Beard Wash vs. Beard Co-Wash: What's the Difference?
Sean
Beard wash seems pretty self-explanatory, but what is a beard co-wash? In this quick post, we’ll look at beard wash and beard co-wash to gain an understanding of both.
Beard Wash
Beard wash is perhaps one of the most self-explanatory beard products. Its purpose is to clean your beard. Most beard washes are similar in nature to regular hair shampoo, but use milder formulas.
Cremo Palo Santo Beard Wash & Softener-6oz bottle
Beard washes come in both liquid and solid bar forms. It’s important to use a beard wash for your beard instead of regular shampoo. Regular shampoo will strip away too much of the natural oils in your beard. However, beard wash is still a cleanser, and any cleanser is going to strip oils from your beard. That’s why it’s important to use conditioning products such as beard oil after showering to keep your beard and the skin under it properly hydrated.
Beard Co-Wash
Co-wash is short for “conditioner wash.” A co-wash is a specially formulated, hybrid conditioner and cleanser. It acts more like a conditioner than a cleanser, keeping your beard hydrated without stripping natural oils. Some co-washes are formulated for daily use, but how often they are to be used depends on the brand.
Kühn Co-Wash-12oz bottle
Co-washes can be used in between more thorough cleansing with a beard wash. In addition to cleansing agents, they often contain carrier oils like those found in beard oil that help keep the beard and skin hydrated.
How To Use Each One
Use beard wash as a primary cleanser. I wash my beard 2 to 3 times a week, rinsing with warm water on non-wash days. How often you wash your beard will depend on your individual needs.
Use co-wash as a conditioning cleanser, either alone or along with a beard wash. This will depend on the specific instructions provided by the co-wash brand and which brand of beard wash you are using.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to beard care products.
My personal use of each depends on the beard wash I’m using at the time. When I was using the Cremo Palo Santo Beard Wash and Softener, I found it to be a very effective cleanser, but it also dried out my beard. Pairing it with the Kühn Co-Wash on wash days helped add back the extra moisture that was stripped away by the Cremo cleanser.
I recently finished my bottle of the Cremo beard wash and started using Scotch Porter Beard Wash. Scotch Porter Beard Wash is formulated much differently than Cremo, and doesn’t leave my beard feeling dry after use. So, I don’t pair it use the Kühn Co-Wash. Just the Scotch Porter by itself is enough. However, I do still use the co-wash periodically on days when I don’t do a deep wash with the Scotch Porter Beard Wash.
I hope this serves as a helpful reference for anyone looking for an explanation of the difference between these two types of products.
If you’d like more information on how I use beard care products, you can read How to Use Beard Oil and How to Use Beard Care Products next.