Men, if you’ve come across this page then chances are you were looking for a beard roller, specifically, the best one money can buy right now. If you happened to have stumbled upon it, then you may be hoping to find an answer to “what is a beard roller?”. Well, we’re going to answer both these questions and more.
So, let’s start from the very beginning.
What is a beard roller?
A beard roller is quite literally the same as a derma roller. Derma rollers have been around for some time, but have recently found their way into the hands of men in an attempt to help promote beard growth.
A derma roller is used to perform a process called microneedling, which refers to the process of piercing your skin with small needles – usually made from stainless steel or titanium – to help promote the natural production of collagen in the skin.
The derma roller, then, is a roller that is covered in hundreds of these needles. Collagen is produced because the incredibly small holes you make in the skin using a beard roller forces your brain to think you’re injured, and so encourages collagen to reach the affected area to heal the holes.
It’s claimed that this extra production of collagen, coupled with the increase in blood flow to the affected area, will help to stimulate the growth of your facial hair.
How to use a beard roller?
To use a beard roller, you’ll want to roll it across your beard up to 10 times in all directions; left right, and down your neck. The natural sharpness of the needles should be able to penetrate the skin enough without you putting too much pressure on it. You definitely don’t want to press too hard. Remember, this is something sharp going into your skin, so the harder you press, the further in it will go.
Different beard rollers can have different size needles, too, so be sure to check the size of the roller you want to get. If the needles are on the larger side – around 0.5mm – then you only need to your beard roller once or twice a week. The larger size needles will naturally create larger holes, and so will require more time to repair.
However, some beard rollers can have smaller needles – around 0.25mm – and these are safer to use more often during a week.
Steps to use a beard roller
- Healthline suggests using a beard roller with fewer, rather than more needles when you first start out, as it will mean less chance of pulling the skin.
- Wash your face and beard before you start
- With the beard roller in your hand, roll it back and forth both horizontally, vertically and diagonally to ensure you cover the full surface area
- Apply just enough pressure to ensure the needles reach and slightly penetrate the skin. You can tighten your cheeks as you most likely would when shaving with a razor, to give the beard roller a firmer surface to roll over
- When you’re done, sanitise your beard roller with alcohol or a sanitising solution
- If you have any acne, it’s best to avoid using a beard roller until it’s cleared up. Running sharp needles across acne isn’t the best idea, as it could cause a spread of bacteria
Do beard rollers work?
In theory, yes. Microneedling has been found as a good method to help promote hair growth on the scalp, although specific research into the use of microneedling and its effectiveness for beard growth is a little thin on the ground.
You do also have to take into consideration your genetic makeup. If you’re a guy in his 30s who still can’t quite grow a fully-fledged beard, then a beard roller probably isn’t going to be your saving grace. If, however, you can grow facial hair, but it’s a little thin, then a beard roller could help to make it look thicker and fuller.
Many experts suggest using a beard roller in combination with minoxidil (Regaine, to you and I) can help improve results even further.
The Beard Roller
1/6
Price: From $75
You can’t get much more direct than The Beard Roller from Copenhagen Grooming. This appropriately-named beard roller sport 540 titanium needles on the roller, which are 0.5mm in width. This means you only need to use it once or twice a week to help stimulate beard growth which, when combined with Copenhagen’s own Activator serum, promises much-improved facial hair.
And, as beard rollers go, we think it looks damn cool. You can’t really go wrong with matte black though, can you?
Ecooking Derma Roller
2/6
Price: From $88
Ecooking’s derma roller technically falls under its women’s category, but since it is literally the same as a beard roller, we’re including it on this list. As with Copenhagen Grooming’s Beard Roller, Ecooking’s features 540, 0.5mm needles on the roller head, so be sure to only use it a maximum of 3 times per week. You also get a bottle of Derma Care cleaning solution, because hygiene is important, and a handy travel case.
FaceGym Youthful Active Roller
3/6
Price: From $72
FaceGym promises to offer a literal workout for your face, through the use of skincare products and tools, which can be used in combination with their curated ‘workouts’ to achieve healthier looking skin. The Youthful active roller works in a slightly different way to some other beard rollers on this list, as its 3000+ needles are formed naturally by active ingredients. The needles then dissolve in your face, but don’t worry, they don’t stay there. Instead, they create thousands of 0.25mm channels. This is where the promotion of hair growth is the same, as collagen and blood will flow to all of these minute channels to help stimulate new hair growth.
But, because the needles dissolve, you need to use a new roller head each time you use the FaceGym roller.
Hairburst Roller
4/6
Price: From $25
Hairburst’s roller is classed as a scalp roller, but only because they suggest using it on your scalp to promote hair growth on your head. But it can be used on your beard in exactly the same way. The 0.25mm needles create the small channels required to help stimulate hair growth and, as Hairburst says, you can use it on your scalp too if you have any thinning areas.
Lexi White Beauty Beard Roller
5/6
Price: From $15
If you’re on a tight budget, then this Beard Derma Roller from Lexi White Beauty will be right up your alley, coming in at less than $10. For your $10, you get 540, 0.25mm titanium needles and a travel case, making this possibly the best beard roller available right now. Simple and straight to the point, what more could you want?
Crafted Beards Roller Kit
6/6
Price: From $44
With everything you need in one package to help get your beard hair flowing, this complete kit from Crafted Beards could be your new best friend. Once you’ve sanitised and then used your beard roller, you can apply the Duke’s beard growth serum to really get those follicles flying. Crafted Beards doesn’t actually list how many needles you get, or what size, but they do say to only use it a maximum of 3 times a week, so we’d assume they’re 0.5mm. The company also stresses that it knows their beard roller isn’t the cheapest one around, but that’s because it’s a product of genuine quality, that is designed to not only work, but is designed to last.