Beards aren’t something new to Men when it comes to defining your own personal style and look but beard grooming has definitely changed over the past few years. There’s no doubt that the beard is back, it’s big, and it’s well groomed. This style is here to stay for a while too and it’s not just a hipster trend as some may have you believe. Manliness is in vogue again and women couldn’t be more vocal about how attractive they think beards are, so if you haven’t started growing yours out yet, it’s the perfect time to start.
Even if you aren’t totally beard-obsessed, keeping your facial hair well groomed is a smart move. It’ll look better, feel better, and smell better. Ladies who appreciate a good beard won’t be able to help themselves from grabbing it. If you’ve been doing your job correctly, they’ll only be exposed to soft hair and the scent of tea tree oil or sandalwood, not French fries you had from last week.
To help you keep your beard looking amazing, we’ve compiled a list of the best beard grooming products and accessories—and since we want to help make sure that your new beard obsession doesn’t break your wallet, we’ve made sure that each is affordable.
#20 – The Beard Bro Beard Shaping Tool
Have you ever wondered how those really well groomed men get the perfect neck or top lines on their beard? With seemingly perfect symmetry? There’s a pretty good chance they’re using a tool like the Beard Bro. This beard shaping tool has been specifically designed to give your beard a perfect concentric shape. You hold the Beard Bro up to your face and carefully shave up to the edge, which results in a totally clean look. This beard shaping tool can help you keep your beard where you want it—and shave it off where you don’t.
#19 – Perfectly Shaped Goatees with the GoateeSaver
If you’ve been rocking a goatee for any length of time, you know exactly how difficult it is to get it “just right.” Shaping your goatee can be a rather lengthy affair without the right tools—but the GoateeSaver means that you won’t have to spend more than a few minutes maintaining your goatee during your daily grooming routine. This adjustable goatee template helps you not only to save time, but to get a perfectly clean shape for your goatee every single day. If you want to have a distinguished, clean look for your goatee, this is the tool for you—scruff need not apply.
#18 – Zeke’s Beard Wipes
On account of the fact that your beard is sort of, you know, right next to your mouth—where food goes—it can be tough to keep it clean. Zeke’s Beard Wipes make the process of keeping your beard clean and free of food, sauce, and crumbs an incredibly simple process. These beard wipes are different from regular wet wipes because they’ve been specifically designed for use with beards, meaning that they don’t have any unnecessary cleaning agents that could damage your hair. If you spend a lot of time grooming your beard, this is important. If you’ve ever found yourself stroking your beard and turning down a plate of ribs or a sloppy Joe, do yourself a favor and keep a pack of these handy beard wipes in your pocket for every meal.
#17 – Bezi Polished Beard Oil
In addition to your regular grooming routine, adding a few concoctions to your habits can make a huge difference in the quality and appearance of your beard. This Polished Beard Oil from Bezi will make your facial hair healthier and stronger. Good beard oil isn’t just good for your hair though, it’ll also nourish the skin underneath it. That’s why this beard oil is packed with essential oils, vitamins, and antioxidants. There’s also omega oils in the blend, which will help prevent the skin underneath your beard from becoming irritated or chafed.
#16 – Hyper Conditioning with GOA Beard Oil
Similar to the previously discussed product from Bezi, this GOA beard oil is a revitalizing product which promotes strong, healthy beard hair and soft, nourished skin underneath. One of the primary benefits of using this beard oil is that after a short amount of time—perhaps a week—you’ll notice that trimming and maintaining your beard becomes much easier as a result of the hair being more manageable. This beard oil is scented, but not overpoweringly so—after it dissipates, all that’s left is a very subtle aroma that will only be detected by those who are lucky enough to get close enough to smell it.
#15 – The Beard Care Bundle: Perfect for Beginners
If you’re just starting your beard journey, all of the lingo and equipment might feel a little intimidating. Fortunately, a few enterprising companies have developed excellent bundle kits which come with everything you need to get started—once you get comfortable with your beard, grooming regularly, and using the products in your kit, you can start branching out into the fancier stuff. This Beard Care Bundle includes a brush, a beard comb, beard wax, and beard oil. It’s also very reasonably priced at $40 and includes a handy carrying satchel emblazoned with the Wizard Beard logo.
#14 – Mr. Natty’s Face Forest Beard Shampoo
When shopping for beard shampoo, it’s actually a bit more important than you think to find something that’s actually been designed for beards. If you’ve been using your regular head-hair shampoo for your beard—it’s tempting since it’s pretty convenient—you might actually be causing damage to your facial hair, since beard hair is different than head hair. It’s a bit more oily, and for a truly clean wash it requires something that’s been designed for it. Mr. Natty’s “Face Forest” beard shampoo has ingredients like shea butter, peppermint oil, and rosemary to promote cleanliness and softness of both your beard hair and the skin underneath.
#13 – Honest Amish Beard Balm
As long as you’re getting something from a reputable company, most beard balms will do all right—of course some are better than others, but generally speaking, balm is better than no balm for your beard. A lot of the time the choice of balm comes down to smell. It should be subtle and pleasant, since after all, it’ll be right below your nose for (presumably) most of the day. This beard balm from Honest Amish has a light, clean smell. This blend is made of all natural essential oils, so if chemical smells make you gag, this is a great choice. Remember, balm isn’t wax—think of it as a “leave in” conditioner, which means it’ll be staying around for a while. The smell is important, and this balm’s scent is delectable.
#12 – Wiry or Difficult Beard? Try the Billy Jealousy Beard Kit
There’s a lot of beard kits on the market, but for those of us with particularly wiry or difficult beard hair, a lot of them might end up being disappointing. The point of a kit is to make maintaining your beard easier, not an exercise in frustration. If your beard is a tough one, this beard kit from Billy Jealousy is a great place to start taming your facial hair. The reinforced boar bristle brush will get through even the worst tangles and smooth out unruly hair. The kit also comes with a beard control styling formula, which is intended for keeping your beard in check—no matter how much it wants to resist. At the end of the day when you want to clean up, you can use the included beard wash cleansing formula.
#11 – Bestselling Fine-Tooth Beard Comb
If you want one of the finest yet dirt-cheap combs that money can buy, these fine toothed mustache and beard combs run about six bucks from Kent. A bestselling item, this beard comb is 73mm (slightly under 3 inches) and slips easily into your pocket for all-day anytime use. The company who produces this comb even has an interesting history you can share with your bearded buddies: it originated in 1777 and is said to have formed the way we use and manufacture modern brushes.
#10 – Beardsley Shampoo and Conditioner Value Pack
This shampoo and conditioner value pack from Beardsley & Company isn’t just a great pack at a reasonable price, it’s also some pretty high quality stuff. Your beard needs more than just the regular shampoo you use for your head—think about it: your beard takes a lot of abuse. You eat and drink right next to it, and if you enjoy a smoke from time to time, it can be damaged further. The shampoo included in this pack is designed to moisturize and revitalize your beard hair, while the conditioner will strengthen it. Both of these products don’t just work well, they also smell great—you can expect a light botanical fragrance.
#9 – The Model T Razor from Rockwell
The Rockwell Model T Razor is a remarkable Kickstarter success story. At the time of this writing, the Model T had exceeded its modest funding goal by over a quarter of a million dollars. This razor design looks rugged and manly, but it offers users so much more than looks alone—the Model T is perhaps the pinnacle of razors. The adjustable design allows you to conform the device to the exact contours of your face, and instead of a cartridge based razor, it utilizes a double edged blade which fits snugly into a docking apparatus.
#8 – Panasonic Milano Cordless Beard Trimmer
This all-in-one trimmer from Panasonic won’t just give you a great shave, it’ll provide you with wireless convenience. Wired trimmers can be a hassle to use in the bathroom—the cord can tangle or get in your way, and forget using a Beard Bib with one (we’ll talk about that amazing invention soon enough). This cordless beard trimmer includes stainless steel blades to give you a clean, quick shave. There’s a dial on the unit with 19 different settings, each of which allow you to finely tune exactly how you sculpt your facial hair. There’s a rubberized grip on the handle as well, which makes it easier and more comfortable to hold.
#7 – Beard Oil Sampler Pack
Whether you’re just starting to use beard oil or if you just want to try something new, Smoky Mountain Beard Co. makes a decent batch, and their sampler pack is a great way to see which kind you like the best. Within this sampler pack you’ll receive five different blends of great-smelling beard oils. Each of the scents is ruggedly masculine, such as the Mountain Creek blend, which features pine and cedar scents for a uniquely outdoorsy aroma. For something a bit more subtle and distinctly indoorsy, the Bluegrass beard oil features the scents of citrus and spices. Whichever beard oil you choose to enjoy first, you’ll find that your beard is more easily managed and smells great.
#6 – Sandalwood is Everywhere. Why not Tea Tree Beard Oil?
Sandalwood is an incredibly popular scent for beard oil. It’s masculine and subtle—and everyone uses it. If you want to go with an equally delightful aroma for your next container of beard oil, try this tea tree beard oil from Beardbrand. Tea tree oil is fresh and cool smelling without being minty. Beardbrand beard oil has been designed to promote healthy beard hair without being greasy like some other brands, and you’ll find that it’s also incredibly light (because who wants a heavy beard?). If you want to branch out from sandalwood or your standard scent, give tea tree beard oil a try—it just might become your new favorite.
#5 – Zeus Military Style Beard Brush Set
Another particularly excellent offering for individuals with difficult or wiry beards, the Zeus beard brush set offers you the military precision of “first cut” boar bristles—that means that they’re the best of the bunch, and they’re on your brush. Boar bristles are highly sought after for beard brushes because they’re strong enough to get the job done, but won’t damage your hair or irritate your skin. This kit also comes with a brush cleaner and a tin for storage. The brush itself is good looking and durable thanks to its pear wood handle.
#4 – The Beard Bib – Yes, It’s Real, And Yes, It’s Outrageously Useful
The Beard Bib is a brilliant product. So brilliant in fact that you’re probably looking at it and thinking “why didn’t I come up with this?!”. Next you’ll probably think about all of the cleanup time you can save by using this product. It neatly tucks into your shirt like a bib, and then you can attach it to the mirror in front of you. This means that the next time you’re doing your daily grooming routine, all of your beard hair trimmings won’t land in the sink (and everywhere else in the bathroom.) If you’re tired of cleaning up (or getting yelled at by your significant other for not doing so), this is a must-have accessory.
#3 – Sandalwood Beard Oil
Sandalwood is the classic beard oil scent. It’s beloved by so many because of its masculine, subtle, and absolutely delightful aroma. If you’re just starting to venture into the world of beard oils, this is a great first pick—chances are you’ll love it, and you won’t be turned off from using beard oils because you made the mistake of picking one of the wackier scents out there. This sandalwood beard oil is completely organic, which means that it doesn’t contain any unnecessary chemical components which can damage your beard hair or irritate your skin.
#2 – ‘Stache Wax With Removing Solution
If you’ve been wanting to give your beard and mustache some new life or a little extra character, beard wax is a great way to do exactly that. Wax will allow you to shape and form your beard in just about any way you’d like, and if you get the right kind it’ll either be odorless or provide your facial hair with a pleasingly subtle aroma. This ‘Stache Wax from Wild Willie’s uses only organic ingredients, which means that it won’t damage your hair or skin. The wax will provide you with a firm hold on your facial hair, and when you decide it’s time to go back to your natural look,the included wax remover solution will make it easy.
#1 – Philips Norelco Multigroom Series Kit
This facial hair trimming kit gives you the most bang for your buck: coming in at under $20, it’s a pretty stunning value for the budding beard aficionado on a budget. The set comes complete with trimmer, five attachments, and is even cordless. There are more advanced trimmers with longer feature lists on the market, but for the price you really can’t beat the Norelco Multigroom 3100. You’ll be able to get the precision you’re looking for in your daily grooming routine thanks to this set’s 18 different length settings, and the entire set up is water resistant—pair that with a Beard Bib and you’ve got the easiest cleanup session possible.