How Often Should You Wash Your Beard?

Written by Marlon Rivas | Edited by Dan Hickey

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

You can wash the hair on your face just like you’d wash the hair on your head, right? As it turns out, your face and beard hair have fairly different needs than the hair on your scalp. To help you maintain the healthiest, softest, most eye-catching beard, we’ve put together a handy guide to washing and conditioning it, including information on how often to do it and which products to use. If you’re ready to take your beard game to the next level, read on!

This article is based on an interview with our professional barber, Marlon Rivas, owner of MGX Professional Men's Grooming. Check out the full interview here.

Things You Should Know

Wash your beard with beard shampoo at least once per week, but up to three times if you have an active job, exercise frequently, or have oily skin.
Use beard conditioner and oil after shampooing to retain moisture in your facial hair and skin. Condition up to every day, and apply oil up to twice a day.

Section 1 of 3:

How many times per week should I wash my beard?

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Wash your beard with beard shampoo 2 to 3 times per week. For most people, 2 or 3 washes is plenty to keep your beard clean, healthy and moisturized. Even if you shower every day, limit your beard washes—over-washing can lead to itchy dry skin and dry beard hair.^{[1]
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Research source} However, if you regularly apply moisturizing oil and beard balm to keep the skin underneath your beard moisturized, you can wash more frequently if you prefer.
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Wash at least 3 times a week if you’re very active or have oily skin. If you exercise and sweat frequently or you work outside of an office environment, aim for 3 times (or more if needed) to keep your facial hair germ-free. Wash at least 3 times a week if you’ve got oily skin, thinner beard hair, or live in a humid environment.^{[2]
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Wash your beard once per week if you have dry skin or dye your beard. Beard wash is gentle, but still removes some of the natural moisture from your skin and facial hair. If your skin is normally dry or you live in an arid environment, only wash once per week to prevent over-drying and itchiness. The same goes for beards with thick, coarse hair—they tend to be drier naturally, so stick to one wash a week.^{[3]
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- Wash once per week if you dye your beard, too. Your dye will last longer when you wash less.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Wash Your Beard

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Wet your beard with lukewarm water. Jump in the shower or thoroughly wet your beard over the bathroom sink. A wet beard helps your shampoo lather faster whether it’s liquid or a bar. The warm water opens up your pores and improves blood circulation.^{[4]
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- Cold water will close up your pores, and hot water might cause slight inflammation and dryness.
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Apply your beard shampoo and work it into a lather. If you’re using liquid shampoo, squeeze a nickel-sized amount into your hands and rub it into your beard until the lather is big and white. For bar shampoo, rub the bar against your beard until it makes a foamy lather. Use your fingertips to spread the lather in all directions.^{[5]
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Rinse out the shampoo and apply your conditioner. Make sure all of the soapy lather is out of your beard. Then, while your facial is still wet, rub a small amount of conditioner in your hands and then run your palms through your beard to evenly distribute it. Let it sit for 1-5 minutes, then rinse it out.^{[6]
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- With conditioner, less is more. Start with a pea-sized squirt in your hands. If your beard is long, use more if needed.
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Pat your beard dry. Jump out of the shower and use a clean towel to gently rub and pat your facial hair dry. Try using a microfiber towel—it dries faster and doesn’t pull on wet hairs very hard.^{[7]
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Apply beard oil. Rub a drop or two of oil between your hands and then massage it into your beard. As you work through your facial hair, try to massage the oil from the roots to the tips of your hair so it can benefit your skin, too.
- Comb or brush your beard with a beard comb to make sure the oil is evenly distributed throughout your beard.
- The more oil you add, the more of a shiny look you’ll achieve.

Section 3 of 3:

Best Beard Products

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Use beard washes with moisturizing ingredients like aloe or shea butter. Beard shampoos are catered to facial hair and are gentler on the skin on your face compared to regular shampoo. The hair follicles on your scalp produce more oil (sebum) than the ones on your face, so regular head shampoos are often too aggressive and leave your facial hair and skin feeling dry.
- If you regularly apply beard conditioner and oil, you can likely get away with using regular shampoo on your beard.
- The benefits of beard wash over regular shampoo include cleaner facial hair, less beard dandruff, less itchiness, stronger hair, and healthier growth.
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Soften your beard with conditioner made from natural oils. Conditioner helps maintain moisture in your hair and skin after washing, meaning your beard and face will be less dry and itchy. Apply conditioner as often as you need to stay comfortable (up to every day). Some even choose to co-wash their beard (wash only with conditioner).^{[8]
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- To co-wash, use conditioner instead of shampoo to wash your beard as often as every day (or just on days when you don’t use shampoo).
- Co-washing leaves most of your natural sebum oil intact, keeping your beard soft and moisturized compared to after using shampoo.
- Look for ingredients like jojoba oil, argan oil, coconut oil, shea butter, or cocoa butter.
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Hydrate your hair and skin with all-natural or organic beard oils. Oil helps your beard look fuller and more uniform, plus it helps with styling and reigning in scraggly hairs.Apply beard oil any time your beard feels dry—some people use it up to twice a day. Try applying it in the morning and evening to get started on an oil routine.^{[9]
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- Use oils that are as natural and organic as possible. Argan, jojoba, or even olive oil make great bases. The simpler the ingredients list on oil, the better.
- Stay away from heavily scented oils. Lightly scented or unscented oils have a thicker base, last longer, and look less shiny.
- Try a homemade beard oil with a jojoba base (it resembles the natural sebum on your skin). Add a drop or 2 of sandalwood or cedar essential oil and vitamin E oil for skin health.