Now that it has been established that beard is a contemporary “institution” and its importance shall not be diminished in any way in the near future, it is time to get to business and discover the ways in which its power can be reinforced.

This is why we decided to write this guide on the best beard oil to buy, so that you keep your precious beard soft and healthy without compromising in quality and performance.

It is no longer a secret that great beards come with great responsibility. It is not enough to just stop shaving and wait for greatness to install. In order to reach a beard’s full potential, one must invest time, passion and care.

• Time, because it takes around 3 to 4 months, depending on pilosity, to reach a full, thick and healthy beard.
• Passion, because only men with great ambition and determination will have the patience and the will to invest in order to achieve beard perfection.
• And, last, but most importantly - care. No glory has ever been achieved without proper care.

In the business, we translate care by different forms of grooming. From shaping, trimming or shaving, to combing and applying beard-care products, these are all steps which have to be considered in order to attain that majestic facial hair.

As already indicated, this time, we are going to focus on a key product which we consider indispensable for your beard care routine: beard oil.

If you’re not new to the beard business, you’re probably aware of the variety of products out there.

You can find shampoos, balms, waxes, conditioners, bar-soaps etc, all with specific ingredients dedicated to beard care.

All play an important role in your beard care routine and should be found in your necessaire. However, if you have to pick one and only one beard product, that should definitely be the beard oil.

Why?

Because it is the mother of all beard care and everything else stems from this product.

For this reason, in this article, we will tell you all there is to know about beard oil.

• What beard oil is.
• What is the difference between beard oil and beard balm.
• How to use beard oil.
• What kind of ingredients it contains.
• Criteria to consider before buying.
• What makes a beard oil the very best there is.
• And finally, what's the best beard oil you can buy (obviously we're a bit biased).

These are all questions we will give you answers to. And, because we’re great sharers, we will also present a step by step beard oil application guide, containing our most precious secrets.

But first things first.

What is beard oil?

Beard oil is that magic potion that makes the difference between making heads turn and going unnoticed. It is also the first solution to beard itch and beardruff (beard dandruff).

And if this didn’t convince you, you must know that it also moisturises the beard AND the skin beneath, thus prolonging your young, handsome look.

Used properly, beard oil serves aesthetic and functional purposes. Depending on the mix of oils it contains, it smells delicious, giving you that irresistible scent and it also nourishes and gives a slick look to your precious facial hair.

Now, we will break bad and go on the more chemical side of it.

The ingredients beard oils contain

Commonly, beard oils are made out of two types of oils: carrier oil and essential oil.

The carrier oil is the base of the oil. It is that ingredient that magically turns a dull beard into a majestic one. It “carries” the essential oil and keeps it from causing you irritation.

It is the carrier oils that have the nourishing, moisturising effect and foster the hair growth.

Some of the most popular carrier oils are coconut oil, jojoba oil, argan oil and grapeseed oil.

Coconut oil seems to be the new black in both the cosmetic industry and in the alternative medicine one. It has both healing and nourishing effects. It is for this reason that it is a big star when it comes to beard care products as well.

Apart from being a tasty ingredient used for cooking, it has a tremendous added value in cosmetic products, due to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties.

It penetrates skin faster than other oils, thus making it the perfect solution for beard itch and beardruff. Not to mention that delicious cookie smell which will make you irresistible.

Jojoba oil is another cosmetic industry super star. Due to its oily skin control and anti-acneic properties, we especially recommend it to men with sensitive and acneic skin.

Native Americans used to apply it to treat sores and burns. Nowadays, it has been revived and it is used as a secret powerful ingredient to treat acne, chapped skin and sunburns. No wonder it plays such an important role in beard care.

With its high vitamin E and fatty acid content, argan oil is highly appreciated for its hydration and moisturising properties. It is ideal to give your beard a natural shine and a healthy boost.

By being easily absorbed and non-greasy, it becomes one of our favourite components in beard oil.

As the name suggests, the grapeseed oil is the result of oil being extracted from grape seeds. Just like the jojoba oil, it has great anti-acneic super powers. As an extra, it also restores collagen (the main structural protein found in skin) and fights aging.

These are the Brad Pitts of carrier oils. Bare in mind that the list is non-exhaustive. There are plenty of other precious carrier oils out there that have great effects on your beard. The proper combination can have magic effects!

While the carrier oils do most of the work, it is the essential oil that give your beard the additional vitamins, minerals and scent, making it feel extra soft and smell fresh and clean.

Carrier oils and essential oils are key components in any beard care product, but of course, the percentages differ. And if you add some extra ingredients in the mix, you might obtain a whole new product.

In this sense, the closest to beard oil is the beard balm. Which might make you wonder:

What is the difference between oil and balm?

Beard oil nourishes, moisturises, hydrates, cures beard flakes and beard itch. It seems like it does everything.

Well, there are two things it cannot do: hold and style.

For that, my bearded friend, you have beard balm.

If your beard passed the stubble level and now reached the perfect length, you might find yourself in a situation when it needs, besides softening, some styling. But you don’t want to make it look unnatural and stiff, like it would happen with wax. You just want it to look well maintained, not fluffily savage. That’s where balm comes in.

Beard balm is that combination of beard oils, a little bit of beeswax and all sorts of butters.

While it is fantastic for hold and styling, due to the wax and butters, it will give your beard a heavier feel and it will make a beard wash slightly bit more needed. 

And, by the way, we know about beard washes. If you want to find out more about it, you can also check our other guide on finding the best beard shampoo.

Now that we understood what it is, what it contains and in which ways it differs from beard balm, we think you’re ready to learn what you should pay attention to when you choose your very best beard oil.

Criteria to consider before buying

It’s time to get down to the real business:

What elements you should pay attention to when you decide to step up your game and give your beard the treatment it deserves?

As explained above, beard oil is a combination of powerful oils, that if properly balanced, will give you that extra manliness that your are looking for and will make your beard as smashing as all beards should be.

We have tried many oils before settling to the best, so we had plenty of experiences that led us to the below elements as the key criteria to consider when choosing the best beard oil.

To put you out of waiting, this is what we consider when we buy our face fur tamers:

1. Oils in composition,
2. Adherence to cosmetic regulations,
3. Brand,
4. Ease of application,
5. Container and cap (whether it's dropper or not),
6. Price.

Just so that we explain ourselves and the choice of these particular criteria, we’re gonna break everything down.

It is important to understand that when it comes to products that are in direct contact with your face and your skin, quality should come first!

Here we go:

Oils in composition

As we have already explained above, the effect that the beard oil is going to have on your beard is directly related to the carrier and essential oils that are in its composition.

It is of extreme importance for you to know your skin and hair type, to know if/what you might be allergic to and to do a thorough research before hand. If, indeed, you have serious skin problems, don’t start your grooming adventure before you consult your dermatologist.

Once the skin type is no longer a mystery to you, make sure you know what exactly you are aiming for:

• Do you have an itchy beard?
• Is your beard dull and lacks shine?
• On the contrary, is your beard greasy?
• Is your beard stiff and lacks softness?

Depending on the answers to these questions, you will have to go for a specific carrier or the other. Because, remember, it is the carrier oils that do the job. The essential oils are there to give your beard a manly, hot-stuff smell and provide some extra nutrients.

• For example, if you have a sensitive skin with a predisposition to acne, you might want to go for a beard oil that contains jojoba or grapeseed oil or a combination of the two.
• If you have a dry skin and a dry beard, then you should choose something that contains argan oil.
• If you’re looking to be both corrective and preventive, meaning on the one hand to moisturize dry skin and beard, to reduce irritation and on the other hand to prevent the effects of aging, than the lucky winner is apricot kernel oil.
• For a smooth flawless skin, sweet almond oil can be added.
• And if you’re really looking to hit the jackpot in terms of oil combinations, look for something that contains aloe vera as well. Aloe vera, as you might already know, if the ultimate and universal ingredient to heal, moisturize, soften hair and skin.

These would be our top favourite oils when going shopping for beard oils. However, our wisdom should not replace your research, not only in terms of composition, but also in terms of regulatory requirements.

Which takes us to our next key criterion.

Adherence to cosmetic regulations

Unfortunately we live in an expensive world. Which, many times, makes us pay more attention to price rather than to overall quality and respect of the law.

And, yes, you are right if you think that there are regulations to be respected even when it comes to products as simple as beard oils.

We were also very tempted, especially when we were young and poor, to go for the cheap stuff and not check if the respective products went through all the registration and regulatory process. And, at least one of us here at the Seven Potions, had a bad experience resulting to an ugly rash and almost a face burn.

And we know “handcrafted” sounds very alternative and sometimes is assimilated to supporting small businesses.

But trust us and keep the following in mind:

The last thing you want is to put on your face a product that has been prepared in somebody’s dirty kitchen.

We run a small business ourselves and we could not encourage you more to help small businesses. But this should not come at the price of your health and wellbeing.

That being said, we strongly advise you to make sure that the products you intend to buy have the certifications attesting safety and quality control.

This usually takes the form of ISO certificates. These are certificates released by the International Organisation of Standardisation and they ensure that products are conform with the minimum standards set at an international level.

Another thing that you should also consider is whether the company have their beard care products registered with the Cosmetics database of the European Commission. 

This is essentially important for companies producing products in the European Union. You might be surprised to know that the vast majority of beard oil producers don't have their products registered.

There are two reasons why this happens.

One is ignorance and the other is the lack of MSDS files (Material Safety Data Sheet). For the latter, it's not possible to obtain an MSDS if you don't produce your products in proper production facilities as this is something that you can get upon inspection and testing of your production by a third party service. 

One last thing that you should pay attention to is adherence to the cosmetics regulation packaging. This is again something that many companies don't adhere to and more specifically, they fail to include the following points:

• PAO (period after opening) or shelf life not mentioned
• Full ingredients list not included
• Company details nowhere to be found on the packaging

Of course, obtaining such certificates and adherence to regulations, as a producer, might have an impact on the price of your product, therefore, you as a customer might have to pay slightly bit more.

However, we believe that safety should come first and we encourage you to support businesses that respect their customers health, safety and wellbeing.

Here, at Seven Potions we've got you covered on all the above mentioned regulations and safety assessments. This way, we ensure the quality and safety of the products that you buy from us.

Which also takes us to the next criterion.

Brand

We are a relatively new brand ourselves and when we started our adventure in the men's grooming cosmetic industry, we did our homework thoroughly.

We are are doing our very best to build a strong brand without making any compromise from quality. That’s why we consider that the brand itself is a very important criterion when you search for the best beard oil.

Of course, we couldn’t possibly say go for the super well known brands, because that would mean to sabotage ourselves. Instead, we would like to say, go for the respectable, healthy brands. The brands that connect and foster a relationship with their clients. The brands that put emphasis on the quality of the ingredients they use, the brands that have a great respect for nature, the brands that are friendly to you and to the environment through the labels and the packaging they use.

A company that is available to answer your questions, to provide solutions to your problems, to share their experience and expertise, that is a company that is looking to leave a positive impact over the industry.

There are plenty of good companies out there that have created or are trying to create no-bullshit brands.

So next time you intend to buy your top-notch beard care product, go for those brands!

Ease of application

Leaving aside the general stuff and regrouping around the beard oil, there is another thing that plays a key role in our choice: how easy it is to use it.

The perfect beard oil for us is rich enough in texture without becoming too heavy to apply it.

For us, depending on the length of your beard, 3 to 10 drops of beard oil should be enough to properly moisturise your beard. The sensation after application, should be of a soft, hydrated beard, slick, smooth and with a discreet clean scent.

For us, the best beard oil should still keep a liquid form and shouldn’t be close to a gel. This can only impede the smooth application and can also lead to using more product than necessary, resulting in a greasy beard.

So, if you ask us, keep it light, keep it moisturizing and keep it fresh and clean.

Container and cap

The ease of application can be influenced by the container and the cap the beard oil is coming in.

From our experience with beard oils, we can tell you that the best ones come in amber glass.

They are also the ones that will last you longest after you open them. Not to mention the overall environmental effect of not encouraging the production of plastic.

Amber glass is the best choice because, firstly, it protects from ultraviolet light, which is harmful for the shelf life of your product. Secondly, as they say that 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed into the bloodstream, it is then better to make sure that no harmful chemicals from the plastic container can get into your beard oil.

Then another element that matters is the cap. Should it be with a dropper or without a dropper?

Well, if you ask us, the dropper makes all the difference in terms of ease of application. It will save you time, product and money.

A bottle with a dropper will help you measure exactly the amount of beard oil you apply. So there is no risk of extra shine or grease on your beard.

So choose amber, choose glass, choose dropper. It will make a huge difference!

And last but not least,

Price

Of course, being conscious about our finances is very important. But we think that even more important is to get the best price-quality ratio!

Don’t go for the cheapest beard oil on the market just because it is simply the cheapest. Or if you go, at least be perfectly aware what you’re buying.

• Is it “handmade”?
• Does it have ingredients that sound like the most complicated high school chemistry lesson?
• You can’t tell if it respects the safety and quality standards?

Then you must like playing the roulette.

We highly advise you that, before looking at the price, consider all the above elements and only after, let price guide you.

A more expensive beard oil, from a reputable brand, respecting all safety and regulatory requirements, using good quality ingredients will give you a full beard grooming experience, leaving your beard healthy, soft, moisturized without any compromise or danger!

Now that we shared with you the most important elements for us, when choosing a good quality beard oil, we consider that you are ready to hear our tips and tricks on:

How to use beard oil

As usual, we had a round table talk here at Seven Potions and we shared all our bearded experiences in terms of beard oil application in order to establish which is the best method to apply it.

This time we couldn’t agree on a singular method so we will present you two.

Apply beard oil after shower

Most of us consider that the best time to apply beard oil is right after taking a shower, preferably at night. Then, all the debris accumulated during the day will be washed off, your pores will be open and your skin and beard hair will be ready to absorb all the nutrients.

We prefer the night, because it is during sleep that skin is regenerating and it is ready to eat up all the healthy stuff you will feed it.

It is also for this reason that you see your girlfriend putting on a thick layer of face cream right before she goes to sleep.

So, how do you apply it, exactly?

1. First you dry your beard with a clean, dry towel.
2. Then, you put 3 to 10 drops of beard oil in the middle of your palm, depending on the length of your beard.
3. Then, you start massaging it onto your beard from root to tip. We usually take our time with the massage. It activates the blood stream, which in the short term will increase the speed of your beard growth and on the long term, will have great anti ageing effects.

If you have a longer beard, then a beard brush might also help, both with the massage and with making sure that you don’t leave any hair untouched by the beard oil.

Apply beard oil without taking a shower

Although we are not the greatest supporters of this method, we do realise that there might be situations when a shower is not accessible, but your beard needs some freshening up.

In these cases, we advise the use of Seven Potions beard brush, not only during the beard oil application but also before.

The beard brush serves the great purpose of detangling, cleaning and spreading evenly the natural oil of the skin, called sebum.

If a shower is not there to help you with the cleaning, then, let the beard brush do the job.

Once your beard is untangled and cleaned, you can use the exact same methods as above: either massage the beard oil with your palms from root to tip, or use the brush to ensure an even application.

Now that we have explained what beard oil is, what are its benefits, how to choose a beard oil and how to apply it, it is time to talk about what is the best beard oil on the market at the moment.

The best beard oil on the market

It might not come as a surprise to you that after all this talk, we will choose our own Seven Potions beard oil as the best beard oil for men you can get over any other product out there.

We're biased here but our beard oil is the result of years of experimenting with formulations, figuring out what are the characteristics that make a beard oil the very best and then filling all those criteria in the Seven Potions beard oil creation.

Our team has tried all the ingredients separately and together in different combinations, in order to establish which is the best ratio and the best combination to address bearded problems such as dryness, sensitive skin, itch, dullness, greasiness or roughness.

We went for the combination of apricot kernel oil, crambe seed oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, aloe vera, vitamin E and a combination of manly essential oils, in order to strike the perfect balance between a nourished, shiny and soft beard and a healthy, young and radiant skin.

We made absolutely no compromise in terms of ingredients. All our ingredients are all natural, vegan, organic and cruelty free, resulting in products that respect both our customers’ well earned money and generous Mother Nature.

Our products have all the safety and quality certificates so we can guarantee that no negative surprises will come out of the use of the Seven Potions beard oils.

We have tested different containers and caps until we chose the amber glass with dropper, just to make sure that we will give you the royal experience you deserve.

We have a selection of 3 Seven Potions beard oils:

1. Beard Oil Woodland Harmony, with a musky, manly scent, with a touch of sandalwood and cedar wood essential oils;
2. Beard Oil Citrus Tonic, with a lemony refreshing scent taking you to a relaxing beach
3. Beard Oil Pure Equilibrium, a scentless beard oil, for the men who consider that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Of course, we are only one of the many great men’s grooming companies out there. We are not looking to convince you.

We just want to inspire you to search for the very best. If that is going to lead us to one of our products, we can only bow in front of you and thank you for your confidence!

 

Image courtesy: looby/BigStock.com VadimGuzhva/BigStock.com