Fitness / September 20, 2023

13 Best Beard Conditioners for Men

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If you’re skimping on beard maintenance, you’re missing out on the full facial hair of your dreams, as well as calm, flake-free skin underneath. One of the most important steps for beard health is to condition your beard, and we’ve created this list of the best beard conditioners on the market to save you time searching for the right product.

What Does Beard Conditioner Do?

Just like hair conditioner, beard conditioner nourishes your hair from root to tip, encouraging healthy growth, abundant moisture, soft texture and a full appearance. The added benefit of beard conditioner is that it hydrates the skin under your beard, too, helping you to get rid of dandruff and itching so you can keep your facial hair for longer.

Why Use a Beard Conditioner?

Beards can get patchy or scraggly, feel rough, and cause the skin underneath to be itchy and red. Use beard conditioner to fix these problems and encourage a beard that looks and feels great. This is especially important for men with short, coarse hair or those with dry and sensitive skin.

How to Use Beard Conditioner

There are two basic kinds of beard conditioner: rinse-out and leave-in. Before you open your beard conditioner, wash your skin and beard with shampoo or a beard-specific product to clean and prepare for a softening product. Then, depending on the product, you’ll either apply beard conditioner and leave it in or rinse it out after a few minutes. You’ll want to start this process as soon as your facial hair has grown to about half an inch, and keep it up three to five days a week for the best results.

Best Ingredients in Beard Conditioner

Not all beard conditioners are created equal. Here are some of the top ingredients to look for if you’re after facial hair a Viking would be proud of:

Argan Oil. This oil is a natural wonder, providing a whole slew of benefits to beard and skin. That’s because it’s loaded with vitamin E and fatty acids, two important ingredients for hair and skin health that will increase your beard’s thickness and improve its appearance. Argan oil is highly moisturizing, softening your beard hair while soothing your chin and solving dryness.
Shea Butter. You probably can guess that shea butter is a powerful moisturizer, but did you know that it also works as an anti-inflammatory agent? By relieving irritation and inflammation in your skin, shea butter creates an optimal environment for hair growth, leading to a fuller, healthier beard.
Cocoa Butter. This natural butter is loaded with antioxidants to keep your hair and skin healthy and youthful. It increases blood flow to your hair follicles for increased growth and replenishes your natural moisture barrier at the same time.
Jojoba Oil. Because jojoba oil has a similar texture to your skin oils, it’s able to trick your skin into thinking it is naturally generated sebum, leading to more balanced moisture levels. This also means that your hair follicles are less likely to be clogged, allowing for greater growth over time. Jojoba moisturizes and nourishes, making your beard easier to handle if you want to style it.
Aloe Vera. Chances are you have aloe as a houseplant, but did you know it does more than look nice on your windowsill? Aloe has intensive moisturizing properties and is a super soother, helping calm inflamed skin under all that facial hair. It’s also great for your facial hair itself, restoring vitality to your beard.
Tea Tree Oil. If you’re concerned that your facial hair won’t come in densely enough for a proper beard, consider looking for a beard conditioner with tea tree oil in it. This natural oil unclogs pores, stops dandruff and stimulates circulation to devote more energy to hair growth.

1. Blu Atlas Beard Conditioner

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Get ready to use the last beard conditioner you’ll ever need in your life! That’s because it’s the best beard conditioner for men from Blu Atlas. This lightweight formula won’t hold your beard down, instead lifting it to new heights with a combination of naturally derived ingredients you can feel good about using. Plus, you can choose from two different natural scents: classic (a sultry, barbershop-inspired aroma) or coconut apricot (tropical and uplifting).

Your beard is going to be happy about what’s in here! Like argan oil loaded with vitamin E and its antioxidants, moringa oil with anti-inflammatory properties to stop under-beard itching, passionfruit oil rich in vitamins for greater health and shine, and even an extra dose of vitamin E to hydrate and provide balance.

What Sets This Product Apart: The fact that it’s free from all the usual toxic culprits, like parabens, phthalates, and sulfates! Plus its unique ability to coax the very best look and feel from your hair and skin thanks to ingredients packed with multiple benefits apiece.

2. Just for Men’s The Best Beard Conditioner Ever

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You may love the idea of having a beard and bringing out your inner lumberjack, but the reality is often less pleasant. With the itching and the flakes, the maintenance and the trimming, you may think a beard isn’t worth all the time and effort that goes into keeping it in shape. Luckily, there’s this beard conditioner to make beard upkeep easier.

Just for Men’s Best Beard Conditioner Ever works for a full 48 hours, softening hair while calming the skin underneath. Jojoba oil powers this formula, along with oatmeal (known for its soothing properties), aloe and chamomile, which work to hydrate and calm inflammation in your skin. The end of your beard itching is near!

What Sets This Product Apart: This beard conditioner is ahead of the game when it comes to relieving itching and discomfort underneath your facial hair. We love how it uses aloe, chamomile and oatmeal, and the way it makes beards more pliable.

3. Scotch Porter Beard Conditioner

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It’s always a good idea to look for clean formulas in the products you use every day, and that is particularly important when you’re using those products on your beard–remember how close it is to your mouth! Scotch Porter creates one of the best beard conditioners for men that is also nontoxic and vegan, satisfying all the most important requirements. As a bonus, it smells fantastic! Think a masculine mix of sandalwood, oakmoss, musk, amber and cashmere.

This conditioner contains some of the finest, most effective ingredients for beard health. Like biotin, known to boost growth and fortify; shea butter for softness; and aloe vera to kill any under-beard discomfort fast. Coconut oil, castor seed oil and jojoba oil transform brittle facial hair, and nettle prevents breakage and addresses thinning.

What Sets This Product Apart: This beard conditioner features a solid formula, with a handful of ingredients that work together to moisturize and strengthen your beard. That, plus the scent, the lack of harmful chemicals and a decent price point, make this an absolute winner.

4. Grave Before Shave Beard Conditioner

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This beard conditioner is for men who are all in on facial hair. The Grave Before Shave Beard Conditioner will become a staple in your household if you plan on keeping your beard year-round, or even just for a season. You use this just like you’d use any other hair conditioner, letting it sit in your beard for a minute before washing it out to let the formula truly work its magic.

What’s in here other than a classic barbershop scent? Argan oil for starters, which is a superior moisturizing ingredient. Hydrolyzed quinoa makes hair shinier and healthier looking, and sugarcane extract softens and gently exfoliates the skin on your chin. The product also contains jojoba, meadowfoam and coconut oils to nourish and hydrate. Coming in at just under $10, this conditioner is an excellent deal.

What Sets This Product Apart: The old-timey barbershop scent, for one! Plus the combination of hydrating oils with helpful extracts that improve hair health from the inside out.

5. Viking Revolution Beard Conditioner

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Argan and jojoba oils are the key to delivering important nutrients while sealing moisture into the hair shaft. Ginger root halts inflammation to calm the skin under your beard, aloe provides lasting itch relief, panthenol gives the appearance of extra volume, and the combination of peppermint and eucalyptus creates a satisfying tingle.

Viking Revolution focuses specifically on beards, helping them grow in healthy and luscious. This formula is great if you suffer from dandruff, getting rid of those pesky flakes so you can go ahead and wear black shirts without having to brush them off every once in a while. It also smells great and manages its conditioning duty expertly. Add this one to your shower routine!

What Sets This Product Apart: It’s the anti-dandruff power for us! Plus the tantalizing mix of peppermint and eucalyptus, which keeps us coming back for more.

6. Every Man Jack Beard and Hair Conditioner

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You’ve gotta love a two-in-one product for its utility, and Every Man Jack has somehow managed to create a multipurpose product that also happens to be one of the best beard conditioners for men. It works on hair all over, so when you’re done shampooing just throw this on your head and chin for a bit. It smells like sandalwood, that inviting and sensual scent ladies can’t get enough of. In case you need an extra reason to add this to your shopping list, know that it’s made with clean ingredients and is entirely cruelty-free.

Cocoa butter and shea butter add rich, creamy goodness to your beard hair to keep it soft and manageable, glycerin adds a little extra moisturizing power, and soy proteins keep hair resilient. You’ll see instant benefits on your head and beard.

What Sets This Product Apart: While you could technically use all beard conditioners on your head hair as well, this one is specifically designed for these two different uses. Because of the two butters in the formula, it is particularly helpful for men with coarse or coily hair.

7. Kiehl’s Nourishing Beard Grooming Oil

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Chances are you’ve already heard of Kiehl’s and the brand’s many grooming solutions, like this nourishing beard grooming oil. It’s the sworn enemy of coarse beard hair, and goes beyond beard management to nourish and hydrate the skin underneath. The ingredient list boasts a number of natural essential oils, which provide skin and hair with numerous benefits while smelling fantastic.

The formula’s secret ingredient is pracaxi, an oil with the highest recorded concentration of behenic acid, a moisturizing super ingredient. It’s sure to quench the thirst of skin and hair for an improvement in texture, appearance and feel.

What Sets This Product Apart: The inclusion of pracaxi oil is a huge plus, and peppermint oil provides that satisfying tingly feeling. We’re also impressed that this oil is almost entirely made of natural ingredients, and has a fairly low environmental impact.

8. Billy Jealousy Beard Control Leave-In Conditioner

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We couldn’t present you with a list of the best beard conditioners for men without including a leave-in conditioner, which is just about the easiest way to get that soft, cuddle-friendly beard of your dreams.

This particular leave-in conditioner from Billy Jealousy comes with a light hold to make styling easier, and contains hair-loving ingredients like jojoba oil, hops extract and marigold flower to enhance the look of your hair. Because no good beard conditioner ignores the skin under your beard, this formula turns to chamomile extract, glycerin and witch hazel to clear up beard-druff and calm irritated skin. After combing this product through your beard and styling it as you like, you’ll enjoy a woodsy scent with lavender, fruit and sandalwood notes.

What Sets This Product Apart: We love the idea of a leave-in conditioner, and this is one of the best iterations. It contains important ingredients for skin and hair, plus a manly scent you’ll want to show off.

9. Port Products Conditioning Beard Absolute

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It can be hard for products to reach the skin under your beard, so you have to be somewhat careful about what you apply there. Moisturizers are great, but can clog your pores. With this beard oil from Port Products, you don’t have to worry. Argan and grapeseed oils come to the rescue of dry skin, leaving behind lightweight moisture that won’t cause acne. In fact, this oil is such a balanced moisturizer that you can go ahead and apply a few drops to your skin as well! With sandalwood, bergamot and grapefruit essence, this oil also smells nice and refreshing.

What Sets This Product Apart: A lightweight mix of oils and no chemicals or toxic ingredients.

10. Cremo Beard and Scruff Softener

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You may think that a five o’clock shadow makes you exempt from beard products, but it’s important to soften your facial hair and take care of your skin from the start. This Beard and Scruff Softener from Cremo can be rinsed out after application, leaving an enviable silky smoothness. You have shea butter and coconut oil to thank for this effect, plus aloe to soothe skin, tea tree to clarify pores and peppermint oil for a pick-me-up.

What Sets This Product Apart: A formula specially designed for beards early on in the growth process. Plus a minty boost that is extremely refreshing.

11. Anthony’s Conditioning Beard Wash

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For the ultimate lazy man who’s in the market for the easiest beard maintenance possible, there’s Anthony’s Conditioning Beard Wash. Slather this product all over your hair and face for a rigorous cleanse and thorough conditioning. This formula uses every trick in the book, addressing itchiness with rosemary and black currant, cleansing and exfoliating with bilberry fruit, and hydrating with a mixture of coconut oil, sunflower seed oil and rice bran extract.

What Sets This Product Apart: You can use this to clean your hair and skin as well as your beard, and still reap its conditioning benefits, getting a softer, more manageable beard with regular use. This wash makes it so easy–there’s no excuse for a scraggly beard!

12. Bevel Beard Conditioner

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Bevel is a brand designed for men of color, so you know this beard conditioner will work wonders on coarse hair textures. The key is bombarding hair with moisture and softening it at the base, relieving your hair’s brittleness without clogging pores. Aloe vera targets inflammation, coconut oil and shea butter provide moisture, and sweet almond oil fortifies hair while imparting moisture.

What Sets This Product Apart: A simple combination of moisturizers that will work on thick hair types. We appreciate the absence of potentially harmful or aggravating ingredients like alcohol, sulfates, parabens and silicones.

13. Murdock London Beard Conditioner