Beard hair, due to its thickness and curliness traps minute food particles and environmental contaminants, as well as droplets of mucus and saliva. The end result is a very fertile breeding ground for bacteria. Regular soap and shampoo are not as effective at cleansing thick beard hair as a specialised shampoo is. Most men use regular shampoo to wash their beards, and they are unaware it could be causing build-up and not purifying the hair as well as it should. Beard washes and soaps are some of the the most important products in the beard maintenance routine.