Beard Care 101:

All About Beard Brushes

What Is a Beard Brush

A beard brush is a grooming implement used to keep your facial hair looking good and feeling healthy. This tool is normally composed of a handle inset with natural or synthetic hairs.

Why You Should Use a Beard Brush

Using a beard brush is conducive to achieving your healthiest and best-looking beard:

1. It distributes natural sebum throughout your beard. By coating your facial hair with your body’s natural oils, each hair is conditioned and protected from the elements. This also prevents an abundance of sebum at the hair follicle which can cause irritation and acne. When using a product like beard oil, a beard brush also ensures that the product is evenly distributed for optimal coverage.

2. It stimulates blood flow to your hair follicles by massaging the skin. This increased blood flow ensures proper circulation for the delivery of essential nutrients for healthy and comfortable beard growth.

3. It trains wayward whiskers to where and how you want them to lie. Using a beard brush made with boar bristles hairs ensures that your facial hairs aren’t damaged from routine brushings.

4. It makes your beard appear fuller and shinier. The beard brush separates your beard hairs to give your hair a thicker appearance. Since your natural sebum is also distributed when brushing, your hairs impart a radiant shine.

Who Should Use a Beard Brush

Anyone with a beard or mustache with a length of ½ inch or greater
Those that use leave-in conditioners like beard oil or beard balm
Anyone that needs to train wayward facial hair
Those that want more volume from their beard
Those with unruly, tangled facial hair
Those with dry and dull beards

How Do You Use a Beard Brush

1. (optional) Apply beard oil or balm to a freshly cleansed and towel-dried beard or mustache.

2. Run beard brush through your facial hair from the roots to tips. Allow the brush bristles to massage the skin beneath your beard.

PRO-TIP: Aim to brush your beard 1-2 times daily.

Why Zeus?

As a couple of bearded fellas ourselves, we committed our time and effort to finding the most premium natural components to craft our beard brushes. Our handles are constructed using European-sourced pear wood. Aside from its inherent beauty, this wood is resilient and warp-resistant for a lifetime of use. Each brush is outfitted with 100% natural boar bristles, which are firm enough to penetrate the thickest of beards but gentle enough to leave your hairs even healthier after brushing than before.

Every bearded man is different, so we are proud to offer two different cuts of boar bristle: first cut and second cut boar bristles. First cut bristles have a little more backbone and are very firm. This is great for those with extremely thick beards or curly hair. Second cut bristles are relatively softer than first cut bristles and are a great option for those with thinner hair or sensitive skin.

FAQs

Q. Is it possible to brush your beard too much?

A. Yes, it is possible to brush your beard too much especially if you’re using a beard brush with synthetic bristles. When you constantly brush your hair, you may remove more sebum and/or leave-in conditioner than you’d like, which leads to a dry, uncomfortable, and frizzy beard. Over-brushing may also damage the cuticles of your facial hairs, leading to unhealthy hairs prone to breakage. We recommend limiting each area of your beard to 4-6 brush strokes, twice daily.

Q. Why is boar bristle better than horsehair or nylon bristles in a beard brush?

A. Boar bristle is the best beard brush bristle because of its backbone (or stiffness) and its organic composition. The backbone of boar bristle is rigid enough to penetrate and detangle even thick and curly beards. The rigidity also allows the bristle to get to your skin and hair follicles to massage the skin to encourage blood flow and the distribution of your body’s natural sebum. Horsehair bristles are usually not rigid enough to penetrate thick beards.

Nylon bristles are quite rigid and are effective at penetrating a thick beard, but the manufacturing process used to make nylon bristles is what makes this a poor beard brush material. It’s common for nylon bristles to have rough edges which damage the hair. Nylon bristles also do not carry sebum as effectively as boar bristle. Boar bristles have a similar organic composition to our own hairs and are inherently great vehicles to distribute sebum thoroughly.

Q. Will this make my beard softer?

A. Yes, routine brushings will certainly make your beard softer. The distinct feature that makes boar bristle ideal for your beard brush is its ability to distribute your body’s natural sebum throughout your beard or mustache. This naturally gives each strand a moisture-locking coating, which gives your facial hairs healthy elasticity and resulting softness. When used with beard oil, a boar bristle beard brush will give you your softest beard to date.