Editor’s note
This article was originally written on Beard Profile, which is merging with the Beard Wiki. It is written by the same author and founder of both websites, but uses a different voice from what the Beard Wiki traditionally uses. Some of these transferred articles may or may not have sources included.
This article isn’t here to call out specific brands or beard-related companies. Skincare oils can be great for moisturizing your face to prevent beardruff, as well as help keep the facial hair itself soft, tameable, and healthy. With that said, be aware that there are many oils on the market that claim to help with beard growth, but contain ingredients that do the exact opposite: they may even hinder your beard’s progress.
As we discussed in another article here on this site, scalp-related hair growth products should be avoided. What an abundant amount of beard companies and individuals selling beard oils and balms do is use knowledge in relation to hair loss and, in turn, attempt to pass it off as beard knowledge.
Many Beard Profile members and readers already know that hair loss remedies (scalp) and androgenic hair growth (beard) are two different things altogether. This is something that these companies either don’t know or intentionally ignore due to the vast amounts of information one might find searching online — usually found on reliable websites that relate to head hair.
When even a meticulous consumer searches for the ingredients contained in these beard oils, they’ll come across a plethora of what looks like outstanding hair growth information; testimonials from those that don’t profit from providing feedback, research that shows how well certain oils like rosemary help with thinning hair, and dozens of sources that further strengthen the idea that these oils are helpful.
At this point it’s when the consumer decides that the product and the ingredients contained within is a good purchase for their beard.
On the other end of the spectrum, the people selling these products see essential oils are also in similar rival products, and the cycle continues to solidify that anti-androgens are good for beards… when in actuality, DHT blockers are not good at all. They are detrimental, particularly for those guys that have patchy beards that are looking to increase their beard’s overall density through follicle activation.
Also read: Understanding the Importance of DHT for Health and Beard Growth
Remember, just because someone may not seem be as affected by the anti-androgenic effects of essential oils, this does not correlate that these oils are not harmful to others’ beards.
Harmful to your beard.
When buying products from sites like Amazon, for example, be very cautious of all of the positive reviews. Many times, a company will send a free product to a reviewer in exchange for a review. While the reviewer is not obligated to leave a positive one, you can bet that most people will, else they do not receive more free products from this and other companies.
Gaming of review systems on websites is a big thing and it is especially notable in beard-related products.
With that said, not all beard products are hindering your beard’s progress. There are a lot out there, albeit a little harder to find, that do not contain the negative aspects we want to avoid and will help keep your beard nice and healthy. If an oil claims to provide better growth, however, you should be wary as there isn’t much out there that directly influences follicles to develop hair.
That’s more left to your body’s health, with possible benefits through supplementation of workout aids and vitamins (if you’re deficient in them).
Also read: How We Can Increase Testosterone and DHT
Even in the case of using minoxidil to grow your beard, not everybody sees the results they desire. And that’s the absolute best method out there when trying to develop more facial hair that we know of.
If you’re skeptical about beard oils and would rather stir up a concoction of your own, we’ve got you. Check out the “How to Make Beard Oil” article to mix up some of your own without having to worry about what’s in the bottle. It’ll save you some money in the long run too.
With all of the companies out there trying to take advantage of a growing market, it’s easy to find yourself using products you don’t necessarily even need.
It’s everywhere, and everyone’s using the stuff. Stay vigilant, do your research, and beard on.