Beards have exploded in popularity over the past few years, and perhaps not surprisingly, the beard care market has exploded right along with it.
Whereas a decade ago there were really only a small handful of beard butters to choose from, today there are dozens (and quite possibly hundreds) of options available.
Making matters worse, a lot of guys don’t understand the distinction between beard balm vs beard butter.
As a result of this confusion, they end up wasting their money on a sticky styling balm when what they really wanted was the light hold and softening properties of a good beard butter.
To help spare both your beard and your wallet from making the same mistake, in this post I’ve rounded up some of the best beard butters for a soft, healthy and handsome-ass beard.
Make Your Mane Look Tame:
The Best Beard Butters for Men
Overall Best Beard Butter ↓
Maestro’s Classic Mark of a Man Beard Butter
- 4.7 Stars
- 531 Ratings
Maestro’s classic beard butter works with all types of facial hair and includes both a face moisturizer and face cream, so it will help relieve itchy skin while hydrating your beard and your face in equal measure.
While a lot of beard butter brands offer an oil-based butter, what’s nice about this one is that it’s water soluble.
That means it doesn’t just soften the brittle hairs that often plague men’s beards (especially long beards), it actively moisturizes both your beard hair and your face, helping your entire visage stay healthy and look well groomed.
Promising Review:
I have a very long beard. I have tried a lot of products for beards. Maestro makes the best product in my opinion…
It makes my beard feel great and I love the bergamot fragrance. I dislike personal products that have too much fragrance. Maestro get it just right.
Best Beard Butter for African American Beards ↓
Black & Bearded Beard Butter
- 4.4 Stars
- 82 Ratings
Formulated specifically for black men, this butter from Black & Bearded uses all natural ingredients like shea butter, sea moss, castor oil, jojoba oil, argan oil and more.
Handcrafted in the Bay area, it’s gentle enough to work with all beard textures and scented with essential oils like eucalyptus and peppermint.
Promising Review:
Honestly this is a legit beard balm/butter! Smells natural and sorta like peppermint.
But what really matters is that it does the job and a real good job at that. Leaves the beard soft and shiny not greasy or clogging pores.
For more products that are well suited to the nuances of black hair and skin, check out our full round-up of the best beard products for black men.
Best Smelling Beard Butter ↓
Fresh Beards “Black Light” Beard Butter
- 4.7 Stars
- 235 Ratings
They make a number of well-reviewed beard care products, but Fresh Beards’ Black Light beard butter is a particular favorite thanks to its long-lasting and masucline scent.
Called “smooth cologne,” the unique scent lasts a long time and can save you from having to buy a separate bottle of cologne.
In addition to smelling great, Black Light uses a shea butter base mixed with coconut oil, almond oil and rapeseed oil to help soften your beard hair and reduce beard itch.
Promising Review:
Absolutely amazing. This is the best beard butter I have tried. The scent is a fresh, clean, light cologne scent that my wife and daughters love. It leaves my beard very soft and hydrated.
– Steve
Best Beard Butter for Growth ↓
Detroit Grooming Co. Leland Beard Butter
- 4.6 Stars
- 204 Ratings
Detroit Grooming offers a pretty wide selection of natural butters and various different products for beard care and maintenance.
But their Leland variety is particularly loved because it eschews the common ingredients you see in a lot of beard butters in favor of a unique combo of mango butter and lime.
The result is a fresh-smelling butter that softens even the most unruly beards and helps promote the kind of healthy beard growth that leads to thicker beards.
Promising Review:
Every Detroit Grooming product I have ever tried has been legit. This is easily my fav scent they have for butters. Imulsifies very easily. Smells great. Works even better.
I always put a butter, usually this one, in before bed, and it really does make it easier to comb out my long beard in the AM. Ever since I started using DG Butters, my beard has felt a lot softer and healthier.
Live Bearded American Beard Butter
- 4.4 Stars
- 1,984 Ratings
Live Bearded is another company with a wide range of beard products. (They ranked as the best beard oil for facial hair growth on our list of the best oils on the market.)
Their butter is available in six different scents, each of which is handcrafted with all natural ingredients like shea butter and grapeseed oil.
Pro Tip:
For best results make sure you rub this one well between your hands before applying it to your beard.
It has a slightly different consistency than other butters and may even seem like it’s dried out at first, but rubbing it in your hands warms it up and melts it, making it perfect for massaging into your beard.
Promising Review:
I have several beard butters that I have in rotation, and I like this stuff the best. It has a very unusual consistency and truly feels like butter. Far different than all the others. I have a lot of good products but this is my favorite.
Beard Guyz Beard Butter
- 4.5 Stars
- 1,399 Ratings
Beard Guyz butter is one of the best products on the market for those who need help avoiding the dreaded dry beard syndrome.
(And when your company’s name is Beard Guyz, your stuff better be legit!)
After hearing feedback from their customer base, their new products are reformulated to help you avoid an itchy beard by providing deep conditioning and giving your mane a sexy, natural shine.
Promising Review:
Best thing I ever used. My girlfriend bought it for me once because she hated my other stuff and loved how it smells.
It works amazing. Really stops the itch and makes your beard soft and smell attractive.
Every Man Jack Beard Butter
- 4.5 Stars
- 1,102 Ratings
Of the many good reasons to like Everyman Jack’s products, chief among them is their commitment to the planet:
They use plant-based ingredients and all natural oils in their beard products, which are also certified cruelty-free by PETA.
But more to the point, their products don’t just help the planet, they help your beard.
Just a small amount of their beard butter goes a long way toward promoting healthy skin and avoiding beard dandruff, itch and annoying flyaway hairs.
Promising Review:
This product sold me on the idea of using a beard butter. It adds a bit of control and makes beard look a bit more refined. I like how it works, very much.
Softsheen-Carson Magic Men’s Beard Butter
- 4.3 Stars
- 835 Ratings
Featuring a fairly rare mix of cedarwood oil and cocoa butter, Softsheen-Carson’s beard butter offers a unique scent that you won’t find in many other beard products.
In addition to the scent, this one is free of mineral oils, parabens and drying alcohols, allowing the natural ingredients to add moisture and texture to your beard.
Promising Review:
I LOVE this scent. It’s not overbearing at all. It smells good when I’m rubbing it in…
…But I don’t walk around smelling it at all after I rub it in. And that to me signals the perfect amount of scent.
I’ll keep buying this as long as they make it. I’ve finally settled on my forever beard butter.
– Daniel T.
Grave Before Shave Beard Butter
- 4.6 Stars
- 517 Ratings
In addition to having one of the best names in the business, Grave Before Shave also happens to make one of the best beard butters.
Their teak wood scent uses a shea butter base mixed with a wide range of essential oils, including grape seed oil, jojoba seed oil and pure apricot oil.
The result is an easy-to-apply beard conditioner that softens both your hair and your skin.
(And makes you feel like a badass thanks to the cool art on the jar.)
Promising Review:
The Grave Before Shave brand has never let me down. I’ve bought several of their products and they’ve all done exactly what they said they would. The beard butter is no different.
It’s a great everyday product that will condition your beard and give it a little hold. If I only could have one product for my beard, this would be it.
– Scott
Detroit Grooming ‘Black’ Amber Bourbon Beard Butter
- 4.6 Stars
- 131 Ratings
The second entry from Detroit Grooming to make the list, this one hails from their much-loved Black collection and smells like amber bourbon.
But don’t let the masculine scent fool you:
With a mix of shea butter and coconut oil, it also has a rich, creamy texture that will nourish both your beard and skin, making it masculine and moisturizing in equal measure.
Promising Review:
Best beard butter I’ve tried and I can really say that over the past year I’ve tried a lot.
I recommend buying one of these and then buying a whipped butter… wear this at night and the whipped butter in the daytime and your beard will be quenched at all times.
King C. Gillette Soft Beard Balm
- 4.5 Stars
- 714 Ratings
This entry from King C. Gillette is labelled a beard balm, but it contains enough cocoa butter and shea butter to have a similarly creamy consistency to a traditional beard butter.
Scented with bergamot, geranium and cedarwood, it will soften your beard and leave you with a fresh, manly scent that evokes a cedar forest.
Promising Review:
Like a lot of guys, I went full-on-furry over the pandemic from my usual close cropped stubble. This product ensures I will keep the full growth for the foreseeable future.
I also use KCG’s complementary beard and face wash that conditions both beard and skin. Have tried a few products, but these are the keepers.
Oak City Beard Company
- 4.4 Stars
- 15 Ratings
Safe for sensitive skin and all types of hair, Oak City’s beard butter is handcrafted in small batches Raleigh, NC.
One of the nice things about Oak City is that they offer a ton of variety in terms of scent:
There are a whopping 17 different varieties to choose from, so you can find one that suits your personal preference.
Promising Review:
This is my first time trying this brand but so far its my favorite beard product. The smell is amazing! I will definitely be ordering more.
– MW
Wild Willie’s Beard Butter
- 4.5 Stars
- 412 Ratings
Wild Willie’s organic beard balm is specifically designed to soften even the most damaged and coarse beards.
Free of chemicals, preservatives, colorants or fragrances, it contains 13 organic, natural ingredients that will help condition, smooth and soften your hair.
Promising Review:
Bought this for my husband as the reviewers all said it was the best one to buy. We concur!
I love how the scent is not overpowering but pleasant smelling and my husband says that the balm works to make his beard soft and keeps it that way all day.
Gladiator Beard Butter
- 4.6 Stars
- 259 Ratings
Gladiator beard butter is a natural product that combines shea butter with nine different carrier oils.
The unique mixture of pure Jojoba Oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, and vitamin E softens and stimulates hair follicles, while vitamin E oil moisturizes and prevents dry skin.
Promising Review:
What can I say? It’s a great product from great people. I’ve used gladiator products for quite some time and they have always treated my beard well.
The icon scent is amazing and I always get compliments for how it smells. definitely try out the butter. Put it on before bedtime and wake up with a soft untangled beard.
– Roy Q.
The Summary
Summary
Maestro’s classic beard butter works with all types of facial hair and includes both a face moisturizer and face cream, so it will help relieve itchy skin while hydrating both your beard and face in equal measure.
More Resources ↓
More Advice on How to Look Your Bearded Best:
- How to Grow a Beard Faster – The Definitive Guide
- The 13 Best Stubble Trimmers for Ruggedly Refined Facial Hair
- The 17 Best Beard Straightening Brushes
- The Best Beard Growth Kits for Full, Healthy & Handsome Beards
- Beard Balm vs Beard Butter – The Key Differences, Explained
- The 17 Best Beard Trimmers for Long Beards
- The 21 Best Beard Products for Black Men’s Beards
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Banner Image: George Rudy / Shutterstock
Resident Irreverent Gent beard expert Geoff Hayes is a Toronto-based writer, baseball fan and craft beer aficionado (though not always in that order).