How to smell good with a beard or mustache
To smell good with a beard or mustache, put your scent on your body and your clothes, not on the facial hair. Apply it to your neck, chest and forearms after a shower, keep the beard itself clean, and use a little less than you think you need.
Why not put scent on the beard itself?
Two reasons. The first is ours: Bale has not tested its jars on facial hair, so we only tell you to use them on your body. The second is practical. A beard sits right under your nose, so you smell it more than anyone else does. You stop noticing a scent you live in, and the usual response is to add more.
A beard also catches whatever is in the air: coffee, food, smoke. If it smells off, a scent on top rarely fixes it. A proper wash and a proper dry does. If you want the beard itself to carry a scent, use a product made for beards.
Where should you put it instead?
On your body
Start right after a shower, while your skin is still damp. Our butter lasts 12+ hours on most skin, and it lasts longest on damp skin after a shower. Then put a small amount on:
- The sides and back of your neck, below wherever the beard stops.
- Your upper chest, where a shirt collar opens.
- Your forearms.
Anyone close enough for a hug or a conversation is close enough to smell scent that sits on your skin, and a butter works up close by design. Your beard stays out of the picture.
On your clothes
If you also own a cologne spray, aim it at your chest or your collar, never at your face. Mist drifts, and a beard is a good place for it to land. Spray, then step out of the cloud instead of walking into it. On a delicate or pale shirt, try the spray on an inside seam first.
How much should you use, and when do you top up?
Less than you think. Because the beard keeps your own scent right under your nose, your sense of "enough" runs high. Start with a small scoop for both arms, your chest and your neck. Then ask a friend or your partner whether it is too much. They will tell you in one sentence, and you will learn more from that than from smelling your own wrist.
For a long day, skip the full second dose. Put a little on your forearms or the back of your neck at lunch and leave the face alone. The free travel tin that comes with 2 jars is easier to carry than a jar.
How do you keep the beard itself smelling clean?
Wash the beard and dry it fully. That does more than any scent.
- Wash it when you wash everything else.
- Check it after meals. Crumbs and food smells are the usual offenders.
- Wash the things that sit against it. Scarves, hat bands and shirt collars rub on a beard all day and hold smells too.
- If you use a beard oil or balm, pick an unscented one or one close to your scent family. Two different scents under your nose all day end up muddled.
Which scent suits a man with facial hair?
Whichever you like, with one adjustment: start quieter. Your beard is close to your nose, and a loud scent is louder when you are the one smelling it. A lighter scent such as Bleu Hour or Savanna is the safer place to begin. If you are not sure what you like, the scent quiz narrows it down, or you can look through all six scents.
When the weather turns, the warmer scents come into their own. Our best cologne for fall picks cover which ones to wear and how to keep them from getting too loud.
Quick answers
Can I put body butter on my beard? No. Use it on your neck, chest and arms, and use a product made for beards on the beard.
Can I spray cologne on a beard? I would not. The mist drifts and lands there easily, and a beard keeps whatever lands on it. Aim at your chest or collar instead.
Why does my beard smell even when I wear scent? A beard holds food, smoke and sweat smells on its own. Wash it, dry it, and then add scent to your body, not on top of the problem.
Does any of this change when the beard is short or new? No. A new Movember mustache or a beard you have had for years: scent the body and clothes, keep the face clean.
Not sure which scent to start with? The quiz picks one from our six in a few questions.
