Walk into any store with a men’s grooming section, and you’ll be hit with a wall of beard care products. You’ll see oils, balms, butters, waxes, and, of course, creams. It’s confusing. What’s the difference between them all? Do you need all of them? Is one better than the others?

This is one of the most common questions we get at BestBeardCream.com. Many men are so overwhelmed by the choices that they either buy nothing or buy the wrong product for their needs. The truth is, each product has a specific purpose, and the right one for you depends on your beard length, skin type, and desired outcome.

In this definitive guide, we’ll break down the three main players—beard oil, beard cream, and beard balm—so you can finally understand which one you actually need. For a full overview of how these products fit into a daily routine, check out our Complete Guide to Growing a Healthy Beard.

Beard Oil: The Liquid Conditioner

What It Is: Beard oil is a liquid conditioner, typically made from a blend of a carrier oil (like jojoba, argan, or coconut oil) and essential oils for fragrance. It’s the most lightweight of the three products.

Primary Purpose: The main job of beard oil is to moisturize the skin underneath your beard. It mimics your skin’s natural sebum, helping to prevent dryness, itchiness, and flakes (beardruff).

Best For:

• Early Stages of Growth: It’s perfect for the first 1-6 weeks when beard itch is at its worst. Our guide on How to Stop Beard Itch dives deeper into this.
• Men with Dry Skin: If you’re naturally prone to dry skin, beard oil provides direct, fast-absorbing hydration.
• Short Beards & Stubble: For shorter beards, oil is often all you need to keep the skin healthy.

Pros:

• Lightweight and fast-absorbing.
• Excellent for skin health.
• Reduces beard itch effectively.

Cons:

• Offers zero styling hold.
• Can feel greasy if over-applied.
• May not provide enough conditioning for longer, thicker beards.

Beard Balm: The Heavy-Duty Styler

What It Is: Beard balm is a much thicker, pomade-like product. It’s made from a combination of butters (like Shea or Cocoa), oils, and a significant amount of beeswax.

Primary Purpose: The primary function of beard balm is styling and shaping. The high concentration of beeswax provides a firm hold, allowing you to tame unruly hairs, shape your beard, and keep it looking neat all day.

Best For:

• Long, Unruly Beards: If your beard has a mind of its own, balm is your best friend.
• Specific Styling: Essential for achieving styles like a handlebar mustache or a sculpted shape.
• Men in Harsh Climates: The waxy layer provides a protective barrier against wind and cold.

Pros:

• Provides strong styling hold.
• Excellent for taming flyaways.
• Offers a protective barrier.

Cons:

• Can feel heavy or greasy.
• Can be difficult to wash out.
• Offers less direct skin conditioning compared to oil or cream.

Beard Cream: The All-in-One Solution

What It Is: Beard cream is the perfect hybrid product, sitting right between oil and balm. It’s made from a base of whipped butters (like Shea and Mango), oils, and a small amount of beeswax.

Primary Purpose: Beard cream is designed to be an all-in-one conditioner and light styler. It provides the deep moisturization of an oil with the light, flexible hold of a balm.

Best For:

• 90% of Beardsmen: According to Best Beards, our cream is the ideal daily driver for almost every beard type and length.
• Daily Health & Maintenance: It softens the beard, eliminates itch and dandruff, and provides a healthy, natural sheen.
• Natural-Looking Style: It tames flyaways and provides shape without making your beard stiff or greasy.

Pros:

• Deeply conditions both skin and hair.
• Provides a flexible, natural-looking hold.
• Absorbs fully, leaving no greasy residue.
• Versatile for all beard lengths.

Cons:

• May not provide enough hold for very long, wild beards (though it’s often sufficient).

This is why we created our Organic Beard Cream. We wanted a single product that could do it all for the modern man. It simplifies your routine while delivering superior results.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Beard Oil	Beard Cream	Beard Balm
Primary Use	Skin Conditioning	Conditioning & Light Styling	Styling & Shaping
Hold	None	Light to Medium (Flexible)	Medium to Strong (Firm)
Texture	Liquid	Soft, Creamy (like lotion)	Hard, Waxy (like pomade)
Best For	Short Beards, Beard Itch	All Beard Types, Daily Use	Long, Unruly Beards
Finish	Shiny / Oily	Natural / Matte	Waxy / High Sheen
Absorption	Fast	Medium (15-20 mins)	Slow (can sit on top of hair)

Which Product is Right for You? A Simple Guide

Still not sure? Answer these simple questions:

1. What is your primary goal?

• A) Stop itching and moisturize my skin: Start with Beard Oil (or Beard Cream).
• B) Style my long, wild beard: You need Beard Balm.
• C) Make my beard soft, healthy, and easy to manage every day: You need Beard Cream.

2. How long is your beard?

• A) Stubble to 1 inch: Beard Oil is great, but Beard Cream will work perfectly too.
• B) 1 to 6 inches: Beard Cream is your ideal product.
• C) 6+ inches or very unruly: You may need a Beard Balm for styling, but you should still use a cream or oil for conditioning.

For most men, the answer is Beard Cream. It offers the best of both worlds. It provides the essential skin and hair conditioning you need at every stage of your Beard Growth Timeline, while also giving you enough hold to look polished and professional.

Can You Use Them Together?

Yes, but you usually don’t need to. A common routine for men with very long or dry beards is to use beard oil first to hydrate the skin, and then use a beard balm on the beard itself for styling. However, this is where beard cream simplifies things. It does both jobs in one step.

If you find your beard needs extra hold on a particular day, you can absolutely apply a small amount of balm after using our beard cream. But for daily use, our cream is designed to be the only product you need after washing.

Ultimately, choosing the right beard product is about understanding your own beard and your goals. But if you’re looking for one product that can do it all—condition, soften, style, and eliminate itch and dandruff—then a high-quality beard cream is the undeniable winner every man’s best friend.