For moisturizing and softening your beard while also nourishing and hydrating the skin beneath, you'll want to look for beard oils or balms that are specifically formulated for these purposes. Here's how they work: 1. **Beard Oil**: Beard oil is a blend of carrier oils (such as jojoba oil, argan oil, coconut oil, almond oil, or grapeseed oil) and essential oils. These oils penetrate the hair follicles and skin, providing moisture and nourishment. They help soften coarse beard hairs, making them more manageable and reducing itchiness and irritation. Additionally, beard oil can hydrate the skin beneath the beard, preventing dryness, flakiness, and beard dandruff. 2. **Beard Balm**: Beard balm is similar to beard oil but has a thicker consistency due to the addition of natural butters (such as shea butter or cocoa butter) and waxes (such as beeswax or lanolin). Beard balm provides more hold and styling control compared to beard oil, making it ideal for shaping and taming unruly beards.