By now, you’ve learned that your head hair and beard hair require different kinds of products and care routines. Your head hair can take a beating—you can wash it daily, and you can use chemical-heavy products that produce great results. When you wash your beard, you need natural alternatives that soothe and protect while cleansing. However, it’s possible to lather up with beard shampoo too often.

Washing your beard too often can leave your facial hair dry and brittle. This means split ends, breakage, unsightly patches, and dry skin underneath. You might even be forced to shave and start over if things get bad enough.

So, how often should you wash your beard? Your beard washing tips depend on a few factors:

Your Skin Type Determines How Often You Should Wash Your Beard

Your skin type determines how much oil it produces. Guys with an oilier complexion should try to wash daily if they can do so without drying out their skin. In this instance, there’s excess sebum production that can clog your pores and lead to acne and beard dandruff.

Guys with dry skin can stand to wait 3-4 days to wash. Washing your beard more frequently could cause severely dry skin, as you produce less oil. For combination skin, wherein your T-zone is oily, but the rest of your face is dry, shoot for a beard wash every other day.

Your Beard Type

A thin beard tends to hold oil well and thus, it goes from well-groomed to greasy in just one day. Provided your skin can stand it, you should wash your beard every day. In addition to keeping it clean, it’ll give your beard more volume.

On the other hand, a thick beard requires less attention. The more hair you have, the harder it is for your natural sebum to reach every follicle. Cut back your washing sessions to every 3 days and adjust as needed.

Your Location

That’s right—your geographical location plays a role in how frequently you should break out the beard shampoo. In dry climates, you must depend solely on your natural sebum production. That means less washing so you can build up some oil and moisture protection. Wet climates, however, call for the opposite. The air is more humid, and your skin and beard retain more moisture. Wash more frequently to keep your pores clear.

Your Daily Activities

If you’re a sedentary guy with an office job, a daily wash will be too much. However, if you’re hitting the nearest CrossFit box every day, you should wash daily to remove all the sweat and dirt from your workouts.

Beard Shampoo & The Right Beard Products

Beard shampoo is important when washing your beard, but isn’t the only piece of the puzzle. Beard washing tips also cover the ways you care for your beard once you’re done.

Though your wash routine is designed to prevent dryness, you still have an obligation to moisturize. It’s crucial to apply beard oil. Beard oil moisturizes both your hair and your skin. It’s a protectant, a conditioner, beard softener, and it encourages healthy growth. Argan oil products are great options.

Also, ensure you comb your beard after washing. Knots and tangles can stop sebum and beard oil from reaching all of your facial hair. Once you’ve applied beard oil, use a beard comb to evenly spread the oil throughout. This is a stage where you can fluff and style your beard to your liking. If you skip this step, you’ll have some portions of your beard that are excessively moisturized while others remain dry.

It’s important to wash your beard, but you should do so at a frequency that keeps it healthy and well-kempt.