The great beard debate: Beard Oil or Beard Balm?

As I'm sure you're aware, we make the best beard oil ever in the whole world (guaranteed). It's so good that I even use it in my not-beard (on account of the fact that I'm a woman without a beard)... which is why we decided to call it "Magic Beard & Hair Elixir" instead of just straight-up beard oil. Because we live beyond the beard over here at Outlaw.

But regardless of the superiorness of our beard oil, some folks have still asked us to make beard balm.

Why use beard oil at all?

When I meet someone with a beard (usually a guy, and usually over Zoom), I always ask if they use beard oil or beard balm. I don't have a beard (as I've mentioned), and Russ's goatee isn't a big enough test subject.

Roughly estimating, I'd say about 6/7ths of 'em look sheepish and admit that they don't use either because they:

  1. Don't know why they'd use it
  2. Know why they'd use it but don't remember to use it
  3. Don't use it because it means they have to wash their naturally self-cleaning beard

First, I gotta celebrate the honesty here, guys. It says a lot that you're being honest with a woman who literally makes beard oil for a living (among other things). I mean that with no irony. I do appreciate the honesty.

Second, yeah, this is the thing: beard products aren't as necessary as, say, brushing teeth. And Outlaws are really practical people. None of us have time to do things that are going to require more maintenance after the original maintenance. What are we, living in our bathrooms? Heck no. We have things to do and places to think about going to before we start playing Red Dead Redemption and lose track of time.

Talk to the Flossing Council about how much time I spend doing things that aren't crucial for my survival, and you'll understand where I'm at. (my dentist friend and member of the Flossing Council assures me this is very common)

And yet I do always put Magic Beard & Hair Elixir in my static-prone hair.

Why? This is me without Magic Beard & Hair Elixir:
static hair

Plus, it smells good. It's one of my favoritest scents we make (and was what inspired The Badlands, incidentally). And because it's made with quick-absorbing, non-comedogenic oils (and non-comedogenicness is something we'll have to cover in a different post), I can just leave it on after I smooth my hair.

It's good for my mood and keeps my hair from turning into an ambient electricity sensor. So I use it.

But is beard oil a necessity for you? Hey, I'm not here to tell you how to live your life. Just in case you'd like to know, we did write a whole blog post about why people use beard oil: https://liveoutlaw.com/blogs/no-stinkin-outlaws/outlaw-magic-beard-and-hair-elixir-what-does-beard-oil-do

If you haven't tried beard oil and you have any hair on your body longer than 2" (I don't need photos), give it a try. If you don't find it's to your liking, we'll give you your money back. No problem.

Why use beard balm instead of beard oil?

Beard balm has a thicker consistency, like, well, a *balm*. In the formulation we're experimenting with, we use a bit of sustainably harvested beeswax, along with some really good hair-lovin' stuff like vitamin E and vitamin A.

Beard oil is best for men with shorter beards or who have an especially sensitive skin type, as well as people who have any irritation from shaving products or other hair care products.

Beard balm is a kind of leave-in conditioner for your beard. Beard balm helps to moisturize, condition, and soften your beard. And unlike straight-up beard oil, it also gives a little more smoothingness and control to the beard. Unlike beard oil, beard balm is used to help shape your current beard and tame flyaways. You can also use it to style your mustache or sideburns. 

So if you've got a short beard (see guy in featured photo #1), go for beard oil. If you've got a longer beard (see guy in featured photo #3.... and even less than this, because this is a pretty huge beard), you might want to try both.

"BOTH???" I hear you exclaiming. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HEALTHY REBUKE OF THE FLOSSING COUNCIL?"

First, I'm not proud of my bad attendance at the Flossing Council meetings.

Second, if you want beard hairs in your mouth and mustache hairs up your nose, be my fricken' guest. But if eating hair pie every time you eat actual pie is annoying to you, you might find beard balm a welcome relief. I mean, if having a beard was actually just a nice experience that meant you could skip shaving and made you handsome as all get-out, wouldn't that actually be better? Of course it would.

We're not a beard brand.

Make no mistake: We're not a beard company. But I know a lot of Outlaws have beards (it probably helps to hide someone's identity), and we're the only company making Outlaw scents (thank goodness), so y'all want to smell great all the time, in all the ways.

And that's what we're here for: Smelling like the best things in life.

So we're likely going to be releasing a small set of beard balms in the next couple months, and if you've got a beard, we'd love for you to give 'em a spin and let us know what you think.

As always, we remain committed to helping you live your Outlaw life. If you'd like us to try out other products, just leave 'em in the comments.

In the mean time, try Outlaw's answer to the best darn beard oil in the world.

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Michael Morey

I’d like to be notified when you get beard balm. I’m using stuff from Duke Cannon, but would like give y’all’s a try.😊