Should you blow dry your beard or not is a question that comes to mind often. The answer isn’t always the same because it depends on the beard look you want to achieve.
All beards are different. Just like the texture of your scalp hair vary from person to person, the same applies to beards. Some men have it easy with their soft, malleable beard hair. While others can struggle to keep their beards in top shape. They must rely on certain grooming techniques to maintain the look.
However, this doesn’t disregard the fact that heat in general is terrible for hair, whether beard hair or scalp hair. The heat supply to your beard damages the skin and makes it flaky; this results in the beard feeling brittle. But as with any styled look, there are certain precautions you ignore or take leniently. Hence, you would still find yourself blow drying your beard every now and then.
To learn about whether blow drying the beard is a good practice or not, you should first understand how to take care of your hair’s health in general even if you’re using some means that are damaging to the hair in the long run. Balance your usage to counter the negative effects by restricting it and using it according to how it is recommended.
According to a Korean study report, blow drying your hair on the lowest temperature while holding it at a certain distance from the beard is better than the traditional way of air drying it. Blow drying on the lowest temperature setting allows the beard to set just fine. This is due to the science behind these methods.
A natural air-dry works when you let your beard dry on its own. Basically, waiting for the wet molecules to evaporate. Since evaporation takes longer than a quick blow dry, it weighs in on the hair follicles for a longer period. It ultimately weakens the follicle and makes hair more prone to breakage.
While, blow drying is also not exactly a healthy idea but reducing the heat level to a maximum low helps lower heat infliction. The science behind heat damage inflicted on wet hair is that excessive heat damages the outermost protective layer of each hair, where the water gets trapped in the cortex. The heat from the blow dryer then causes the trapped water to boil up.
To summarize, moderation in all things is the key to success, which means blow drying and natural drying both have their pros and cons. It is better to adopt the middle path of moderation and reduce regular usage of blow drying to occasional use only. Coat your beard with a beard oil to protect it from damage whenever there is heat exposure. Excessive use of blow drying, over time, can cause loss of hair. Alternate between different methods as much as possible.
As for natural drying, avoid relying completely on this method and use dry towels to gently pat and dry the beard every now and then. Make sure you don’t rub the towel or brush it hard against the beard, doing so will cause more damage than good. Use balms to coat your beard to re-hydrate it after drying it. Also, keep a healthy intake of proteins to stimulate hair growth and gain nutrients to fight off potential damage from other factors.