When most of us think of beard routines, we regularly think of all the stuff that we do, sort of beard in the morning. However, preparing your beard for the evening can be equally important. That's because at night you're placing a good quantity of strain on your beard because it smashes in opposition to your pillow. We want to make sure that your beard has the best chance of surviving whatever you do to it while you sleep, so the products we use can't just be wiped off onto your pillow.
A great nighttime beard routine includes brushing and fully drying the hair (since wet hair is much easier to break), using a long-lasting conditioner like beard oil or beard butter, and then protecting the beard with a beard wrap or satin pillowcase so that it doesn't rub against anything.
I've put together the best nighttime beard advice, which I've used myself for many years to keep my beard looking good and make sure I don't break or damage the hairs while I sleep.
Listed here are the essential elements of a nighttime beard routine. Be happy to use this as a scaffold for crafting your beard routine.
The best of a nighttime beard routine
There are some pillars of a nighttime beard routine that you actually shouldn't change. This includes washing your hair (if you shower earlier than going to bed), making sure that your hair is completely dry using a microfibre towel or a medium heat hairdryer, using a go-away-in conditioner resembling beard oil, coconut oilor beard butter, brushing your beard, and then finally defending the beard while sleeping.
Here's a rundown on every one of these in additional detail.
Washing
If I shower before bed, I guarantee that my beard is as clean as possible. I don't suggest cleansing your beard with shampoo day after day as it may possibly simply dry out the oils that might be produced by your pores and skin. People who work in dusty or soiled environments might have to scrub their beards each evening, but it must be overcome by utilizing the products that I will talk about later on in this article.
While you're washing your beard's hair, strive not to use overly warm water. The extreme heat, whilst feeling incredibly enjoyable, will help water penetrate deep into your beard, which means that it is much easier to break while you're sleeping on it.
Be certain that you are utilizing a dedicated beard shampoo. A devoted beard shampoo has been particularly formulated for the conditions on the face. A head shampoo is designed for a much more oily place—your scalp—and so can easily strip most of the pure oils from your beard.
If you want a complete rundown of the best beard washes, try my 50-50 beard experiment with a beard model and genuine Amish beard washes:
Drying
One of the very powerful aspects of a nighttime beard routine is ensuring that your beard is as dry as attainable. That's because beard hair is especially prone to damage when it is wet.
Usually, hair is extremely robust. On average, a single strand of hair can carry up to a hundred grams of weight. You can even check this by doing your own experiment outlined in this scientific American article. Hair is strong as a result of its having a 3-layered structure. There are keratin fibres that make up the middle layer of the hair strand, which is the same stuff that your fingernails are made from.
Even though beard hair is very strong, there is one important exception: when your hair is wet.
You should shave your beard hair as completely as possible. You can do this through the use of a microfibre towel combined with a blow dryer on medium or excessive heat. I test how dry my beard is at the base by utilizing a chilly setting on the hairdryer—this means that I am capable of feeling the evaporation of the water from the roots of the hair. If I feel any coldness, I keep going until the sensation of the water evaporating no longer exists.
I also like to let my hair air dry for a few minutes before putting any oil or butter into my hair. This makes it possible for my beard to be as free from moisture as possible before I go to bed.
This can make sure that your beard is as dry as possible before you put it away, which can cause all sorts of hassle if you are sleeping.
Conditioning
After your hair is clean and dry, you must consider using a leave-in and lengthy-acting conditioner. For bearded individuals, this is typically a beard oil, a single ingredient product corresponding to coconut oil, sheer butter, or beard butter. One of the crucial things is that you do not use a product with a holding element, corresponding to beeswax.
Oil
Beard oil is among the finest things for your beard when you sleep. Beard oils are very common and are used to reduce dryness in the hair and skin. Beard oils sometimes comprise a carrier oil (which is the majority component) and an essential oil. I'd advocate staying away from beard oils that incorporate loads of jojoba oil. Jojoba oil just isn't easily absorbed into the hair and will set against the beard for a long time before being absorbed.
Consider buying a beard oil with Argan oil and sweet almond oil in it. These oils are more easily absorbed by the beard hair and, after a long time, like a day, they will reach the core of the hair fibers.
It's also possible to choose to use a single ingredient reminiscent of coconut oil.
The science behind how coconut oil gets into hair was looked at in a 2012 study called "Quantitative measurement of the penetration of coconut oil into human hair using radiolabeled coconut oil."
Applying coconut oil to hair has been used for centuries, notably in Asian and African countries, and it is the fact that the oil stops water penetrating into the hair to cause swelling and breakages that ends up in the main protection mechanism.
The scientists seemed to increase the absorption of the coconut oil into human hair by utilizing a small radioactive part (tritium) within the coconut oil. The 10 cm long strands of Indian hair were soaked in 1.5 mL of radiolabelled coconut oil.
The method was able to distinguish between surface-deposited oil and oil that had been absorbed immediately into the hair fiber. It was found that the oil mostly stayed on the hair's surface, but it could also get into the hair fiber.
To make use of coconut oil effectively, you have to just be sure you give it enough time to penetrate into the core of the hair. You can try this by heating it up so that it becomes simple to use on the hair and leaving it for a minimum of 20 minutes after application.
Butter
The final ingredient that you should consider placing on your beard earlier than bed is butter. You can buy beard butter that is made with a variety of butters, like shea butter or cocoa butter.
One of all my favorite busses is sheer butter, as it has a variety of necessary advantages for beards, and you will discover beard butters where the majority element is sheer butter. However, when you simply need to use it on your own—which you'll—it may be the most effective thing to put in your beard right before bed.
Shea butter is an implausible product that is superb for each part of your beard-growing journey. I've been utilizing Shea butter for so long as I've had a beard (even once I had stubble) and I always keep a recent batch readily available for when I need to give my pores and skin and beard that extra boost.
Shea butter has a huge number of benefits that have been proven by science:
It could possibly enable you to beat beardruff. In 2018, a study discovered that when used in combination with other merchandise, it helps reduce flakes. It might help your hair get stronger. Similar plant-based butters have been proven to make hair far more resistant to breakage. It's antibacterial and antifungal—in case your beard is smelling or you will have some issues with a soiled beard. Shea butter will help ward off the bacteria that are in your beard.
Don't use balm or wax!
One thing that I would advise against is using a beard balm or a beard wax. It's because each of these kinds of merchandise comprises beeswax. There isn't a level in utilizing beeswax before you go to bed. Beeswax is added to beard merchandise in order to offer hold and long-lasting styling throughout the day. If you put it on your beard at night, it will just sit on top of it and prevent the shea butter or oils you worked so hard to put in your beard from being absorbed quickly.
Brushing
After applying your beard oil, coconut oil, or butter, you need to brush the hair from root to tip. I typically use a two-stage method of brushing my beard.
- I use a wide-tooth comb to brush and comb the full depth of the beard. This comb must be made from wooden or machined plastic so as to protect the cuticles of the hair from becoming damaged through over brushing. I really recommend the Kent positive tooth beard comb as it's sawcut and is made from a low-static material.
- I used a natural hair brush to evenly brush the top of the beard. This offers a number of advantages, including detangling the hair, but more importantly, it can act as an additional means of dispersing the beard product throughout the hair.
Do not forget that it's best to always be very careful when brushing your beard as it is considered one of the easiest ways to wreck it.
Protecting the beard
If you go to bed, it is best to intend to protect the beard as much as possible. You should buy a separate cover like a beard wrap, or you can make sure that the hair doesn't get too much pressure by putting a silk or satin pillowcase over your pillow.
The material—the fabric that beard wrap is made of—is very important. Quite often, the beard wraps are manufactured from a double-layered construction with a satin or silk layer on the inside. Satin or silk is the very best option for many uses because it additionally allows you to wear beard oil while sleeping. Size: Because you most likely have a very long beard, it is recommended that you purchase a beard wrap that is large enough to hold your entire beard without putting too much strain on it. Beard wraps are available in quite a lot of sizes, so measure from one to the other, taking into account the full shape of the beard, and select one that will comfortably accommodate the entire bulk of your beard. Most beard wraps use the over-the-ear attachment method. This may be comparatively uncomfortable for many individuals, as you don't want your ears being tugged on all evening. No matter how snug or soft the elastic is, it can be very irritating. There are different choices, akin to over-the-head and neck attachment sorts, so choose one that is best for you.
A beard wrap may also be made with any sort of satin or silk-like material. You can tie it around your face like a bandanna. It might not be as comfortable as a bandanna you buy in a store, but it should still protect your beard.
Satin/Silk Pillow
A silk pillow will reduce the amount of friction caused by your tossing and turning at night. It may also be a surface that doesn't cause friction, so your hair can move with you as you move.
The factor is that beard hairs can easily become trapped between you and your pillow.
You can end up putting quite a bit of twisting pressure right at the base of the hair, which can make it weaker.
Should you do that at night, you could find that more hair is falling out than usual.
Silk pillowcases are good for your skin in addition to your facial hair. It doesn't strip your face or skin of its natural oils like cotton can. You shouldn't use a silk pillowcase in combination with beard oil because it'll end up all around the mattress.
Silk pillowcases have all of those advantages:
They help prevent frizzy hair; due to the silt's tremendously easy texture, the hair glides over it without any friction, which implies that it'll not be as frizzy in the morning. They keep the pores and skin hydrated. Silt smoothness implies that it's much less likely to absorb moisture out of your skin, which keeps the moisture where it may do the most effective job: next to your skin. Keeps hair healthy: when you've got a significantly brittle beard, hair silk may also help. Cotton is far more porous than sand, and so conventional pillowcases absorb the moisture from your hair. That means when you suffer from dry hair, you've got dandruff, an excellent silk pillowcase will really assist.
If you do not want to purchase a dedicated silk pillowcase, you may also buy the fabric or use an inexpensive silk scarf on your pillow. You will want to seek some means to keep it in position all through the night, possibly with some clips on the underside of the pillow. But it's a good way to try out the benefits of a silk pillow without having to spend a lot of money on one at first.
How ought I to sleep with a beard?
If you are a stomach or facet sleeper, you could also be putting quite a lot of pressure on your beard.
Certainly, one of the best ways to overcome putting strain on your beard is to become a regular sleeper.
If you wish to sleep in your own bed again, there are a selection of ways to ensure that you end up there. The easiest way is to place a pillow on both sides of yourself in an effort to stabilize your sleeping position. A good head pillow for sleeping on your back is one with a medium loft and softness because anything too lofty or soft will put your neck in an uncomfortable position.
Is it dangerous to sleep on your beard?
It's not dangerous to sleep in your beard hair as long as you're taking precautions, such as carrying a beard cowl or by utilizing a low-friction pillowcase equivalent to silk or satin.
It's unlikely to trigger any vital issues in the blood stream to the hair roots if you are sleeping. That's because the pillow could be very tender and is unlikely to cause sufficient stress to squeeze the microscopic capillaries that supply the blood to the base of the hair.
Does sleep enhance beard growth?
Ultimately, beards haven't been confirmed to develop faster in the evening or why you're sleeping. The rate of your beard's development is directly correlated with your metabolism, and there are a few metabolic studies that have looked at the speed of people's metabolisms while they're sleeping and found that it's highest when there may be rapid eye movement sleep.
If you need your beard to grow faster, all you must do is ensure you get a good night's sleep. Sleep deprivation may end up in a disruption to your hormonal system, which might influence your testosterone and therefore the amount of hair that is grown on your face.
Summary
In this article, we have covered the ultimate nighttime routine and checked out the main elements of making sure your beard is nourished and protected while you're sleeping.
An important aspect is that your beard is as dry and protected as possible. Studies have shown that wet hair is simpler to interrupt than dry hair, and you need to try to stop any further strain on your beard by using a beard wrap while you are sleeping or by using a satin or silk pillowcase.
That is how you end up with the ultimate nighttime beard routine!