How Do I Stop Chewing On My Mustache?

[CaptainDan]

I have an awful and disgusting habit. I decided to grow a Coronavirus beard and it's been a few months now since I began. It's now pretty long and I'm finding that I can't stop playing with it and chewing and biting on my mustache. Is this normal? I can't stand that I do it, but I am completely aware that I fixate on things. I fidget all day long and sometimes I don't even know that I've been pulling on my beard hairs for hours. The worst is the chewing on my mustache though. It's like I'm eating the mustache hairs. I can't stand that I do that. Before this is was biting my nails and playing with the hair on my head. I wish I could just stop all of this weird behavior.

I did a little searching around and I found a thread on Reddit that pretty much hits the mark.

It appears that this bad habit isn't as isolated as I thought. I guess a lot of people do it. One guy in the thread says that he trims his longest mustache hairs and that keeps them away from his mouth as best as possible. I used to do that, but since all of my facial hair has gotten longer, the biting and chewing has gotten much worse. I don't want to trim anymore because I'd like to grow my facial hair out.

Another guy suggests that I suck on hard candy throughout the day. I think that would probably work for some, but I don't want to be ingesting all of that sugar. I guess I could buy sugarless candy. Hey, what about taking up smoking? I bet that would do it.

This suggestion goes against the grain, but one guy says that if you let the mustache hairs grow out really long, you can part them to the sides, which will keep the temptation away from your mouth. I may just have to try that.

But really, my question is, have you experienced this and what did you do about it? There were only seven replies on the Reddit thread, so I'd like to get some more if possible. Thanks.

 

[CraigHardy]

Dude, You gotta trim your stache and your beard. There is no way you are going to eat candy for the rest of your life or get over this by yourself. You can't will your way out of these things. I used to have the same problem as have many other men. The answer for me was to trim my stuff short. I use a beard trimmer with a 1/2 inch attachment for the sides and the mustache and a 5/8 inch attachment for the beard around the chin. It's been so much better since I went short. I know, you want one of those long ass beards that you see online on Youtube. If you want that, be prepared to chew chew chew.

I found this on Quora for you to read. I guess you can also try waxing your beard and stache like they suggest on Beard Profile, but seriously, are you going to do that for the rest of your life? You sort of alluded to that option in your post. Take it from me, a guy who has had issues with plucking (picking) beard hairs. I know how difficult it can be to deal with this type of thing. You just need to get rid of the temptation, like you said. Good luck.

 

[JGaulard]

I totally agree with @CraigHardy. You've got to remove the temptation. I keep my beard short too. But just to make you feel bad, wouldn't it be nice to keep a long beard like these?

And for you older guys with the grey and white beards...

This is where I keep mine regularly. This is me from a few months ago. I've trimmed about five times since March and it's August right now. My face hair grows pretty quickly. I need to trim about once per week to keep things looking orderly.

 

[CaptainDan]

Thanks guys. I trimmed my facial hair last night so now it's about a 1/2 inch long. I have to say that it's helped a lot. I'm not obsessing over every little hair near my mouth now. The thing is, I'm now pulling at my beard hairs to see if there's one that's longer than the others in the mix. If there is, I'll get out my pair of scissors to trim that one piece. I know I sound crazy, but this is me. I think I'll pick up a straight comb to run it through my beard to see if I missed anything with my trimmer. Your advice helped though, so thank you. I'm still open to more advice, so if anyone has any...

PS - @JGaulard, you've got a great looking beard. It's pretty thick. Some of mine is still patchy.

 

[KodyWallice]

I tried growing facial hair a few years back and abandoned the endeavor. About a week in, I began scratching my face like crazy. The hair actually angered me to the point of wanting to rip it off my face. Since then, I've said that I hate facial hair.

 

[CaptainDan]

I tried growing facial hair a few years back and abandoned the endeavor. About a week in, I began scratching my face like crazy. The hair actually angered me to the point of wanting to rip it off my face. Since then, I've said that I hate facial hair.

Oh that. You need to let it grow. Once the first few weeks are over, you don't even know you have a beard. You can't feel it at all. I know that's hard to believe, but it's true. It's actually a pleasure having a beard. I like it much more than not. And no, before you ask, it's not hot in the summer either. Beards are awesome.

 

[KodyWallice]

Do Beards Itch?​

Ever since the onset of Covid 19, or Coronavirus (whatever you want to call it), I've seen so many men growing beards. I'm guessing that it's because many of them get to work from home during this pandemic. For some, they're just using this time as an excuse to finally grow a beard. A buddy of mine told me that since not a lot of face to face business is going on, he decided to grow a beard to see how it looked. He loves it.

My question is, do beards itch? I can't imagine they don't. I tried growing one once and it was awful. I got about two weeks in and I was ready to scratch my face off. For pretty much every minute of every day, all I could feel was the curled up ends of all the hairs on my face scratching my sensitive skin. I had to shave it off. I couldn't take it anymore. What can I do? I hear beards don't itch after a while, but I don't believe it. Any advice from bearded men would be appreciated.

 

[CraigHardy]

A normal healthy beard won't itch after one month. I can guarantee that. All beards itch for the first few weeks. I don't know one guy who didn't complain of an itchy beard when he first began growing it, but I also don't know one guy who has complained of an itchy beard after it's been growing for a while. I'm not sure why they itch in the beginning. Maybe it's because of the sensitive skin that's got new hairs growing out of it at length. Maybe it's something else. I do know that oils sit on the skin a lot more when there's a beard, so maybe the skin need to get used to it.

If your beard does itch after a month or so, it may be because of some other reason. Back when I first grew mine, I got all into applying beard oil and beard balm. Well, apparently my beard doesn't need those things because the effect they had on it wasn't good. For some strange reason, the castor oil I was putting on my face actually made the beard skin hurt. I know. Weird. So I stopped using that oil. It's a shame too because I liked it a lot. I would drip a few drops onto my palm and it was very thick and clear. When I would apply it to my beard, the oil would make the hair shine, which I liked a lot.

Anyway, if your beard still itches after a month or two, it may be that it needs to be washed well. Try applying apple cider or regular vinegar to your face and letting it sit there for a few minutes. That should clear and gunk out of there. Also, you might have some ingrown hairs that are causing problems. That's actually what make things itch in the beginning. Once the hair grows longer, it's no ingrown anymore. Just a thought. If your skin breaks out with acne because of the beard or any applicants you're putting on your face, obviously stop immediately. You shouldn't need to put anything on your beard. That's all sales for beard balm and oil. The oil I was putting on my hair actually made me break out too. It was bad and those little zits hurt!

Make sure not to over groom or use strange soaps either. These things can irritate your sensitive skin. And if you try all these things and you still experience beard itch, it may be because of bacteria or a fungal infection. You may need to see a doctor for this, but really, applying vinegar to the beard should make all that go away. Let me know if you have any further questions. And again, trust me. Just grow it out and let me know how it feels after a month. You need to push through that itchy period. You'll love it after a month. We all do and beards rule.

Oh, and one more thing. Don't spend all your money on beard grooming lotions and moisturizers. That's all bull. There are countless companies that now sell all this stuff and most of it is a rip off.

 

[CaptainDan]

If you only made it a few weeks, you definitely don't have the problems I'm going to discuss below. You're just dealing with the initial stages of growing a beard. All beards itch in the beginning. That's just part of being a man. I suggest you toughen up and push through it. Every single man you've seen who has a beard on his face has had to put up with the itch, so you shouldn't expect to be any different. And you can see that they've still got their beards, so they're obviously not itching anymore. We'd all shave them off if they were as terrible as you're describing. So get over it and let it grow.

Now, if your beard has been growing for some time and it still itches or if it begins to itch out of the blue, there are generally two reasons for this. First, it may be a cleanliness issue and two, it may be a medical issue. It's most likely cleanliness though.

You need to wash your beard every day. Beards are gross. Everyone knows this. They can start smelling and all sorts of stuff, including food, get caught in the mustache and beard. Even when I drink out of a glass, whatever it is I'm drinking gets caught in my mustache. Don't get me going about what happens when I blow my nose. Gross. It's a wonder why any woman puts up with us. Anyway, you can use regular soap or you can use special beard soap to wash it. Just be sure to suds it up every day and get it done.

When you wash, bathe, or shower, make sure the water isn't too hot or cold. That can inflame the skin under your beard. Also, there are some oils and lotions that can sooth the facial skin, so you might want to look into them. Some deal specifically with beard itch. If you shave around your beard in the future, be sure not to use any harsh chemicals or foams. These can irritate your skin as well and they won't do you any favors. And just remember, even after a beard has been growing for some time, trimming around it can cause that itch to return all over again. So expect that.

There are a few primary reasons why beards might itch out of the blue, after they've been growing for a while. If you experience this, you may need to look into these things. For some, you may need to see a doctor to get a prescription. The reasons are: ingrown hairs, Seborrheic eczema, Folliculitis, Pseudofolliculitis barbae, and Tinea barbae. I had Folliculitis once and I had to get some antibiotics from my pharmacy to get rid of it. It was on my arms though, but I do know you need a medicine to deal with that. Good luck.

 

[CaptainDan]

How Do I Get Rid of My Beardruff?​

I've had beards of varying lengths for years and during that time, I've had flareups of beard dandruff, or what's commonly referred to as beardruff. It usually starts out with some itching and then, after a while, I notice that my face skin that's under the beard turns red and inflamed. It's pretty terrible. I've tried washing my beard well, but that doesn't do anything. After a while, the flakes begin and it's like I've got dandruff falling out of my beard all day. I once scratched my beard for a minute or so over my lap and it looked like it snowed. I can't believe how much dead skin came out of it. It was so gross. So my question is, how do I get rid of my beard dandruff (beardruff)? Is there anything I can do at home, such as a home remedy? Or do I need to see a doctor or get some special shampoo?

 

[CraigHardy]

First of all, pretty much every man on earth gets beardruff at one point or another. It's not very fun, but it's part of life for those of us who wear beards. I actually used to get this when I didn't even have a beard, so it's not caused by the hair on your face. And just so you know, there is so much misinformation out there on the internet about what to do about skin flakes or dead skin. Don't listen to any of it. Right before I began writing this, I looked the issue up and read that beardruff is the buildup of dead skin cells that grow faster than they fall off. They said it's dry skin, fungus/yeast, or sensitivity to beard products. Most of what they said was BS. The only thing that's been true in my experience is the yeast thing. For thousands of years people have thought the dandruff on their heads was because of dry skin. It's not, but they'd still apply lotions and lubricants, only to make matters worse.

I'll tell you what my problem was and then I'll tell you how I used a home remedy to cure myself.

One day, I'd have great skin. The next, I'd notice that the skin around my mouth was becoming inflamed and turning slightly red. It would almost hurt to the touch. I'd try to add moisturizer to it, which made matter worse. It was only when I applied apple cider vinegar to the area that the skin began to heal and the redness would go away. I'll tell you though, once I added that vinegar to the skin, it would sizzle and after a few days, I'd have flakes like crazy. Some of them were the size of a dime. They'd fall off though and then my skin would be great for a while. The process would start all over again though after a few weeks or months.

It took a couple of years for me to figure this out, but what was causing this inflammation of my beard skin was pasta and white potatoes. There is so much starch and sugar in both of these foods that the yeast or fungus on my skin was having a feeding frenzy. As soon as I added the vinegar to my face, it would kill the yeast and my skin would heal right back up. I cut these foods out of my diet and I haven't had a breakout in so long. And by the way, vinegar is great for getting rid of acne too. It does so many things.

Once I began growing a beard, I noticed that the oils on my face were tougher to remove because of all the hair in the way. This would cause some additional flaking, but the vinegar worked wonders on that too. Now, about once per week I apply either apple cider or regular white vinegar to my beard hairs and let it soak into my skin for a couple of minutes before I get into the shower. I then shampoo my beard and it's all gone. I don't get any flakes anymore. Just be warned that the white vinegar is much stronger than its apple cider counterpart, so it may burn your skin if you're especially inflamed or you're new at this. Also, once you apply the vinegar to your beard, it may take a few lathers with the soap to get rid of it. Your beard hair will feel "sticky" until to rinse it all away. And yes, you'll smell like vinegar for a day or two afterwards, but it's so worth it to cure all that beardruff.

 

[CraigHardy]

What's the Best Beard Care Kit?​

It was my birthday in September and my lady spoiled me with a pretty awesome beard care kit. It's put out by Viking Revolution and it's called the Ultimate Beard Care Kit. It's pretty nice. I'll include some photos of it below. Just click on the thumbnails to see them larger. Anyway, this kit comes stocked with some beard oil, beard balm, a comb, a brush, and a pair of scissors. Everything fits nicely into its spot in the foam inside the tin, but oddly enough, there's a very small black plastic comb that doesn't have a spot. I'm not sure if someone threw that in as an extra or what, but it was hidden beneath the scissors. It's cool though because I use that small comb to help trim my mustache.

I really like this kit. The beard oil is velvety and smooth and the balm smells great. I generally don't oil or balm my beard, but I have recently begun when I'm trying to look presentable. Plus, I just like the smell and appearance of my beard when I apply some of the balm. It's almost lemony, if that makes sense. I'm just not sure how much I'm supposed to apply yet. I'll figure that out.

So here's my question. Have you ever purchased a beard care kit? If so, which one? Did/do you like it? How much did it cost? What did it include? Do you have any photos? I'd love to see what yours looks like.

I do want to mention on thing before I wrap this up. After applying the oil and the balm, I did notice that I got two small zits right above my mustache. I can't say if this was caused by the oil or balm yet because I also worked out and got all sweaty the same day. That usually causes some issues on my skin if I don't shower right away, so that may be the culprit. I wouldn't doubt the oil was the cause either though because I obviously have sensitive skin. Ever here of this? Has beard oil ever given you zits? This has had to have happened to someone else out there. Let me know.

Oh yeah...here's a good review of the same exact kit I got as my present. This dude will explain everything in it.