Can Blow Drying Your Beard Cause Damage?

Every beard is different. Some beards are very easy to maintain and some are really hard to control. Sometimes men need a little bit more than beard grooming products to keep their facial fluffs in top shape.

However we’ve noticed that a lot of guys stay away from hair dryers because they believe that blow drying can damage their beard. Therefore we did a little research to find out if it’s actually true or not.

A blowdryer is a good tool to dry your beard and to style it whichever way you want. Unfortunately, hair dryers have been a symbol of femininity and most importantly have been believed to damage your hair.

We at Mo Bros don't go down that feminine/masculine road. We all, as men, need to look after ourselves, our mental health and our beards. Why not look good by using some products traditionally used by the Mo Sisters. 

So here’s what we found out about blow drying beard hair.

It is true, that when hair is exposed to high temperatures, the surface of the hair tends to get damaged as the temperature increases. As a result, hairs can become brittle and rough. Moreover, constant heat exposure can lead to discolouration.

A study done by the Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology actually discovered that although using a hair dryer causes more surface damage than natural drying, using a hair dryer at a distance of 15 cm with continuous motion causes less damage than letting the hair dry naturally.

They discovered that if you keep the blow dryer further away from your scalp and set the temperature low, it can actually be more beneficial to your hair and beard to be blown dry rather than air dried. Crazy, right?

It turns out that having wet hair actually weighs down the hair strands and adds pressure onto the follicles. The Cell Membrane Complex (CMC) damage increase when in prolonged contact with water,  That’s why quicker evaporation of the water trapped in your hair and beard actually takes the tension off of your follicles.

The smart cookies over at the Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology studied natural hair drying and 3 different temperatures of using a hair dryer to blow dry your beard.

They found that the higher the temperature the more damage to the service occurred. They found that blow drying at a lower temperature around 15cm or 6 inches away from your beard was the optimum temperature.

This study might be surprising to a lot of people because of the old perception that blow drying your hair is unhealthy. We hope that it’s going to be helpful to know that you can use a hair dryer without any fear if you do it right.

How to Blow Dry A Beard?

1. Wash your beard with our beard wash and conditioner - again only do this 2/3 times a week as overuse of these products can help damage hair as well.

2. Pat dry your beard - never rub it as that will cause damage to your facial hair as well.

3. Now we're in a bit of a quandary here about adding a product before or after. Some of our customers swear to adding some beard oil and combing it through with a beard comb before using a hair dryer. You should test this out and see what works for you.

4. Put the hair dryer on the lowest setting, keep it 6 inches away and keep moving the dryer over the beard. You can help straighten the beard by using a comb or brush as you go along.

5. Once dried add in some beard balm or your styling product of choice and brush through again just to get that product over all of your beard.

If you found that interesting and wanted to know more about how to keep your beard in check and looking awesome then please check out some more of our other blog posts.

1. Beard Comb or Brush? What Should I Use?
2. Daily Beard Care Routine Tips
3. How to Make Your Beard Soft?
4. My Beard Is Itching: Here's How to Fix It.
5. How I Tame My Coarse Beard