially formulated shampoo designed for your beard.  That’s why we recommend washing your beard twice a week at most, and of course, using our honey infused NYGC Beard Shampoo.  Our beard wash is specifically designed to thoroughly cleanse the beard and skin without stripping it of its natural oils or drying it out.  It’s handmade with the best organic ingredients selected by beard growers for beard growers.

You still may have read this wanting to feel more secure about keeping your beard clean over the course of the week.  In my next installment, I will tell you of a strategy you can employ to keep your beard clean when not shampooing.

Feel free to share your thoughts on how you keep your beard clean in the below comments.