Beard neglect happens to the best of us. It’s easy to let life get in the way, and it doesn’t take long for your beard to go from looking like your pride and joy to looking like who did it and why. 

Don’t despair! A beard can be revived. Here’s how to do it in three easy steps.

Step 1: Wipe the Slate Clean

Washing your beard will get rid of any excess sweat, sebum, dirt, and even caked up products. Use Big Beard Soap to start restoring a good moisture balance in your beard while removing anything that’s making it look bad. 

Step 2: Detangle and Moisturize

Leave just a little bit of dampness in your beard after you rinse out the soap to hydrate it. Then, start working a generous amount of beard oil from your skin down. Starting at the roots, use your fingers to gently rake through your beard. 

If your fingers get caught up in a snag, stop there. Start at the end of your beard underneath the tangle and use a wooden beard comb to very gently coax out the tangles. (Many guys detangle before they wash their beards, but follow these steps if there are any knots left over.) Take your time. Don’t yank your beard, and don’t force any knots out.

If necessary, apply a little more water and oil to keep your beard moist and supple. Gently work out the tangles, taking as much time as you need to. Give your beard that TLC that it’s been missing.

When your beard is tangle free, use our beard brush to give it a nice brush through. Make long strokes starting at the chin, using the bristles to scratch (aka exfoliate) your skin. You may need to rinse your beard again if there is too much oil in it at the end of this process. If you feel like your beard needs it, you may want to leave the oil in for up to 30 minutes before you rinse. If you’re comfortable with the amount of oil in your beard at the end of the process, leave it there. 

Step 3: Make a Beard Care Routine (and Stick to It)

Beard care is a marathon, not a sprint. A treatment here and a good detangling session there is great, but that’s not enough to maintain a good looking beard 365 days a year. Instead, focus on developing a sustainable beard care routine. 

A great beard care routine needs to do the following:

• Address the weekly needs of your beard and skin
• Fit within the amount of time that you can consistently devote to beard maintenance each day
• Involve products that you can afford to keep a supply of

Don’t set yourself up for failure. Trying to tackle a 30 minute beard care routine each morning if you don’t even have time to wash your face some days is just not reasonable. If the latest-greatest $100 beard serum works great for your beard, but it just doesn’t fit in your monthly budget, do your beard and wallet a favor by finding a more affordable product that meets your needs. 

You can come up with a great routine, but it needs to address the specific needs of your beard if you want to see any benefits from it. Having a dry beard, an oily beard, a patch beard, an itchy beard, or a length goal are all personal factors that you should take into consideration as you build out your beard care routine.

If you have really dry skin, you may need to use beard oil every other day. If you have naturally oily skin, you may only need beard oil once a week. Beard balm may be a lifesaver for someone with a very bushy beard, but it could make a patchy beard look even patchier.