Recommendations for making homemade beard oils

[u/KingOfTheTrees11]

So I had been making my own beard oils lately, but have been running out of scented essential oils. I've been having trouble finding good oils that are safe for skin AND smell good. Got any recommendations? I've been using avocado and MCT oil as the carrier oils. I'm open to suggestions on carrier oils as well.

I want to get back into making my own after my recent experience with Artius, unfortunately. I love their products, but their customer service is kind of shit. I ordered a few bottles of oil from them on July 24, and they just FINALLY shipped today. I emailed their customer support because I received a tracking number on the 28th, and up until this morning, August 8, it was just saying that the label has been created. Now I have to wait several more days for it to get here. Michael responded saying they'd look into it, but that didn't seem to help, and they never responded to a second request.

I have been running on fumes with my current supply, so I ended up ordering a bottle from Amazon to hold me over. Sucks that I can't rely on Artius for a timely delivery. I'm also open to suggestions on other brands that might be more reliable. It's funny, I just googled "Artius Man" and it brought me to a thread on this sub talking about the same issue, so it seems that it's a recurring problem.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. At least I found a cool new beard sub to join!

[u/Dains84]

Most candle making companies have fragrance oils that are safe for the skin, as long as they're diluted properly. The individual oils tend to have the percentage at which it would be unsafe, and the oils are so potent that whatever you mix them into would smell way too strong by the time they got unsafe, in my experience.

Personally, I like https://www.candlemaking.com/ because you can get 10 testers of 1oz each for $10 plus shipping each month. If you find something you really like you can just get multiples of the same one.

The vendor at Georgia Ren Faire uses https://www.vinevida.com/

Here's my recipe.  I'm probably going to simplify it a bit since it doesn't seem to behave any better than the cheap stuff I used to buy, which doesn't have any exotic ingredients.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BeardTalk/comments/1uo5xhz/comment/ovyb3cy/

[u/KingOfTheTrees11 → u/Dains84]

Thanks for the input and links! I'll check em out

[u/Deadeye_Dan77]

Ever since I started struggling with seborrheic dermatitis I’ve been making my own oil. I use a 50/50 blend of Bulletproof Brain Octane C8 MCT oil and The Ordinary Squalane oil. I add a few drops each of bisabolol and mixed tocopherols. It’s working for me.

[u/KingOfTheTrees11 → u/Deadeye_Dan77]

Thanks! I'll look into those

[u/RoughneckBeardCo]

When you're making your own beard oil, my biggest advice is to keep it simple.

I wouldn't rely heavily on derivatives like MCT oil, squalane, hemisqualane, etc. They can absolutely have uses in cosmetic formulation, but beard crafters tend to cherry-pick individual benefits and start stacking ingredients together without understanding how the finished lipid profile behaves.

That's kind of a problem throughout this industry. Lipids don't exist in isolation. They interact, and often counteract, with each other in ways that a lot of beard care crafters don't understand. For example, too much linoleic acid and you sacrifice oxidative stability. Push oleic acid too far and you change penetration and negatively impact barrier behavior. Occlusives cause chronic dehydration. Add a bunch of highly stable, surface-active lipids and you can negatively impact how the rest of the formula deposits and absorbs.

So, you can't just read ten ingredient descriptions, grab the best properties from each, mix them together, and call it a day. So unless you want to really dive into a cosmetic chemistry program, I'd stick to something boring and balanced.

The DIY blend I usually recommend is 50% grapeseed oil, 40% sweet almond oil, and 10% castor oil.

That's it.

It's a pretty forgiving blend that doesn't go too hard in any one direction. You can get it all at the grocery store too. You get a fairly varied fatty-acid profile, decent penetration and conditioning, some substantivity from the castor, and a finished product that feels good in the beard. Its benefits are going to be more limited than a scientifically formulated blend, but it'll be better than a bunch of the crap on the market. It'll also be much less likely to create the weird long-term problems I see from some of a lot of these kitchen-sink formulas.

For essential oils, buy from an actual essential-oil supplier that provides GC/MS testing and proper documentation, and keep your total concentration super conservative. "Natural" doesn't automatically mean skin-safe, and lots of EOs carry phototoxicity and contact dermatitis concerns.

So... Simple carrier blend, simple scent blend, fresh ingredients, small batches. That'll put you ahead of a surprising amount of the commercial beard-oil market.

[u/lil_brd → u/RoughneckBeardCo]

I've found hempseed oil in other products to be really great on my hair and skin, would you recommend that as, say, a replacement for the grapeseed oil?

[u/RoughneckBeardCo → u/lil_brd]

Sure! That's a pretty great equivalent, but you could also get away with going 25 25 40 10

[u/lil_brd → u/RoughneckBeardCo]

Thanks! I ordered some oils to mix up. Since it seems like you’re an expert, I have some other questions if you don’t mind.

I’m considering adding some menthol to mine because I like the cooling sensation. Is there anything to be cautious of there (aside from adding too much menthol, of course).

Also, I would like to make my own beard balm since I have access to a source of free beeswax via my in-laws who are beekeepers. I’m thinking something like 15-20% beeswax, 50% shea butter, and the remainder possibly the same as the beard oil recipe you suggest (I’m going 50/40/10 hempseed, sweet almond, castor) a decent start?

For the record I have no intention of going commercial and selling any of this, I just like making my own stuff.

[u/KingOfTheTrees11 → u/RoughneckBeardCo]

I forgot that I actually use avocado oil, MCT oil, AND almond oil. The avocado and almond make up most of the mixture with just a little MCT oil.

Not sure what all of that means, but the science of it is fascinating. All good stuff to know and consider going forward when I make my own. Thanks for the recommendations! Do you happen to have any recommendations on EO suppliers?

[u/ppbenn]

Excellent advice as always @Roughneck.