12 Best Beard Grooming Products (Shaving, Styling & More)

Beards have a reputation for ruggedness, but no matter if yours is long and rugged or close-cropped and classic, it’s sure to benefit from a solid grooming routine and high-quality products. Read on for 12 of our favorites when it comes to beard grooming!

Many of the products on our list today are used by members of the Gentleman’s Gazette team, but, as always, this post is not sponsored, just our honest opinions.

Grooming is a regular topic here at the Gentleman’s Gazette and you can peruse our existing library on grooming. Today, though, we want to emphasize that we intentionally limited this list to the must-haves. If you’re interested in a review of the more advanced beard grooming products, let us know in the comments below.

While facial hair is very popular among many modern gentlemen. It was very scarcely seen in the Golden Age of Men’s Fashion. Facial hair very popular during these times consisted of things like a thin mustache, like William Powell, and on Cab Calloway or close-cropped beards, like the one sported by Rex Ingram.

12 Best Beard Grooming Products

Trimming & Shaving: Trimmers

Investing in a trimmer will allow you to shape your beard and help you to best compliment your face shape. It will help you reduce excess volume and even help you even out patchy areas. It can also help you trim away split ends and rogue whiskers.

Purchasing a high-quality trimmer with functions like an adjustable cutting height, variable speed settings, and a quality blade will make it easier to trim your beard and it will definitely make your morning routine that much easier. 

1. Beardscape from Brio

The Beardscape comes with eight standard attachments. These range from one millimeter to 18 millimeters. This range will help you catch the perfect length and with five different speed settings, you can work as quickly or slowly as you want. The blade is ceramic not metal so you don’t need to worry about it quickly going dull or about it getting hot against your skin during extended use.

Brio also offers a two-year warranty on all of their products so you can enjoy peace of mind while you’re trimming away. I personally own a Brio Beardscape and I really enjoy the long battery life, the quality manufacturing, and also the ease of being able to interchange the blades.

That simplicity makes me feel very comfortable being able to travel with the product and I know that it’s going to last a very long time.

The Beardscape is great because of its versatility and it can handle every aspect of trimming your beard but sometimes it pays to get a particular tool for a particular job, like fine detailing the edges of your beard especially around the neck cheeks, and ears, so to really push your shave to the edge.

2. Andis T-Outliner

The Andis T-Outliner can also be used as a shaver, but it really shines when also managing fades, or outlining, and cleaning up your beard edges. The high-quality carbon steel blades can be zero gapped, meaning the cutting and top blades can be made flush.

This allows for an extremely close shave even in tight or hard-to-reach areas. Just be careful when using zero-gapped blades. You don’t want to accidentally “Sweeney Todd” yourself!

I also own an Andis T-Outliner and I really enjoy the precision of the cut and how it is able to get a really close sharp line across my beard, moustache area, underneath my neck, around the base of the beard, as well it keeps everything nice and sharp and clean, keeps me from looking like I live under a bridge, which is quite nice.

Razors

Trimmers are the best tools for general maintenance and beard styling, but for the neatest possible look, you also want to clean up with a conventional razor. Regular readers will already know that we’re really big on the double-edged safety razor. We even created a full Shaving Guide.

We prefer razors to cartridge systems because they give you a closer shave for considerably less money and with far less negative environmental impact. Raphael goes into greater detail on this subject in our guide dedicated to the DE safety razor system.

When managing your beard you want to make sure that you shave around your cheeks, your neck, and possibly your chin. Using a razor will make sure you keep those areas as smooth as possible.

3. Merkur Slant Bar Double-Edged Safety Razor

In Our Favorite Grooming Products list, Raphael shares that his favorite safety razor is actually the Merkur Slant Bar Razor. Like Raphael, it is Made in Germany; but unlike Raphael, it’s crafted from cast zinc and brass with an elegant chrome finish.

The weighted body improves control and the three-inch handle is just long enough to keep your grip but not so long that it gets in the way, with knurling to prevent slippage. The slanted head keeps the blade tight which is very efficient for a close shave, especially with coarse hair.

If you’re new to double-edge razor shaving, or you have fine hair, you may not need such an aggressive shave so Merkur features an entire line of quality razors with more traditional straight bars.

Cleaning

Shaping and trimming your beard is just one aspect of keeping your beard looking neat and tidy. You’ll also need to wash it. Due to its close proximity to your mouth and nose, your beard comes into contact with all manners of bodily fluids.

Between eating, drinking, and touching, your face, your beard has multiple opportunities to get dirty, so it is paramount that you regularly wash your beard.

How often you wash your beard depends on your habits, beard length, your skin type, and your hair texture. But most gentlemen will aim to wash their beard between one and three times a week. As with your hair, you’ll first want to use a shampoo that is also called a beard wash. This will help cleanse your beard hair and remove foreign contaminants.

A quality wash will use natural ingredients to remove dirt and grime without drying out or damaging your beard and skin. Longtime fans will know that we’re all about the best bang for your buck, which is why we recommend a bar wash.

4. Honest Amish Beard & Body Slick

Just like with body wash soaps, a beard wash bar gives you a more concentrated cleaning power and it does this for far less money. Honest Amish uses french yellow clay as their soap medium. This is gentle enough to use on the face but is strong enough to cleanse out the dirt and grease.

All-natural saponified organic and essential oils like clove, eucalyptus, and cinnamon will cleanse the hair and skin, and leave beard hairs thoroughly washed. Honest Amish also comes with a full money-back guarantee if you’re not completely satisfied.

I guess it makes sense they would make a quality beard slick; who knows more about beards than the Amish? (Just kidding–we’re aware that the Amish don’t make this product themselves.)

5. The Art of Shaving Beard Wash

I’d also like to recommend a beard wash that I personally use, which is The Art of Shaving Beard Wash. The Art of Shaving is one of the most trusted names in beard care and it’s helpful they offer an entire suite of high-quality beard care products. This makes them a good and reasonably priced one-stop shop if you’re new to growing your beard and how to take care of your beard.

I’ve found a lot to love with this beard wash. It offers a rich lather, and the blend of peppermint, rosemary, and eucalyptus essential oils smell great also making sure that my skin and hair are not dried out. The oil-based formula is especially ideal if you find that bar-based soaps leave your hair feeling dry or prickly.

I also really love the small form factor of the bottle that this product comes in, making it very easy to throw in a travel bag and not have to worry about it being flagged or having to be thrown out. I usually pair this wash with its complementary conditioner because just like with your hair, you also want to condition after shampooing. This helps restore natural oil and prevent dryness. 

Conditioner

Like the beard wash, a quality conditioner should also have mostly natural ingredients because artificial ingredients tend to damage your hair and skin, and honestly, they’re just favored by manufacturers because they’re cheaper. Since I’ve already sung the prices of The Art of Shaving, I’ll take this time to talk about two different conditioners from two companies.

6. Zeus Beard Conditioner

Nothing is worse than an itchy and dried-out beard, so Zeus beard conditioner combines jojoba seed oil and avocado oil to keep your beard hairs both soft and pliable. This prevents itchiness and keeps your beard looking shiny and vibrant. B5 vitamin extracts, aloe vera, and other proprietary moisturizers help to make sure that the skin below your beard is happy and healthy.

Zeus also offers a range of unique scents that we really enjoy. There’s vanilla rum, Verbena lime, and of course sandalwood, but don’t worry they’re not overpowering or distracting.

7. MY Beard Conditioner by Evan Alexander

If you have coarser hair or a sizable beard that is more prone to damage, we recommend another conditioner – the MY Beard conditioner by Evan Alexander. Evan Alexander Grooming was originally designed with the hair needs of gentlemen of color in mind, but their products are also great for anyone with coarse hair or who has beards that are prone to dryness and breakage.

The MY Beard conditioner is designed to smooth rough hairs and encourage healthy hair growth through a special blend of oils. First, there’s castor oil to moisturize and repair damage to the skin. Next, avocado oil to nourish the hair and increase pliability and to also reduce breakage, and then sunflower oil to benefit hair follicles by reducing inflammation and dandruff.

We also love the elegant but bold scent of amber and tobacco. Lastly, all Evan Alexander Grooming products come with a happiness guarantee.

Maintaining & Styling

Once you have your beard clean, you want to maintain it and keep it looking great. As mentioned earlier, classic beard styles tend to be very well-maintained and expertly coiffed. Like most aspects of classic grooming–from haircuts to nail care–you want to keep your beard looking its best. So, you want to keep it nourished and hydrated. This is easily achieved with moisturizing agents.

A moisturizing product is any product that you apply directly to your beard to keep it soft and healthy as well as keeping your skin moisturized. You’ll want a product that primarily nourishes your hair with natural ingredients without adding too much shine, but without making your beard too stiff, slimy, or cakey. The two most common moisturizing agents are beard balms and beard oils.

Beard oil can be worn with any beard. It’s great to keep the beard well hydrated and smelling great. It does this while protecting the skin from dryness or chafing.

Meanwhile, beard balms are traditionally used if your beard is longer but they’re also ideal if you have drier skin. The balm is quite thick and viscous so it sits in your hair and skin and is absorbed slowly. This means it takes longer to apply but it can also give it much greater moisturizing properties.

Whether you opt for a balm or beard oil is entirely up to your personal preference and your hair type, so we’ll recommend two companies known for their exceptional beard balms and oils next.

8. Captain Fawcett’s Beard Oil

Captain Fawcett is a UK-based shaving emporium and they’ve gone to humorous lengths to build a narrative around their fictional frontman, the retired Captain Peabody Fawcett of Her Majesty’s Royal Navy. How many grooming products do you know that have their own lore?

Cute gimmicks aside, Captain Fawcett offers an expansive range of facial hair grooming products and they’re very popular with traditional professional barbers. We think that’s a pretty good sign.

Today, we’re highlighting their line of beard oils. They come in a variety of unique and enticing scents, from the Captain’s own Private Stock to their Maharajah line with spicy and musky notes of citrus, leather, and cedar.

Captain Fawcett uses a base of jojoba oils and sweet almond oil reinforced with Vitamin E. These nourish both your skin and beard hair, and all the oils come in miniature travel sizes for all of your overseas expeditions. Captain Fawcett also offers a great line of beard balms but to share more makers with you, we’ll highlight a different beard brand next.

9. Beardbrand Beard Balm

With a considerable social media presence, it’s likely you may have already heard of Beardbrand. This company was at the forefront of the beard care revolution in the early 2010s, and they offer an extensive range of products to cater to both the beard rookie and the facial hair connoisseur. They have a great line of beard oils too, but today we’ll focus on the beard balms.

They are shea-based and they have all the nourishing benefits of an oil with the added benefit of light hold to tame wild hairs and Beardbrand also offers a second balm specially designed for styling and hold. I especially use their utility balm. I love the scent and how a little bit goes a long way.

It also helps that all of Beardbrand products are available in all of their six unique scents so you never have to worry about your wash smelling one way and your conditioner smelling another. My personal favorite fragrance is the Lumber Yard.

Finally, we appreciate that Beardbrand maintains an extensive library of how-to videos on their YouTube channel. We love seeing companies who want to make sure that customers get the most out of their products!

10. Clubman Moustache Wax

We’ve spoken briefly about products that help you shape your beard but chances are, you’ll need the most help shaping your mustache. The right kind of mustache wax you use is going to vary depending on what kind of needs you have in mind. A pencil-thin mustache requires a very different product than a full handlebar mustache.

But in all cases, you’ll want a wax that gives you as much hold as you need but not too much, you’ll want one that washes out easily when desired. Because we’re just covering the basics today, we’ll share with you one mustache wax that is great for simple jobs; one that offers light hold and keeps hairs out of your mouth: the Clubman Moustache Wax.

Definitely an “old school” selection, the Clubman Moustache Wax is great for all hair types and low-maintenance styles. This product is designed to be layered on so apply as much as you need for your desired look. Clubman also comes in a variety of colors for slight color correction if desired.

Beard Brushes

Having access to the right tools will definitely help you apply your beard care products so let’s turn our attention to brushes and combs.

A beard brush is one of the most useful tools a gentleman with a beard can have. It helps to strengthen and straighten by gently redistributing oils over your hair all while wicking away dead skin cells from under the beard. It can also be used to evenly apply a product.

A quality brush will be made from horn, wood, bamboo, or acetate. The bristles should be made from natural hair, preferably boar hair, hairs that are strong enough to exfoliate but soft enough not to agitate. Synthetic bristles often feel rough against the skin and they tend to shed quite easily.

11. The Art of Shaving Kent Beard Brush

The longer and thicker your beard, the longer you want the bristles to be and finally, you want a brush that fits nicely in your hand and one that is easy to use. For me, that brush comes courtesy of The Art of Shaving – the Kent Beard Brush.

When it comes to high-quality brushes, Kent Beard Brushes of England have been making the best since 1777. This brush model, designed in collaboration with The Art of Shaving, has everything one could desire. The pure boar bristles have been machine-sewn directly into the cherrywood base to prevent shedding.

They’re trimmed to variable lengths, as the uneven bristles help to penetrate through the beard to the skin. The satinwood back is slightly curved to help improve grip and the entire brush has been sealed to prevent water damage.

Beard Combs

In addition to a brush, you might also find it useful to have a beard comb, especially if your beard is longer. A quality beard comb will allow you to detangle and shape your beard or even help you apply product.

If you have long or thick growth, a brush in conjunction with a comb will be essential to help make sure you have all of your hair in place. It will generally be larger than a comb for your hair. It is usually made out of wood, acetate, metal, or horn.

Regarding the comb teeth, a rough beard needs wider spacing between the teeth of the comb, so that they may pass through easily. Softer beards require narrower teeth to help shape and smooth the hair. If your beard is prone to tangling, consider using a double-sided comb with both wide and narrow teeth; detangle with the wide side, then gently smooth with the narrow.

12. Hornvarefabrikken Beard Comb

Several of the brands we’ve already mentioned like Beardbrand and Kent make high-quality beard combs but to close we’d like to share with you a different company, one with an unforgettable name: Hornvarefabrikken. This is a Danish company that specializes in making household items out of animal horn.

Animal horn is an excellent material for combs. This is because it is lightweight while also being very durable. They are beautiful and have a unique appearance. Horn and hair are also both made from keratin, so horn combs tend to pass more smoothly through the hair than other combs.

At Fort Belvedere, we use 100% water buffalo horn for our luxurious line of shoe horns and tidbit tray, so we already know what a great material it is.

Hornvarefabrikken combs come in a variety of tooth widths to perfectly suit your beard, and you can choose from versions with or without handles. Handles will allow you to apply more force when detangling and they are much better for longer beards.

No matter your beard style, we hope that the products we’ve shared today will help you to keep your beard looking its best!

Outfit Rundown

Today, I’m wearing a blue and white striped dress shirt with green trousers, a brown belt, brown dress shoes, and my Fort Belvedere socks in brown as well. Check out the Fort Belvedere shop for socks like these.

What’s your favorite beard care product? Share with us in the comments!