THE IMPORTANCE OF BEARD OIL AND WHEN TO USE IT. The world of beard oils can be a little bit daunting at first, particularly if you are new to growing a beard. A good beard care routine can make a huge impact on your bearded journey but unfortunately there is a lot of bad advice out there and often people spend years getting it all wrong. So let us begin with the basic of the worlds most popular beard care product. WHAT IS BEARD OIL AND WHAT DOES IT DO? Our skin produces natural oil called sebum which is there to offer care for our skin and hair. With beards being so dry and coarse, they can tend drain the natural oils before they get a chance to offer much use or purpose. By the time you then throw in a few showers or beard washes, you can strip away even more of the sebum. A ‘good’ beard oil is designed to not only replicate our skins natural oils but to also offer extra care to our skin and beard. This is why it is so important to be careful of the products that you use. An oil with only a couple of ingredients will usually offer less than a product with more but it also comes down to the quality of the oils within a mix. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEARD OIL? As previously mentioned a beard oil is designed not only to replicate our skins natural oils but to also offer added bonuses. If you have already begun your beard journey you may well have experienced or heard of the dreaded itch! This occurs because of the beard taking all of those natural oils away, which can cause the skin to dry out and become irritated. Using a good product will help to prevent this as well as to offer many other benefits such as to moisturise and soften the skin, relieve the itch and help against closed or damaged pores. THE HISTORY OF BEARD OILS Believe it or not beard oils have been around for an extremely long time! Records date back as late as Ancient Mesopotamia where sesame seed oil was big at the time. There is evidence of beard oil use all over the world from the ancient Greeks who used castor oil and Egyptians who were also big on dying the beard, to native Americans who would use castor, almond or grapeseed oil. The British were among the first to begin mass production in the form of Macassar oil. During the 20th century better alternatives were becoming available and along with the knowledge of what other populations and generations had been using, it began to lead to the more specialist mixes that we have today. HOW TO APPLY BEARD OIL

For those of you that are new to night time beard care……YES it is very much a thing. But why? Beards like every thing else with our bodies, will be at their best when cared for and when treated properly. Beards in particular can go through an incredible amount with in a 24 hour period. Food/drink spillages, your own hands and those of others - if you have children then it you will know exactly what I mean. Not to mention whatever is in you work or home environment. So it is save to say that our beards can go through a lot in a day. You also need to remember that facial hair is very different to scalp hair. It can dry out incredibly easily and is very prone to split ends which is what causes some beards to look so messy and corse. The facts are that beard oils, balms and butters will not help you to grow facial hair where you simply can not but they will definitely help you to get the very best out of your beard. The right products with the correct routine can help your beard to become fuller, softer and healthier but can also promote healthier growth where your beard does already grow. So why night products? A lot of you might be surprised to know that our bodies do most of their greatest work while we sleep (as a weight lifter it is commonly known that without good sleep, all of that lifting is a waste of time). Growth and repair are prime examples. This is true of all of our organs and guess what, that does not exclude beards. Another factor is that our beards are pretty much left alone and not tampered with while we sleep. A typical night routine for me is to have a shower and get myself ready to relax for the evening. I only wash/shampoo my beard two to three times per week but I will always add beard oil after a shower. The main benefit of beard oil is to provide care for your skin along with a little care for the beard. The problem with oil is that even the thickest oil is very thin. This is great for getting it into your skin as is its purpose but it also means that it will rub off of your beard reasonably easy. So when applying beard oil, always be sure to use a pipette to put the oil onto your skin and then massage it in with your finger tips. Now for the butters Butter on the other hand is far thicker and perfect for soaking into the beard. This allows it to act like a leave in conditioner. If beard oil is for the skin, beard balm for hold and style, then beard butters are perfect for the ultimate care to help nourish and replenish your beard. Personally I will always apply butter twice a day. If I need the hold of a balm I will just add that after I apply oil and butter (this is known as the triple dip), but my beard is incredibly thick so this is fine for me but for some it might be too much product. So if you need to use balm, sacrifice the butter if needed. However……I would always advise to use a butter every evening and you should apply this around an hour before you aim to go to sleep. Beard Manners and a lot of other brands actually offer a specific night time scent. Ours is called Njorun which just so happens to be named after the norse goddess of dreams. It is a blend of SIX natural and relaxing scents. In fact I have become very reliant on this scent now as it really does help me to relax this busy mind of mine so that I can actually get some sleep. Even my daughters use it to rub on their faces before bed if they are struggling. So for a quick night time routine recap…….once you are settled after work and kids etc, apply your oil as usually 9always comb first to release tangles). Around an hour before you aim to go to bed you can then apply the butter. For those who struggle with sleep or relaxation, you really should give Njorun a try as this has helped so many of our customers who suffer with sleeping issues. I hope that this blog has been informative and helps some of you. Please like and share it but also remember to follow us for future content. Jason Beard Manners

So why do we use the oils that we do? (you can see the oils that we do use on the "Beard Oils" page of our website. Many brands use a lot of similar oils. Some like to add a few exciting options and others keep it as simple as one to two carrier oils. So what is right and what is wrong?………THEY ARE ALL RIGHT! We all have very different beards and tastes. My personal taste is a medium to thick oil with has as many benefits as it can give while leaving as little of that greasy feel as possible. Which is ironic because this is exactly what the Beard Manners oil base provides. To add to this you also need to consider the blend itself. A prime example in our trial mixes was Avocado oil and Hemp Seed oil. Both are of a dark colour, both are thick and both have a strong scent that really do not go well together and can also over power the chosen scent of a product as well as making it an unsightly colour. The Rum Old Fashioned with its nice Rum aroma and hints of Sweet Orange and notes of Tobacco…… finished off with that pungent Hemp smell…Does that last bit sound appealing? NO! This is exactly while I didn’t use it. Of the two, my findings all pointed to Avocado being the better of the two for the benefits provided to your beard and skin so that is what I picked. I tried Emu and Ostrich oil but I personally found them a little too fatty. Maybe it was the mental thought but I did not like them. Then you have to consider the growing vegan customer base. I liked Rice Bran but I preferred Grape Seed. I am not saying this is 100% the case but it is what I preferred and what seemed best for my beard. Now the other vital factor is the blending itself. When you make this oils you will see that most of them do not naturally mix. They naturally want to stick within their own consistency. Quite often the most time consuming part of my job is just mixing the blend until there are no streaks or dark colour spots. I won’t begin to use a base until it is perfectly mixed and trust me when I say that some oils really do not mix well! I could go on for hours about why I use this and don’t use that but trust me when I say that I have tried a lot of oils and a lot of mixes before I arrived at our chosen base. I once again want to specify that this is my choice on my findings. The only evidence I can provide is my own beard. Our product might not be for everyone. If you like a thinner oil or a super thick oil then Beard Manners might not be for you. So I repeat…..THEY ARE ALL RIGHT!! Different oils for different people. One thing we are going to do in the near future is to add some thinner oils and will look to try some different variations but will also keep the ones that we already have and love. This is an idea that came from @docksbeardedreviews of the @ukbeardportal. Both are doing very big and amazing things for the Uk beard industry and community. People such as Dock, The Bearded Brit and Coggers have been a huge help to myself and to Beard Manners from the very start. These guys and many others (I can not mention everyone) are doing a lot to improve all things beard so give all of these guys a follow. So my final words.......…..should people be brave or live dangerously? Yes and no is my honest answer. Do you know what I love? I love coffee to taste like coffee, I love my whiskey to taste like whiskey and I love my steak to be a nice steak that is cooked to perfection with no unneeded extras BUT they all began with an idea and plenty of trials. I also like my beard products to care for my beard and skin. That my friends is giving your beard some well deserved Beard Manners.

Beard Manners The Beginning.

The truth about beards is that bigger is by no means better. Every sizes, style and colour are down to nature and individual taste. One thing that all beard do have in common is that to get the best out of then, you need to care for them.

Here are some tips to make beard care a part of your daily routine. Beard oils Through all of my mistakes with beard care over the years the one thing I learned very quickly is to use beard oil. You should not wash your beard too regularly (you can see this in our next BLOG) as they rely a lot on their natural oils but there is nothing wrong with adding some beard oil as this will be the main source of added care for your beard and the skin behind it. The amount that you use will depend on the length and thickness of your beard as well as personal preference. you never want to saturate your beard in oil but you do not want it to be too dry. My advice is to apply oil once in the morning and then again in the evening. If I feel that it is needed I will sometimes apply oil just before bed as well. Beard balms For me the main purpose of balms is to nourish and help to style your beard (like a hair gel or wax) and also to seal it. I also highly advise that you use it if you really want a beard that stands out. I will try to use balm at least 2-3 times per week and always after applying oil. Balm can also be used to help train a stubborn beard. For example my beard has a natural kink but I will regularly wash and brush the kink out and then use the balm to help hold it in place. It can also help with keeping my tash out of every meal. My last example of using beard balm is if I got out. As good as oil is at providing care for you beard and skin, it does not help to style it and if you are anything like me and constantly stroking your beard then the oil won't last for long. So.......when I am going out or if we have people over I will almost always use balm to help keep my beard looking good for longer. So to recap....Beard oils are a must for any beard. I use oil daily and at least twice a day. I use balm 2-3 times per week. It is best to use both together but is not essential and again you will get mixed reviews. Try my suggestions and judge for yourself. One last thing to add is that these products smell great and can save you a fortune in aftershave. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and please subscribe for future updates.