A healthy and stylish beard all summer long
Do you love to throw yourself into the waves during your holiday? Your beard doesn’t. But with our beard care tips, your beard stays nice all summer long.
Seawater quickly draws out all natural moisture and leaves the beard dry, bushy and difficult to care for. But you don’t have to choose between the beach and the style. Here are five simple beard care tips, and the product you absolutely must not forget in your toiletry bag that keeps your beard soft and healthy all summer long.
Executive summary
1 Rinse immediately after dipping
Salt water that penetrates the beard acts as a moisture thief. Create a simple beard care routine by rinsing through your beard as soon as you get out of the sea.
2 Boost with beard balm on vacation
Your absolute best friend this summer. Unlike oil, a good beard balm provides the deep moisture and hydration needed after the seawater has dried out the hairs. A must-have in your summer beard care routine.
3 Lock in moisture with beard oil
Once the beard is clean and slightly damp, apply a few drops of beard oil in conjunction with beard care. The oil forms a protective barrier that prevents the sun and wind from evaporating the beard’s natural oils.
4 Wash smartly (and not too often)
After a day at the beach, salt and sand need to be washed off, but always use a mild shampoo for beards. Regular hair shampoo or shower gel will only dry out the sensitive skin on the face even more.
5 Comb out the beard with care
Wet and saltwater-brittle beards break easily. Wait with that part of your beard care until you have rinsed out your beard and applied a conditioning product before gently detangling it with a coarse-toothed beard comb or a brush with pig bristles.
Rinse out immediately after the dip
Salt water that penetrates the beard acts as a moisture thief. When you bathe, the salt opens up the outermost layer of the hair strands and effectively sucks out all the natural moisture and oil that keeps the facial hair soft. If the salt is also allowed to dry in the sun, the beard hairs quickly become brittle, lifeless and bushy, which makes the beard more easily break or start to itch. Ignoring this is one of the most common mistakes during the summer months, but luckily, it doesn’t take advanced beard care to avert the disaster.
A simple habit that saves your summer beard
Therefore, make it a regular habit to always rinse your beard thoroughly with clean tap water as soon as you get out of the sea. By quickly rinsing away the salt crystals and sand before they can cause damage, you give your facial hair the best conditions to stay healthy. Most bathing areas have a freshwater shower nearby, but if you’re on a wild beach, carrying an extra bottle of plain water in your beach bag works just as well.
This simple step lays the foundation for the rest of your routine and allows your subsequent products to perform at their best. Once the salt is gone, the beard is ready for the next step in your beard care, where a deeply moisturizing beard balm gets the chance to restore moisture balance and preserve softness throughout the holiday.
Boost with beard balm
A good beard conditioner is your absolute best friend this summer and should have a given place in every man’s toiletry bag. When the sun is shining and the salt water is doing its best to dry out facial hair, just a regular oil is usually not enough. The beard hairs need an intense injection of moisture that penetrates deep into the core to repair and soften, and this is where the balm makes the big difference during the holidays. Skipping this step when bathing a lot is sacrificing an important part of your daily beard care.
Why balm is the hero of summer
Unlike a beard oil, which primarily cares for the skin underneath and locks in existing moisture, a balm works by actively adding new fluid and nourishment to the hairs themselves. It quickly restores the moisture balance that the sea has sucked out, leaving the beard supple, easily combed and healthy. It also counteracts that rough, stiff feeling that often arises after a whole day at the beach.
For best results, apply the conditioner after rinsing out the salt water and washing your beard. Leave the product on for a few minutes so that the nourishing ingredients have time to sink in properly before rinsing. By investing a few extra minutes on this in the shower, you upgrade your beard care to a level that guarantees a beautiful result all summer long.
Lock in moisture with beard oil
Once you’ve rinsed off the salt and moisturised with a conditioner, it’s time for the crucial step: locking it all in. This is when your beard oil steps into the action as an unbeatable protection against the summer heat. By applying the oil while the beard is still clean and slightly damp, you create a protective barrier around each individual hair. This barrier prevents sun, wind and future dips in the sea from being allowed to evaporate the beard’s natural oils, which is a fundamental part of successful beard care during the holidays.
How to apply best in the summer heat
Using oil is not just about adding shine, but about caring for the skin under the beard, which easily becomes dry and starts to itch when you bathe a lot. Drop a few drops into the palm of your hand, first massage it into the skin of your face and then pull the residue out into the length of your beard. Since the sun and heat increase the strain, you can advantageously use a slightly richer oil during the summer months than you do on a daily basis during the rest of the year.
Once the oil is in place, the beard is ready to face both beach hangouts and warm summer evenings without losing its softness. It only takes a minute to make, but makes the impact of your other products doubled. Careless oil during the holidays quickly makes your beard vulnerable again, so make sure to keep this simple routine a central point of your daily beard care.
Wash smartly, not too often
After a long day at the beach with sunscreen, sweat, sand and salt water, it’s only natural to want to wash your beard properly when you jump into the shower. But here it is important to think so that you do not do more harm than good. If you wash your beard with a regular hair shampoo or shower gel, you’re guaranteed to strip your skin and hair follicles of all the natural, protective oils that are left. This completely dries out the face and makes the beard even more brittle, which is the exact opposite of what a good beard care should achieve during the summer.
The right products make all the difference
The solution is to always use a mild, specially adapted beard shampoo that cleanses deeply without disturbing the skin’s own moisture balance. You also don’t have to shampoo your beard every day, even if you’ve bathed in the sea. Often it is enough to just rinse it thoroughly with lukewarm fresh water and apply a little conditioner on days when the beard does not feel directly dirty, in order to save on the quality of the hairs.
Once you use your beard shampoo, be sure to massage it thoroughly into the skin under your beard where dirt tends to collect, and then rinse out with lukewarm rather than scorching water. By washing smartly and keeping the frequency down, you protect your beard’s natural defenses against the stresses of summer. Choosing the right cleanser is simply a cornerstone of any successful beard care when the sun and sea are at their most tempting.
Comb out the beard with care
A wet, saltwater-brittle and freshly bathed beard is extremely sensitive and elastic. When you run a brush or comb through the hairs in this state, chances are you’ll simply tear off the hairs or create split ends. Tearing and pulling at a tangled summer beard right after you step out of the sea quickly destroys the structure and makes the beard look uneven and unkempt. Therefore, it takes a great deal of patience and the right technique at this stage to keep your beard care at its best.
The tools that save the straws from breaking
Always wait to detangle your beard until you have rinsed out the salt water and applied a nourishing product, such as a beard balm or a few drops of beard oil. This gives the straws the glide ability needed for the tools to work without resistance. Then use a coarse-toothed beard comb made of wood or cellulose acetate, or alternatively a brush with soft pig bristles, and start carefully from the inside out and from the bottom of the ends upwards.
By working methodically and gently, you avoid pulling up the hair follicles or damaging the skin under the beard. It only takes a few extra seconds to be careful, but it does wonders for the beard’s fullness and long-term health. Caring for the beard’s mechanical wear in this way is just as important as adding the right products, and it’s a detail that separates careless handling from really thoughtful beard care.
Questions and answers about beard care during summer swimming
1. Why does my beard get so dry after I have bathed in the sea?
Salt water acts as a moisture thief. The salt opens up the hair strands and sucks out the natural moisture and oil that keeps the facial hair soft.
2. What is the most important thing to do immediately after a swim?
You should rinse your beard thoroughly as soon as possible to remove salt crystals and sand.
3. Do I need to adjust my beard care during the summer months?
Yes, summer bathing and sun require more focus on deep hydration to prevent the beard from becoming brittle and frayed.
4. Can I use regular hair shampoo to wash out the salt water?
No, avoid it. Regular shampoo dries out both the skin on the face and the beard hairs. Always use an adapted beard shampoo.
5. How often should I wash my beard with shampoo during the holidays?
You don’t have to shampoo every day. Often, it is enough to rinse with fresh water and use conditioner to save on the quality of the beard.
6. Why is beard balm my best friend at the beach?
Unlike oil, a beard conditioner delivers intense, deep moisture that repairs the hairs that have dried out in the seawater.
7. What good is beard oil in the summer heat?
The oil locks in moisture after showering and creates a protective barrier that prevents the sun and wind from drying out your beard care.
8. Can I comb my beard as soon as I get out of the sea?
No, wait. A wet and saltwater-brittle beard is extremely sensitive and breaks easily if you tear it with a comb or brush.
9. What are the best tools to use to comb your summer beard?
Use a coarse-toothed beard comb (preferably in wood) or a brush with soft pig bristles, and only detangle the hair after applying oil or conditioner.