Beard dandruff

The thing I hate most when growing out my beard is beard dandruff. Any solutions?  Head and shoulders?

I use a stiff bristle brush to brush through my beard before I shower, that serves to exfoliate the skin underneath.  Then I shampoo the beard when I shower with my regular shampoo.

I haven't found a solution yet. I get head dandruff too so wash my beard and hair with dandruff shampoo but it doesn't do much for the beard. I use coconut oil in my beard and that seems to help a little. 

Use beard oil. It does work. I actually found the best thing that helped my goatee be in line was when im shaving i load it up with shaving cream. I use proraso menthol and eucalyptus. If i left the shaving cream in the long hair for a bit, 15-20 minutes or so, id have much less trouble keeping it looking ok for a few days. 

But i use some home-brew beard oil too. The stuff on the shelf was worthless. 

You may be dealing with a mild case of Seborrheic dermatitis. If you are also seeing any redness/dry skin around your nose or between your eyebrows (or on your chest) then it may be a good chance. You can try some of the ideas here or if it continues, go see a dermatologist and get a script for a topical corticosteroid. I find that face washing with a Zinc based soap and using a good, non-alcohol based moisturizer does the trick 95% of the time. Mine seems to flare up with certain pollens.

I have the same problem. 

I've stopped wearing dark colored shirts because of it.

TJL said:

Use beard oil. It does work. I actually found the best thing that helped my goatee be in line was when im shaving i load it up with shaving cream. I use proraso menthol and eucalyptus. If i left the shaving cream in the long hair for a bit, 15-20 minutes or so, id have much less trouble keeping it looking ok for a few days. 

 

But i use some home-brew beard oil too. The stuff on the shelf was worthless. 

How can you post that and not tell us how you make it?

hobiercr said:

You may be dealing with a mild case of Seborrheic dermatitis. If you are also seeing any redness/dry skin around your nose or between your eyebrows (or on your chest) then it may be a good chance. You can try some of the ideas here or if it continues, go see a dermatologist and get a script for a topical corticosteroid. I find that face washing with a Zinc based soap and using a good, non-alcohol based moisturizer does the trick 95% of the time. Mine seems to flare up with certain pollens.

This.

I mostly have seborrheic dermatitis on my face and in my beard, but on my head too.

My dermatologist recently put me on a short, tapering course of topical steroids for my face.

For home treatment, I mix a little bit of olive oil in some lukewarm water, shake vigorously and then rub it into my scalp and beard. I'll leave it on for about 5 minutes, and then shampoo twice. I recommend something very similar for many of my clients when treating their dogs for dermatitis.

In reply to Stampie :

Sorry, should have said my hipster manager makes it, not me. I’ll ask and see what it is, he told me before but blah blah hipster stuff i dont recall. 

I recently switched to soaps made sans sodium laureth sulfate and have noticed a marked improvement in the overall condition of my skin, especially on my face (and subsequently under my beard). I now wear black shirts without fear. Of course, YMMV. 

Scanned the thread title quickly and read it as "bear dandruff"

I mean, I know when you put all of us together, we can figure out a solution to just about everything but...

Jordan Rimpela said:

I recently switched to soaps made sans sodium laureth sulfate and have noticed a marked improvement in the overall condition of my skin, especially on my face (and subsequently under my beard). I now wear black shirts without fear. Of course, YMMV. 

What sorta soap is that? More importantly,  was there an easy way to find it without scanning all the bottles at target like a goober?

Mndsm said:

Jordan Rimpela said:

I recently switched to soaps made sans sodium laureth sulfate and have noticed a marked improvement in the overall condition of my skin, especially on my face (and subsequently under my beard). I now wear black shirts without fear. Of course, YMMV. 

What sorta soap is that? More importantly,  was there an easy way to find it without scanning all the bottles at target like a goober?

Not sure, we scan our bottles, but I've noticed a significant drop in the number of canker sores I get when I use a toothepaste without the SLS. The hard part is finding toothpaste without the SLS, but with flouride.

I started using this stuff called "Beard Butter" my girlfriend found for me. 

Keeping my beard shorter, and making sure to really give it a good scrub in the shower + Beard Butter, I don't have a problem with it anymore.

I shaved. Worked for me

z31maniac said:

I started using this stuff called "Beard Butter" my girlfriend found for me. 

Keeping my beard shorter, and making sure to really give it a good scrub in the shower + Beard Butter, I don't have a problem with it anymore.

I have the same problem. It gets really bad during the winter. Last winter, I tried a few different products, including a solid "beard butter" with shea butter in it, as well as a few different products made by Cremo that is more of a cream. Both types work really well in conjunction with a beard scrub in the shower. The cream is easier to use, but the butter lasts longer and is better for longer beards.

Dandruff shampoo followed by regular shampoo. Same as what I do to my scalp. If that doesn't do it, see a hipster barber that might have some moisturizing oils that can help.

Think about it this way- without a beard, every time you scratch, wash or wipe your face, you're scraping a bit of dead skin off. So, it comes off in tiny patches all day long. With a beard, it kind of flakes off and sticks together until gravity moves it out. You gotta get back to removing the skin.

This is what I do:

Brush your beard and make sure you're getting all the way down to the skin with the brush. Brush it until your skin tingles. Do this at least once a day.
Use mild shampoo or body wash in your beard, not soap. I found I was using waaaay too much and working it into a big foamy mess. I cut back until I found the minimum amount that worked, which is way less than I though I would ever need- just a bit of bubbles.
Make sure you rinse the hell out of your beard in the shower. Leaving even a little bit of shampoo in there dries my skin out.
Wash and rinse top down.


 

Most of the stuff I've seen about beard dandruff involves your sebaceous glands being unable to produce enough oil to keep your hair and skin moist. The skin dries and flakes.  Washing with harsh soap will make this worse as it tends to dry out even more. Also, I've heard that cheap combs can be pointy at the end of the teeth which can scratch.

My routine involves rinsing my beard daily, Badger Beard Balm Monday-Saturday, and Badger Beard oil on Sunday.

Following for reasons...  I also tried the H&S dandruff shampoo thinking that would work, nope.  Switched to the blue stuff about a month ago, name escapes me.  Not much better.

Jerry said:

Switched to the blue stuff about a month ago, name escapes me.  Not much better.

Selsun Blue? 

ShawnG said:

Scanned the thread title quickly and read it as "bear dandruff"

I mean, I know when you put all of us together, we can figure out a solution to just about everything but...

Well now I want a conversation to happen about solving bear dandruff

In reply to Antihero :

Shaving

Scruffing it up before showering does the trick for me. 

shampoo and beard butter or beard oil..  

https://www.maestrosclassic.com/products/mark-of-a-man-blend-beard-butter?_sm_nck=1

bought that at target.. seems to work well.