DIY Mountain Smoke Beard Balm

When my husband first started growing his beard out, beard oil was the only product he really needed to use. However, the longer he grew his beard, it became evident that he needed to start using other products as well.

While he still uses beard oil daily upon exiting the shower, the time had came to start using beard balm as well as mustache wax. I have whipped up a few different different balms using different products, and over that time I have came up with three different formulas that my husband loves.

If you have never made a product like beard balm before, you may have questions about what’s the best to use. Speaking from my experience, these are the products that I choose to use in ours and why I use them.

Let’s talk about the butters

For starters, a lot of beard balm calls for using Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter..seriously the list could go on and these are the butters that I turn to the most when I start crafting beard balm. With these butters I always go with the unrefined, but you can use the refined as well. With the unrefined, you get a stronger scent where as with the refined you get a more mild scent. I prefer to use the unrefined shea butter because it acts like a barrier against moisture loss, and has anti-inflammatory properties that support skin cells and protects against irritation. However, the process involved to refine shea butter is said to possibly compromise those benefits. Also, depending on how it was refined, the chemicals and fragrance can increase the chance of irritation.

What about scents?

This is without a doubt an area that I have fun with. There are so many different combinations you can use when it comes to beard balm. I’m always whipping up different ones for my husband to try and the scent combination below is one of his favorites. Sometimes you’ll find a fragrance oil placed in beard balm in place essential oils, or to add a more distinct smell. As a personal preference  I avoid fragrance oils when it comes too all our beard products. The goal for me is to stay as natural as possible.

What about the melting process:
When it comes to melting my beeswax and butters, for the most part I use a simple 4 oz. mason canning jar. Is this the best method? Let me just say it works, but I will also say that I have accidentally knocked over an entire jar of almost melted butters and maybe I cried. The ingredients aren’t cheap and when it falls over in boiling water, there’s nothing left to do than just dump it out and start over. So with that being said, I would highly recommend using a double boiler like this one.

Mountain Smoke Beard Balm

2 Tablespoons Beeswax Pastilles
2 Tablespoons Shea Butter
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Butter
3 teaspoons Jojoba Oil
2 teaspoons Argon Oil
13 drops Bourbon Essential Oil
8 drops Cedarwood Essential Oil
1 drop Rosemary Essential Oil

Avery Easy Peel Print-to-the-Edge Glossy Clear Round Labels, 2Stainless Universal Double Boiler

Directions:

1.  First measure out your Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Beeswax and place them in a double boiler, or mason jar over medium/low heat stirring occasionally. Once melted, remove from heat. You do not want the mixture to come to a boil.

2. Once removed from the heat, stir in your Jojoba oil and Argon Oil.

3. Next stir in your essential oils.

4.  Pour hot mixture into tins and let cool. This usually takes 2-3 hours for them to cool completely.

Giving you DIY as a gift?
If you plan to give this as a gift, you can then created a fun label. You could even add additional beard/mustache products to go along with it. Here’s some of my husband’s favorites:

Beard Brush – Boar Bristle Brush by Liberty Premium Grooming Co. – Guaranteed 100% Firm Boar BristleKent Men’s Handmade Comb, Set of 3

You could even whip up some DIY Beard Oil, or Mustache Wax.