I’ve grown my first beard while working from home. How do I maintain it?

With work-from-home dress codes being somewhat more lax than those of a corporate office, some have taken advantage of lockdown by growing out their facial hair. But there’s more to growing a beard than simply giving up shaving. According to Adam Maguire, who owns Toronto-based beard-care company Baarden with his partner Kaleena Ly, one of the most common complaints about a new beard is itchiness. It’s a condition he says isn’t brought on by the beard but rather the skin beneath it.

“Everyone’s face produces natural oils," he says. "When you start growing out a beard, your skin doesn’t start magically producing more oil. The beard that needs that moisture is now sucking the oil out of the skin underneath it. That’s what gets really itchy.”

To replenish that natural oil, Maguire recommends rubbing a beard oil into the skin beneath your beard. Baarden’s Beard Oil is made with jojoba oil, which he says mimics the skin’s natural sebum while alleviating any itch and can also soothe inflammation caused by ingrown hairs. For the best relief, Maguire says your beard oil should be applied in the morning after your shower and any time you’re feeling that dryness.