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Choosing a quality vegan and cruelty-free beard shampoo is still a challenge. Even in 2023!
Most brands that dominate the male grooming market still aren’t cruelty-free. And lots of brands that claim to be cruelty-free wouldn’t pass our criteria because many use boar or badger hair bristles in shaving brushes. Needless to say it’s still a bit of a minefield.
Luckily there are lots of brands we trust to make high quality beard washes that don’t involve animal cruelty or byproducts in any form. And these beard shampoos are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and hydrating ingredients that prioritise clean, nourishing beard growth.
- The 8 Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Beard Shampoos
- Hawkins & Brimble Beard Shampoo – best overall
- Bulldog Beard Shampoo & Conditioner – best value
- Recipe For Men Beard Shampoo – best for tangled or matted beards
- grüum Bård Beard Shampoo and Hair Wash Bar – best for the planet
- Raw Naturals Rustic Beard Shampoo & Conditioner – best all-natural beard wash
- SheaMoisture Shea Butter & Maracuja Oil Beard Wash – best for curly hair
- Billy Jealousy Beard Shampoo – best for hair growth
- Mancave Blackspice Beard Wash – most manly scent
- Percy Nobleman Beard Wash – best for dry skin
- FAQs
The 8 Best Cruelty-Free & Vegan Beard Shampoos
Hawkins & Brimble Beard Shampoo – best overall
Hawkins & Brimble’s Natural Beard Shampoo is perfect for keeping your skin and roots in top quality condition. The ginger root infusion extract is an interesting one. Most of the scientific evidence suggests its better suited in reducing inflammation as opposed to stimulating hair growth.
- £14.95
- 250ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan – the FAQ page highlights the products that are not vegan. This beard shampoo is not included.
- Paraben, SLS, sulfate, artifical colour and SLS / SLES free
- Manufactured in the UK
It’s really the inclusion of Vitamin B5 and aloe vera that best suit my skin. Particularly in the winter. The moisturising and strengthening effect(s) make winter exercise much more bearable.
Read our cruelty-free review of Hawkins and Brimble here.
Bulldog Beard Shampoo & Conditioner – best value
We love a 2-in-1 here at Red Orange Peach. And with good reason.
Firstly it tends to be slightly better value (tick), secondly it’s easier and thirdly it takes up less space. A premium in London.
Bulldog’s Beard Shampoo and Conditioner ticks all the above boxes. And it’s superb value. One of my favourite features about Bulldog is how good the value of each product is.
- £4
- 200ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Contains aloe vera, camelina oil and green tea
- Free-from artificial colours, synthetic fragrances, parabens and sulfates
A naturally moisturising, hair strengthening vegan formula that should be a bathroom staple. Bulldog’s vegan beard wax make it into our favourite vegan beard waxes and balms too.
Read our cruelty-free review of Bulldog Skincare here.
Recipe For Men Beard Shampoo – best for tangled or matted beards
Recipe For Men Beard Shampoo is a super, shiny beard softener that’s kind to skin.
- £18
- Vegan & cruelty-free
- Antioxidant rich
- Scandinavian-made
Rich in antioxidants, it is designed to strengthen individual hairs and moisturise the skin underneath. If you’re suffering from tangled, matted beard hair, this vegan beard shampoo should work wonders.
Acai berries – rich in vitamins A, B, C and E – help heal damaged skin and restore moisture to the affected areas. The proteins and healthy fats present in the extract hep support hair growth too.
grüum Bård Beard Shampoo and Hair Wash Bar – best for the planet
grüum Bård Beard Shampoo and Hair Wash Bar is a plastic-free beard shampoo bar that cleans beard hair gently and effectively.
- £8
- Vegan & cruelty-free
- Sandalwood scented
- Free from artificial colours, synthetic fragrances, parabens, & petrochemicals
- Handmade in the UK
The rich and earthy formula has a coconut oil base, which makes it ultra-moisturising and an effective way to treat certain irritable, dry skin conditions like eczema. Commonplace under beards.
A great scented, eco-friendly beard wash that comes from one of our favourite cruelty-free brands for men – grüum.
Raw Naturals Rustic Beard Shampoo & Conditioner – best all-natural beard wash
Raw Naturals Rustic Beard Shampoo & Conditioner uses mild natural cleansing agents that clean and hydrate beard follicles and skin gently.
- £14
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- An effective hair regrowth formula
- Made from all-natural ingredients
Hops have an anti-inflammatory effect and can help over-sensitive and inflamed skin to return to its normal state. It has even been seen to mitigate hair loss and tone the skin underneath.
And apple extract improves root strength, minimising hair loss, dandruff and – in some cases – baldness.
SheaMoisture Shea Butter & Maracuja Oil Beard Wash – best for curly hair
SheaMoisture Shea Butter & Maracuja Oil Beard Wash is a cypress scented beard wash ideally suited for those with curly or coarse hair.
- £14
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Paraben, sulfate, phthalate and mineral oil-free
- Made using fair trade shea butter
Shea butter has moisturising properties particularly useful for sufferers of inflammation and eczema. The high quantity of vitamin A, E and fatty acids improve hair follicle strength and quality.
And the maracuja oil – fun to say isn’t it – is equally adept at strengthening and moisturising hair, preventing your beard from splitting and breaking.
Now Read: The best vegan, cruelty-free beard grooming kits
Billy Jealousy Beard Shampoo – best for hair growth
Billy Jealousy’s Beard Shampoo is a sulfate-free formula enriched with aloe, green tea and soy protein that leaves your beard silky smooth.
- £20
- Vegan and cruelty-free
- Enriched with green tea, aloe and soy protein
- Sulfate-free
Green tea has been known to stimulate hair growth, prevent hair loss and improve nutrient delivery. And aloe is well known for its healing, restorative properties, conditioning and improving dry or damaged hair.
The combination of cleansing, restorative properties in this beard wash helps clean our excess oil from your sebum secreting lands, ensuring sustainable, healthy growth.
Read our review of Billy Jealousy here.
Mancave Blackspice Beard Wash – most manly scent
Mancave’s Blackspice Beard Wash – one part of the aforementioned beard set – is a nourishing, warming scented beard wash that removes unwanted impurities.
- £5.99
- 100ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Smells incredible – spicy, woody, fresh
- Free-from parabens, sulphates, synthetic dyes and petrochemicals
- The bottle is made using recycled plastic
The addition of tea tree oil helps prevent dandruff, the buildup of dead skin and chemicals under your skin.
All of which helps create a healthy, strong environment for each individual follicle, providing antifungal and antibacterial benefits.
Jojoba and hemp oil both contain moisturising properties that promotes hair growth, thickens, prevents moisture damage and gives hair added lustre.
Percy Nobleman Beard Wash – best for dry skin
Percy Nobleman’s Beard Wash is made from a blend of sesame and coconut oil, shea butter and natural flower water.
Ingredients ideally suited to minimise damaging your skin’s natural pH balance, whilst moisturising effectively. In fact, coconut oil is said to be the best oil to reduce protein loss and keep it looking lustrous.
Sesame oil also has some antibacterial and antifungal properties. Excellent at mitigating dandruff and dry scalp.
- £14.99
- 100ml
- Certified cruelty-free
- Vegan
- Sulfate, paraben and stripping-agent free
- 95% organic ingredients – so it qualifies as being an organic product
- Cedarwood and citrus scented
Percy Nobleman also features in our favourite vegan beard brushes.
And I am a sucker for any kind of woody, citrussy combination. For vegan aftershaves too.
FAQs
The top 9 vegan beard shampoos are:
– Hawkins & Brimble Beard Shampoo
– Bulldog Beard Shampoo
– Recipe for Men Beard Shampoo
– grüum Bård Beard Shampoo and Hair Wash Bar
– Raw Naturals Rustic Beard Shampoo & Conditioner
– SheaMoisture Shea Butter & Maracuja Oil Beard Wash
– Billy Jealousy Beard Shampoo
– Mancave Blackspice Beard Wash
– Percy Nobleman Beard Wash
Can I use hair shampoo on my beard?
You can use hair shampoo on your beard, but you shouldn’t. Beard shampoos are specifically formulated to work with facial hair. Facial hair is different than traditional head hair as it tends to be thicker, less oily and much more wiry. As such you should use a formula that is designed for facial hair.
Should you wash your beard everyday?
Washing your beard 1 – 3 times per week is considered optimal for soft, supple, residue free beard follicles. If you suffer from an oily beard you should consider washing your beard more frequently.
Whilst it’s recommended to use a beard oil daily – sometimes twice a day – you don’t want to wash all of the natural oils out of your beard each day.
Do you really need beard shampoo?
If you’re using a scalp-focused shampoo to wash your beard then yes you need to purchase beard shampoo. The two are not interchangeable as scalp hair is more oily and less wiry.
However if you currently don’t use any shampoo on your beard you don’t have to buy some. But if you want your beard to be in optimal condition you should purchase some beard shampoo.
When should I start using beard shampoo?
We recommend 1-2 weeks worth of beard growth prior to using beard shampoo. Although you can start using beard shampoo as soon as the first few follicles grow. Small hair follicles still accumulate oil and dirt from your skin so will benefit from beard shampoo.
