Good morning everybody and welcome back to The Bearded Handballer!

As you can see on the title, today I will not be reviewing any product but I want to focus the attention on a very important topic: the effects of cold weather!
This idea came to my mind yesterday while I was walking back home from work. I left the building, get out of the back gate and, after 300 meters, I was completely covered of snow. It was a really nice and frozen stroll! 🙂

Beard is often considered as a proper “winter thing”, isn’t it? Santa Claus with his majestic white fuzz, lamberjacks wearing flannel shirts in the middle of snowy woods, characters of Game of Thrones, etc.

A nice and well-groomed beard is always cool but we all agree that it has its own appeal during winter times. Besides the merely aestethic aspects, it represents a great natural barrier that will keep you warm when the temperatures drops down dramatically. Nevertheless, it is in this period that you have to put an extra-effort in taking care of your beloved facial hair.

winterWhy is winter so scary? Low temperatures determine a reduction of the humidity level in the environment: this condition affect the human body leading to the well-know phenomenon of the “dry skin” (also known as xerosis, xeroderma or xerodermia). In this situation, the skin looses its integrity and functionality and is not able anymore to mantain an adequate level of moisture. Thus, it becomes weak and fragile showing typical symptoms as itchiness, flaking and irritiation. Moreover it will not be able anymore to produce the nourishing and moisturising factor that are fundamental for the health of our beloved beard.

What can we do to avoid a dry and frail beard? The solution is immediate and extremely simple: an appropriate beard grooming!

Beard oils and beard balms represent the easiest and most efficient solution. They contain many ingredients that will help your skin and beard to keep their healthy condition. Jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, argan oil, and many other carriers oils will balance the lack of the natural moisturising factors by mimicking the effect of the sebum and providing the right hydration. Such oils are also rich in nutrients (e.g. vitamins) that will help the skin to recover its normal functionality and activity. In the specific case of beard balms, beewax has the complementary functionality of holding in place the moisture provided by the oils, reducing the dehydration rate.
A regular use of this products will indeed help your facial hair to keep their healthy condition.
The use of a comb (or a brush) is very important because it helps to distribute the oil homogeneously trhough your beard and skin.

Is it just a matter of beard products? Absolutely not! In fact, a proper washing routine is another important aspect that needs to be finely tuned to keep the condition of your beard at its best.
Here you can find three different factors that can make a difference:
a) temperature of water: avoid hot water bacause this will cause the loss of the natural oils typically produced by the skins, facilitating the unwanted state of dehydration. Reduce the temperature of water to help your skin keeping its protected state.
b) frequency: washing your beard everyday can equally cause the excessive removal of natural oils (sebum). For this reason it is good to rinse your beard everyday, limiting the proper wash to 2 or 3 times per week
c) beard shampoo and conditioner: when you wash your beard with a soap, do not use products that are not specifically designed for a beard. They usually contains compounds (e.g. sulfates) that will have a negative effect on your beard leading to dehydration.
Once rinsed or washed, remember to pat dry your beard: this is the best way for a delicate drying, avoiding any possible damage to the hair structure.

To conclude, we know that having a well-moisturised beard is extremely important. This doesn’t mean that a wet beard is a healthy beard. In fact, excessive amount of water could damage the structure of the hair as badly as low temperatures. For this reason, keep your watering can for the flowers in your garden and if your beard gets wet in the rain, tap dry it as soon as possible to avoid possible annoying consequences.

If you have an additional information or you want to share any detail of your “winter beard grooming routine”, please feel free to comment below!

I hope this will be helpful!

The Bearded Handballer