Don’t let beard imperfections like stray hairs that stick out from the rest keep you from having the facial hair of your dreams. Learn to improve your beard by reducing strays using smart steps like changing how often you wash your beard, trying better products to control it and replacing your trimmer.
Learning how to grow and maintain the perfect beard is a process, and it’s easy to let minor imperfections derail your quest for flattering facial hair. Stray beard hairs that stick out from the rest of your carefully maintained beard are a nuisance that can make you want to reach for the razor to shave your face clean.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get uncooperative hairs under control, no matter what style of beard you like or what type of hair you have. Here are seven tips for dealing with strays:
1. Try beard balm.
Men usually try beard conditioners and oils first, but if you’ve found they don’t control your flyaway beard hairs, consider moving up to balm. Beard balms are creamy and silky. They’re usually made with shea butter, coconut oil or similar ingredients that bond to hairs and help them stay in place.
2. Change how often you wash your beard.
Interestingly, both washing too often and washing too infrequently can cause stray beard hairs to stick out. Improve the softness and smoothness of your beard by changing how often you wash your beard. Even if you shower every day, your beard may only need washing with shampoo and conditioner once or twice a week. Quickly rinse it the other days.
3. Grow the hairs a bit longer.
For most guys, longer beards are more likely to behave than shorter ones. Long hairs hold each other down and make for a finished, permanent look. Trimming a beard too closely can make it difficult to get an even look, especially at the mustache. Move up one or two guards on your trimmer, and you may see a positive difference.
4. Step up to a better trimmer.
Your beard trimmer may be working, but that doesn’t mean it’s working well. A better trimmer can make a world of difference. Look for one with the smallest available gaps between the guard teeth for the most evenness. If your hair is coarse or thick, a beard trimmer with a powerful motor is essential. All trimmers leave some hairs behind, so multiple passes may be necessary with whatever device you use.
5. Change when you trim.
If you trim in the morning and notice stray hairs by the time you get to work, consider trimming at night and again in the morning. Sleeping on your beard can cause it to stick up or out in different ways. When you trim in the morning at the same setting you used the night before, you can catch strays that weren’t noticeable the night before.
6. Trim when clean, but never when wet.
Stray hairs are often the result of trimming when your hair is wet or dirty. Salon stylists like to trim hair wet, but that doesn’t work well for beards. Facial hair that’s wet, oily or dirty compresses. When hairs that have been trimmed while compressed are clean and dry, they stick up and look uneven. When you trim hair that has already been washed and dried, you reduce the chance of causing strays that won’t behave.
7. Get used to imperfections.
Many longtime beard-wearers say that imperfections are part of having a beard. Every day is a bit different, and every trim varies. Plus, some beards are more susceptible to stray hairs than others, and that’s just the way it is. If you can get used to your beard’s quirks, you can more easily resist the urge to start shaving again (which your skin will hate) and enjoy the pleasures of a beard for a lifetime. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should stop trying to make it look better.
Using one or more of these tips, you may be able to improve your facial hair. You might not solve your problem with stray hairs on the first attempt, but persistence will pay off. As with many things, persistence is the key to success.
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