9 Best Products For Black Men’s Beards 2024, Keep It Looking Fly
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Are you looking for something to help enhance your natural look? Here are some of the best products for black men’s beards currently on the market, including several different types of products that are useful in varying situations.
Contents
GIBS Beard, Hair, and Tattoo Oil – Best Overall
It’s hard to overstate the value of good beard oil. Whether you’re keeping the hair short and close to your skin for a sharp design or growing it out for a bolder look, beard oil can soften the hairs, make them easier to groom, and prevent itching.
This oil from Guys Into Beard Stuff is an outstanding moisturizer that works on both hair and skin, setting you up for ideal results. It’s available in two sizes, one-ounce and four-ounce, and several different scents so that you can pick the one you enjoy most.
While there are many great products for black men’s beards on the market, we think this is the best option because it’s not just a high-quality product in its own right; it’s also applicable to every beard. This is as close to a universal product as you can find, regardless of what you want to do with your beard, so it’s worth considering above anything else.
Pros:
- Nourishes both hair and skin
- Available in several varieties
- Reasonable cost-per-use ratio
Cons:
- No extra-large bottles are available
- No unscented version
Braun Series 9 Pro – Premium Option
Whether you’re looking for a sharp edge or just want to maintain things, having a great razor on hand is a key part of a great look. Braun’s Series 9 Pro is the tool to look at if you don’t mind paying for the best products currently on the market.
The Series 9 Pro has hair-lifting technology that helps raise flat-lying hair before cutting it, ensuring the cleanest and smoothest trim. It also works well in tricky areas like the upper lip, where skin’s natural curves can make it hard to get an equal shave in all areas.
The Series 9 Pro is an impressively low-maintenance tool, automatically cleaning, lubricating, and drying itself. Braun stands behind their products, too, so this razor should last seven years of regular use before you have to replace it.
Pros:
- Outstanding shaving performance for maintaining your look
- It lasts significantly longer than most competing products
- Automatically cleans and maintains itself
Cons:
- Noticeably more expensive than other razors
Fulllight Tech Beard Kit – Best Budget Option
Although not quite the highest-quality option on the market, Fulllight Tech’s comprehensive beard kit offers many products at an affordable price. This kit includes shampoo, balm, beard oils, a hairbrush, scissors, a brush, and even a book for proper beard care. In many ways, this is all you need to maintain a beard of almost any size or style.
Fulllight Tech’s kit is also a great option as a gift, especially for younger black men who are just starting to learn how to grow and maintain a beard. Learning proper care and grooming strategies from the start can ensure they grow up with the confidence and experience to create the look they want.
While individual products may be cheaper, this is the best budget option because it has so many products together for a low price. It would be more expensive to get these separately, and by the time you’re running low, you’ll need to replace several products anyway.
Pros:
- Comprehensive beard kit
- Ideal for young men and experienced adults
- Largely unscented
Cons:
- The brush may be too rough for some users
The Beard Black Shaping Tool
Consistency is vital for maintaining a beard, and many styles for black men involve razor-sharp definitions between beard and skin. The best way to maintain a beard’s shape is by using a styling tool whose curves and edges can let you customize the exact look you want.
That’s where this product from The Beard Black enters the picture. A single solid piece, this special comb allows for symmetrical beard designs and works along all parts of your face. It’s also easy to see even against darker skin, which is vital to ensuring you can get the look you want. Areas for additional combing and trimming give it added versatility.
Pros:
- Excellent for shaping black men’s beard styles
- Durable enough for regular use
- It has several sections to help support different looks
Cons:
- No flexibility
Viking Revolution Beard Wash Kit
Finding the best products for black men’s beards can be difficult because ethnic groups have different characteristics for their hair. Black men often have thinner and more brittle hairs than some other groups, so creams and oils that work fine for caucasian men, for example, might not be a good fit.
Despite the northern European theming of this company, however, Viking Revolution’s products work impressively well on African hair types. A lot of this benefit comes from using both argan and jojoba oil, which are excellent for nourishing and hydrating hair. The two-in-one wash and conditioner set helps soothe skin, remove dandruff, and soften coarser hairs.
Viking Revolution sells this in a ten-ounce bottle version, but we prefer the 17-ounce containers for their easy-to-use push-down dispensers. If there’s one flaw here, it’s that this beard wash is only available in a single scent. Sandalwood isn’t bad for men, but we always prefer variety when possible.
Pros:
- This beard wash works unusually well on black men’s hair
- Excellent value for the amount of product you get
- Ideal for daily use
Cons:
- One scent option
Tianwei Black Beard Pencil Filler
Try as we might with beard growth creams and careful grooming—there’s only so much we can do to stimulate hair growth and create the perfect look. Nature may give you a thinner beard than you want. Growing denser hair may not be an option, but you can get close with a good beard pencil.
If you’re not familiar with these products, beard pencils let you give the appearance of a thicker beard by further darkening your skin. This is effective as long as the pencil is darker than your skin tone—the results are immediately apparent. With a bit of practice, you can even get a sharper edge or create a more unique and unusual look.
Tianwei’s kit comes with two dark black pens, plus a brush and a folding comb. These all fit within a plastic box for easy transport, so you can take the pens to work and touch up your appearance as needed.
Tianwei’s kit is a good starter product, but you’ll probably end up with too many combs and brushes if you keep buying it. So rather than wasting money, it’s worth buying this once for the case and other parts, then buying standalone pens as refills.
Pros:
- Excellent beard filler
- Easy to use with minimal experience
- It comes with a travel case
Cons:
- Wasteful to buy more than once
Philips Norelco MG7750-49 Multigroomer
Manual razors can go a long way, but an electric razor is the way to get the perfect trim of existing hairs. This groomer includes 19 different trimming attachments for different situations, including multiple beard and stubble guards, body guards, and even fading hair combs. Self-sharpening blades eliminate the need for oils and keep this easy to use.
The real advantage of this product is the different widths for the trimming guards. Together, they make this product an excellent choice for maintaining beards of any length and ensuring you don’t accidentally cut off hairs you want to keep.
Like all motorized razors, though, it can take a little practice to use this tool correctly. If you don’t soften your skin first, you may cut yourself. Similarly, it may be hard to get extra, separate guards if any of them break, which can be awkward. For sheer versatility, though, it’s hard to beat this professional-quality tool.
Pros:
- Impressively affordable for its quality and versatility
- It comes with 19 different attachments for varying situations
- Razor-sharp blades offer quick, clean cuts
- Rated for up to five years of regular use
Cons:
- It’s hard to replace individual components
Beard King Beard Bib
Hair can get all over the place when you’re shaving, and over time, that can lead to clogged drains and other household problems. Beard hairs are also annoying to clean off of countertops. This creative product attaches to mirrors and lets you shave without dirtying your countertop.
The Beard Bib’s overall design stands out in a few other ways, too. It comes with a self-packaging pouch for easy storage, so you can take it with you while traveling. It also offers a stable tray area for holding your accessories, which might otherwise be hidden below it.
Although not necessary for every black man, the Beard Bib is worth considering if you shave off larger hairs regularly, want to maintain a cleaner countertop, or want to stop hairs from building up and blocking your drains.
Pros:
- An affordable and creative solution to bathroom cleanliness issues
- Portable enough to take on trips
- Large enough to catch practically all hairs
- Available in several colors
Cons:
- Not universally helpful for black men
Shea Moisture Beard Kit for Men
Moisturizers are the key to great grooming. Soft hairs cut well, don’t irritate the skin, and are easier to shape however you want. Once you have your basic cutting and trimming tools, one of the things you’ll use most is balms and oils.
This four-piece kit comes with a wash, a balm, and conditioning oil. More unusually, it also comes with a full beard detangler, which is fantastic if you’re looking for a straight and professional look. Detanglers aren’t just for long beards, either. They also work for short beards and can help create a distinctive look.
As the name suggests, all four of these products use shea butter, which is commonly used in cosmetic products to help reduce skin irritation. Beards of any length can cause distracting itching, so the more care you take with your skin when you have a beard, the more comfortable it will be.
Pros:
- Excellent kit for regular use
- Has several types of products
- Uses fair-trade ingredients
Cons:
- Doesn’t help grow beards
What To Look For in a Black Men’s Beard Product
While there are many things to look for in a black men’s beard product, most of them ultimately come down to a single question: Will they help you create the look you want? There’s a lot of nuance to this because black men have to deal with unique hair characteristics, cultural styling suggestions, and so on, but that’s the main question.
Furthermore, there are many types of hair products on the market, from scissors and pens to creams and balms. We can’t judge all of these products by the same metrics because they’re too fundamentally different for that.
However, there are a few general guidelines we can use when picking out products. Here’s what to look for when deciding between the best products for black men’s beards.
Value
How much product are you getting for your money? Most hair care products are consumable, so you’ll buy them regularly to help maintain your look. Small differences in price can add up to a lot of money over time.
Unfortunately, estimating product usage can be hard. Men might use different amounts of creams and softeners, though as a general rule, longer beards require more of one product to care for.
That means the best ways to judge value are by comparing similar products and how fast you’ve gone through any similar products in the past.
User Reviews
Reviews from other users are also a good way to evaluate the overall quality of a product. A beard cream or shaving tool that works for one person may not work as well for another, especially when unique hair characteristics enter the picture.
Products with only a few reviews aren’t bad, but it’s harder to trust them without trying them for yourself. On the other hand, products with thousands of reviews and a good score are much more trustworthy overall. The best products for black men’s beards tend to have a score of 4.4/5 or higher.
Scent
Many beard products are scented. That’s not a bad thing on its own because a gentle, pleasant fragrance can make a beard far more enjoyable for you and anyone you’re close to. However, if you’re using products with too many different smells, those could mix and clash in ways that make them unpleasant even if you like them individually.
This is why products with mild fragrances tend to be the best. If you’re not sure how well things might mix, look for something with sandalwood in it. Sandalwood has a slightly sweet and woody scent to it, and it’s a common base note in many colognes because it pairs well with most other smells.
Flexibility
Flexibility is another key component of identifying the best beard products, especially for tools and other non-consumable products. Great products tend to be useful for as many different beard styles as possible.
This can come in two forms. First, the product may be naturally flexible, like our preferred beard shaper. That product works whether you’re trying to edge your beard along a curve, a straight line, or some mix of the two. A well-groomed appearance usually requires a clear edge for your beard, so it’s widely applicable.
Other products may have enough customization options to fit different styles. The Philips Norelco Multigroomer has 19 different head attachments you can put on a beard, which only sounds like too many until you understand what each of them is for.
Professionals tend to buy products that have many different options for them because these ultimately end up being more helpful than anything too specific for regular use.
Ingredients
Great products have great ingredients. Here are some of the better ingredients you might see on labels for beard products:
- Ammonium Laureth Sulfate: Sometimes listed as SLES to distinguish it from the similarly-named ammonium lauryl sulfate, this ingredient is a foaming component that helps remove dirt and debris from beard hair. However, some people find sulfates irritating, so stay on the lookout for that.
- Argan Oil: Argan oil is a fast-absorbing, non-greasy oil that helps carry other ingredients into the skin and hair. It moisturizes well, helps eliminate beard itch, and doesn’t look too shiny. If this is the first ingredient, you’re usually looking at a quality product. It’s expensive, though, so some brands only use a little bit.
- Butylene Glycol: Butylene glycol is both a fragrance and a preservative. Its primary value is stopping a product from going bad due to excess humidity, which is an obvious risk in bathrooms and shower stalls.
- Capryl Glucoside: Capryl glucoside is a foaming agent that helps beard products work, but it also functions as a stabilizer for essential oils. That helps them maintain their potency until you use them, which is a major consideration for any personal care product.
- Castor Oil: Castor oil may be most famous for treating digestive issues, but in creams, it works as an outstanding moisturizer. Castor oil’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties also help with nicks and cuts.
- Citric Acid: Citric acid is useful mainly for adjusting the pH of beard care products. Human hair and skin naturally trend acidic, and products that stay close and help maintain the acidity tend to work better than anything too alkaline.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder is a good minor ingredient. It has a lot of antioxidants in it, so it supports smoother and softer skin.
- Coconut Oil: Coconut oil penetrates the skin particularly well, making it a top choice for carrying other ingredients into your hair and skin.
- Decyl Glucoside: Decyl glucoside is a surfactant, which means it helps reduce the surface tension of things it comes into contact with. That’s good because it makes it easier to wash the dirt off of your skin and beard hairs. Decyl glucoside is also gentler than other products, so it won’t irritate your skin as much if you’re sensitive to that.
- Jojoba Oil: Jojoba is similar to argan oil, functioning as a natural humectant. It’s thought to help prevent infection and other skin tone issues, which is not a minor concern if you’re prone to cuts and scrapes. It strongly resembles natural hair oil, too, so it absorbs particularly well.
- Limonene: Limonene is a substance extracted from citrus rings and helps to provide a lemon scent. It’s mainly a fragrance, though, so it doesn’t have any other notable properties.
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone: This tongue-twister of an ingredient mainly protects hair care products against bacteria, fungus, and microbial contamination. Bathrooms tend to be warm and humid, so beard care products need these to remain safe to use.
- Peppermint Oil: Peppermint oil is more noticeable than most other ingredients in beard care products. Aside from freshening skin and reducing dandruff, this oil feels actively cool in use and can make beard care products noticeably more comfortable to use.
- Phenoxyethanol: This ingredient doubles as both a preservative and a fragrance stabilizer. It’s a relatively strong germicide, so manufacturers usually limit this to a small percentage of their product’s ingredient list.
- Polysorbate 20: Polysorbate 20 is a surfactant like decyl glucoside, so it helps beard care products perform better. It comes from natural sources like berries and coconuts, so it also works as a fragrance.
- Potassium Hydroxide: More commonly known as lye, potassium hydroxide is a major ingredient in many soaps and other cleaners. It’s also notably alkaline, so beard care product manufacturers may use it to balance out ingredients that are too acidic.
- Potassium Sorbate: Potassium sorbate is a good alternative to parabens, which some people suspect of having negative effects. Functionally, this is a mild germ-killer, so companies usually mix it with other preservatives to maintain a product’s quality.
- Propylene Glycol: Propylene glycol is a temperature-stabilizer that helps personal care products endure hot and cold temperatures. It also supports delivering nutrients into the skin, which is the main mechanism of caring for most hairs.
- Sandalwood Oil: Sandalwood oil is a multipurpose ingredient that minimizes itching, provides antioxidants, helps enhance mood, and moisturizes skin cells. It also smells great, serving as a basic structural smell for the fragrance of many beard care products.
- Shea Butter: One of the all-time favorites for beard products, shea butter helps significantly improve your skin’s elasticity. That reduces the number of cuts and scrapes you’ll experience. Even better, it helps prevent beard itch, which is important for beards of all lengths.
- Sorbic Acid: Sorbic acid is a popular antibacterial ingredient. However, this can trigger some allergies, so people who are especially sensitive to that may need to avoid products with this on the label.
- Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet almond oil has high amounts of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, all of which help nourish the skin. This is a popular main ingredient in moisture-focused beard care products.
- Xanthan Gum: Xanthan gum is a largely-neutral ingredient that helps thicken and bind the other ingredients together. This stops them from separating too much in the bottle, ensuring the resulting liquid works as intended.
Best Brands That Make Black Men’s Beard Products
Here are some of the best brands that make products for black men’s beards.
Braun is easily one of the best options for quality razors and shaving equipment. This German company has an aggressive research and design setup, complete with visiting customers in their homes to better understand the real-world usage of their products. Braun items tend to be premium offerings, so if they’re not the best in the market, they’re often close.
Detroit Grooming Co. is a high-quality supplier of many different beard care products, including oils and beard butter. Many of their products come in different formulas and fragrances, which is always a nice touch.
Grave Before Shave isn’t as well-known as some other brands, but as their name implies, they focus heavily on caring for and maintaining beards. While none of their products made it onto our list above, they’re a high-quality company overall and worth considering for your beard care needs.
Guys Into Beard Stuff are as straightforward as their name implies—in fact, they’re good enough to have gotten the coveted Best Overall spot on our product list above. Their products are generally free of sulfates and parabens, and they even have affordable sample packs if you want to try out several different products before you buy.
Philips Norelco (often just “Philips” on branding) is a major provider of household and lifestyle products across the US. Their offerings range from audio and automotive products to toothbrushes and, importantly, beard care. Aside from being generally high in quality, they have an impressively robust customer service team to help resolve problems.
Top Products For Black Men’s Beards, Final Thoughts
Finding the best products for black men’s beards can be hard, especially because few companies specialize in creating products for African hair. However, if you know what to look for, you can find great products suitable for any beard length and any styling.
That said, don’t fully commit to a product until you try it for yourself. There’s nothing like personal experience to see if a beard care product works for you, so pick something out and start testing it today.