With a beard, it is unfortunately often unavoidable that some of your food and drink gets lost in the beard. Most of the time you don’t even notice it and only later on in the mirror, you have the embarrassing realization that you were out with dessert in your beard. To spare you this embarrassment, we have compiled a list of methods and tools to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place.
What are the effects of food residues in the beard?
We have already mentioned the aesthetic aspect. It just looks very messy and awkward, and most of the time you don’t notice it at all, which makes the situation even worse. However, even regardless of that, a beard full of leftover food and liquids can seriously affect the health and hygiene of your beard. The more of it collects in your beard, the faster bacteria can multiply, and in the worst case result in skin diseases or fungi.
Even if you follow all our tips and tricks, it is impossible to keep your beard completely clean. When we refer to these impurities, we don’t just mean the visible crumbs, but also tiny remains that dry out in the beard or hide under the beard hairs. To clean the beard from these as well, a regular beard shampoo wash is necessary. If you are on the road, a beard comb can also help to free the beard from any crumbs.
Eating with a beard
General tips
- Bite-sized pieces: Eating with a beard is especially problematic when the pieces are too big to get them down in one bite. Therefore, always try to divide your food into bite-sized pieces whenever possible. On certain occasions, you can’t divide food into pieces because it’ s already too small or because it would look ridiculous. In this case, there is unfortunately no other option than to take the risk or to do without them.
- Open your mouth wide: By opening your mouth horizontally instead of vertically, you can move your mustache out of the way and minimize the chance of contact with food. If you are not sure how to open your mouth in this way, just say the letter “E”. It may feel a bit strange at first, but after a while, you won’t even notice the difference.
- Move the beard aside: If you have a long beard and it hovers dangerously close to the plate when eating dishes such as soup, it helps to simply press the beard closer to the body with your free hand.
Tips for the moustache
The upper lip is the part of the mustache that is most likely to come into contact with food and drink. Besides, sooner or later every man with a mustache will experience the situation of whiskers ending up in the mouth while eating. It is then quite difficult to get them out again as discreetly as possible. You can prevent this from happening with the following tips:
- Use the thumb and index finger of your free hand to move the beard hairs aside and keep them free.
- Use mustache wax: With the help of mustache wax, you can style and secure your mustache in advance so that it stays along the side of the upper lip and leaves some space on the lip.
- Trim: The easiest method is of course to cut off the whiskers below the upper lips.
Tips for specific dishes
- Chips and other crumbly snacks: When biting into a chip, a shower of crumbs follows. To avoid this, wrap your lips around the chip until it is completely enclosed. Then bite off and pull the rest of the snack away. With this method, all crumbs end up directly in your mouth and not in your beard.
- Hamburgers and sandwiches: Hamburgers and sandwiches are no problem as long as you eat them with a knife and fork. If this is not an option, it is usually easier to turn them over so that the flat side is facing up. In case you prepare the food yourself, you can also add sauces and other “dangerous” ingredients first of all so that they stay in place better.
- Ice-cream: Lick the ice cream instead of taking a bite. To be on the safe side, rather choose an ice-cream sundae instead of the cones. When you scoop the ice cream with a spoon, none of it should get into your beard.
- Cornflakes: With all liquid dishes, the rule of thumb is always that you can minimize the risk by using a teaspoon. Especially in public, however, this can look a little strange.
Helpful tools
- Knife and fork: Certain dishes can be eaten directly by hand or with cutlery. It is almost always easier to keep your beard clean by using a knife and fork. Keep in mind not to load too much on the fork and always lead the cutlery into the mouth from bottom to top.
- Chopsticks: With enough practice, there is no reason not to use chopsticks, as they allow you to put small bite-sized pieces into your mouth. If you are unsure how to use them, stick to the conventional cutlery, and practice at home.
- Handkerchiefs or tissues: If you plan to eat something on the road, it makes sense to have some tissues handy. You never know if something might go wrong, and in this case, you will at least be able to clean the beard from most of the mess. Sometimes it is also simply not avoidable to make a mess in the beard. After you have eaten spare ribs, for example, you should take a quick trip to the toilet and clean the beard with wet wipes.
Drinking with a beard
General tips
- Drink from a bottle instead of a glass: After you have enjoyed a beer or two, your focus may drop a bit and you end up with an embarrassing foam beard while drinking. So if you have the choice between a glass and a bottle, it’ s better to choose the latter.
- Drinking with the lower lip: It can prove very advantageous to drink with the lower lip, as it keeps the liquid away from the mustache. Just try it out and stick with it a while, even if it feels strange at first.
- If something has already gone wrong and fluid has got into the beard, you should dry the beard as soon as possible to avoid stains on your clothes.
Helpful tools
- Straws: Straws are available almost everywhere and will transport the desired drink into your mouth without any contact with the beard. Do you tend to be the type who puts the straw aside for a drink in the bar? Reconsider this for certain drinks to keep your beard free of liquid. We recommend stainless steel straws so that you don’t have to constantly buy new straws at home. Equipped with these straws you always have a one on hand and minimize the waste.
- Thermos flasks: Thermos flasks typically have a small mouth opening so that no liquid can reach your beard and so that nothing goes wrong when you are on the move. The concept has been known for a long time and not without reason almost all coffee shops and fast-food chains offer their drinks with similar cup lids.
- Beard mug: There is actually a specially designed coffee cup so that the beard stays dry when drinking coffee. It is also perfect for the office and prevents the embarrassing sight of a milk foam beard. By the way, it’s also a great gift for other beardsmen who are fond of coffee and tea.