How to Use Beard Wax for the Best Results?

Beards and mustaches have been in fashion for the last several years but the September-November period is when they rise to popularity the most. So, it’s perfectly normal for you to try some beard wax on our facial hair to style things up a bit. How to use beard wax for the best results, however?

Before we start, beard and mustache wax products have a few different characteristics that you’ll need to keep in mind. Additionally, there are quite a few other beard-care products such as balms, butters, and oils, that people new to the niche often confuse with beard wax. So, let’s take a look at these first:

Beard oil, beard butter or beard balm vs wax

Beard balms, oils, and butters are different products but they all serve the same purpose – nourishing, hydrating, and softening your beard and facial hair so that they look and feel better. Beard balms and beard butters use small amounts of wax too – for consistency most of all.

What is beard wax and what does beard wax do, however? Beard wax, on the other hand, is used strictly for stylish purposes – to help keep your beard or mustache in a certain stationary position, usually in defiance to the force of gravity. They are typically not meant to have any nourishing effect on your facial hair and will, at most, be lightly scented. Their first and foremost purpose, however, is to temporarily set and harden your facial hair in the desired position.

Lastly, if you’re wondering if there are any differences between beard wax and mustache wax – there typically aren’t. Yes, there are separate “beard wax” and “mustache wax” products on the market, but in terms of their ingredients and effectiveness, they are largely the same and can both be used for any type of facial hair. The main differentiator between different waxes is how strong they are – there are waxes with light, medium, or strong effectiveness.

How to apply beard wax?

Beard wax isn’t a complicated product to apply and use but as with anything else you put on your face and hair, there are certain Do-s and Don’t-s that need to be kept in mind.

First, let’s take a look at what you need to do before you start applying the beard wax:

  • Wash your beard or mustache with shampoo before you apply beard wax or other products on them. It’s vital to make sure that our facial hair is perfectly clean and orderly before you put wax on it.
  • Less of a necessity but a good recommendation anyway is to use conditioner on your facial hair after washing it. The conditioner will further contribute to keeping your beard or mustache in an always perfect condition.
  • Towel-dry your beard or mustache before applying the wax.
  • Carefully comb your beard or mustache before using the wax – you don’t want any entangled hairs if you are to achieve the best results.
    Now that your beard or mustache are perfectly prepped, let’s take a look at the wax itself:
  • Your first job is to soften the wax in the can so that you can use it on your mustache or beard. To that end, simply hold the wax over boiling water for a few seconds so that it starts to soften.
  • Then, run some hot tap water over the tin to further soften the wax. Be careful not to let any water into the can itself, however. Alternatively, you can blow a hair drier over the can for a while.
  • Using just one finger, retrieve some of the softened wax from the can. Make sure that you’re not dipping your finger in – just move it along the surface of the wax and scrape some of it off. Rub the wax between your finger and your thumb to further soften it up.

So, now you have a perfectly clean and well-conditioned beard or mustache, as well as a soft and ready-to-be-applied wax in your hand. Let’s go over the main part of the process – applying the wax:

  • Apply the wax on your beard or mustache by starting from the center part of the mustache and the sides of your beard. Work your way toward the rest of your mustache or beard slowly and methodically – there’s no rush.
  • Use a comb to set the wax evenly in your facial hair. Alternatively, you can use a beard brush for your beard or a simple toothbrush for your mustache, but a comb will work best most of the time.
  • Use small amounts of wax at a time to make sure that it’s evenly distributed. The last thing you want is to end up with more wax on some parts of your face and less on others.
  • Use the comb to not only set the wax in but to shape your beard or mustache in the shape you want them to have.
  • Give the wax a few minutes to dry and set in.

And that should be it! If you’ve followed every step carefully and to the letter, you should have achieved a perfect and stylish look for your beard or mustache. Of course, it’s your choice what shape you’ll wax your facial hair into so that’s up to you.

Lastly, before we move on, we’d also recommend that you take extra good care for your facial hair if you’re to be using beard wax regularly. This isn’t to say that waxes have negative effects on our hair and skin – they don’t. But, at the end of the day, they are a foreign substance that you’ll be applying on your facial hair on a daily basis – this means leftover debris of bigger and smaller parts alike. To avoid the potential problem that such debris can cause, here’s what we’d recommend:

  • Carefully wash your beard off at the end of each day.
  • Use a strong shampoo that can dissolve and remove even the most stubborn debris from your hair.
  • Use a conditioner after each wash to make sure that your hair is also in excellent condition.
  • Use beard oil on a daily basis for the same reason. Beard oils get absorbed into the skin and hair quickly and you’ll be able to apply the wax soon after the oil.

Beard wax recipe

Standard commercial beard waxes have the same ingredients as beard balms – wax, butters, and natural carrier oils. The difference is that while a beard wax uses a large amount of beeswax (or other plant-based waxes), beard balms use only a little wax for consistency’s sake.

This means that if you want to mix your own beard wax at home you’ll need the same ingredients – a lot of beeswax or another plant-based wax, a fair bit of butter, usually cocoa or shea butter, as well as some carrier oils like almond oil, walnut oil, apricot oil, or any other you’d prefer.

The general quantities are:

  • 2 – 3 ounces of wax.
  • 1/2 – 1 ounce of butter.
  • 1/2 – 1 ounce of carrier oils.

The exact proportions will vary and will determine whether your wax is softer or harder, i.e. – whether it will have a lighter or stronger holding effect. Alternatively, you can also just add beeswax to your beard balm and turn it into beard wax that way.

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