Beard Dandruff 101: What Causes It and How Can You Treat It?

Did you know that 39 percent of men would give up coffee for a year if it meant that they could have the perfect beard? The other 61 percent really like their coffee. If you choose to sport a beard, it is important to keep it well-groomed and looking good. However, one problem you could encounter is beard dandruff.

Beard dandruff will ruin the classy look you are going for quickly and make your beard less than perfect. However, the good news is that there is hope!

Even if you have beard dandruff, you can still sport your beard and get the confidence that comes along with it. Keep reading to find out the causes, treatment, and more of beard dandruff. 

The Problem

Have you ever looked down at your shirt to find that your beard has showered you with white flakes, and you know it's dandruff because it's not snowing or you're inside?

The appearance of dandruff in your beard or on your clothes can quickly ruin your sleek and sophisticated appearance. In addition, dandruff can cause your skin to become red and itchy. Knowing how to address beard dandruff is important to keep this from happening. However, before you can begin to consider possible treatments, you need to consider the cause. 

 

Causes of Beard Dandruff

There are several factors that can contribute to beard dandruff. These factors will be different for each individual.

Identifying what causes your beard dandruff will help as you seek to treat your dandruff. 

Malassezia Globosa

Mala, what (try saying that ten times fast, go on, we'll wait)?

Get ready for a science lesson with this cause. Malassezia Globosa is a fungus. 

Your first question might be: how did I get a fungus in my beard?  

However, Malassezia Globosa is a microbe that is contained within almost everyone's skin. It grows in oily areas that have lots of sebaceous glands (your face and scalp are where the majority of sebaceous glands are in your body). The job of Malassezia Globosa is to help break down sebum. Sebum is an oil that gets produced by your sebaceous glands. During the process of breaking down the sebum produced by your sebaceous glands, oleic acid gets left behind. 

For some individuals, the oleic acid that gets left behind can be very irritating to the skin. If your skin is naturally oily, you may experience this more. Skin that is naturally oily can have more Malassezia Globosa, which in turn leads to more oleic acid. The irritation from the oleic acid leads to beard dandruff and itchy skin. 

Dry Skin

Your skin is constantly regenerating. About every 27 days, your skin will completely regenerate. 
However, some people have a faster rate of turnover in their cells. When your skin regenerates more quickly, it can cause a build-up of dead skin cells. 
Do you have flakes in your beard but no red or irritated skin underneath? It's possible that instead of the cause of your beard dandruff being Malassezia Globosa, you just have dry skin. 
Dry skin could be due to a faster turnover rate in your cells or not washing your beard enough. 

Skin Sensitivity

Did you start noticing beard dandruff after switching to a new skincare product or beard care product? In this circumstance, your beard dandruff might get caused by skin sensitivity. 
This is called contact dermatitis, which creates an itchy and red rash. This can cause flaky skin and result in beard dandruff. 

The Seasons

Depending on what season it is, your beard dandruff might get worse. You may notice that this occurs during cold and dry weather. 
Alternatively, it may also occur in hot and humid climates. 

The Solution

You know the problem and what is causing your beard dandruff, but what's the solution? 
Hint: running to the local convenience store and buying a bottle of dandruff shampoo is not the answer. 
Dandruff shampoos are formulated for your scalp, and the skin on your face is more sensitive. There is a higher chance of irritation when you use shampoo intended for your scalp on your luscious beard.
However, you could buy a shampoo and conditioner with Ketoconazole in it, which is intended specifically for beards.

 

What Is Ketoconazole? 

Ketoconazole is an antifungal. It is used to treat serious fungal infections in the body. 
This component of a beard dandruff shampoo works by stopping the growth of fungus. While at times Ketoconazole could require a prescription, many over-the-counter products contain one percent or less and do not require a prescription. 
Risks and Side Effects of Ketoconazole (more on risk and side effects)
Before using any products, you should be aware of potential risks and side effects. When using a shampoo for your beard that contains Ketoconazole, be sure to follow the package instructions or the instructions given to you by a doctor.  

When you use a Ketoconazole shampoo, you will typically apply it to the affected area and allow it to sit for around five minutes. After five minutes, be sure to wash it off thoroughly with water and then dry your skin. 

How Often Should You Use Ketoconazole Shampoo?

The frequency of use depends in part on the strength of the product you are using. Other factors are the severity of the condition you are treating and the severity of your symptoms. 

You might need to use a Ketoconazole shampoo as frequently as every other day or as infrequently as one time per week. 

Other Beard Dandruff Treatments

Utilizing a shampoo for beard dandruff is an excellent choice if the cause of your dandruff is fungal in nature. However, what if your dandruff is caused by dry skin?

In this circumstance, learning how to manage beard dandruff comes down to knowing how to treat your dry skin. 

Exfoliate

Yes, men, exfoliation isn't just for the ladies. By exfoliating, you can remove the dead skin cells from your face. 

This will help with removing the cause of dandruff. Utilizing a beard brush will help in this process. 

You want a beard brush that has soft bristles. Beyond getting rid of the dead skin cells, using a beard brush can help distribute oils from your skin. 

By distributing these oils, you can make your beard hair easier to manage and softer. 

Use your beard brush before you clean your beard. You want to massage the skin under your beard gently with the brush. 

If you scrub your beard with too much vigor, you can make dandruff worse. 

Wash Your Beard

When washing your beard, gently massage the shampoo into your beard. You want to ensure that it also gets to the skin under your beard. 

After waiting the recommended amount of time, you will rinse the shampoo out thoroughly. Leaving shampoo behind can cause irritation. 

Do not use hot water! If you do, you could dry your skin out more and irritate your skin more. Turn on the cold water to keep your beard healthy. 

Remember, use a shampoo designed specifically for your beard, like South Beach Beard Beardruff Treatment. 

Regular shampoos can be too drying and harsh on your face. This is especially true for individuals with sensitive or dry skin. 

Moisturize

Once you exfoliate and wash, it's time to moisturize. This is an essential step, even for those of you with naturally oily skin. 

After you wash your beard, a good moisturizer will rehydrate and protect your skin. To moisturize your beard, you want an excellent beard oil. 

South Beach Beard has a keratin-infused beard oil that could be the perfect oil for you. 

After you have finished washing your beard, you want to add your moisturizer. You will take a few drops of the oil and rub it between your hands. 

Next, massage it into the skin under your beard and work your way to the ends of your beard. You don't want to use too much oil, as this can lead to a build-up. 

You can always grab a couple more drops if needed to get your whole beard. 

Groom

The final step in the process is grooming your beard. Not only will this help your beard look great, but it will help distribute the natural oils in your beard. 

Develop a Good Beard Care Routine

Caring for your beard should become a routine. If you treat your dandruff once and then forget about it, it will come back. 

You need a good routine to keep your beard looking spiffy. There are several steps to a good beard care routine. 

Wash Your Face

You should be washing your face every day. At the same time, rinse your beard.

Two times a week or as needed, make sure to use a beard wash. This will be easy to remember to do if you are able to get into a routine. 

Exfoliate

Exfoliation should be part of your routine one time a week. This is going to wash away dead skin cells. 

However, it will also help remove dirt, debris, and microorganisms. Extra benefit: exfoliation can help promote new cell growth. 

Hydrate

Make sure you are moisturizing your skin on a daily basis. Use a lotion that is formulated for the skin type of your face and use a beard oil on your beard. 

Brush Your Beard

Gone are the days of rolling out of bed and running a hand through your hair. Make sure you brush your beard daily to keep it looking great. 

All About Beardruff Ingredients

Beardruff is an anti-dandruff two-in-one beard shampoo and conditioner. You can buy it in both original and extra strength.

This product includes one percent of Ketoconazole which we discussed above. However, there are some other main ingredients that will help you achieve the beard style you are striving for. 

As you read through the main ingredients, you will discover that the various components each play a key role in helping to reduce dandruff in your beard. 

Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein

Wheat protein has several benefits when it comes to your hair. This ingredient's benefits can partially be attributed to the disulfide bonds that are present within the wheat protein. 

Repair Hair Damage

Your hair naturally contains a high concentration of disulfide bonds. Over time, these get damaged by trauma. 

The source of the trauma can be bleaches, straighteners, sunlight, and hair dyes. Wheat protein connects the broken bonds that occur due to the trauma and repair your damaged hair (does this make wheat protein a therapist for your hair?). 

Hair Shaft Hydration

Wheat protein doesn't stop with repair damage; it also passes through your hair cuticles and hydrates your hair shaft. Remember that one of the key ways to deal with beard dandruff is through hydration and moisturizing.

Wheat protein helps to lock in moisture. It's beneficial to use this in conjunction with deep conditioners. This can help maximize hydration; remember, Beardruff is a two in one shampoo and conditioner. 

Prevent Hair Breakage

Two reasons that you will often have problems with your hair breaking are dryness and weakness. Because wheat protein strengthens your hair by repairing it and increasing hydration, it impacts both of these factors. 

Hair that is moisturized and strong will have more elasticity. That means it can endure more trauma without breaking. 

Boost Shine

The benefits above are great. However, they are not really benefits you can see. So ultimately, what does wheat protein do for the appearance of your hair? 

Wheat protein can give your hair a glossy and shiny appearance. It does this by providing lubricity; this helps protect your hair from styling damage. 

Improve Hair Appearance Overall

Because of the benefits of wheat protein, your hair will look better. Your beard will look thicker when moisture gets retained within it. 

Wheat protein does not impact hair growth; however, it does help to give the appearance of more hair. 

Provitamin B5 (DL-Panthenol)

Provitamin B5 is another of the main ingredients in Beardruff. This product has a few benefits that will help keep your beard looking great. 

Moisturizing

Provitamin B5 has the ability to deeply penetrate and moisturize both your skin and hair. Essentially, this component will deposit nourishing moisture deeply in the cortex of your hair and in the layers of your skin. 

You will often find provitamin B5 in both conditioners and skin moisturizers because of this. As the provitamin B5 is deposited into your hair, it can help to moisturize the skin underneath as well. 

Volumizer
Because provitamin B5 is infusing your hair with moisture, it also acts as a weightless volumizer. If you are looking to get a little more volume in your beard, this is how you will find it. 
Strengthen the Hair

Another great benefit of provitamin B5 is that it can help with strengthening your hair. It does this because of its bonding quality. 

An important note here is to check the products you use on your beard after using your Beardruff. If these products also include provitamin B5, use them sparingly. 

Provitamin B5 is great for moisturizing, but it can build up in your hair over time. This can cause your hair to not have any body. 

Hair Appearance

Provitamin B5 is going to leave your hair looking great. It will allow for a softened body that gets you compliment after compliment.

The moisture provided will keep your beard from becoming coarse, dry, and frizzy.  

Natural Lingonberry Oil

Lingonberries are a small and red berry. The taste is similar to cranberries; however, they are a little less tart. 

These berries are native to the Scandinavian region of northern Europe. Not only will this oil help to boost hydration, but it also helps your Beardruff smell great. 

If you've never smelled lingonberry, it smells like a mix of spice and fruit. You may detect lemon, apple, clove, mountain air, musk, and cinnamon as you inhale the scents of this shampoo and conditioner. 

Chamomile and Lavender Distillates

Chamomile and lavender have been used in hair products for a long time. These products each have similar benefits but are unique as well. 

Lavender

If you want to promote faster hair growth, lavender oil is the answer. This ingredient does that by increasing hair follicles. 

However, the benefits don't stop there; lavender also will help soothe the skin under your hair and heal dry hair. 

Chamomile

Chamomile also helps with hair growth. However, it helps through aiding regrowth. 

It does this by soothing inflammation and detoxing. This benefits both the hair follicle and regrowth. 

If you recall, earlier we discussed dermatitis as a key reason behind beard dandruff. Chamomile can also help to relieve dermatitis, psoriasis, and an itchy scalp. 

Rosehip and Organic Jojoba Oil

Both of these oils have common properties that help your hair. They are both non-greasy and lightweight. 

Because of that, they can get absorbed into the skin easily. As they seep down into your skin, they provide nourishment and moisturization. 

Jojoba oil also has the added benefit of promoting hair growth. It is rich in essential fatty acids. This means it can help repair the damaged hair follicles. 

The other benefit of these oils is that they do not clog your hair follicles. In addition, they will gently nourish the hair from the tip to the root.

Rosehip oil has healing properties that allow it to repair damaged tissues. If you add coconut oil and rosehip oil together, it is a great combination to fight dandruff.

Roman Chamomile Distillate

Roman chamomile has many uses, one being that it makes a great tea. However, there are other benefits that help your hair as well when used in hair products. 

Nourish Your Hair

Chamomile helps to nourish your hair by keeping it moisturized. However, it also has healing properties. 

These healing properties can help fight the damage that gets caused by harmful UV rays from the sun, dust, grime, and dirt. 

It will help to keep your hair soft and smooth. 

Get Rid of Frizz

When you frequently use shampoo, it can strip the natural oil from your hair. This results in dry and frizzy hair. 

One of the excellent benefits of chamomile is that helps the natural oil balance in your hair be restored. Because it keeps your hair and skin hydrated and well-nourished, it will help to make your hair soft and smooth.

It's a great way to combat dry and brittle hair and keep it frizz-free. 

Natural Anti-Dandruff Agent

Chamomile is a great way to treat dandruff. This is because it has strong anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. 

It kills germs and bacteria to help prevent scalp infections or infections of the skin under your beard. It also helps to soothe skin that might be dry and inflamed and keep the skin hydrated. 

All of these factors, in turn, help to prevent dandruff. 

Prevent Hair Loss

Chamomile has healing properties. These properties help repair tissues and skin cells that are damaged. In addition, chamomile has terpenes, sesquiterpenes, and flavonoids that strengthen the hair follicles from within. 

This makes your hair stronger and helps to prevent hair loss. 

Certified Organic White Willow Bark Extract

Willow bark is a bark that comes from different types of willow trees. For example, it can come from the White Willow, which is native to Asia, Central and Southern Europe, and North America. 

In willow bark, you will find salicylates, which are chemicals made naturally by plants. They have been used in medicines for thousands of years. 

White willow bark has natural exfoliating properties. In addition, it helps improve the appearance of both your skin and scalp. 

Remember, one of the steps to getting rid of beard dandruff was exfoliation? This component of Beardruff will help with that. It also helps to control any extra sebum. 

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is a humectant, which is a common moisturizing agent found in beauty care products. However, they also help to preserve the properties of the product you are using. 

When it comes to hyaluronic acid, there are a few benefits for your hair. 

Hydrate Your Hair

Hyaluronic acid allows your hair fibers to retain and seal moisture given from the product you are using. Essentially, this helps the other components of your Beardruff do their job. 

Reduce Frizziness

No one wants a frizzy beard. Hyaluronic acid helps by sealing the cuticle. In turn, this keeps unwanted moisture out. 

It's that unwanted moisture that can cause frizzy hair. 

Plump Your Hair

If you want volume in your beard for the appearance of a thick and full beard, this is what you need. Hyaluronic acid is believed to help plump dry and damaged hair. 

Hydrate

Hydration is beneficial, and Hyaluronic acid doesn't stop with your hair. It also helps to hydrate the skin underneath by binding moisture to your skin. 

Revitalizes High Porosity Hair

Is your hair dry and damaged? If it is, it will struggle to retain water. 

However, using a product with hyaluronic acid will help to "fill in the cracks" of hair shafts that are porous and help your hair retain moisture. 

Other Ingredients

While we have covered the main ingredients in Beardruff, there are more. Here is a complete list of the ingredients you will find in this product:

Organic Aloe Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG 40 Castor Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Organic Lavender Flower Water, Roman Chamomile Flower Water, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Provitamin B5, Glycerin, Rosehip Seed Oil, Organic White Willow Bark Extract, Organic Alcohol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Organic Jojoba Seed Oil, Vitamin E, Sunflower Seed Oil, Red Seaweed Extract, Neem Leaf Extract, Neem Flower Extract, Ivy Gourd Fruit Extract, Eggplant Fruit Extract, Holy Basil Leaf Extract, Turmeric Root Extract, Water, Fragrance, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Natural Lingonberry Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, Ketoconazole 1%

Each of these ingredients will work together to make your beard look great and get rid of your dandruff. 

All About Beardruff Attributes

Beyond the benefits provided by the ingredients in Beardruff, why should you choose this product over others? Beardruff is the only anti-dandruff shampoo that's made specifically for beards. 

However, it has some other attributes you should know. 

Vegan

Whether you're vegan or not, products that are vegan are a great choice. These products are cruelty-free and don't use animals for testing. 

If you want to help in the battle against using animals for testing, choose vegan products. However, the benefits don't stop there. 

Be Kind to Sensitive Skin

When you choose vegan products, they are often friendlier to individuals with sensitive skin. This is because these products often have fewer ingredients than non-vegan products. 

Some of the extra ingredients added to non-vegan products increase the chance of dry skin, acne, rashes, and more. If your skin is sensitive, you could still have a reaction to vegan products, but the chances are lower. 

Natural Ingredients

You will find that the majority of vegan products are made with natural ingredients. This includes things such as essential oils, chamomiles, aloe vera, and seaweed. 

Higher Quality

Vegan products are not only more natural, but they are also of higher quality. They tend to last longer and apply more smoothly in comparison to non-vegan products. 

No Added Parabens

We're sure you've seen products say this, but what does this mean? Parabens are a group of chemicals. 

This group of chemicals is often used as artificial preservatives in beauty products. They help keep harmful bacteria and mold from growing in your products and extend the shelf life.

This doesn't sound bad, right? Here's where the problem comes in. 

There have been studies that suggest these chemicals can disrupt the hormones in the body. This can in turn harm reproductive organs, harm fertility, and affect birth outcomes. 

They also increase the risk of cancer and cause skin irritation. This is why you want a product with no added parabens. 

No Added Phthalates

If you can't pronounce it, you probably don't want it in a product you are using on your body. Phthalates are chemicals used in many products that extend far beyond just the cosmetic industry. 

They have also been linked to disrupting the endocrine system. In addition, they are linked to developmental and reproductive toxicity and cancer. 

While these have been banned from products in the European Union, they are still common in products found in the US. 

No Added Sulfates

Using products with sulfates is not necessarily bad. However, there are some undeniable benefits that come from using sulfate-free products. 

Products without sulfates are great for colored hair and sensitive skin. However, they also don't dry out your hair and are gentle on the eyes. 

Shop With South Beach Beard Today!

We mustache you a question, are you ready to give your beard the love it deserves?

Beard dandruff can destroy your look. However, choosing the right products and caring for your beard can have you looking spiffy and ready to hit the town. 

South Beach Beard is a veteran-owned company that's here to solve all your beard-related concerns. Shop with us today!