If softness is what you seek, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s be real – we’ve all been there. Your beard is itchy and it’s dry.
When you touch it, it feels like straw. It’s definitely not the soft and smooth beard that you imagined when you first started growing it.
That’s where beard conditioner and beard oil come in.
But what are the differences between the two? How do they work, and how are they used?
Well, if you’re asking those questions, today is your lucky day. We’ll cover all of that (and more) below.
What Is Beard Oil Used For?
Let’s start with beard oil. After all, it is one of the most popular beard care products on the market.
Beard oil is a leave-in treatment that replicates the natural oils in your skin (which is also called sebum). Natural beard oils are made with a mix of essential oils and carrier oils, and some cheaper beard oils swap out essential oils for synthetic fragrances.
For more information on the ingredients to look out for in high-quality beard oils, read about the most popular essential and carrier oils (like coconut oil).
Beard oil works to moisturize skin, soften beard hairs, prevent beard dandruff, and much more (but we’ll cover that later). You can also learn more about how beard oil is used here.
- Hand Crafted in the USA
- Organic Virgin Argan, Golden Jojoba and 6 More Premium Hydrating Oils
- All Natural and Organic Ingredients
- Get ready for all the compliments- Even the burliest of beards can be tamed with our high quality…
- Say goodbye to an itchy, scratchy beard – Get rid of the dreaded beardruff! Just place a few drops…
- 100% natural – We’ve put together the perfect blend of Argan Oil and Jojoba Oil to give you the…
- Invigorate Your Senses – Our vanilla beard oil for men is non-greasy and made with nothing but pure…
- Softens and Conditions – Our beard oil conditioner is made with high quality ingredients to help…
- Healthy Beard Growth – Our beard conditioning oil promotes growth by effectively restoring the…
What is Beard Conditioner Used For?
Now onto the second moisturizer – beard conditioner.
While both beard oil and conditioner provide similar results, they’re not the same product.
Beard conditioner is an in-shower product that provides deep hydration that’s perfect for coarse, itchy, and dandruff-prone beards. Where beard oil is left in all day, beard conditioner is applied during a shower, left in for a few minutes, and then washed out.
If beard conditioner sounds like something you need in your beard care routine, check out some of our favorite beard conditioners.
- Top-tier Beard Conditioner: Formulated to aid in healthy beard growth, this beard conditioner hydrates, cleans and softens, giving your beard shine and life.
- No Itching or Irritation: Say goodbye to itchy irritated skin and get rid of beard dandruff. Condition your beard, and look and feel great.
- Lather up: Our beard conditioner set deeply cleans and nourishes. With just a little beard conditioner in your hand, add water, massage into your beard and the rich lather does the rest.
- Contains Natural Beard Oil: This beard maintenance set is made with our top Beard Oil to give you the deepest moisturization and best beard growth conditioner possible.
- The Viking Promise: If for any reason, you’re not completely satisfied, simply contact us and we’ll take care of it.
- BEARD CARE AT ITS BEST: Intensely moisturize and restore softness and strengthen your beard and facial hair. This leave-in beard conditioner rehydrates and prevents dandruff on clean beards. Complements all beard types and shaving needs
- THOUGHTFULLY MADE & VEGAN: This premium beard conditioner has no animal ingredients or testing. It is paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, silicone-free, petrolatum-free, and contains no PEGs, mineral oil, or synthetic colors
- NATURAL INGREDIENTS: Infused with biotin, a water-soluble B complex vitamin encapsulated into a liposome for enhanced delivery. Abyssinian oil with high erucic acid content to seal in moisture and protect your strands from dehydration and frizz. White willow bark to fight signs of damage and dryness, including flakes and dandruff
- EASY TO USE: Work a small dollop through beard post-shampooing. Apply generously to damp beard and gently massage into beard. Leave in this conditioner and style as usual
- MANLY SCENT: Masculine, floral and a bit of spice. Notes of sandalwood, carnation, warm oakmoss, musk, vanilla, cashmere and amber
Benefits of Beard Conditioner
So what else should you know about beard conditioner?
Well, the benefits are pretty important.
Here are the top three benefits of beard conditioner:
1. Hydrates your beard
It might be obvious, but the biggest benefit of using beard conditioner is its moisturizing properties.
Most conditioners are packed with high-powered hydrators like shea butter, coconut oil, argan oil, and cocoa seed butter.
Not only that, but some conditioners use humectants – or ingredients that absorb water from the air and seal it into your hair and skin underneath your facial hair.
2. Softer & easier to manage
Secondly, beard conditioner will soften your beard hair.
Really, this is just a side effect of moisturizing your beard, but who doesn’t want a softer beard?
A softer beard is also easier to manage and style – so, if you spend a lot of time combing your beard, you might benefit from a beard conditioner.
3. Available as a leave-in or rinse-out
Since it’s very similar to a hair conditioner, you can choose to rinse out your beard conditioner, or leave it in for deeper hydration (although we’d only recommend this for very dry, coarse beards).
If you’re deciding to rinse it out – don’t forget to let it sit in your beard for a few minutes. That way, you can soak up all the nutrients and moisture you need.
The 3 Best Benefits of Beard Oil
Let’s change gears a bit here (although not too much), and talk about beard oils.
Here are some of the things you’ll notice once you start using it:
1. Moisturizes your skin and beard
Just like with beard conditioner, the main benefit of using beard oil is the added hydration.
A commonality between beard oil and conditioner is that they both use humectants to moisturize your beard.
Some of these impressive ingredients used in beard oil include: sweet almond oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, inca inchi oil, and vitamin E (which are all included in our True North Beard Oil).
2. Adds a healthy shine
If you want a shinier beard, there’s really only one solution. Can you guess what it is?
You’d be right if you said beard oil.
The lightweight formula of beard oil allows it to turn even the dullest and driest beard into a shiny and reflective one.
And, before you know it, you’ll be ready to be on the cover of a magazine.
3. Helps itchiness and fends off beard dandruff
Finally, beard oil can help prevent itchiness and beard dandruff.
And – if you know anything about growing a beard – you should know that these are two of the biggest challenges for beginners.
So – if you’re struggling with flaking, itchiness, or dandruff, we recommend trying beard oil. It may just be the solution you need.
But, what if it’s not? Well, then you might want to try beard balm – it has a thicker consistency that can cure itchiness as well.
If you’re interested in trying new products, we also recommend using beard wash or beard shampoo for the deepest clean. It’s simply the best way to clean your beard.
Differences Between Beard Conditioner and Beard Oil
To some people, beard oil and conditioner might sound pretty similar.
And, for the most part, it is.
However, there are a few key differences between the two.
Here they are:
How it’s applied
The way you use beard oil and beard conditioner is different.
While, yes – both of these beard care products work to nourish and moisturize your beard – each has a separate application process.
The key difference is how often you use them.
Beard oil, for example, can be used daily (in fact, we have a guide on how often you should use it). On the other side of things, beard conditioners should only be used in the shower. That can be as often as every day or as little as one week.
Some people opt to leave their beard conditioner in post-shower, but we recommend washing it out after 3-4 minutes and then applying an oil once you’ve dried your beard.
Ingredients
Another difference you’ll notice if you enjoy reading the labels on your products is the ingredients.
It’s pretty simple, really.
Beard oil is a lightweight product that uses lighter ingredients like essential oils and carrier oils. In comparison, beard conditioner is heavier, using stronger moisturizers like shea butter and cocoa butter.
That being said, beard conditioner isn’t as rich as beard butter or beard balm.
How to store beard conditioner and beard oil
Finally, how you store beard oil and beard conditioner is different.
While beard conditioner can live in your shower, beard oil requires more specific treatment.
Don’t worry though, it’s nothing difficult.
You just want to store beard oil in a dark and temperature-controlled location. Both sunlight and extreme temperatures can degrade it – meaning it won’t be as effective.
Do I Use Beard Oil Or Conditioner First?
We think that beard conditioner should be first on your list.
Beard conditioner is used exclusively in the shower. Beard oil, on the other hand, is used post-shower. That means you’ll want to use beard conditioner first, wash it out, dry your beard, and then apply beard oil. That way your facial hair is equipped with the support it needs to face the day ahead.
Can I Use Hair Conditioner On My Beard Instead?
Most people own hair conditioner.
For some, it can be tempting to use it on your beard hair instead of a beard-specific conditioner.
However, we don’t recommend it. The skin beneath your beard is more sensitive than the skin under your head – meaning it’s best to steer clear of using regular hair conditioner.
If you’re trying to save money, here’s a beard conditioner that’s completely budget-friendly.
- BEARD CARE AT ITS BEST: Intensely moisturize and restore softness and strengthen your beard and facial hair. This leave-in beard conditioner rehydrates and prevents dandruff on clean beards. Complements all beard types and shaving needs
- THOUGHTFULLY MADE & VEGAN: This premium beard conditioner has no animal ingredients or testing. It is paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, silicone-free, petrolatum-free, and contains no PEGs, mineral oil, or synthetic colors
- NATURAL INGREDIENTS: Infused with biotin, a water-soluble B complex vitamin encapsulated into a liposome for enhanced delivery. Abyssinian oil with high erucic acid content to seal in moisture and protect your strands from dehydration and frizz. White willow bark to fight signs of damage and dryness, including flakes and dandruff
- EASY TO USE: Work a small dollop through beard post-shampooing. Apply generously to damp beard and gently massage into beard. Leave in this conditioner and style as usual
- MANLY SCENT: Masculine, floral and a bit of spice. Notes of sandalwood, carnation, warm oakmoss, musk, vanilla, cashmere and amber
Conclusion
Before this article you were probably wondering, “What’s the difference between beard oil and beard conditioner?”
But not anymore.
We’ve covered the A-Z of these two popular beard care products – including what they are, why they’re used, and the key differences between them.
If you’re interested in learning more about beard care (or looking for some top-tier products), we’ve got you covered.
