Question: “I fancied a changed so I’ve decided to start growing a beard. I’ve been shaving for over 30 years, so all of this beard care stuff is very alien to me! When should I start using beard oil? And what does it do!?” – David H

Humans are equipped with a natural moisturiser; sebum oil, which is secreted by little openings in the skin called sebaceous glands. As facial hair grows, the strands begin to wick this moisture away from the face. The sebaceous glands can only produce a certain amount of oil (varying from person to person), so as the hairs get longer, it ultimately reaches a point where there isn’t enough moisture to make it all the way to the ends. This then leaves you with dry, irritated skin, and a beard that looks rather worse-for-wear.

To put it simply, beard oil works as a helping hand to keep the hairs, and the skin underneath soft, moisturised, and of course, smelling fresh. As well as preventing your beard from looking (and feeling) like a scouring pad, keeping your fuzz well moisturised also means you’ll be less likely to suffer from the mind-numbing itch that often plagues a new beard.

As to when you should start using it… Well, this does tend to vary from person to person. It’s mainly to do with how much sebum your skin naturally produces. If it’s usually pretty dry, we’d recommend that you start using beard oil once you’ve got a solid covering of stubble. Whilst your skin is still visible, moisturiser will do the job fine. If you have particularly oily skin or suffer from acne, it’s probably best to wait until your beard has a bit more length before you start using the oil, as not to over saturate the skin.