What makes a good beard oil?

The best beard oils out there are a combination of two key things; Part skin care product part hair care product.

Good beard oil has to be potent enough to tame rogue hairs and nurture beard growth while also being gentle on the skin around the beard area. Not all products are equal, and If you are the kind of guy who frequently experiences issues, such as dry, itchy facial skin, your current beard products may be to blame.

There are several important factors to be considered when selecting the best beard oil for you. These include the types of carrier oils used and how they make the beard and skin feel, the ratios of those carrier oils, how natural the beard oil is and lastly the type of scent used.

The best Carrier Oils:

There are numerous carrier oils used in different beard oils, each with their own unique scent profile and features. It’s commonly held that two stand out from the pack as must have ingredients; argan and jojoba oil.

Both argan and jojoba oils are highly effective beard oil ingredients. Beard oil connoisseurs will tell you not to waste your time with a beard oil that does not contain a high ratio of at least one of these amazing ingredients. For quality beard oils however, ratios matter - you really need to know how much is in the bottle. Without a high enough concentration of these oils, you will not experience the full benefit.

Jojoba

Argan

Tricks of the trade:

Pure jojoba and argan oils are expensive ingredients. Using them high quantities demands a higher price. Many companies will sell an “affordable premium” product, which include trace amounts of these oils (check the back of the label) then aggressively market the ingredients. In reality, the concentrations are so low that you are not receiving any real benefit from the beard oil, and what you are paying for is far from a premium product.

The method matters:

It is not just the concentration that matters, but the quality of the raw ingredients as well. Purity is important - while were not going to go all gospel here, it does matter how the oil producing plants are grown. Lower quality raw material will be cheaper than the higher quality.

The next step is key too: the method through which oil is extracted makes a big difference in the resulting product. There are two primary ways of extracting oils from plant material.

Cold pressing: As the name implies, cold pressing is simply pressing the material under extreme pressure to extract the oil. This method is very effective at preserving the integrity and potency of the oil. That being said, it is a more expensive form of extraction.

Solvents: The other, cheaper method of extracting oil from the raw materials. While easier and faster, using solvents can reduce the effectiveness of the beard oil ingredients – solvents can damage/break down the oil’s molecules –  and can leave impurities behind. 

If you beard oil is priced high, take a look at their story; how do they make the oil, what goes into the bottle, and are you really getting value? Transparent brands will have a good, detailed story to tell here, while money grabbing marketers will just spin spin spin.