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Many men in my life have facial hair, including my boyfriend and both of my brothers, so I’ve gotten a front-row seat to the neglect. They barely run their face under the stream of water in the shower. They groom for vanity’s sake, to the point of being presentable, but it’s a bare-minimum situation.
I wonder if they even remember that there is skin underneath the beard. My guess is that if they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist to them. There’s not much going on in the skincare department altogether, and yet they’ll still complain about razor burn, acne, dryness, or flakes as if it’s the end of the world. I need to help solve this problem.
“When you have a beard, you have to make sure that the skin underneath is also taken care of,” said Julien Howard, a master barber in New York City who goes by the Velo Barber. Regularly trimming the scraggly hairs will also work wonders for maintaining your appearance, he said.
Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York, agreed that it’s absolutely necessary to tend to facial skin in addition to properly grooming your beard. There are three essential steps when it comes to beard care, he said:
- Washing your face (every day!)
- Moisturizing
- Grooming
These steps help not only clean the hair but also the skin underneath, and keep the whole facial hair area healthy even while having a full beard.
“Another note for men with beards is that they should avoid stroking the beard with their hands (though it may look cool),” Rossi told BuzzFeed News via email. “Their hands are full of bacteria, and this gets transmitted to their face and can cause infections and breakouts.”
Clearly, some of our bearded friends need help. They want to look cool and have killer facial hair (nothing makes my boyfriend happier than a compliment on his mustache), but they need a push in the right direction. Do them a favor and send them this guide, or give them some of these products to kick-start a thorough beard care routine.
How to wash your face if you have a beard