Having a beard requires more than simply growing it. Just like your hair, it needs proper maintenance in order to look and smell good, so you need to take the time to really care for it. You don’t want to sport a completely unkempt beard, do you?

First of all, caring for your beard is all a matter of hygiene, but there’s another reason why you should put in some work when it comes to taming your facial hair – the ladies will love it.

Growing and maintaining a full beard is definitely not without its share of challenges, so read on to learn how to keep your beard in top condition without ever visiting a barbershop. As a matter of fact, applying the following tips will make you feel as if you have just walked out of a barbershop every single time you leave your front door.

1. Use the Necessary Products for Beard Care

No beard grooming kit is complete without adequate products for washing your beard and keeping it untangled. Apart from making it look good, using the proper products will also keep your beard smelling good, not to mention that they will also protect your skin.

You cannot simply wash your beard with water, comb it, and expect it to be perfect. Newsflash: it won’t be. You need to use a beard shampoo, maybe even ultra soft elite beard shampoo by HiLée , made specifically for facial hair; don’t try your regular shampoo for your beard.

Why? Just trust us, but if you must know, it’s for the same reason that you don’t use canola oil for your car’s breaks. Anyway, beard shampoo will thoroughly cleanse your beard, soften it and reduce beard dandruff, effectively making it less prone to breakage.

After washing your beard, always use beard oil, which is absolutely the most essential product for properly grooming facial hair. It will moisturize your beard and hydrate the skin beneath it, providing both with the necessary nourishment for staying healthy and good-looking.

Beard oil is like a conditioner for your beard. It will prevent breakage and beard dandruff, keep the terrible itching at bay, and help you style your beard much easier. It will also keep your beard soft and smooth, not to mention that it will make it smell amazing throughout the day. Again, the ladies will absolutely love that.

2. Invest in the Proper Tools

We’re not talking just about the proper tools for grooming your facial hair. Though these are important, and we’ll go through a list in a sec, you need some style tools. You can have the fanciest beard in the western hemisphere, but if you don’t exhume style, that’s probably going to pass unnoticed and then all that hard beard-care work goes to waste.

So get nice shades, get a stylish hat, carry a bag that’s not you middle-of-the-road backpack. While these are ordinary tools, you got your extra tools that really make a statement. In this category, you have the hip flask, the pocket square, and cufflinks.

Now, these aren’t for everyone, except maybe the hip flask, especially if you’re not into dress-shirts. Carrying around a cool hip flask – Flaskaholic says the classic sterling silver or the flashy titanium ones are what’s happening now, will definitely set you apart from the crowd. And if you’ve got nice liquor inside well, folks would appreciate that about you.

Circling back to your beard, the first tool your beard needs is a beard comb – not just any comb you can get your hands on, but one that is specially designed to make your facial hair cooperate.

Combing your beard several times a day will help you prevent tangling and ingrown hairs. Moreover, it will help you really tame your beard and make it grow in the right direction. Combing is also very important for making sure your beard oil is distributed evenly along your beard (more on beard oil later).

The second tool you need in order to keep your beard looking sharp is a beard trimmer. Although this tool works best when it comes to short lengths, it can help you maintain a long beard as well, since it needs an occasional trim here and there.

You also need a good pair of scissors (especially if you have a long beard) to keep your beard in top condition but, just like with the comb, you need scissors designed specifically for clipping your facial hair.

4. Take the Time to Care for Your Beard Every Day

In order for your precious facial hair to stay well-groomed, you need to actually take the time to care for it every day, even when you’re traveling apparently . It can be a bit challenging, given the busy schedule of our hectic lives, but you need to take the time to care for the things you love.

Now, when I say you should take care of your beard every day, I don’t mean that you should wash it every single day. You should do it every couple of days unless you want to strip away the natural oils of the skin beneath it. That would leave your skin too dry and open the door to beardruff (beard dandruff).

What you should do every day to take proper care of your beard is comb it and apply beard oil. Don’t go overboard with the oil, since all your beard needs in order to stay soft, supple and tamed are just a few drops of beard oil. Apply it after you take a shower and dry your beard with a towel, leaving it just slightly damp, so that it can properly absorb the oil. Spread the oil gently with a comb and get ready to take on the world.

Implement these essential beard grooming tips into your daily routine, and you can be sure that you will have a perfect beard in no time. A well-groomed beard is certain to fill you with confidence, and it really goes without saying that it will significantly improve your overall appearance, so start taming it right away and enter the extraordinary world of men with style.