Beard growth oils are all the rage among men these days. In the quest to get a perfect beard, men tend to use various products. While testosterone levels in the body mainly determine facial hair growth, it doesn’t mean that some areas are incapable of producing facial hair.
Beard growth oils are mainly used to soften and tame beards. However, some contain essential oils and vitamins that promote beard growth. Before including a beard growth oil in your beard care routine, you should know how to use it and whether it works.
Beard Growth Oil: Does It Work?
There is a lot of confusion when talking about the growth of facial hair with beard oil. Even though there is no conclusive scientific proof that beard oils promote growth, essential oils may help with hair production.
Beard oils are quite effective in nourishing a beard and keeping the skin underneath healthy. Despite a lack of scientific evidence, ingredients such as bay leaf and ylang-ylang boost beard growth.
Beard oils do not promote facial hair growth despite the many false claims to the contrary. Beard oils with natural ingredients serve the main purpose of nourishing beard hair and taming it. Another point you must remember is that there is no significant difference between beard oil and beard growth oil. Both tend to do the same thing and have the same ingredients, which are various essential oils.
What Is Beard Growth Oil?
As the name suggests, beard growth oil contains essential and carrier oils that stimulate hair follicles and promote facial hair to grow faster. Beard oil also includes jojoba and argan oils that provide moisture to the beard and act as a beard conditioner.
Beard growth oils might suggest that they help boost facial hair growth, but they also help with other things, such as moisturizing the beard hair and the skin beneath it.
Moreover, it also reduces bad odor in beard hair and allows men to tame it properly. If you have an issue such as beard dandruff, a beard growth oil will help control and reduce it [1].
Beard Growth Oil Benefits
Beard growth oil is rich in antioxidants and other vitamins, which make it an excellent source of nourishment for beard hair.
These natural ingredients and essential oils make it a great addition to the daily beard care routine. Apart from stimulating hair follicles, beard growth oil also has other benefits.
Tames The Beard
An important part of maintaining a beard is keeping it styled and tame. Beard growth oil acts as a conditioner for beard hair and helps smoothen out scraggy and rough hair growth.
If you’re trying to opt for a neater and shinier beard, then using a beard growth oil before styling it will enhance your look. Beard hair has a rough texture compared to head hair, so using beard oil will improve its coarseness.
Reduces Beard Itch
Beard itch is quite common, especially in men growing their beards. This is mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, growing hair on the face can be quite irritable for the skin and cause an itch. Secondly, due to facial hair growth, the skin beneath the beard is prone to drying, causing a prickly feeling [2].
Using beard growth oil after a shower will moisturize and lock the skin’s moisture, causing the itch to diminish.
Provides A Fresh And Clean Beard
A beard growth oil is full of essential oils that make it smell good. The oil itself will make the beard look fresh and neat.
Moreover, oils such as peppermint, patchouli, and sandalwood have anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial properties, which keep beard hair clean.
Promotes Healthy Hair Growth
People are largely misinformed that beard growth oil will increase facial hair dramatically. However, like any oil, beard oil primes the skin and makes it healthy enough to support facial hair growth.
Additionally, ingredients like vitamin E and essential oils provide nourishment, which can positively affect facial hair growth.
Beard Growth Oil Side Effects
Since different brands use different oils when making beard growth oils, you should carefully review the list of ingredients. If you’re allergic to a certain oil or ingredient, you shouldn’t use that certain beard growth oil.
A reaction could occur if you use a beard growth oil you’re allergic to. Symptoms of an allergic reaction to beard growth oil include:
- Burning
- Redness
- Itching
- Hives
You might find essential oils in high concentrations in beard growth oils, which can also irritate the skin. If this takes place, wash that part of your face immediately and try diluting your beard growth oil.
Moreover, if you have oily or acne-prone skin, using beard oil on your skin will cause further complications, such as more breakouts and pimples. Another thing you need to take care of is protecting yourself from the sun. Beard growth oil makes the skin more sensitive to sun rays [3].
To ensure that the beard oil is good for usage, test it on a patch of skin for 48 hours. If there is no itching or any other sign of an allergic reaction, then you can use the beard growth oil without worrying.
The Truth About Beard Growth Oils
There are many claims that beard growth oils can do wonders for facial hair, but there’s no scientific evidence to prove it. Beard growth oils are an excellent source of supplements for hair follicles and beard hair. Even if it doesn’t promote beard hair growth, it helps maintain a clean and fresh beard. It also keeps beard dandruff and itchiness away.
If you’re allergic to beard growth oil, it’s better to either use an alternative or find a beard growth oil that contains ingredients you aren’t allergic to. Beard growth oil is more about hygiene rather than stimulating growth.
The Bottomline: Beard Oil Benefits and Risks
Testosterone levels in the body naturally determine beard growth, and you can only try to boost facial hair production. Even though many companies make tall claims about their magical oils increasing hair growth, there is no scientific evidence backing those claims. Beard growth oil has many other benefits which can lead to healthier hair growth, but no certain results have been seen yet.
Disclaimer: This article is only a guide. It does not substitute the advice given by your healthcare professional. Before making any health-related decision, consult your healthcare professional.
Editorial References And Fact-Checking
- Ramos C, et al. (2010). Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of essential oil and extracts of bay laurel Laurus nobilis Linnaeus (Lauraceae) from Portugal. DOI:
10.1080/14786419.2010.531478 - Enshaieh S, et al. (2007). The efficacy of 5% topical tea tree oil gel in mild to moderate acne vulgaris: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17314442 - Lin T-K, et al. (2018). Anti-inflammatory and skin barrier repair effects of topical application of some plant oils. DOI:
10.3390/ijms19010070
