Last Updated on May 26, 2023 by Janie Wilson
Many people don’t talk about a secret weapon in their hair care arsenal. It’s a product that serves many purposes. It promotes healthy hair growth and at the same time takes care of common problems and skin ailments. Yes, I’m talking about beard oil. And beard oil even acts as a skin moisturizer. Are there other dimensions of beard oil for men? Can you use beard oil for your hair?
Is there any difference between beard hair and scalp hair?
What is the difference between beard hair and head hair? Before we discuss whether beard oil can be used for hair, we want to see the different types of hair we have.
Beard hairs are short, slightly colored, fine in texture and you can hardly notice it unless you grow it big. These hairs grow all over the body during childhood. As soon as you reach puberty, your vellus hairs become terminal hairs, which are thick, long, and dark. The change in hair color and texture is due to an increase in levels of the androgenic hormone. So, the general term used to describe body hair in adults is “androgenic hair”.
Your beard hairs are regarded as androgenic hairs. It is coarse, thick, and dark. Beards become curly and flat.
The biggest difference between your hair on the scalp and androgenic hair is the growth cycle. Androgenic hair grows in fits and starts. Sometimes your androgenic hair can grow up to 3mm in a single day. So, there are periods when this hair does not grow for 3 to 6 months. The hair on your scalp grows continuously.
The other big difference is that the hair on your scalp is softer and better shaped than the hair in your beard.
Can you use hair products on your beard?
The answer to this question is “no”. Products designed for your hair are much more abrasive and chemically harder than anything designed for your face. The skin on your head is much thicker than the skin on your face. Also, your scalp has many more sebaceous glands than your face. These glands continue to produce a whole lot of natural oils to moisturize the hair. They are not easily removed by harsh chemicals contained by these products.If you use products designed for scalp hair on your face, you can damage your skin. It will also remove the natural oils and moisture from your beard. But the opposite scenario works in your favor. Beard oil products, if used judiciously, can do wonders for hair on the scalp.
Using Beard Oil Products on the Scalp
In the late 19th century, most men wore short hair and beards. The most popular oil used for beard and hair is Macassar oil. You will get all this information if you go through the history of beard oil. This oil was made from a mixture of coconut oil, palm oil, and ylang-ylang oil. It was an incredibly effective mixture. The modern beard oil found on the market today is as effective as Macassar oil. But they come with a much lighter formulation.
Beard oil products, especially jojoba oil, can do wonders for the beard and hair. Unlike other oils, jojoba is not a triglyceride like vegetable oils. Jojoba is actually a long-chain wax ester that looks more like whale oil or human sebum. The sebum is produced naturally by the sebaceous glands of the hair and beard. Because jojoba oil is the same as what our bodies already produce, it works on all the hair types we have. The oil soothes the scalp, helps prevent dryness, dandruff, and helps keep moisture much longer.
Other types of beard oil available for sale on the marketplace can produce the same moisturizing effects. It is because of the presence of formulated jojoba oil base. Likewise, the Alchemist Tea Tree & Peppermint Beard Oil moisturizes the beard and hair without weighing them down. It also gives a slight feeling of freshness after application. The Diplomat tobacco beard oil achieves the same effect. But it offers a coarser combination of mandarin, juniper, vetiver, and bourbon geranium.
If you apply Beard Oil to the hair, you can use less than is necessary to moisten the beard. Since your hair structure is thinner, you will need less oil. If you use a small amount to treat each part of your beard, you will need about half of this amount to completely moisturize your head and scalp.
How is beard oil different from hair oil?
In short, they differ in consistency and generally differ in smell.
Beard oil has a thicker consistency than hair oil and this is due to the difference in texture. Again, the beard hair is thicker and more voluminous than the head hair.
Beard oil also gives odors priority over hair. Because the beard is so close to the nose, manufacturers are more concerned with smell than hair oil.
Hair products can be infused with stronger chemicals. The reason for this is that the skin on the scalp is much more resistant than the skin on the face and can tolerate them. The scalp also produces much more natural sebum than the facial skin. Thus, forms an extra protective layer.
Moreover, beard and hair oils often have a lot in common. They often contain moisturizing oils such as argan, jojoba, and coconut oil. These oils serve as carriers for essential oils such as cedarwood, eucalyptus, or pine.
So, if the differences are important, the similarities can be used to your advantage. Hair oil can be too hard for the skin on your face. But, beard oil could be very useful for hair.
My discovery after using beard oil on hair
I tried to apply beard oil to my hair once a day for ten days. Here’s what I found out.
1. You need less beard oil to control the hair on your head
Beard oil is usually thicker, and the hair on the scalp is always thinner. Using the same amount of beard oil that I use for my beard has led to pretty awful results for my hair.
I usually use five drops on my beard. During the experiment, I had a rather short beard. When I applied this amount to the hair on my scalp, I looked very greasy. It looked oily and my hairs became thicker.
So the hair on my scalp looked uneven and the thin parts looked much thinner.
The head hair is thinner and the oil from the beard comes through much easier than the hair from the beard. These five drops, not anticipated at the beginning, led to such excesses.
The second time I used two drops, a little less than half. It was great. My hair seemed moistened and felt nourished instead of looking greasy. Then, I ran a boar bristle brush through my hair, making it look even more beautiful.
The oil from the beard spread evenly over the entire scalp and helped to loosen the piled up clumps of hair.
It left a slippery shine that was neither overwhelming nor uncomfortable.
The learning point was this: if you want to use beard oil on your hair, use about half the amount you would use on your beard.
2. It may not be a very smart move to spend money on beard oil.
For one thing, beard products are not cheap. They are not costly, but they are not cheap either.
Beard oils are generally more expensive than hair oils. Partly because this is a much more specialized market. Besides, they are with bigger players competing with one another in the same place.
While I was applying beard oil to my hair, I came up with an idea. Although I only used a few drops, I realized that I was using it faster than I would have liked. This is not unusual, for I was also using it for my beard as usual.
The uncertainty made me wonder if there was a reason why more people weren’t doing it. Would it damage my scalp? Would it cause hair loss?
It was completely illogical, but I didn’t have enough evidence to calm down.
Using beard oil on my scalp hair didn’t hurt. In fact, it looked pretty good. It looks a lot like using an argan-based hair oil with a eucalyptus infusion.
It was soothing, moisturizing, and had the added benefit of smelling good. Yes, beard oil smells better. Although it was hard to smell because the scalp is so far from the nose, it got good reviews.
Can beard oil stimulate scalp hair growth?
No. Believe me, if it did, it would be worth a lot more money. Scientists are working around the clock to find a cure for male pattern baldness. It’s a billion-dollar solution.
There’s also not much evidence that the oil in the beard stimulates beard hair growth. It’s not a benefit I’m focusing on.
At no time have I noticed an increase in the growth rate of my beard after using the beard oil. Beard oil has revolutionized beard care, but not for this reason.
In short, beard oil is much more than a panacea for your beard. It is also the secret weapon for your hair that has been hidden in your bathroom all along. you will appreciate it.
3. It is absolutely safe.
When you apply beard oil to your hair, you can use less than necessary to hydrate the beard. Because the texture of your hair is less rough, you can use less than you need to moisturize your beard.
I’ve used hair oils before and it works. They also provide the same healthy shine, hydration, and smooth texture, and the same reduction in dandruff.
Your beard needs the gentle touch of beard oil. Hair products are too hard. It makes more sense to reserve this precious liquid for what you need most: your beard.
In time, this will probably save you money and you will appreciate it.
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