Anytime summer rolls around the corner, everyone begins the scramble to look their very best in anticipation for the hottest season of the year. After all, this is one of the best times to enjoy the great outdoors, show off a tan, and holiday with the your friends. It’s not all fun and games though.. for men with beards, there’s an extra decision to make when summer comes – to shave or not to shave?
To Shave or Not to Shave – That is the Question
Whether to shave your beard completely for summer or not is a topic that has many varying views. What we can all agree on, however, is that taking care of a beard in hot weather comes with a few unique challenges.
One problem of keeping a beard in summer, especially for people who spend a lot of time outdoors, is increased beard shredding. Increased heat during summer will cause your face to sweat a lot. Sweat tends to irritate skin, which in turn causes you to scratch your beard. When this starts to happen, you may find your beard thinning in selected areas over the course of summer.
It’s also common to spend a lot of time swimming during summer. The problem with this pastime is that increased time spent in water, especially chlorinated pools, tends to dry out your facial skin. This then causes your beard to get drier and eventually leads to scratching and shedding. Of course, you can avoid such damage by treating your beard with wax and other protective products before enjoying your afternoon dips in public pools. The advantage, though, in having a clean-shaven face during summer is that you won’t have to worry about chlorine damaging your beard.
Quick Grooming Tips for Preparing Your Beard for the Summer Wet Shave
If you’re attempting to shave off your beard entirely in preparation for summer, it’s important to carry out this grooming process properly. A lot of bearded men think that getting rid of facial scruff simply involves grabbing a razor and trimming down to a close shave. However, there’s more to preparing your beard for summer. With that in mind, here are a couple quick tips to avoid some of the common mistakes that most novice bearded men make when preparing for the wet summer shave.
Trim It Gradually
It’s best to start the shaving process before summer arrives. The idea here is that if you have the lumberjack look at the moment, using a beard trimmer on it every couple weeks slowly taking a bit off here, a bit of there, it will give your razor much less work to do when it is time to for the final push. Also, you look like a different person when you go from the lumberjack to the baby face, so gradual is good, less of a shock for your family and friends if you make it a smooth transition.
Beard Oil & Facial Products Are Your Friend
One mistake that guys make when going from a longer beard to no beard is that they start to neglect facial skin. It’s wise to continue using beard care products before and after shaving everything off your face. Beard oil, for instance, is designed as much for softening facial hair as the skin underneath it. Applying some beard oil during the pre-shave period and afterward will keep your stubble softer or prevent dryness and razor burn on your clean shaven face and neck.
So, there you have it, preparing your beard for the summer wet shave should be a lot clearer now. Remember, if you clean shave that beard off or give it a little trim for summer, you won’t have to worry about the effects of chlorine, sweating, and a dry itchy beard all the time. A clean shaven look will keep your face well ventilated, provide plenty of sun exposure (free vitamin D), prevent tan lines and most importantly, being clean-shaven is so much easier to maintain!
About the Author: Simon of Beard Trimmer Reviews is a men’s lifestyle blogger who writes for numerous lifestyle, fashion and gadget blogs about his favourite things which include mens grooming, beards and of course beard trimmers.
