You can find many articles on trimming, fading, growing, and styling a beard, but the first step for any beardsman starts with a good beard wash.
Since beards collect all kinds of grime and particles throughout the day, it’s best to wash your beard every day using a shampoo or wash specifically formulated for beards.
Beard shampoos are beard products explicitly made for washing and cleansing beard hair.
Top Picks
When reviewing our top beard wash picks, we carefully considered the following:
- quality of cleanliness
- hair softness
- overall condition
- price
- reviews
After thoroughly reviewing beard shampoos and washes, we created a best of list that scored highly in quality of cleanliness, scent, natural ingredients, effective for beard itch, and overall value.
We also made sure that all selected grooming products were paraben-free and sulfate-free.
1. King C. Gillette Beard Wash – Best Beard Cleanser
I enjoyed this beard cleanser. It’s infused with coconut water, argan oil, and avocado oil. Though it’s a mild cleanser, I found it removes dirt and oil better than others.
It also left my skin and beard hair soft and smooth without any residual feeling. Just clean with a light smell of menthol with a slight cooling sensation, which was refreshing.
2. Zeus Beard Shampoo and Wash – Best for Sensitive Skin
Ingredients: Dragon’s blood, green tea, chamomile, cedarwood, vanilla rum
One of the rare beard shampoos on the market to include dragon’s blood (from the tree, not a mythical beast), which showed in the quality of cleanliness. Zeus Beard Shampoo is specially formulated for sensitive skin, so your skin feels smoother and softer after using this treatment.
In addition, Zeus shampoos include natural ingredients. Besides dragon’s blood, this beard wash includes green tea and chamomile. This makes it so good at cleaning your facial hair without irritating your skin underneath. Dragon’s blood comes from a tree. This extract prevents skin inflammation and helps eliminate beard dandruff.
3. Billy Jealousy Beard Wash – Best Hydrating Wash
Ingredients: Aloe, soy, green tea
We heard about this product because it was recommended by Lucas Dennington, the writer behind The Insider Guide to Spas blog and one of the current voices for men’s grooming needs. He wrote that Billy Jealousy was one of the best beard shampoos because of how smooth your beard hair feels afterward.
We completely agree! This beard shampoo cleans your beard hair well and straightens and softens it, making it more manageable. This shampoo completely smooths out your strands and ends if you have frizzy hair.
With dry skin, ingredients like aloe and green tea quickly hydrate and refresh the skin underneath your hair, leaving you with flake-free results.
4. Ranger Beard Wash Shampoo – Best Beard Softener
Ingredients:Tea tree, peppermint, rosehip seed oil, jojoba oil
Ranger Beard Wash gets high ratings from customers because of its sulfate-free formula. The brand makes various beard care products, including unscented beard oils. Their beard wash is made with softening agents and hydrating oils to naturally heal your skin and hair.
While the company also states that this beard shampoo can thicken your beard, we found that it does add a little volume if you have longer beard hair. We suggest using Ranger Beard wash if you need a good everyday wash for dry, sensitive skin.
5. Professor Fuzzworthy Shampoo Bar – Best Beard Soap
Ingredients: Olive oil, castor seed oil, sunflower seed, leatherwood beeswax, honey, Mount Wellington spring water, Tasmanian seaweed extract, cocoa powder
Regarding a clean beard, Professor Fuzzworthy’s shampoo bar is highly recommended. Known for its specialty ingredients only found in the Tasmanian rainforest, this shampoo bar not only cleans your beard, but your hair will feel silky smooth and look as shiny as ever.
With its all-natural formula, Professor Fuzzworthy is also recommended for all skin types, including those with beard acne or dry skin issues.
With so many special ingredients and oils, Professor Fuzzworthy leaves you feeling refreshed, and the scent is absolutely amazing. You’ll receive tons of compliments from your significant other if you use this beard soap, but it also has great value for its size and price. You can use this daily for at least two years but still have some left.
6. Polished Gentleman Shampoo and Conditioner – Best Shampoo for Beard Growth
Ingredients: Biotin, tea tree oil, aloe, manuka honey, coconut oil, argan oil, rosemary, cocoa butter, cehami
We think it’s amazing that the beard shampoo market has taken off, but we also like it when a brand does something new and creates a new formula. Polished Gentleman does just that with their beard growth shampoo and conditioner set. We tested out this product to see how well it treated facial hair and whether using it daily led to substantial hair growth.
Best Beard Thickener
Biotin is an essential ingredient for hair growth and thickening, but only some shampoos and creams include it in their formulas. In this set, the conditioner uses biotin to enhance beard hair growth, according to the company.
We found that after a couple of uses, Polished Gentleman did create more thickness and strength in our hair, but only time will tell if this leads to substantial thickening and new growth.
Most customers swear by this product, which gets such highly rated reviews. We think the shampoo and conditioner formulas make this a phenomenal product if you’re having trouble growing a thicker beard and want something stimulating hair follicle growth.
7. Honest Amish Original Beard Soap – Best Organic Beard Wash
Ingredients: Olive oil, avocado, palm, eucalyptus, coconut oil, apricot kernel, castor oil, and yellow clay
Honest Amish is a top pick for the best natural beard wash for those who want to clean and moisturize their beard. The beard soap has a unique formula and scent that many swear by. Honest Amish is a premier beard grooming brand offering top-rated products like beard oils and balms.
We found this product after a salon recommended it because of its all-natural formula. If you use this soap daily, your beard will shine like a god, but it’s also great for improving thickness and skin clarity. In addition, it’s a great value at under $10, and it will likely last a couple of years with daily use.
8. Jack Black Beard Wash (PureScience Formula) with Aloe
Ingredients: Aloe, panthenol, jojoba oil, vitamin B5, sea kelp, camelina oil, shea butter
This is another beard wash highly recommended by experts working with beard hair daily. It’s stocked on the shelves of high-end barbers because of its ability to soften dry, coarse hair. However, the scent is also refreshing and pleasant, with hints of rosemary, basil, and grapefruit.
We liked how clean beard hair looked and felt after using this product. If you have dryness and irritation, this wash aids in moisturizing your hair and skin. You can’t go wrong with this wash, but it’s a little bit on the expensive side. You don’t need very much to get a lather going, though.
9. Viking Revolution Beard Wash and Conditioner Set – Beard Wash and Oil
Ingredients: Peppermint, eucalyptus, jojoba oil, argan oil
There’s probably nothing better than the Viking Revolution Beard Wash and Shampoo for dry hair prone to dandruff. You only need a little bit, and it comes in a 17 oz bottle, making it a great value for the price.
This shampoo is completely organic and plant-based, using peppermint and eucalyptus to create an intoxicating scent while also adding an astringent property to this product.
Viking Revolution offers several other products, including beard oils. Their commitment to high-quality formulas and beard care is well known, and we liked how this shampoo makes your beard hair feel. It provides a great clean, but the shampoo also contains oils that help moisturize and soften hair.
10. Scotch Porter Moisturizing Beard Wash – Best Beard Dandruff Shampoo
Scotch Porter Moisturizing Beard Wash is the best shampoo for beard dandruff because it contains Burdock Root, Nettle Leaf, and Aloe Vera.
Perfect for cleansing and refreshing beards and mustache hair.
It has all-natural ingredients free from unhealthy chemicals that cleanse, soften & hydrate for a full, healthy beard. The non-toxic ingredients are vegan-friendly and free of parabens, sulfates & silicones.
11. Just For Men Beard Wash – Best Beard Wash for Dry Skin
Just For Men claims to be the Best Face & Beard Wash Ever – a tall claim.
It’s a great shampoo for the beard to moisturize and helps prevent beard itch. It’s made with oatmeal, aloe, chamomile, and Jojoba Oil in a 3-fluid-ounce tube.
Reasons to Use Beard Wash
In addition, beard shampoos also must care for the skin underneath your facial hair. When you wash your face and neck to clean your beard hair, you want to gently scrub away dead skin cells and promote healthy follicular growth.
- Eliminates beard itch
- Removes odor and grime
- Cleanses your beard hair and skin underneath
- Supports healthy beard growth
- Prepare your beard for trimming and styling
There are differences between beard and hair shampoos and certain washes with different ingredients. Some work better than others at keeping your beard healthy while providing shinier, thicker hair.
NOTE: A beard wash is not a face scrub or exfoliator. Check out our article on the Best Face Scrubs & Exfoliators.
What to Look for in a Beard Wash?
After trying a variety of beard washes and shampoos, we have found the top 8 beard shampoos and reviewed them below. However, we rated these shampoos based on the following:
- Quality of Clean: We looked at whether the shampoo cleansed our hair quickly and left the hair clean and shiny. In other cases, we down-rated shampoos that left a residue, didn’t clean the hair well enough, or created more beard itch.
- Prevents Beard Itch: No beard shampoo should ever increase your need to itch after a fresh wash. In fact, beard washes are made to eliminate this irritation.
- Eliminated Flakes and Dryness: We used moisturizing beard shampoos and rated the ones that healed our skin in just one use.
- Ingredients: What did the beard shampoo include that was different? We liked washes that included some moisturizing agents, such as argan oil or jojoba oil, and we tested other formulas that included coconut oil and aloe vera to see if they helped with dry, irritated skin.
- Scent: Most beard washes have a scent related to the oils included in the formula. For example, some have essential oils such as cedarwood or pine that add to the musk. Others are completely unscented. We looked at both in our reviews below.
- Cost: From initial price to ongoing maintenance, we wanted to find beard shampoos that would hold their value and didn’t strain your budget too much. However, a couple that were a little pricey made it onto our list because they worked like a charm and smelled amazing.
In addition to the shampoos and washes we rated, you should look at a few other products, such as beard oil, beard balm, and beard conditioners.
Beard Shampoos and conditioners are typically part of beard grooming and growth kits.
Best Ingredients for Beard Shampoos
While some natural beard shampoos on the market help your beard, many also contain irritating chemicals that do nothing for your skin or hair.
Best Beard Shampoo Ingredients
It’s common for beard washes and shampoos to include these good natural ingredients:
- Carrier Oils: Jojoba oil, argan oil, olive oil, and coconut oil
- Essential Oils: Peppermint, cedarwood, and pine
- Beard Vitamins: Biotin, vitamin E, and vitamin D
With cheaper beard washes and shampoos, other chemicals are added that don’t help your beard. These may dry out your skin and cause your hair to become frail and dull.
Worst Beard Shampoo Ingredients
We suggest avoiding any beard shampoos with these bad ingredients:
- Parabens: Easily identified by the use of “paraben” in the name, these include methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben, or alkyl parahydroxybenzoates.
- Sulfates: Typically, the first ingredients listed in shampoo include sodium lauryl sulfate, laureth sulfate, lauryl sulfoacetate, lauroyl isethionate, and sodium lauroyl taurate.
Natural, organic shampoos work the best because they have the strongest ingredients with none of the side effects, such as dandruff.
FAQ
It’s easy to use hair shampoo, but should you use it? Before purchasing a beard shampoo, there are some things that you can’t ignore when using beard shampoo products. For instance, did you know that some hair shampoos can dry out your skin and create beard dandruff?
Here are a few other things to consider before buying your next beard shampoo.
What Does Beard Wash Do?
Beard wash cleanses facial hair, removing dirt, excess oil, and odors while preventing dandruff. It’s specially formulated to maintain the beard’s natural oils, promoting healthier growth and preventing itchiness compared to regular shampoo.
Can I Use Hair Shampoo On My Beard?
Using hair shampoo on a beard is not recommended. Hair shampoos can strip the beard of natural oils, leading to dryness and irritation. Specialized beard washes are designed to clean without removing essential moisture, ensuring healthier beard growth.
What’s the Difference Between Beard Shampoo and Regular Shampoo?
Beard shampoo is formulated to clean facial hair and skin without stripping natural oils, preventing dryness and itchiness. Regular shampoo is designed for scalp hair and may remove too much oil from a beard, leading to discomfort and flakiness.
How Often Should you Wash your Beard?
Beard shampoo should be used 2-3 times weekly to cleanse without over-drying. Daily washing can strip essential oils, leading to dryness. Adjust the frequency based on skin type and environmental factors for optimal beard health.
What’s the Best Beard Wash Shampoo?
The Jack Black Beard Wash, backed by stylists, is a popular choice due to its natural ingredients like rosemary seed oil, organic sea kelp, and aloe vera. It effectively balances cleansing and moisturizing, promotes healthy growth, minimizes itchiness, and is suitable for all skin types.
Does beard shampoo actually work?
Beard shampoo effectively cleanses and nourishes facial hair and underlying skin. Its formula is designed to maintain moisture, reduce itchiness, and promote healthy beard growth, making it a beneficial alternative to regular shampoo for beard care.
