Yes, you can have beard dandruff. Like your scalp, you can notice dry skin in your beard and experience itchiness when you have dandruff problems.
You can prevent and avoid this annoying skin problem with proper care. Washing and exfoliation are the two most important ways to get rid of it.
Do you want to know the causes, treatment, and prevention of dandruff bear in detail? Here is a guide.
What Causes Dandruff In Beard?
Your skin has sebaceous glands that produce sebum or natural oil of your skin. Almost every one of us has Malassezia globose, a specific microbe or an isa-type fungus in our skin.
This microbe grows in oily areas of our skin. This microbe decomposes sebum and boosts the formation of oleic acid. Oleic acid irritates the skin.
If you have an oily skin, your skin is likely to accumulate more oleic acid. Our body makes the skin renewal process faster in response to the skin irritation caused by oleic acid. In this way, the body wants to remove the irritant from our skin, and the process can cause flakes.
Having extremely dry skin can also be a reason behind you having beard dandruff.
Further, if you don’t wash your beard regularly, you can have dandruff and excessive oil accumulation in your beard.
How Can I Prevent Beard Dandruff?
To prevent beard dandruff, you must find the best beard wash for dandruff according to your dermatologist’s recommendation.
You also need to keep your beard moisturized so that unwanted dryness or flakiness of your skin does not happen.
Keep feeling your skin; if you experience itchiness, you need to understand that your skin has become dry.
Be more careful about your skin moisturization when the weather outside is cold or dry.
Include whole grains, cucumber, and coconut oil into your diet plan to balance sebum production and improve skin health.
What Is The Best Beard Dandruff Treatment?
There are multiple aspects when it comes to beard dandruff treatment. You must use the best beard shampoo to keep the beard clean and free of excess oil.
At the same time, you have to get rid of the dead skin cells accumulated in your beard.
Like the basics of skincare, you have to take care of the exfoliation, cleaning, and moisturizing parts.
Exfoliation To Get Rid Of Dead Skin Cells
When our skin cell renewal process becomes faster in response to oleic acid, our skin becomes prone to accumulating more dead skin cells.
You must follow a simple exfoliation process to eliminate these dead skin cells.
Do you want to know how to exfoliate your beard? Here is the step-by-step guide.
- Take a beard brush with soft bristles.
- Massage the skin beneath your beard with this soft brush.
- Gently brush your beard.
This exfoliation process using a beard brush also helps the oil in your skin to reach out to your beard.
However, don’t be rough in brushing your beard. Scrubbing will make the dandruff problem severe.
Wash Your Beard To Fight Dandruff
Like your hair, your beard also tends to gather dirt and grime. Thanks to the sebum in your skin, oil gets built up in your beard.
In addition, the dead skin cells accumulate in your beard, causing dandruff. So, shampooing is a must for the upkeep of your beard.
You can use your hair shampoo for your beard. But when I consulted with grooming and skincare experts, they suggested using medicated shampoos for the beard. You need a gentler formula for your beard wash to avoid any skin irritation. Especially if you have sensitive skin, using your hair shampoo for the beard is a big No-No.
Be gentle while shampooing your beard, and massage the shampoo in a way so that it reaches your facial skin under the beard.
Always use cold water for shampooing your beard. Hot water can dry your skin, increasing the risk of dandruff formation. Also, your skin may get irritated in contact with hot water.
Shampoos to get rid of beard dandruff come with tea tree oil, coal tar, selenium sulfide, and pyrithione zinc.
Moisturize To Rehydrate And Protect
You need to moisturize your beard if you want to get rid of dandruff and reduce the chances of having it.
Moisturization makes the external barrier of our skin stronger by restoring hydration. So, each time you wash your beard using a shampoo, don’t forget to moisturize your beard immediately after.
You will find many beard lotions, but those are a little problematic as they can boost the oil quotient of your skin further, increasing the risk of fungal growth. At the same time, the lotion may cause product buildup in your skin.
So, using beard oil to moisturize your beard and the skin beneath without buildups or oily residue is always better.
However, if you have oily and acne-prone skin, you have to be extra careful about the moisturizer you choose. It has to be non-comedogenic, and argan oil can be the best in this regard.
How To Moisturize Beard Using Beard Oil?
Moisturizing your beard with an oil is very similar to applying oil to your hair. Nevertheless, I have made the process simpler for you.
- Pour a few drops of the oil into your palm and gently rub your palms.
- Now, massage the oil into the skin covered by your beard.
- You should slowly massage the oil upward and reach the end of your beard.
You can repeat the process if you feel that your beard is not properly moisturized the first time.
Should I Shave My Beard If I Have Beard Dandruff?
If you are unsure about how you will get rid of beard dandruff, you can definitely shave your beard. It will be a quick solution to your problems. However, you can face the same issue again when you grow your beard back unless you take care of your skin.
Once you have shaved your beard, you must follow the exfoliation, moisturization, and rehydration regimes strictly. It will calm, nourish, and rejuvenate your facial skin. The process will also make your skin stronger. So it will become less prone to bacteria and fungal attacks.
Is There A Way To Get Rid Of Beard Dandruff Naturally?
Yes, there is a way to get rid of beard dandruff naturally. You can use lemon juice to fight this problem. The Vitamin C or ascorbic acid in the lemon juice has exfoliating properties. So, it will help you to get rid of dead skin cells.
However, be careful about the quantity and proportion of the lemon juice you will use for your facial skin. If you apply too much lemon juice to your skin, it can cause irritation. Mix lemon juice with water in a proper ratio. If you take two spoons of lemon juice, you can mix it with one cup of warm water to prepare the right solution to fight beard dandruff.
Once the mixture is ready, you can gently rub it onto your beard to get rid of dandruff. Keep the mixture in your skin for around 5 minutes because keeping it for longer can irritate your skin.
Another natural remedy for getting rid of beard dandruff is using coconut oil. Coconut oil keeps the hair in your beard soft. Further, when the hair in your beard is soft, it will not gather dirt and grime. So you will be able to maintain better hygiene for your skin and beard.
Do Diet And Sleep Have An Impact On Fighting Against Beard Dandruff?
Yes, proper diet and sound sleep can impact beard growth and protection against dandruff. There is a close association between the food you have and the flaky skin you have in your hair and beard.
The first thing you can do to manage beard dandruff is to limit your intake of sugar. When you have less sugar, you can reduce skin inflammation. There will also be less flakes or dandruff in your beard and hair.
If we delve deeper, we will understand why limiting the intake of sugary food is important. It will cause an insulin spike, which is again closely related to increased oil production in your skin. With excessive oil production in your skin, the chances of dandruff attacks increase.
As you minimize your sugar intake, you must also include fresh fruits and veggies in your diet to fight dandruff and have stronger skin.
Sleep is also very important to avoid frequent dandruff breakouts. Stress and a lack of sleep are often associated with each other. These can be standalone issues or can trigger dandruff growth together.
Final Words
Beard dandruff is common, but if you don’t follow the care and prevention regimes properly, the problem may become severe.
Ideally, your beard should be free of dandruff within a few weeks. If it lasts more than that, you may need help from a dermatologist and use medicated formulations topically.
Don’t forget to maintain your exfoliation, washing, and moisturizing regime even after beard dandruff is cured. This is important to stop having dandruff again.
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