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The days of clean-shaven faces are over. Men’s style in the business world today emphasizes a distinguished,
mature look. This is a reason for bearded men everywhere to rejoice because beards are in the center of the
spotlight. Whether you’re new to growing a beard or you’re starting to take your beard care more seriously, these
tips will help.

Beard Care Tips from the Pros

Growing a beard is only part of the battle. You also need to care for it right to keep it looking its best. Start with
these essential tips.

1. Find Your Washing Schedule

Some men assume they should wash their beard every day to keep it clean. If you do this, though, you’ll strip away
too many natural oils. This is a recipe for a brittle, dry beard. For most men, it’s best to wash your beard once or
twice per week. It depends on how oily your skin is and how dirty your beard gets. Bonus tip: make sure to wash
your beard with beard shampoo, not scalp shampoo. Beard hair needs a different, gentler formula than the hair on
your scalp.

2. Heavy on the Hydration

Even if you stick with a limited washing schedule, chances are that your beard needs some hydration help. You can
do this with either beard oil or beard balm. Whichever product you choose, apply it every day after your shower.
This locks in the moisture. Be sure to pat your beard dry first, though, or the product may not adhere to your beard
the way it should.

3. Fluff It Up

You’ve probably seen beard combs, but chances are that you’re using them wrong. These combs aren’t just for
warding off tangles. Use your comb to fluff up your beard each day. Point the comb’s teeth upward and use it to
fluff your beard layer by layer. This gets rid of any awkward pressings that happened while you slept.
Most beard combs have two sides: one with thin teeth and one with thicker teeth. Use the thicker teeth to fluff
your beard but don’t forget to use the thin teeth to do the same for your mustache.

4. Brush Daily

In addition to a comb, every guy needs a great beard brush. Opt for a boar bristle brush, which interacts well with
beard hair and helps the hair grow in the direction you want. Brushing your beard serves a few purposes. First, it
gives you great control as you style your beard. Second, it gets rid of dirt and debris so you don’t need to wash
your beard as often. Finally, brushing your beard distributes your natural oils. Your skin releases the oils and the
brush distributes them to the ends of your beard so all your beard hair gets their hydration powers.

Keeping Your Beard in Tip-Top Shape

A beard can make you look like either a masculine, distinguished man or like an unkempt bum. It all depends on
your beard care habits. The beard care tips above can make sure your beard adds to the sophisticated look you
want. If your beard is due for a professional overhaul, call our men’s salon to book your appointment.

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Some Are Blessed

For a while, you've been wondering how your friend Jason is able to keep his beard looking so sharp, all the damn
time. He's the sole reason you sigh every time you look in the mirror and notice your patchy, thin beard. Goddamn
it Jason. The inner Viking in you is alluring.

Most Are Not

Chances are, Jason, among countless other sharp-bearded men, did not win the jackpot of extraterrestrial beard
genes. In fact, growing out a beard is one thing. Maintaining, styling, and unleashing its sharp characteristics is not
so simple. It's a surprise to most that regular, intensive beard care is an undertaking compulsory to relish the nature
of sharp beards for those of us who do not possess Viking genes.

Thankfully, for those of us lacking the Viking genes, beard care does not have to be rocket science

Growing out a beard takes time. Growing out a beard correctly takes considerably less time, however, and may even
provide significantly better results. Putting it simply, a couple of weeks or months of an established beard care
routine will sharpen your beard to levels you haven't deemed possible. We've transformed the lounge's in-house
advice we give to our bearded customers into a compilation of 4 simple checklists, helping you bring out the boldness
of your beard with simple adjustments you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle.

1. Keep an Eye on Your Diet

Clearing away past weak, patchy, or thin beard hair requires subtle diet commitments. When it comes to your hair
and beard in general, the lack of access to nutrients essential to hair growth could surprisingly be the reason your
beard's growth is being held back. Your hair adores Vitamins, and a lack of essential Vitamins such as B3, B7, D, and
Vitamin E can perhaps be the sole reason your beard is growing so slow, thin, and fine.

A thorough analysis of your diet could help you point out if you're deficient in any of the aforementioned Vitamins.
If you consume eggs, salmon, nuts, and beans on a regular basis, chances are your diet is sufficient to support
consistent hair growth, and your diet is not to blame for your unreliable beard growth. Otherwise, if you find that
your diet lacks such Vitamins, and you've no access to Vitamin-rich food, are allergic, or prefer alternative food
options, perhaps it's time to consider dietary supplements.

2. Lay the Foundation Down

Fast, stable beard growth rests mainly upon the foundation you lay for your hair. Taking care of the skin and the
underlying hair follicles and pores that grow out individual hairs is key to nurturing consistent, reliable beard growth.
A periodic facial exfoliation done every 2-3 weeks using the right facial cleansers cleanses oil-clogged pores, and
extracts skin complexities such as ingrown hairs. Facial cleansing in turn gives the skin and its pores room to breathe,
making way for stable, reliable, and healthy growth of hair.

3. Hydrate, Nourish & Condition

As soon as you are done with your regular, everyday morning shower, you may begin to notice that your skin is drier
than usual. It's a normal occurrence that happens when skin oil washes away from the skin. You might have heard
earlier that shampooing your hair on a daily basis damages it. What you've heard is partially true. That's mainly
because washing strips hair away from its natural moisturizer, oil.

This phenomenon doesn't just happen after showers or cleansing with shampoos, soap, or the like when it comes to
beards though. Our faces are much more exposed to the natural elements that dry out this natural hair moisturizer,
called sebum. Therefore, even if you haven't had a shower in a day or two, your beard is probably under-hydrated
as you are reading this text.

Left unmoisturized for a long period of time, the skin beneath your beard may begin to dry, itch, and break, causing
dandruff, patchy skin, skin irritation, and inflammation. Aside from skin damage, your beard is also albeit dragged
along into this mayhem. Dry follicles result in weaker, finer hair.

As such, by routinely using your favorite brand of beard oil to moisturize your beard, you guarantee nourishment to
your follicles, helping them ease the growth of strong, manageable, healthy hair. Aside from healthy hair that is
reliable in growth and strength, you are preventing dandruff and a dozen other skin problems. Win-win, don't you
think?

4. Pave the Way for Hair Growth

If you've been doing your part so far by keeping up with the basics of diet, foundation, and hydration, you should
now start noticing subtle to moderate surges in your beard growth. That's it. You've done it. What a champ. We
believed in you all along. Nevertheless, we highly recommend you don't start celebrating just yet. You've grown one
heck of a beard. We get it, man. Ragnar would be proud. But, unless you want an unmanageable beard that you
have absolutely no sort of control over, you have no reason to celebrate, yet.

It is still important you pave way for your beard to grow in the most optimal way. Have you seen some of ISIS's
bearded leaders? Those guys grew their beards alright. Yet they forgot to pave the way for their beards, hence why
their facial hair looks no different than their scalp hair. Unless you want to be branded as a member of Al Qaeda,
God forbid, you must brush and comb your beard on a daily basis. Brushing keeps your beard free of knots, tangles,
and snags, helping it grow more manageable and supple. As a rule of thumb, a beard you cannot control is a beard
that will not be long. Once your mighty, 3-inch beard starts getting out of hand, you'd be lying to say you haven't
contemplated cutting it off. That's unless you're into the frizzy look, of course.

While regular brushing allows you to grow hair that is more straight and aligned, combing also distributes sebum
across less hydrated parts of your facial hair, nurturing dry follicles and allowing you to optimize the way your hair
grows across all parts of your beard. We generally recommend thicker beards be brushed at least twice a day. But
hey, that's just our recommendation, and we haven't seen the kind of magnificent beard you have beyond the
screen. Generally speaking, brushing yields the best results when it is done after showering, just after waking up,
and along with beard oil in your beard moisturizing routine.

Patience, My Friend

Growing out your beard to the length and style you'd like is a vigorous process that will not bear fruit overnight.
Beard growth is a lengthy process if you lack the right genes that help make it a walk in the park. Regardless, most
of us are not descendants of badass bearded individuals. And yet the most resilient of us are keeping up with the
effort to unravel the beauty of man, the beard. Truthfully, the process takes some time, but by following our
simplified guide, all you need is patience, for the saying goes something along the lines of "Good things take time.”
Sit tight, my friend. You're in the home stretch.