With barbers shut and social engagements cancelled, many men are using this time as an opportunity to grow out their beards.
It makes sense: quarantine means you can navigate any potential patchiness from the comfort of your own home, plus – it gives you a bit more time in bed in the mornings, rather than fiddling around with a razor.
In the UK, Copenhagen Grooming found that around 5.3m men had a beard before the pandemic – now, this number has jumped to over 7 million.
The research – done on 1,000 British people – also found the top three celebrities with beards are David Beckham, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy. However, if you want a beard like Beckham, you can’t just ditch the razor and hope for the best – there are things you should do to make sure it grows out healthily…
Simon Bang, co-founder of Copenhagen Grooming says: "We were surprised to see many people believing that beards need to be washed this often.
To ensure your beard and the skin underneath is hydrated and looked after correctly, our recommendation is to wash your beard as often as you deem necessary, however, usually two to three times a week will suffice, using a beard wash designed to remove filth and dirt, while leaving your beard’s natural oils intact."
As with the hair on your head, much of your beard’s health comes down to taking care of the skin underneath – and a good quality shampoo and conditioner will prevent dirt from clogging up the skin.
"You need to make sure your beard is kept moisturised and conditioned," says barber Myles Lewis, OSMO ambassador from Myles & Co. "I would recommend using a shampoo and conditioner for ultimate shine and frizz-free results."
He also recommends investing in a beard oil – not only will it help moisturise the hair, but it will "keep stray hairs unified and also moisturise the skin".
Comb it regularly…
Lewis recommends combing your beard daily, as this will help keep it detangled, he says.
Not only will it make your beard look fuller, but there are plenty of other benefits to combing it regularly. If you use a beard oil, it will help distribute the product evenly.
A wooden comb is the best choice to prevent static build-up. Start underneath your beard and work your way up and out – once this is done and your beard looks healthy and full, you can use the comb to style the hair as you want.
Leave your neck…
Growing out your beard – especially if you’ve never done it before – can initially feel quite weird. You might be tempted to shave your neck, but Lewis advises against this.
He says: "Leave that to grow out, because you will want to create a shape through your neck, but it is difficult to see your own neckline. You will more likely create a shape you don’t want, and it could result in you having to shave the whole beard off."
In fact, Lewis recommends doing as little cutting or shaving as possible, because these restrictions won’t last forever, and your barber will be best placed to shape your beard.
"Style rather than cut," is Lewis’s advice. "If your hair does get too wild, I would suggest using scissors to trim your hair from your top lip, just to make it easier when eating."
