Having a regular grooming routine is one of the most important things you can do as a bearded man. And you can’t have a good grooming routine without a high-quality beard balm.
However, finding the right beard balm can be difficult. There are a lot of different products on the market, but it can sometimes be hard to tell if what you’re using is made out of all natural ingredients or if it contains substances that may harm your skin and hair in the long run, such as preservatives, artificial flavors, and so on.
This is why some men prefer making their own beard balm. This enables them to only include the ingredients they like, and it’s also a good way to save money on cosmetics.
Making your own beard balm is not difficult. It requires a few key ingredients and common kitchen tools, and the end result can be surprisingly good. Read on if you want to learn how to make beard balm, which ingredients to use, and how to include beard balm in your grooming routine.
What is Beard Balm?
Beard balm is a male grooming product that’s specially formulated to tame and moisturize your facial hair. You can make it out of different oils and waxes that nourish your face and make your beard easier to style.
Beard balms are similar to beard or mustache waxes, but they’re usually softer, are better moisturizers, and offer a slightly weaker hold.
Ingredients of Beard Balm
You can make beard balm with only four key ingredients: beeswax, butter, a carrier oil, and an essential oil. As you can probably imagine, you can add more ingredients if you want to, but you should only do so once you have mastered the basics and are familiar with the making process.
Let’s see what you should know about each of these key ingredients
Beeswax Gives Your Beard Balm Hold
Beeswax is the key ingredient that enables your beard balm to hold your facial hair in place after you style it. Even though beeswax comes in different shades of white and yellow, you can use all of them for your balm because the color won’t affect the quality of the end product. You can also replace beeswax with vegan plant wax for this purpose.
The amount of beeswax you should use varies for each recipe. We recommend taking a look at the beard balm recipes we listed below before buying the wax to make sure you buy the right quantity.
Butters Give Your Beard Balm Substance
Butters make the beeswax easier to handle and enable you to work it into the beard with ease. You can use two types of butters for your beard balm: shea butter or cocoa butter. Both of these butters are edible, so you can rest easy knowing that you’re safe in case some of the beard balm ends up in your mouth by accident.
Shea butter and cocoa butter are common ingredients in many beauty and cosmetic products, and both are rich in nourishing substances that help hydrate your skin and beard.
You can add one or both of these butters to your balm.
Carrier Oils Improve Your Beard Balm’s Texture
Carrier oils help with softening up the beeswax and give your balm its specific texture. They make the beard balm easier to work with. The carrier oils may also carry some of their scent into the final product, and they help hydrate your skin and facial hair.
Here are some of the most popular carrier oils for DIY beard balms:
- Castor oil - holds well in storage. Can reduce inflammation and give your beard balm a pleasant smell.
- Grapeseed oil - very good at hydrating your skin. Reduces inflammation.
- Hazelnut oil - may help with acne. Adds a pleasant smell to your balm.
- Avocado oil - helps rejuvenate your skin. Very good for your skin and hair
- Sweet almond oil - can reduce inflammation and make your balm smell better
Essential Oils Make Your Beard Balm Smell Better
Even though you can make a perfectly good beard balm without essential oils, they are the ones that will help you turn heads when you pass people by. Essential oils are included in all DIY beard balm recipes because they add scent and personality to the final product.
Here are some of the most popular essential oil options for beard balms:
- Sandalwood
- Cedarwood
- Pine
- Orange
- Lemon
- Peppermint
- Vanilla
- Bergamot
- Eucalyptus
What Are The Benefits Of Beard Balm?
Including beard balm in your daily grooming routine can help with a lot of things, such as
- Styling - even though it won’t give your beard the same hold as beard wax, beard balm will help you tame your mane.
- Itchiness - beard balm hydrates and nourishes your face and hair, so it can help relieve and prevent itchiness
- Protection - beard balm helps protect your skin and hair from the elements
- Dandruff - beard balm can help moisturize your skin and keep it hydrated, preventing the apparition of beard dandruff.
How To Make The Best Beard Balm
The first step in making the best beard balm is gathering your tools. You only need three common kitchen items to make the balm:
- A double boiler - it should be large enough to hold all the ingredients with room to spare. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can use two pots, the first large enough to fit the one you’ll mix the ingredients in.
- One or more containers - you will need to pour and store the final product in one or multiple containers, depending on how much beard balm you make and the container size.
- A funnel - you may need to pour the balm through a funnel to make sure all of it goes inside the container and not all over your kitchen.
Now, let’s see how to make beard balm. This process works for all the recipes we listed below.
- Place the beeswax, butter, and carrier oil in the double boiler. If you’re not using a double boiler, fill the larger pot with about 2” of water and place the pot you use for mixing the ingredients in its center.
- Set the double boiler on low heat
- Wait for the beeswax and butter to melt, and then mix them thoroughly with the carrier oil.
- Turn off the heat once ingredients are mixed and add your essential oil. Be careful not to overdo it with the fragrance. You want your beard balm to have a subtle scent, not to announce your arrival to everyone in a room.
- Pour the mixture in the container and let it cold down before you touch it.