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What is Beard Oil: The Possible Disadvantages of Beard Oil:

If you are going to invest in beard oil after you have learned that it is an important product to keep your beard in good shape, then you are right. However, We are going to discuss in more detail the disadvantages of using beard oil
What is Beard Oil: The Possible Disadvantages of Beard Oil:

For a long time the ability to grow a long, thick, and polished beard was a sign of masculinity. From Greek gods to street hippies, beards look awesome on men. However, it’s not an easy feat to grow a manly beard.

To aid sad men unable to grow long flowy beards, many companies have created beard oils to help them. People that have used beard oils have only nice things to say about them.

What is Beard Oil?

Beard oils are cosmetic products that nourish the skin under the beard and the beard itself. They compromise of various oils that allow men to grow long beards and cure common complaints of itching and dryness.

The great thing about a quality beard oil is that there’s no wrong time to use it. What we have found is using it right after a shower or washing your beard is ideal for a few reasons.

Warm water opens up your pores which allow beard oil to penetrate your skin and absorb more easily. The same goes for your hair. This is the best time to use our growth formula oils or any of our others such as repair and protect.

Once it’s soaked in properly like so, it leads to a less greasy feeling throughout the day

Disadvantages of Beard Oil 

1. Cause Allergic Reactions

Even though beard oils are most of the time made from all-natural ingredients, it’s still possible to have an adverse allergic reaction to them.

There are hundreds of different carrier oils and essential oils used in the formulations these days, so the risk of being allergic to one or multiple of them is not even that rare.

The first time you test out a beard oil, start by applying a very small amount on your face and monitor if you see any of the classic allergy symptoms like chest tightness, itchy redness in eyes, feeling sick, swollen face (lips, tongue, eyes, face), hives, cough, or shortness of breath.

Note: In most cases, the allergic reaction stems from nut oils used as carriers, or from the extremely potent and volatile essential oils that are used for scent purposes.

2. Beard Oil is Expensive

If you have done any sort of research into beard oils, one of the first things that might strike you is just how expensive they can get. A good beard oil will easily cost you anywhere in the region of $20 to $30 for a 30 ml beard oil. Then if you do the maths on how much you are applying onto your beard and how often you are doing it.

It’s really not that long before you finish the entire bottle within a month, especially as your beard grows out longer and longer, requiring more and more oil. Your beard grooming routine can quickly become rather expensive.

So one main disadvantage of beard oil is that it can majorly hit the wallet if you let it. Luckily, there are a range of cheaper beard oil alternatives that you can try out as well — that are just as effective.

3. Your Sensitivity to Sunlight May Increase

There’s a handful of essential oils that have the side effect of increasing your skin’s photosensitivity.

What this means is that they increase the risk of sun damage (UV radiation) by reacting to the UV rays and making your skin absorb more of them than normal.

If you work outside, use tanning beds, or just go to the beach a lot, then making sure that you use beard oils that do not have the photosensitizing essential oils in them would be a key priority.

The common culprits include:

4. Toxic Effects on Small Children and Pets

Most beard oils contain powerful essential oils, which are primarily used for scent purposes.

Even though they are used in just drop amounts, they can still cause some severe side effects, especially to small children and pets if they come in contact with your beard oils using such ingredients.

To give you some examples of just how potent and powerful the essential oils are…

  • It takes 150lb of lavender flowers to make 1lb of lavender oil.
  • And 1000+ lb of roses to make just one pound of rose essential oil.
  • And about 250+lb of peppermint leaves to make just 1lb of peppermint oil.

But tea tree oil, even when diluted and in small amounts, can be very toxic to dogs and cats, even humans if we ingest it.

The point being: Essential oils may be 100% natural, but they are extremely potent and volatile, and you ought to be careful with them. I don’t recommend using beard oils with tea tree oil or lavender for this exact reason, which sadly is more than half of the beard oils currently on the market!

5. Are They Actually Safe?

One thing that should be noted is that not all beard oil producers are certified, so this is something that is worth looking out for. Beard oils if concocted in the wrong manner can actually be quite harmful to you, babies and potentially pets.

High concentrations of essential oils can cause difficulties with breathing and increased sensitivity to sunlight. Some of the oils can actually be bad for your beard, which is pretty ironic.

That’s why it is worth carrying out that bit of extra research into the actual beard company that you might be buying the beard oil from. Then further research into the actual beard oil itself and the ingredients they are using.

You can ask for certifications and if they are unable to provide or point you in the right direction, that might raise a few potential red flags. Put it this way, not all beard oil is created equal, not by a long shot.

6. Beard Greasiness

As we have just discussed, beard oils aren’t all created equal, even the certified ones. See, you will get some beard oils that have a much heavier blend than some lightweight ones.

What you can find is that the heavier blended beard oils although great at conditioning the beard can get your beard feeling literally a bit down.

They cause a greasiness that can actually be quite uncomfortable for a lot of guys. Instead, you might prefer using a much lighter (and often more expensive blend) or prefer the use of a beard moisturiser or a beard balm rather than a beard oil in this instance.

It’s worth testing out a few beard oils as they certainly aren’t all the same but this is something to keep in mind. This is often why I like to use a beard oil as I head to sleep for a deep conditioning effect and don’t have to spend my day with that greasy beard feeling.

7. Lacks Hold

Of course compared to a lot of other beard grooming products, a beard oil is the only one that really lacks any hold at all with your facial hair. Sure, they are good for taming up the beard and softening it up a bit.

However, if you have got quite an unruly beard to start, just using beard oil won’t stop it from beard hairs sticking out everywhere.

You will need to look into flattening it and straightening it with a heated beard comb, styling balms and other techniques. Sure a beard oil will help with the overall taming of it, but it won’t allow you to style the beard and can still look a bit of a mess post beard oil application.

It will just help the hairs become shinier and the hairs softer along with helping to moisturise the beard.

Read Also: Essential Oils for Keratosis Pilaris: 5 Recipes That you Can Use

8. Creates a Shiny Beard

Granted, now this is an advantage for some but really I think the look of a shiny beard can give a bit of an unnatural look to beard and overall be a ‘bit much’.

Instead, we much prefer the look of matted type and textured beard that a beard wax can create or a beard styling balm.

These give a beard an added depth, they still allow the beard and facial hair to give the appearance of being cared for but they are much less in your face.

Where a shining beard that catches some light will probably raise more questions than you were anticipating. This is a subjective and preference aspect to a beard oil but it is something to certainly think about.

Of course, if you have any questions with regards to the beard oil disadvantages then please do let us know in the questions and answers section just below and we will be more than happy to help you.

Plus, if you think of any potential draw backs, side effects and general bad aspects to beard oil that we forgot to mention, please mention them in the comment below too, so that future readers can pick up on them.

Also, read Tea Tree Oil for Beard Growth: Key Benefits of Tea Tree in Growing Beards

Safest Beard Oil Ingredients to Start From

The safest beard oil ingredients with the least possibility for developing side effects are the ester waxes like jojoba oil and meadowfoam seed oil.

For any anti-allergenic, anti-photosensitive, and beard hormone-safe beard oil recipe, they should be used as the primary carriers. Some good examples would also include this brand of organic jojoba oil and this brand of organic meadowfoam seed oil.

Recipe & Instructions

Below is an example recipe for ultra-safe allergen-free beard oil.

What is needed:

  • 1/2 oz. Organic jojoba oil
  • 1/2 oz. Meadowfoam seed oil
  • 5 drops Vitamin E oil

Method:

  1. Pour the carrier oils into a small measuring cup.
  2. Use a small funnel to pour them into a 1 oz dark glass bottle.
  3. Shake the bottle well and close the dropper-cap.
  4. You can use this recipe as the “perfect base” for scent testing.

FAQs

 1. Is Beard oil really helpful?

Yes, Beard oils offer plenty of advantages to the users. They help to promote beard growth, keep it soft and healthy, and add shine to the facial hair. The oil also ensures a scented beard and fights acne effectively.

2. Is it safe to use Beard oil?

You must use Beard oil of a trustworthy brand so as to avoid any side effects. Beard oils with synthetic fragrances must be avoided to safeguard your skin from allergies and beard from dryness.

3. Can people without a beard use Beard oil?

Yes, people without a beard can also apply Beard oil and enjoy the numerous benefits that it offers to facial skin. Beard oil acts as a moisturizer, nourishes the skin, and helps in beard growth.

4. Does applying Beard oil enhance the growth of beard?

Yes. Beard oil contains carrier oils such as Jojoba oil and other essential oils that are absorbed quickly and help stimulate beard growth.

Final Word

While beard oil is a great way for most men to moisturize their beards, it’s not for everyone. If you believe you may be at risk for allergic reactions, photosensitivity, or any other health issue, we recommend not only using our gentle shampoo and conditioner for your beard needs but also using oil-free beard care products and unscented beard oil and beard balm.

We hope this article has been helpful to you. Please share it with anyone who you think will appreciate the information!

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