How to Use Beard Balm (and What It Actually Does)
The WizardHalfway up the Greyspine Pass, with a north wind trying to take my hat, The Hero pulled off his helmet at our campfire and half his beard stood straight out sideways like a flag. The other half was pressed flat to his jaw. "I used balm this morning," he said, holding up the tin like evidence. "A whole thumb of it. On a wet beard. Straight out of my saddlebag in the frost." I counted three mistakes in that sentence.
Here's how to use beard balm the right way. Start with a clean beard that's towel-dried to barely damp. Scrape out a pea-sized amount for a short beard (more as it grows), rub it between your palms until it goes soft and glossy, work it in from underneath your jaw up and out, then comb it into shape. As for what beard balm does: it conditions the hair, holds it where you put it, keeps flyaways down and leaves a scent behind. Oil softens. Balm softens and holds.
- Beard balm conditions your beard, holds it in place, keeps flyaways down and carries a scent. The beeswax is what gives it hold.
- Start small: about half a pea for stubble, a pea for a short beard, a fingertip for medium and two or three scrapes for a long beard.
- Warm it in your palms until it looks glossy, work it in from under your jaw up and out, then comb or brush it into shape.
- Using oil too? Oil goes first on a damp beard. Balm goes on top once the beard is nearly dry.
- By our rough math, a 2 oz tin lasts about 2 to 4 months of daily use on a short to medium beard.
What does beard balm do?
- Conditioning. Our balms like The Hero and The Wizard start with five carrier oils (castor, coconut, sweet almond, argan and jojoba) plus shea butter. That's the part that keeps the hair soft and the skin underneath from feeling tight.
- Hold. Beeswax. It's what lets you push a hair back into line and have it still be there at 3 p.m.
- Flyaways. The same wax coats the outer layer and keeps the frizzy, wiry strays from floating off your jaw in humid weather or a stiff wind.
- Scent. A fragrance oil rides along.
What it won't do is grow hair. No balm can create new follicles. Still deciding between products? Our guides on beard oil vs beard balm and beard balm vs beard butter cover the differences.
How to use beard balm, step by step
- Start clean and nearly dry. Shower, towel off, and give your beard five or ten minutes. A little dampness is fine. Dripping is not.
- Scrape, don't scoop. Drag the back of your thumbnail across the surface of the tin. You get a thin curl instead of a gouge, which makes the amount easy to judge.
- Warm it until it's glossy. Rub your palms together for 10 to 15 seconds. It should go from waxy and matte to soft and shiny with no lumps.
- Work from underneath. Start under your jaw and on your neck. Push your fingers up and outward against the grain so the balm reaches the skin and the underside of the beard, where most of the hair actually lives. Then do the cheeks and sides, and finish by smoothing everything down in the direction it grows.
- Comb or brush it into shape. A comb works best on longer beards: wide teeth first to spread the balm, then fine teeth to set the shape. On a short beard, a boar bristle brush does both jobs and breaks up any clumps.
- Use the leftovers on the details. Whatever's still on your fingertips goes on the mustache and any stubborn strays at the edges.
How much beard balm to use
Almost every "balm made my beard greasy" complaint comes down to amount. Start here and adjust.
| Beard length | Starting amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stubble (under 1/4 inch) | Half a pea | Mostly for the skin and scent. Oil alone may be enough here. |
| Short (1/4 to 1 inch) | A pea | Plenty to hold the shape and keep the edges tidy. |
| Medium (1 to 3 inches) | About a fingertip | Apply in one round, comb, and add a little more only if it's still puffy. |
| Long (3 inches and up) | Two or three scrapes | Apply in rounds: underneath first, then the outer layer, then the ends. |
Thick or coarse hair? Go up one step. Fine, soft hair? Go down one.
Warming it up: why cold balm fights you
Beeswax gets firm in the cold. A tin that spent the night in a truck in January, or in a saddlebag on a frosty mountain, comes out hard enough to chip. Skip the warming and you'll smear stiff lumps into one spot near your chin.
The fix is simple. Keep the closed tin in a pocket for a few minutes or set it in a cup of warm tap water while you brush your teeth, then rub your palms longer than you think you need to. Don't microwave it. In summer you'll have the opposite problem: a soft tin makes it easy to over-scoop, so scrape lighter. Either way, keep it out of direct sun.
Using beard balm with beard oil (and which goes first)
Oil first, balm second. Oil is thin, so it slips down to the skin easily on a damp beard. Balm goes on top once the beard is nearly dry, where the beeswax can seal things in and hold the shape.
A typical morning looks like this: 3 to 5 drops of oil on a towel-dried beard, worked down to the skin, then a few minutes later a slightly smaller amount of balm than you'd use on its own. If you want both in the same scent, The Hero Beard Oil & Balm Kit pairs the 1 oz oil with the 2 oz balm, and the full Oil & Balm kit collection has the same setup for other characters.
Styling with beard balm
- Shaping the mustache. Take a rice-grain amount on your fingertips, comb the mustache down and out from the center, then press it in place so it stays off your lip. Balm gives a neat, natural shape. For curled or twisted tips, that's a job for mustache wax like The Barkeep (unscented), and our mustache trimming and waxing guide shows how.
- Midday flyaways and helmet hair. Keep the tin in your bag. A tiny amount smoothed over the strays fixes hat hair and wind. If the hair is really crushed, mist it with water first.
- Taming a wild beard. Comb against the grain to open everything up, apply balm from underneath, then comb it down with the grain. More in how to tame a wild beard and how to shape a beard.
Common beard balm mistakes
- Using too much. Your beard looks wet, flat and clumpy, and it collects lint. Comb the extra out and use half as much tomorrow.
- Applying it to a wet beard. Water and wax don't mix, so the balm slides around on top and the hair dries frizzy anyway. Barely damp is the sweet spot.
- Applying it cold. Lumps and patchy hold. Warm it until it shines.
- Only doing the surface. The outside looks tame while the underside stays wiry. Start under the jaw.
- Never washing it out. Beeswax builds up. Use a beard wash a few times a week so each day's balm goes on a clean beard.
One caution, stated once: The Hero and The Wizard balms contain sweet almond oil, which is nut-derived, plus fragrance oil. If you have a nut allergy or sensitive skin, try a little on your jaw first. A rash that sticks around is a job for a dermatologist.
How long does a 2 oz tin of beard balm last?
This is our estimate, not a lab number. A 2 oz tin holds about 57 grams, and a pea-sized scrape weighs somewhere around half a gram. With daily use, that works out to roughly:
- Short beard: 3 to 4 months
- Medium beard: about 2 months
- Long beard: 4 to 6 weeks
Layering with oil stretches it. Buying one as a gift this December? Figure on a couple of months for most beards.
Picking a balm to start with
These two share the same base and the same 2 oz tin at $23.99, so the choice is mostly scent. The Hero is Warm Tobacco, Light Cologne and Mystical Amber, warm and easy to wear anywhere. The Wizard is Cauldron Brewed Bourbon, Toasted Vanilla Oats, Arcane Buttercream and Orange Zest Sparks, sweeter and a little louder. The full beard balm collection has every character, and the rest of The Hero's collection matches his scent. For my own older take on the subject, read The Wizard and why beard balm.
FAQ
Do you put beard balm on a wet or dry beard?
On a dry or barely damp beard. Towel off after your shower and give it a few minutes first. Beeswax doesn't mix with water, so balm on a dripping beard slides around on top and the hair underneath dries frizzy anyway.
How much beard balm should I use?
Start with a pea-sized amount for a short beard, about a fingertip for a medium beard, and two or three scrapes for a long one. Go up a step if your hair is thick or coarse. It's always easier to add a little more than to comb out too much.
Should I use beard oil or beard balm first?
Oil first, balm second. Oil is thin, so it gets down to the skin on a damp beard. Balm goes on top once the beard is nearly dry, where its beeswax can hold everything in place.
Can I use beard balm every day?
Yes. Once a day after your shower is plenty for most beards, with a tiny touch-up for flyaways if you need it. Wash your beard with a beard wash a few times a week so the beeswax doesn't build up.
Does beard balm help your beard grow?
No. Balm can't create new hair follicles. It conditions the hair you have and the skin underneath, which keeps it softer and easier to style while it grows.
How long does a 2 oz tin of beard balm last?
It depends on your beard and how much you use. By our rough estimate, daily use lasts about 3 to 4 months on a short beard, around 2 months on a medium beard and roughly 4 to 6 weeks on a long one.
One last thing
The next morning, The Hero tucked the tin inside his tunic while the fire burned down, waited for his beard to dry, scraped one pea's worth and worked it in from under his chin. At the next ridge the helmet came off and the beard stayed exactly where he'd put it. That's how to use beard balm: warm it, use less than you think, and start underneath.
Your beard, your story.
— The Wizard
