Beard Grooming Guide - See What is Available!
Many men now like to sport some type of beard. Here we show you the wide range of beard grooming products that are available on the UK market, so as you can keep your facial hair looking great.
Thanks for taking your time to read our information on beard care and grooming. Here at the Shaving Emporium we are a group of people who have a lot of experience when it comes to growing and caring for a beard or moustache.
In this article we take you through the various options available to those of us who like to have a great looking beard. There are a large number of beard grooming and care products available and it has become a huge market in its own right.
Taking Care of Your Beard
Beard grooming will mean different things to different men. For some it is simply a matter of maintaining a nice simple stubble look, rather than a clean shaven look. Others will want to grow a moustache without a beard. There are of course many different moustache styles.
Some men will want to sport a well trimmed and maintained beard, some a simple goatee style beard and others will want to go for a full beard.
Irrespective of what facial hair a man decides to try, the bottom line is that it will look a great deal better if it is properly cared for and well groomed.
As you can see from our table of contents above, there is a very wide range of beard and moustache care products available on the market. Just below we explain what these are and what they should be used for. For many of these beard grooming products the use is obvious, but for some others their intended use can often be misunderstood.
Key Benefits of Caring for Your Beard
It is all about the look. Some people like beards and some people do not. If you have decided that is the look for you, then there are few things worse looking than an unkempt clump of hair under your chin. You hopefully understand what we are trying to say. As an example if you ever say someone say, "Is there a bird living in there?" then you know it has probably got out of control.
Beards can look great if they are healthy, and that will come down to how well you look after the growth. If not cared for the hair will dry out, the skin underneath will also dehydrate and inevitably, you will suffer from the infamous beard itch.
The benefits are:
- Soft to the touch
- Looks great, well trimmed and a nice fullness
- Has a deep sheen and health to it.
What Do You Need for Beard Grooming - Products & Supplies
If you have decided to keep your beard looking as good as it can, then there are any amount of products on the UK market to help you do just that.
We have listed those options below with an explanation of each beard grooming product. If you click on the name or image below, you will be taken to a summary review of each product. From there we have included other links which give a great deal more detail on any particular beard grooming product.
BEARD TRIMMERS
STUBBLE TRIMMERS
BEARD COMBS
BEARD BRUSHES
BEARD SCISSORS
BEARD OILS
BEARD BALMS
BEARD WAX
BEARD SHAMPOO
BEARD MOISTURISER
BEARD FACE WASH
BEARD ITCH RELIEF
BEARD DYES/COLOUR
BEARD GROWTH KIT
BEARD BIBS
BEARD STYLING CREAM
BEARD SHAPERS
BEARD MUGS
BEARD MIRRORS
BEARD FILLER
BEARD JEWELLERY
BEARD LIGHTS
BEARD SETS
BEARD STRAIGHTENERS
Below you will find a lot of information on the art of beard grooming. We present you with the various options that you will need to get started, and then take your beard care to the next level.
Beard Trimmers
The beard trimmer is most likely going to be the number one choice for men with beards. These are very well designed and allow you to shape and trim your beard and moustache.
The good news is that there plenty of choices from many leading shaving brands, so you will not be spoiled for choice. These include Philips, Remington, Braun, BaByliss and Wahl.
On average these cost around £10-15 for a basic beard trrimmer, and if you want more advanced features, then you should expect to pay around £35-£50. At the end of the day, your final choice will be determined by what you prefer to own, and how much you are prepared to pay.
You will pay more for a trimmer that is waterproof, or one that has the option of USB charging, than for a standard trimmer that does dry trimming.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Stubble Trimmers
The stubble trimmer is for those men who prefer a defined shorter stubble look. These do not offer a close shave.
There are various length settings on this type of trimmer. You can set the length of stubble that you want to keep on your face. The trimmer can then be used to shave the neck, face and moustache areas to give a nice overall look.
Most of these will also have an edging blade or attachment. That is used to tidy up the stubble and give nice sharp edges and lines for a neat looking finish.
You can of course buy a beard trimmer that also gives you the option to leave a stubble. A product like that just gives you more options.
Stubble trimmers are generally speaking cheaper than a beard trimmer, but more limited in use.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Beard Combs
As you can imagine the beard comb is all about keeping the beard neat and tidy. The comb is not only used for appearance though.
It is essentially for untangling the facial hair. When picking a bread comb it is important to pick one that is suitable for both the length and the thickness of the facial hair.
The thicker the hair, the wider the gap should be on the teeth on the comb.
Combs should really only be used for longer beards. Shorter beards should still be groomed but a brush is better for shorter beards, as the hair is still quite short.
Combs can be used in conjunction with scissors for trimming. That is especially important if the hair is curly.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Beard Brushes
Beard brushes are an essential piece of grooming kit for any man with a beard.
Brushes are a better choice for men with shorter beards, and should be used instead of a comb, in the first 6 months of growth. That is because the boar hair mainly used in a brush, helps spread sebum (a natural skin oil) through the beard which helps healthy growth.
When beards get longer then it is recommended to switch to a beard comb, which we have explained above.
Bristle brushes should be used once a day, and should be used with either a balm or an oil to get the best conditioning results. This does take a little practise at first, but is easy enough to pick up, and gives impressive results.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
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Beard Scissors
All beard scissors are designed to be able to cut and trim beards, moustaches and sideburns. They will be able to that in a very precise manner.
That is because they have very sharp convex edge blades, and the better quality of scissors will be hollow ground.
Small hairs are hard to capture with normal scissors, and indeed may get tugged if using just ordinary scissors. With beard scissors, the blades are tightly fitted to help you deal with stray and unruly hairs.
These are also handy to have when travelling for a quick trim and tidy up. They are not that heavy and saves you the trouble of bringing a beard trimmer, which does weigh a lot more.
Two elements are important when buying these; firstly the quality of the steel being used and secondly the size of them. Our advice is to either buy a Japanese or a German steel as that appears to be the best.
Also be aware that you can buy both left handed and right handed beard scissors.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
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Beard Oils
We believe that men should take as much care of their facial hair, as they do of the hair on their heads. Otherwise beards can look dry, scruffy and pretty awful.
Beard oils are usually made with either Argan oil, Jojoba oil or Grapeseed oil. These oils perform three key functions:
- Moisturises facial hair and the skin underneath
- Keeps all facial hair flake free and healthy looking
- Keeps the beard feeling fresh and lightly scented
Beard oil also softens the beard, especially longer beards.
With most beard oils, there is usually another oil added which gives a nice scent to the oil, and as such onwards to your beard. Something like an almond oil is often added.
Facial hair draws moisture from your skin to enable it to grow. That can make the skin underneath the facial hair dry out. When that happens then it starves the facial hair of moisture, making it go dry and brittle.
By applying a good beard oil 1-2 times a day, then that problem will not exist any longer.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Beard Balms
Many men can easily get confused between beard balms and beard oils. We have explained above what a beard oil is, and here we explain what a balm is and what the difference really is.
Beard balms offer you a great deal more control of your beard, and that is important if you have a beard that has a mind of its own. It is much better for thicker unruly beards.
They contain ingredients like Shea butter or beeswax and some of them will also contain some of the oils we have described above.
Beard oil is a better choice if you want your beard to retain it's natural shape and keep it healthy looking with a good shine. A beard balm is a better choice if you want to control your beard and condition it at the same time.
Some men will use both. They will apply an oil every day, and apply a balm 1-2 times a week for control purposes.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
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Beard Wax
Another very popular choice for me in of course beard wax. This is bought by men for its sculpting properties. It has a much thicker consistency than both oil and balm.
Waxes are designed to keep keep styled facial hair in place.
Wax also contains moisturising agents and essential oils. As such a wax does help hydrate, nourish and condition your beard.
The majority of men who use beard wax will have long beards. That is simply because a longer beard needs more work and typically they are usually harder to tame and control.
Nevertheless, having a shorter facial hair doesn’t mean you don’t need to use a wax. Quite the contrary, you should, if you want to have a manageable beard from the beginning.
You can of course use a wax on a shorter beard, but it is probably better to stick with a beard oil to do that.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Beard Shampoo and Conditioners
Beard shampoo is as you can imagine one method of taking care of and properly washing your beard. It is worth pointing out that a shampoo is not the same nor will it replace a beard oil.
Just like the hair on your hair, your beard also needs a good shampoo and conditioner. It is not however the same as ordinary hair shampoo. Beard shampoo does not remove the essential oils from your beard, moustache or sideburns, in the same way that ordinary shampoo does.
This essential oil is called "sebum oil."
Some people refer to this type of shampoo as a beard wash, and they are basically the same thing. They are made without chemicals you will find in most ordinary shampoo. The benefit of that is that the naturally produce sebum oil does not get taken away from the beard.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
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Beard Moisturiser
Most people will know that when you shampoo it will clean the hair. However after a shampoo or a facial beard cleanser, a moisturiser should also be applied. That is simply to keep the facial hair in good health.
Men use different products that we have already described and include oils, waxes, pomades and butters.
So do you also need a moisturiser? The moisturiser is slightly different and more important for longer beards. The main purpose of a beard moisturiser is really to help untangle the hairs.
They also help eliminate beard dandruff, and reduce the risk of the dreaded beard itch.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Moisturisers & Buying Guide
Beard Face Wash
A face wash and a beard face wash particularly is simply about giving the beard a really good scrub. We all know how good it feels to wash your face and that nice feeling it gives us.
It is no different when you wash your beard and make it look great.
Many of these use charcoal, aloe vera, Vitamin E and other ingredients to make a wide range of beard face washes.
Like many things though, the actual end choice is personal preference.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Face Washes
Beard Itch Relief
If you have ever suffered from an itch right under the beard, then you will fully understand just how annoying that can be. It is one of those things that really get under your skin (pardon the pun)
There are creams available that can help a lot with beard itch. These creams are made to help deal with dry skin, and go to work by rehydrating and moistursing the skin at the same time
They will bring much needed relief.
Beards grow much quicker than the hair on our heads thanks to testosterone. As a result any dead cells in the skin can clog up pores, and that will create an itch. A good face wash and this type of moisturiser or cream will then take care of the rest.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 5 Itch Relief Creams & Buying Guide
Beard Colouring & Dyes
Most people will know about normal hair dye and colours for men. These have exploded in popularity. It really isn't that much different when it comes to looking after your beard.
Some guys are happy enough with whatever colour of hair their beard turns out to be. On the other hand some men prefer their beard to look the same colour as the hair on their head.
Many men have different coloured hairs in their beard and this is very common. Different combinations in each hair follicle create different hair colors, which explains those random red hairs, grey hairs and dark patches.
To get a more uniform colour, a good quality hair dye or colour can help you out. There are some very good choices on the UK market.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
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Beard Growth
If you are struggling to grow your beard, want to grow it quickly or simply deal with patch parts of your beard, then there are also products for that.
These usually come in what are called fibres and typically they come in a spray can, so pretty easy to use.
You can also buy beard growth oils if you prefer that type of application. There are many options that include taking biotin and folic acid supplements. The more natural methods are to make sure your skin stays hydrated and well moisturised.
That will create healthy growth and faster growth.
You can check our links to the side for other related options..
Related Information
- Top 5 Beard Growth Options & Buying Guide
- Top 10 vitamins for beard growth
Beard Aprons
Trimming and caring for your beard is a necessity. It can also be a bit messy and if you are getting complaints about hairs on the bathroom floor, then a bib or hair catcher might just be the answer to that problem.
There are a few choices for this type of gadget. They include aprons, shoulder bibs and ones that attach to a wall or mirror using suction cups. (Suction cups are the most popular)
Now let's be honest, these are not something that you would want to be seen wearing, but it does save a lot of time cleaning up afterwards, and you can trim and shave to your heart's content.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
Beard Styling Creams
With longer beards it can often be difficult to tame the hair to create the style that you prefer. With shorter growth, there really is no need for a styling cream.
For medium length to long beards is where a beard styling cream can really help you out.
You simply add some cream to your hands, rub them together, and then rub and massage thoroughly into every area of your beard and moustache.
Most of these will have a light scent as most of the better creams are made from natural ingredients.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 5 Beard Styling Creams & Buying Guide
Beard Shapers
Most men are content enough to work free hand when it comes to shaping their beard. However others prefer to have a guide or a gadget to help.
There are a few of these available on the UK market, and they certainly help with creating a very neat shape and design.
They are particularly good at making straight neat lines. Shaping tools have evolved over the years, and their design has gotten better and better.
These are in effect templates and you can use these to outline the shape of your beard, and then shave and trim around those.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 5 Beard Shapers & Buying Guide
Beard Mugs
There quite literally is a mug for everything these days, so why should beard be any exception.
These are usually bought as gifts and they also make decent stocking fillers.
There are quite a few shapes and sizes of these available depending on your humour. They are not expensive and a useful gift for anyone who likes to sport a beard.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Mugs
Beard Mirrors
Looking after your beard can often mean having a good close up look at it. There are actually no beard mirrors specifically, but there are shaving mirrors that do an excellent job.
These can be placed in a bathroom and make beard grooming a great deal easier.
They are usually double sided with a natural reflection on one side, and when flipped over there is a magnified view, which can be handy from time to time.
Those with accordion style brackets do offer more viewing flexibility.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Shaving Mirrors & Buying Guide
Beard Filler
We have already mentioned products that stimulate beard growth. Beard fillers on the other hand for men who have problems with gaps in their beard hair growth.
This is a common problem, where hair refuses to grow at the same rate in certain areas of your face or neck. We have explained above why this is typically the case for most men.
Beard fillers are used to help plug or fill those gaps. They can also be used to help fill in bald patches in the main head of hair.
They are available in a wide range of colour so matching is important.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 5 Beard Fillers & Buying Guide
Beard Jewellery
Some guys like to take their beard to the next level and they do that by adding various types of jewellery to their beard.
These do come in all shapes and sizes and to be honest, they are not everyone's cup of tea.
Almost always these are worn in long beards.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Jewellery Options
Beard Lights
Hopefully we don't have to explain these too much.
Men use these or are usually bought these around Christmas time to turn their beard into a winter wonder land.
There is as you can imagine very little demand for these but they sell a lot more at Christmas time.
You can check our links to the side for a link to those options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Light Options
Beard Sets
If you are looking for a general beard grooming kit, then this is where you will see what is on offer.
These are very popular and many people buy these for gifts to those men who like to sport a beard.
Beard grooming sets will usually have a combination of these items; brush, comb, balms, wax, scissors and oils.
Men actually enjoy these types of gifts as it gives them the opportunity to try out products they would never know about.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Grooming Sets
Beard Straighteners
If you want a smooth straight beard then some men simply need to get rid of those natural curls.
A beard straightener is a great way of doing just that. It is simply a heated iron or more commonly a heated brush, shaped and designed for beards.
Again the main determining factor is going to be the length of your beard, and typically anything over an inch is needed, to make straighteners of any use to you.
One thing worth remembering is that longer beards take a longer time to straighten, and for that you simply need time if you plan on using these every day.
You can check our links to the side for other related options.
Related Information
- Top 10 Beard Straighteners & Buying Guide
Beard Products Conclusion
So if you plan on growing a beard, then there is no shortage of products about to help look after its growth and care. When we talked to the bearded folks here at the Emporium, they pretty much agreed that for them, it was more a trial and error approach.
There are a lot of beard grooming products on the market. You simply don't need all of them, and the other conclusion was that the longer the beard, the more work that required.
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