How To Get Rid Of Beard Dandruff

The beard is back. Unfortunately, that means one thing: so is beard dandruff. If you're unlucky enough to sport a flaky face – and hey, it happens to the best of us – try reframing it as a trade-off for all those beard benefits. You're saving a packet on overpriced blades, changing up your look and, of course, spending a few extra minutes doing what you enjoy most in the morning: sleeping.

Not feeling much better? It can be embarrassing to experience, but beard dandruff is merely a reminder that chin fuzz isn't a low maintenance affair. It isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card that permits fuss-free grooming. Like gardens, those luscious face locks need to be lovingly tended, pruned and fed. And perhaps more crucially, so does the skin beneath them. In the same way that the soil in the garden will eventually dry, crack and crumble if you don't water it, skin begins to flake if you don't moisturise it.

What makes things especially difficult for beard wearers is that facial hair 'wicks' moisture away from the skin, drawing it up from the surface and onto the hairs, where it quickly evaporates. This can leave skin underneath the hair especially dry and flaky – hence the beard 'dandruff'. What's more, dead skin cells that normally litter the face but are removed by daily washing and exfoliation can get stuck around the hair shafts, attracting grease and encouraging the formation of painful ingrown hairs.

There's no need to whip the clippers out and part ways with your pride and joy. Thankfully, the remedy is simple. Use a facial scrub twice weekly over the entire beard area to remove dead cells and skin flakes and to release ingrown hairs. Then, hydrate the skin beneath your beard twice daily using a good, non-sticky moisturiser or specialist beard conditioner. Make sure you gently massage it in to ensure proper coverage. Repeat this routine consistently and hey presto – beard dandruff will become a distant memory.

master1305 Getty Images

Beard Moisturiser: Which One to Buy?

Beard dandruff be gone – slather on any one of the potent elixirs below and banish flakes forever (as long as you remember to keep using it).

Nivea For Men Sensitive Stubble Moisturising Gel, £6.30 from boots.com
Specially formulated for stubble, this lightweight, non-greasy and easily absorbed moisturiser is the perfect way to hydrate skin under a beard.

Professor Edward Fuzzworthy's Gentleman's Organic Beard Care Gloss, £19.99 from amazon.co.uk
Rich in traditional beard-softening oils, this soft wax is a great way to add gloss and shine to your beard, while keeping it soft and conditioned. Plus, it smells great.

Lab Series: The Grooming Oil 3-In-1 Shave and Beard Oil, £27 from johnlewis.com
This oil from Lab Series combines sea buckthorn, jojoba and almond oils to condition your beard and make it silky smooth. Bonus: you can also use it as a shaving cream substitute if you decide to shave the whole thing off.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io