The Best Beard Balm Revealed: Ultimate Guide

There are literally hundreds of beard balms and beard oils on the market. Just a quick scroll through a major retail site like Amazon can easily leave you totally confused, and edging away from that add to basket button.

Even understanding the difference between beard balm, beard oil and beard wax can be perplexing enough to stall the buying decision that could transform how your beard looks and feels.

That’s why we have put together this ultimate guide to help you understand exactly what the best beard balm contains, and what it will do for your beard.

Too many guides out there throw a dozen different brands of beard balm at you you, making it even more difficult to make a decision.

So that’s why in this ultimate guide to choosing the best beard balm, we are keeping it simple and giving you clear information, backed up with just three amazing recommendations for you to try.

What Is Beard balm?

Beard balm is a nourishing and shaping product that you use on your beard. It comes in tins or jars, and is waxy and solid.

 

Beard balm is rubbed into the hands to melt it and then you simply gently work it into and through the hair of your beard. You don’t need much of it, and once you get over the novice mistake of applying too much, you will find the typical teen lasts for ages.

The result and benefits of a good quality beard balm are:

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    Softened hair

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    Removal of split ends and beard “frizz”

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    Less hair breakage

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    Stronger look and definition to the beard

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    Better conditioned skin and hair follicles

How Is Beard Balm Different To Beard Oil?

Both beard balm and beard oil contain some common ingredients. Each contains one or more carrier oils for example.

A carrier oil is usually something like jojoba oil, hemp seed oil or argan oil.  The key characteristic of a carrier oil is that they are the ingredients which soften the hair of the beard. That chemical composition means that they soften and seal the hairs.

Both often also include essential oils. Essential oils can contain additional nourishing benefits, vitamins, acids and minerals, as well as the potential to protect the skin through natural antibacterial properties. They usually also provide a scent which gives a unique characteristic to each brand.

The key difference between beard balm and a beard oil is the addition of wax and butter. These are the ingredients which gives it its solid form until it is warmed in the hands.

 

The wax is not superfluous. Usually beeswax, this ingredients can give the beard additional shape and protection.

As well as beeswax, a good beard balm will also contain a natural butter, which can give additional nourishing and preservation benefits to the hair and skin. Usually this butter is cocoa or shea. However, some contain avocado butter, but in our opinion this is not as flexible or nourishing.

Some also contain coconut oil which is a rich natural oil that has the consistency of a soft wax when it is cold. It is highly nourishing, and contains antibacterial properties which can help the underlying skin to stay healthy.

So Beard Balm Is The Same As Beard Wax?

A common misconception is that beard balm is basically the same as beard wax. This is not true.

A beard wax is simply a blend of wax, or oil and sometimes butter which shapes the beard and minimizes frizz.

But it does not contain the same blend of nutrients, conditioners and potential antibacterial properties of the other ingredients contained in a beard balm, so for this reason you should always choose a beard balm over a Beard wax.

How To Spot A Quality Beard Balm

A high quality beard balm will have several key characteristics to watch out for:

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    It will contain a high quality carrier oil (jojoba oil for example)

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    It will contain essential oils

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    It will be based around a high quality wax or butter

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    It will contain additional nourishing ingredients (coconut oil for example)

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    The ingredients will be natural and organic

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    The ingredients will be cold pressed, or minimally refined

In terms of general longer term results, a good quality beard balm will make your facial hair and underlying skin softer and better conditioned. You will notice that facial dandruff will disappear and your hair will feel and look stronger.

The bottom line though is that if you want to use the best beard balm possible, to achieve the best results, then you are going to have to spend a little bit more to tick all the boxes we have covered.

So let’s make things easy for you by taking a look at our three top recommendations for the best beard balms to try.

Best Beard Balm: The Top Three

Having an awesome reputation, the Gentlemen’s beard balm has a strong pedigree due to everything we have discussed around quality and nourishment in the ingredients.

It contains all natural organic ingredients, and ticks all the boxes for the essential elements of the best beard balm we have already discussed:

Capric/Caprylic triglycerides (Fractionated coconut oil), Cera Alba (Bees wax), Organic Fair Trade extra virgin Butyrospermum parkii (Shea) butter, Organic Cocos nucifera (Coconut) oil, Organic Helianthus anuus (Sunflower) seed oil, Organic Argania spinosa (Argan) seed oil, Organic Oenothera biennis (Evening primrose) seed oil, Organic Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) seed oil, Organic Matricaria recuitita (Chamomile) flower extract, Tocopherols (Vitamin E)

As well is having great quality natural organic ingredients ingredients, it doesn’t have any additional additives, chemicals or fragrances.

It’s a mid-priced beard balm that comes in a high quality tin. You can use it sparingly, meaning that it will last quite a while, making it a great investment.

It melts in the hands really easily, and the combination of high quality key ingredients means that you will see an almost instant improvement in the look of your beard.

So if you are looking for a high quality beard balm, a reasonable price, that can deliver visible instant and longer term results, then the Gentlemen’s beard balm is one to try.

Considering the ingredients, quality and reputation of Honest Amish Beard Balm, this actually comes in at a lower price range, generally around $13 on Amazon.com for example.

To add to the pleasant surprise of the low price, you are buying one of the most established and popular brands in beard balm.

Currently with more than 5400 reviews on Amazon.com, of which 67% are five-star positive reviews, you know you are getting a well tried and appreciated product.

In terms of the ingredients, it also contains all the key ones we have discussed, this is taken from the company’s own website:

“….proprietary blend of hair strengthening botanicals infused in a base of virgin argan, avocado, grapeseed, virgin pumpkin seed, and apricot kernal oils. It is then masterfully crafted with fruit and nut butters (Shea, Aloe, Cocoa, Kokum…to name a few), and hair enhancing essential oils.”

Beautifully rich, it melts in the hand and is easy to apply. You really can’t go wrong by trying this best beard balm, because it literally has hundreds of thousands of devotees worldwide.

If we had to make one potentially negative observation, some people say that it’s fragrance can be strong. Some people described as licorice, some people as sandalwood, but more specifically it smells slightly spicy.

However, if you are looking for high quality beard balm and don’t mind, or even love the sound of a musky scent then Honest Amish is a cost-effective way to get great beard results.

Beard Bolt XL is a premium beard balm, retailing at just under $50 on sites like Amazon. So what makes it worth that higher price point?

Well the proof is in the people who use it, and currently on Amazon it has a 91% five-star rating from over 230 reviewers. So there must be something in this beard balm that makes it great.

The ingredients are difficult to ascertain, because it has a specialist formula that claims to stimulate beard growth and health, as well as making it look great. The bottom line is that it contains all the essential ingredients we have talked about, plus a combination of other natural ingredients which add to the nutrients and importantly the antibacterial properties.

The thing is, you don’t just need to condition the beard you need is to condition the skin and protect the quality of the hair follicles to get the strongest beard growth, which is what this product does, by targeting the strength in natural essential oils to protect the skin.

Yes it is at the high end of the price range, but from the moment you open this product and use it, you get a feel for its high quality. It feels rich and luxurious, melts like butter and is easy to apply.

So if you are looking for a beard balm that does that little bit more, then it’s really worth investing in a tin of Beard Bolt XL.

Best Beard Balm: Making A Decision

Finding the best beard balm is not only about following other people’s recommendations, but it’s also about trying different products and finding which works best for your hair and skin type.

The three high quality beard balms we have recommended here:

  1. The Gentlemen’s Beard Premium Beard Balm
  2. Honest Amish Beard Balm
  3. Beard Bolt XL: Facial Hair Growth Stimulating Beard Balm

 

Are all worthy of consideration in making a buying decision. Each approaches the goal of being the best beard balm in a slightly different way, but all contain broadly the same ingredients, and have broadly the same effects.

Beard Bolt XL does contain extra essential oils with ingredients that can add to the condition of the beard and skin, so particularly if your hair and skin are not amazingly healthy, then that little bit of financial investment could well pay off.

At the other end of the scale, Honest Amish is brilliantly priced and contains all the ingredients for the perfect beard balm. On top of that it has a long history, and a huge amount of positive reviews.

And in the middle, Gentlemen’s beard balm offers high quality ingredients, and is well presented for an affordable price. It probably offers the best of both worlds between the other two products, should you want to take that middle ground.

Whichever beard balm you choose try first, any of these three tick all the boxes required to claim the title of best beard balm.

 

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