Does Beard Growth Oil Work?

The reality is that while hair loss is fairly common among men, beard hair loss is both less common and less well-studied. And that means fewer answers and fewer solutions, including for the question: Does beard growth oil work?

The scientific community generally agrees that good beard care is about nourishing and moisturizing your hair follicles, as well as preventing problems like dry skin and beard dandruff. However, there’s no magic product on shelves today that can do all of it — including beard oil.

Below, we’ve explained why these supposedly promising products might come up short on scientific support and what to do if you feel like you’re losing facial hair.

Beard oil is a topical formula that can be applied to the beard and the skin beneath it to promote healthier growth. 

While every beard oil has slightly different ingredients, most claim to combine natural ingredients and vitamins and other nutrients to offer hair health benefits. For example, beard oil may contain vitamin E and other essential nutrients for hair care.

A quality beard oil may include more than one oil in the “secret formula,” but common ingredients include:

• Jojoba oil

• Castor oil

• Argan oil

• Peppermint oil

• Tea tree oil

You may also see carrier oils like coconut oil, seed oil, and almond oil listed.

But because these products (and their claims) are not regulated by the FDA, it’s often unclear what the mechanism of action is supposed to be. In fact, many beard oils often contain many of the same hair oils that product makers have used in their shampoos, oils, and conditioners.

Some of the natural ingredients used in beard growth products like oils, supplements, and beard balm, have been shown to promote healthy hair growth in some limited animal and human research. However, experts don’t have the information to say what natural oils — or how much of them — will give you a healthy beard.

In other words, it is hard for scientists to conclusively or confidently say that if you use beard oil, you may see better hydration, less dryness, and reduced patchiness. 

Beard oils claim to reduce breakage and increase growth, but the claims made by the companies that produce them can often seem misleading when you look at the facts. While many companies offer high-quality products with the intention of creating the best beard oil, the reality is that most ingredients in these products lack substantial scientific support.

Some of the ingredients used in beard oil have been shown in limited and small studies to offer benefits, but little of the research has been corroborated by follow-up studies.

To put it simply, there’s not a lot of evidence that these things work, and there’s even less information to tell us how to use them correctly.

One of the most straightforward risks of using beard oil is that it may irritate your skin and, in doing so, affect your beard’s growth.

Beard oil ingredients can cause allergic reactions, but they can also clog pores and increase your reliance on skincare products.

Allergic reactions might include:

• Burning sensations

• A frequent beard itch

• Redness and tenderness at the site of application

Coupled with the unproven nature of the alleged benefits of beard oil, that’s a recipe for some people to see these products do more harm than good.

If your beard looks a little less full than you’d like, you unfortunately don’t have a lot of options at your disposal.

The FDA has not yet approved a full beard medication or treatment. While a dermatologist might suggest things like biotin, derma roller treatment, or topical minoxidil to deal with a patchy beard, these are typically recommended because they’ve shown promise in making the hair on a person’s scalp more healthy.

For instance, topical minoxidil foam and minoxidil solution have been shown to be effective treatments for causes of hair loss like male pattern baldness. However, research has not yet connected them to beard benefits.

Further, beard alopecia is also a complicated condition, and while it can sometimes be a result of male pattern baldness, it can also be due to other, rarer forms of hair loss.

If you’re experiencing facial hair loss or noticing your beard is thinning, there are a number of potential causes that could be contributing. Unfortunately, beard oil is likely not the solution.

Don’t get us wrong — there are many potential benefits to be harnessed from the ingredients in beard oils, but research is far from being able to authoritatively tell us how to use them, or for that matter, how much of them to use.

While beard hair loss is a less common and less well understood condition, it’s something that a healthcare professional can help you understand, diagnose, and treat. So if you’re seeing more of your jawline than you’d like, take a first step towards finding a hair loss treatment today.