We all know that a gentleman not only extends a helping hand to others but he also takes care of himself and his beard or mustache. If you don’t have a beard or a mustache, it might still be worth reading on as I’m sure there are a few gems for you too.

We started by asking our own product developer and Master Barber Kenneth Johnsson what his top 3 beard tips are for someone with a beard. For those of you who don’t know Kenneth, he can talk for hours if not days about beards and everything that goes with it so boiling down such a complex question to just three simple steps took some persuasion.

Tip No 1:

Trim your beard regularly with a barber/hairdresser, as many people who trim and shave themselves tend to ruin the natural lines of the beard.

I’ll be honest and say that answer caught me a little off guard but the more I thought about it the more logical it becomes. We go to school, we take courses at work, we read books and do a lot of other things to learn how to do things as well as possible but when it comes to shaving and styling the beard, most people take it into their own hands and try it out and settle for “ok”.

Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m all for trial and error and even trying new things but would it really hurt to go to a barber or good hairdresser a few times to lay the groundwork for a great beard? I know I’ll be visiting a barber any day now to get a review and some suggestions on what I could do better with my beard.

Tip No 2:

Comb/brush, depending on length, daily for a problem-free and healthy beard.

That you should comb and / or brush your beard regularly may of course seem to be a matter of course that does not need to be said, but many men just let the beard be, it is trimmed a little now and then when it starts to spread, but beyond that it is allowed to sit where it is.

When you comb and brush your beard, it is not only so that it does not spread in all directions, but also so that your beard bottom gets some love. When you have a beard, the skin tends to get a little “musty” (a bit like eczema if you look closely), which leads to the beard bottom becoming both dry and sensitive and releasing skin deposits that then stick to the beard. These bind moisture and the downward spiral of itchy and dull beard is on until you shave off the misery.

When the beard itches, it is of course not the beard that itches but the beard bottom that does not feel so good. When you brush and comb the beard, you keep them both clean while the beard bottom gets a nice massage with better blood flow, which in turn leads to less “mold” and itching. A neat beard is now just around the corner.

Tip No 3:

Use beard and scalp products daily, a dry/irritated scalp or matted beard makes it difficult to maintain the beard.

But hey! The Vikings had beards and they certainly did not need any products why do I need it?
It is true and difficult to argue against but we are not Vikings we are Gentlemen and we hopefully have much better hygiene than the boys from the 800s so they were perhaps used to itching a little here and there most of the time which we are not.

In order for a beard to both feel and look healthy, we sometimes need to cheat and help the beard and especially the beard base a little on the way no matter how much or little beard we have. I personally keep my beard short and therefore do not have to make such a big deal of it all, the only thing I use is Gentlemen of Sweden’s Beard Butter Creme (of course). I used to use beard oil to give both the stubble and my beard bottom some love but that romance is over since I got to test our first sample from the factory.

If you have a slightly longer beard, it does not hurt to also use a shampoo adapted for beards. Here I recommend Gentlemen of Sweden’s Hair & Beard Shampoo (of course again) which contains a bunch of goodies that make both beard and beard bottom feel great. What Kenneth has done is that he toned down the shampoo a bit and made it softer so it is not as drying as regular shampoos while it was filled with, among other things, witch hazel and nettle extract which in itself both nourishes and soothes the skin. The result is a healthier beard that is not only softer and fresher, but also a beard that itches less, if at all.

The fact that a shampoo is softer and not as drying is a nicer way of saying that it is not as deep cleaning, as it goes hand in hand, which in turn means that the beard and beard bottom do not take as much beating as when a regular and tougher shampoo is used. Of course, this does not mean that we neglect the beard and do not wash it properly, it means that we wash the beard as much as needed!
A good analogy is the car, don’t you run the most expensive and longest washing program with degreasing, hot water and hot wax every time when the car is a little dirty? As a rule, the usual short program in the car wash is enough to make it clean and nice, the same goes for the beard. When we need to clean in depth every now and then, we use Boosting Body Wash which works great when we want to clean beard and hair in depth.

To sum up

Those were Kenneth’s top three beard tips topped with some extra information, it’s all about choosing a style that suits you, keeping your beard and scalp clean while giving your beard and scalp some canned love. Speaking of canned, I wrote earlier that my romance with beard oil was over after I tried Gentlemen of Sweden’s Beard Butter Creme. I do not in any way want to knock beard oil or beard butter for that matter but think about what I experienced in my first test; Where moisturizes best? Lubricate your hands in oil, butter or hand cream?

Perhaps a little unfair as beards and beard bases are not like hands but just like the car wash above, the point is certainly made. Imagine a beard butter that is as soft and smooth as a nice hand cream. A cream that makes the beard neither shiny nor sticky, a cream that is quickly and easily absorbed by both beard and scalp, there you have Gentlemen of Sweden’s Beard Butter Creme.

If you feel like giving your beard a real gentleman’s treatment, our products are available at well-stocked hairdressers and barbers around the country as well as here on the site and if you fill in your email below, we have a little surprise for you and your beard.