Hello my bearded friends!  Interested in smearing skin suffocating, acne causing petroleum on your lovely face and/or beard??  No?  Ok, me neither!  My goal for my family is to keep our bodies as healthy as possible.  This includes the health of the largest organ in the human body…  your SKIN! 

I’m a mom of two little ones, a nurse, and one of the new owners of Lovely Beards.  Prior to investing in this company, I did some research into our product and all of the ingredients that go into the containers and then onto your lovely bearded faces.  I wanted to make sure that these products are really legit.  And, they are!  I am so excited about what a high quality product this really is!  All of our ingredients are 100% natural, 100% organic, and all oils are cold pressed and unrefined. This sounds like a bunch of hype words, right?  Nope!  Let’s briefly discuss what each of these words means and why it makes our product so good for your face and beard (or wherever else you want to slather it…more on that in a later post).

• Natural- The FDA considers the term “natural” to mean that nothing artificial or synthetic has been added to, a food that would not normally be expected to be in that food.   All of the ingredients included in Lovely Beard products are straight from the earth.  Natural?  Check!

• Organic- Organic standards vary worldwide, but organic farming in general features practices that strive to cycle resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Organizations regulating organic products may restrict the use of certain pesticides and fertilizers in farming. In general, organic foods are also usually not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents or synthetic food additives. Organic?  Yep, check again!

(For more info on what this all means for the health of your beard, check out this awesome blog post I wish I had written!  

• Cold Pressed/unrefined– Oils are made either mechanically (this is where the term unrefined comes into play), or by using heat and/or chemicals (refined). Mechanically extracted oils (expeller pressed, if you want to be fancy) are made by grinding the nut/seed/fruit/vegetable into a paste, and then another tool is used to further press and separate out the oil.  When an oil is “cold pressed” that means it is mechanically extracted and the temperature never exceeds 120 degrees F. This ensures the oil retains as much flavor, color, and nutrients as possible to pass onto your hair and skin. Check and check!

 How does all of this translate to your lovely face and beard, you ask?  All of this is to say that these products are full of the highest quality ingredients that retain as many nutrients as possible to nourish that dapper beard!  If I wouldn’t want it on my kids bottom or my hubby’s face, I don’t want it in our products! 

Ok, Now lets dig into what is actually inside these bottles of beard oil and how they can be your beard’s best friend.

• Jojoba Oil– This oil is produced from the Jojoba plant. It is actually a wax due to its chemical make-up.  Jojoba oil is very similar to the natural oils found on skin.  It can make the skin believe it’s producing enough oil itself, which prevents an over-production of oil.  Because of this, it can be helpful with acne. It moisturizes hair follicles without leaving residue or clogged pores.  This amazing oil is also rich in vitamins C, B, E, copper, and zinc. 

• Grape Seed Oil– You guessed it! This oil comes from the seeds of grapes normally discarded in the winemaking process.  (Sorry, we don’t recommend swirling your beard oil and sipping. Well, you can swirl if you want…) Grape seed oil is amazing for the skin and is rich in linoleic acid.  Linoleic acid is an unsaturated omega 6 fatty acid.  Some of the benefits from this acid alone include the ability to reduce inflammation (which helps with acne and dandruff), retain moisture, strengthen each strand from the root (helps with split ends and breaking), and prevent frizz by smoothing the cuticle.    

• Hempseed Oil– This nutritious oil is from the cannabis plant. Although you won’t get the munchies from it, it is packed with tons of benefits for your beard and skin!  It’s loaded with vitamin E, and is rich in omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. These acids provide nourishment to the hair follicles and improve circulation to scalp.  This helps promote new hair growth.  Hempseed oil contains 25% protein (hair is made up of 90% protein) and, therefore, contributes to the keratin formation during the initial growth cycle of the hair strand.   Finally, the lipids found in this amazing oil actually increase the elasticity of the hair. 

• Kiwi Seed Oil– Kiwi is considered a “wonder fruit” due to its numerous benefits both inside the body and out. Similar to grape seed oil, it is packed full of linolenic acid.  It is also rich in vitamins E and C, which are powerful antioxidants and play an important role in collagen formation and microcirculation to the scalp. This helps with splitting, breakage, and promoting new hair growth.  Other issues this oil addresses are dandruff and rough/dry skin. 

• Avocado Oil- The monounsaturated fatty acid content of avocado oil is one of the main reasons it’s so so so good for your hair. When applied directly to hair, these fats can moisturize, strengthen, and nourish hair strands.  Also rich in phytosterols and vitamin E, this oil is highly protective, helps stimulate new growth, and unclog blocked follicles. 

• Vitamin E– Last but not least, this is an essential nutrient for heart, skin, and hair health. Vitamin E is actually in most of the oils that make up our beard oil, but it’s so important that we top it off with a little extra! Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant.  It stimulates capillary growth, including the scalp.  When there are more capillaries, guess what?!  There’s more circulation to the scalp and hair follicles, which promotes new and strong hair growth.  Some of the other benefits of Vitamin E include balancing oil production, conditioning hair, and adding to the shine and strength of the hair.

Whew!  That is a long list of really good stuff to smear on your bearded face!  When smashing all of these ingredients into one bottle, you can’t really go wrong if you’re looking to improve your beard.  Whether you’re dealing with beard dandruff, itchy beard, a slow growing beard, dry skin under your beard, acne, or smelly beard, or just want your already awesome beard to look its absolute best, Lovely Beards oil can help! 

The other ingredients included in Lovely Beards oil is essential oils.   I will cover all of these oils in later posts.  Stay tuned!