The stiffness of the beard indicates that the facial and neck hairs are thick in texture, and if you want to grow a beard and give it a certain distinct shape, they will stick to the given boundaries without falling off.
But the excessive coarseness of facial vegetation causes a lot of problems. Here are just the main ones.
- Irritation on the skin. And not only your girlfriend, but also you. The effort spent on shaving more, the pressure on the razor also increases, and as a result of microcuts on the skin. If such a hair grows under the upper layer of the dermis, there is a great risk of getting an inflammation in this place.
- Disobedience. A stiff beard and mustache aren’t bad, but on closer inspection, it’s clear that most of the hairs are frizzy and look unkempt. This is due to the fact that the rigid facial vegetation is not distinguished by obedience and discipline.
- Difficult to care for. Stiff and, at the same time, dense beard is a nesting place for dirt, and it is not easy to wash it thoroughly. Nevertheless, you should do it regularly – not less often than you used to wash your hair on the head.
Some people inherit such stubble on the facial skin from their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Nationality also plays a role. For instance, Asians tend to have thinner and softer hairs than people from the south of Europe. Often this stiffness is due not to genetics but to something much more trivial, ranging from inadequate or improper care for your beard and mustache to the damaging effects of winter frosts and the harsh heat of the sun. These traumatized hairs are starved of moisture and nutrition.
But in all cases the situation can be corrected for the better. Help in this will be simple procedures, proper shaving and special cosmetics.
What can I do to make my beard soft?
The hairs on your face are structurally different from the hair on your head, but the methods for caring for them are similar. And all of them are aimed specifically at softening and revitalization. You can emphasize home or salon care, or rely on folk recipes or mechanical manipulation. What will work for you?
Home care
Washing, conditioning and nourishing – three conditions, without which it is impossible to get soft and neat facial vegetation. Experts say that this set of simple home procedures is necessary for every man, regardless of the length and density of facial vegetation. The main secret to effective care at home – regularity. No less important is to choose the right products that do not cause allergies and do not lead to clogged pores in contact with the skin.
Massage and combing
Self-massage and brushing your mustache or beard on a daily basis can improve blood circulation in the skin layers and is a great way to prevent ingrown hairs.
Dedicate at least a minute or two to the massage and choose special brushes or combs made of natural materials for combing – and the result will not keep you waiting.
Folk recipes
Among the champions of folk remedies for the beard are the natural vegetable oils: sunflower, olive, castor and coconut oil. Pure oils are good for softening the vegetation on the face, but some of their disadvantages must be taken into account.
First, it is very easy to overdo them and get maybe a less stiff but unkempt beard. Secondly, oils can clog pores and cause pimples. And if you apply them to your mustache and beard without pre-moisturizing, paradoxically, over time the hairs will become drier, stiffer and brittle.
Salon Treatments
When you visit a barbershop, ask your handyman for some simple facial hair softening treatment. Both the process and the result are sure to please you.
Barbershops only use professional cosmetics for beards and mustaches. Their clever formulas and high concentration of useful ingredients distinguish them from the mass-market products men use at home. However, some professional products are available not only for barbers, as we will tell you below.
In addition, it is barbers know which shape of the beard and mustache to choose for your facial features and how to cut, so that the bristles do not annoy you and do not interfere in everyday life.
How to properly care for a very stiff beard at home?
If you think that your dreams of the manly image of a stylish Canadian lumberjack have finally crashed the reality of facial hair sticking out in all directions, breaking off in length and causing discomfort and a lot of trouble, do not give up! Just stick to a few simple steps and you’re bound to succeed.
- Shampoo your beard at least three times a week, but no more than every other day. It’s a good idea to use a special cleanser, however if you have to shampoo your beard at least once a week. If your beard is not more than 1-1.5 months old, the usual washing gel will do.
- After washing you can put a rinseable conditioner on the hairs for a minute, if they are already long enough. This will moisturize your beard and mustache, and where there is moisture, there is softness.
- After rinsing off the conditioner and blotting your face with a towel, massage the bottom third of your face in gentle strokes, avoiding excessive redness.
- In the morning, apply a leave-in conditioner-cream, serum or a balanced oil-on a slightly damp beard. This will keep your stubble well hydrated and nourished all day long.
- Brush the beard, evenly distributing the non-washing treatment from root to tip.
- If the beard is unaesthetic and the hairs are tangled, rub a small amount of styling product between your fingers to create the desired shape.
- At least once a week, tough beards need a trim at the growth line of the mustache or beard, even if you’re too lazy to do so. If you do it with a razor rather than a trimmer, use gentle shaving products and aftershaves. They will inevitably get on your beard, so products with a minimum of alcohol and a maximum of moisturizing additives are preferable.
Effective products for softening hairs: expert recommendations
With the current range of cosmetics for men, there is a paradise on earth: you can feel like a real barber without leaving home.
Professional products are not difficult to find, they are comfortable to use, and after a couple of weeks with them, the prickly stiff beard becomes noticeably softer and more lush. The experts told us what an effective home care should be, and we’re sharing with you!
Shampoo
The perfect cleanser for the beard and mustache does not irritate the delicate skin and does not dry out the bristles along the length. Special shampoos or soaps for beards with delicate surfactants and moisturizers in the composition: cocamide, cocoamphodiacetate dinatrium, glycerin, lactic acid and their analogues are able to do so.
For a short beard, a cleansing gel with a mild formula without harsh drying ingredients will suffice (less, less alcohol and sulfates!).
Conditioner
An optional but effective way to soften facial hair. Generally, beard conditioners are made with oils and softening agents that help keep hair smooth and manageable.
However, our stylists declare that ordinary hair conditioners have absolutely the same effect. Both need to be applied to the length of your beard without touching the skin underneath.
Balsam
Non-washable mustache and beard balms act as styling and maintenance at the same time. It combines oils with natural wax, which smoothes the bristles and blocks the moisture inside the hair, preventing it from drying out.
This type of product visually makes your beard look thicker, so if your stiff stubble grows unevenly and lacks lushness, the balm can help solve a number of problems at once.
Oil
How can you not think of natural products that can soften a stiff beard quickly and without too much energy? Oils in pure form will bring more problems than benefits, but cosmetic brands produce lightweight oil products that do not clog follicles, do not interfere with the growth of new hairs, day after day soften them and give them a neat appearance.
Wax
Owners of very stiff and unruly beards will appreciate this type of styling. It contains more beeswax than fats, so it slightly glues and fixes the hairs in the right direction. It’s not good for a long beard, but it’s good enough for a balbo, a modern version of a updo or a twisted mustache.
The wax envelopes the bristles and protects them from the aggressive effects of the environment. As we already know, outside aggression is one of the main causes of coarse and dry hair.
How to make a stiff beard softer: tips from professionals
Sometimes we think that stylists know everything at all. It is unlikely that they can tell the proton from the neutron at a glance, but their tips for a perfect beard should definitely be taken into account.
- Steam. Soak a towel in hot water, squeeze it out and apply it to your face for a minute. You can then apply a suitable non-washing treatment to your beard. The hot water lifts the cuticle cuticle, making it easier for moisturisers and nutrients to penetrate each hair’s structure.
- Cutting. Scissors, trimmers or razors come in all sorts of qualities, and a stiff beard is basically capricious when it comes to shaping. Crocodile Dundee shaved with a blade. Someone probably trims his beard with an axe. But for the city gentleman it’s better to go to a barbershop where the stubble is neatly trimmed with quality tools so that the condition of the hairs does not deteriorate. Of course, during the first two weeks the beard will be a little tougher to the touch as the craftsman will remove the thinning and therefore softer ends around the edges. But very soon it will be back to normal.
- Emergency Moisturizing. If your beard is prickly and looks more like a shaggy misunderstanding than the pride of any man, and there is no disciplining product at hand, apply an ordinary face cream to the hair. It’s not very nourishing, but it will make things a little easier until you have a special treatment.
- Frequent brushing. Brushing your beard twice is not enough. Brush in different directions for at least two minutes a day, towards the tips of the hairs. This smoothes out the cuticles slightly and makes the beard smoother and softer.