To all our bearded friends: take notes. You may have heard the term "co-washing" pass by in the beard and hair industry. For many people, this is still an unfamiliar term. Time to change that, as the co-wash method is gaining quite a following.
What is the co-wash method?
If you're quick at links, you may have already figured it out. Co-wash stands for washing your hair or beard with conditioner only. So you can leave beard soap and beard shampoo in your bathroom cabinet for a while. So with co-washing, you wash your beard only with a beard conditioner, which shortens your routine a lot. Whether you want to wash your beard daily or once or twice a week. With the co-wash, it doesn't matter, because it doesn't dry out your beard hair. This trend is increasingly well known among bearded men, but that is not where it originated.
The co-wash started among women and men with long hair who noticed that shampoo was drying out their hair. Shampoo was banished from the routine, and they started working with conditioner only. The result was surprising -- a clean, moisturized and hydrated hairstyle. The smart bearded man realized that beard hair is always a bit drier, so he started trying out the co-wash on the beard. And what turns out? A golden idea.
Does it suit your beard?
Beard hair is always drier than head hair. That's why this method has become so popular among our furry friends. When you talk about head hair, it doesn't fit everyone (i.e. oily scalp, for example). Beards are less prone to this. We dare say that it suits every beard, and we are going to explain why.
When you wash your beard with shampoo (which are often full of strong detergents) or even beard shampoo (with fewer detergents), you remove important oils. Time after time, day after day. What do you think that does to the health of your beard? Doesn't get any better. In fact, those oils are important for the health and growth of your beard. Those cleansing agents we just talked about are hardly found in a beard conditioner. What are they full of, though? Healthy products like argan oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, coconut oil and other healthy, natural products. Sounds a lot better already.
I hear you thinking. "Should I just throw my beard shampoo out the window then?" But it's not that black and white either. You can wash your beard once or twice a week without any problems. Let's call it balance.
Does the co-washing method fit my lifestyle?
It all sounds ideal. And for the guy with a quiet job, who doesn't work with mud, dust, or sweat, it is. But what if you do work with that? Suppose you're working outside in the dust every day, or you exercise several times a day? Basically, it comes down to this: the co-washing method doesn't suit you if you get dirty often. You naturally want to wash that dirt out of your beard at the end of the day. So you do this again with a product with more cleansing agents, such as a shampoo or beard shampoo.
The benefits of co-washing
So for most bearded men, this is a godsend. It can benefit you on several levels. To make things a little easier for you (which is just how we are), here's what we have to say.
- Retain the natural oils of your beard
- Extra beard growth and better beard health
- No need for expensive beard products, just a conditioner.
- It saves time because you can do the co-wash once a week.
- Nourishing thanks to ingredients like argan oil, jojoba oil and shea butter
- It is easier to detangle your beard
- It does not dry out your beard
- It cleans your beard!